Discerning God's Will Together


Book Description

Bible study, research, and fieldwork merge in this book of practical principles for decision making by spiritual discernment. The step-by-step approach can be used to help any size group learn a new way to make decisions--a way that is interactive, spiritual, and rooted in faith practices and community. Small groups, committees, church boards, church leaders at all levels, and seminary professors will find this book valuable. This is a revised and updated version of the book, originally published in 1997. This new version inclused revised and updated material, as well as a new introduction by Charles Olsen.




Discerning the Will of God


Book Description

Drawing from the timeless methods of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, this thoughtful meditation is enriched with examples and stories that offer practical and profound wisdom for aligning personal desires and goals with God's will.




Pursuing God's Will Together


Book Description

Church boards and other Christian leadership teams have long relied on models adapted from the business world. Ruth Haley Barton, president of the Transforming Center, helps teams transition to a much more fitting model—the spiritual community that practices discernment together.




Above All Earthly Pow'rs


Book Description

In this prophetic call to the evangelical church, Wells stresses that Christians need to confess Christ as the center in a society lacking a center, as the sovereign in a world seemingly ruled by chance, and as the one who can give meaning in a nihilistic culture.




Hearing with the Heart


Book Description

Only through learning to hear with our hearts tuned closely to God can we discern how we should find our way through the crowded and confusing thickets of our lives. In Hearing with the Heart, popular writer and retreat leader Debra K. Farrington leads you through a gentle process for discovering how to invite God's presence into every aspect of your daily life. Her story-filled discussions of key practices such as prayer, meditation, reading and reflection, and attentiveness to your body, your studies, and your relationships with your friends and family, help you discover how to be open to discerning God's will. Filled with a wealth of exercises, guidelines, and tools, Hearing with the Heart gives you the practical help you need to bring you closer to God. As you put these suggestions into practice you will find yourself opening more and more to God's infinite possibilities for you.




Discernment


Book Description

Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life features the wisdom that spiritual leader and counselor Henri J. M. Nouwen brought to the essential question asked by every Christian and seeker: What should I do with my life? Nouwen emphasizes listening to the Word of God—in our hearts, in the Bible, in the community of faith, and in the voice of the poor as a way to discern God’s plan. Although the late Henri J. M. Nouwen counseled many people during his lifetime, his principles of discernment were never collected into a single volume. Now, in association with the Nouwen Legacy Trust, Michael Christensen—one of Nouwen’s longtime students—and Rebecca Laird have taken his coursework, journals, and unpublished writings to create this and other books in the series exploring God’s will for your life.




Sacred Pace


Book Description

How do we hear from God and discern His will when it’s time to make big decisions? Terry Looper shares a four-step process for doing just that - a process he has learned and refined over thirty years as a Christian entrepreneur and founder of a multi-billion dollar company. At just thirty-six years old, Terry Looper was a successful Christian businessman who thought he had it all—until managing all he had led to a devastating burnout. Wealthy beyond his wildest dreams but miserable beyond belief, Terry experienced a radical transformation when he discovered how to align himself with God’s will in the years following his crash and burn. Sacred Pace is a four-step process that helps Christians in all walks of life learn how to slow down their decision-making under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, sift through their surface desires and sinful patterns in order to receive clear, peace-filled answers from the Lord, gain the confident assurance that God’s answers are His way of fulfilling the true desires he has placed in their hearts, and grow closer to the One who loves them most and knows them best. Sacred Pace is not another example of name-it-and-claim-it materialism in disguise. Instead, it walks Christians through the sometimes-painful process of “dying to self” in their decisions, both big and small, so that they desire God’s will more than their own.




Manresa


Book Description




Decision Making and the Will of God


Book Description

Does God Have a Perfect Will for Your Life? Does God have a perfect will for each Christian? Can you be absolutely certain of God’s specific will for your life? In this expanded twenty-fifth anniversary edition of his highly acclaimed work, Garry Friesen examines the prevalent view on God’s will today and provides a sound biblical alternative to the traditional teaching of how God guides us. This new edition includes these helpful resources: • Study guide for small groups • Responses to Frequently Asked Questions • Guide to painless Scripture memorization Friesen tackles the very practical issues of choosing a mate, picking a career, and giving in this fresh and liberating approach to decision making and the will of God. Story Behind the Book Most Christians have been taught how to find God’s will, yet many are still unsure whether they’ve found it. God does guide His people, but the question is, “How does He guide?” After “putting out a fleece” to decide which college to attend, Garry Friesen began pondering why it was so hard to find God’s will when he had so sincerely sought it. Was he the only one who did not have 100 percent clarity for every decision? Then a new possibility struck—perhaps his understanding of the nature of God’s will was biblically deficient. Maybe there was a better way to understand HOW God guides.