What do you think?
Rate this book
Sacred Compass: The Way of Spiritual Discernment
"Brent Bill has written one of the finest books on discernment and divine guidance that I have seen in a very long time."
—Richard J. Foster
How do you discover God's will for your life—every day? Sacred Compass offers a fresh and deeper way of living a God-directed life. J. Brent Bill draws on the quiet beauty of the Quaker path to show how spiritual discernment is more about sensing God's gracious presence than it is about making the right decisions. As you use this book to chart your own spiritual course, you will find yourself led to unexpected places, comforted by the knowledge that God uses all of our experiences to bring us close. "Sacred Compass is the perfect companion for those seeking to follow God in the way of Jesus in the midst of the realities of 21st century life. Brent Bill graciously and passionately opens the pathway of the spiritual practice of discernment for the novice and deepens the possibilities for the well experienced. This book will serve as a revelation for many and well could be the start of a revolution for a new generation Christians." —Doug Pagitt, Pastor of Solomon's Porch and Author of A Christianity Worth Believing "Sacred Compass celebrates and reassures that on this engaging, glorious, bewildering human journey, we individually and communally carry with us an ever present divine source of navigation." —Carrie Newcomer, Rounder recording artist, The Geography of Light
—Richard J. Foster
How do you discover God's will for your life—every day? Sacred Compass offers a fresh and deeper way of living a God-directed life. J. Brent Bill draws on the quiet beauty of the Quaker path to show how spiritual discernment is more about sensing God's gracious presence than it is about making the right decisions. As you use this book to chart your own spiritual course, you will find yourself led to unexpected places, comforted by the knowledge that God uses all of our experiences to bring us close. "Sacred Compass is the perfect companion for those seeking to follow God in the way of Jesus in the midst of the realities of 21st century life. Brent Bill graciously and passionately opens the pathway of the spiritual practice of discernment for the novice and deepens the possibilities for the well experienced. This book will serve as a revelation for many and well could be the start of a revolution for a new generation Christians." —Doug Pagitt, Pastor of Solomon's Porch and Author of A Christianity Worth Believing "Sacred Compass celebrates and reassures that on this engaging, glorious, bewildering human journey, we individually and communally carry with us an ever present divine source of navigation." —Carrie Newcomer, Rounder recording artist, The Geography of Light
- GenresReligionNonfiction
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
16 people are currently reading
119 people want to read
About the author
J. Brent Bill
30 books88 followersBrent Bill is a Quaker minister, photographer, and author. He is the author of many books and magazine articles. He lives in rural Indiana on Ploughshares Farm -- a wildlife retreat with woods and native prairie.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 9, 2015
J. Brent Hill is a Quaker pastor who has a gift for writing. Sacred Compass is chalked full of spiritual wisdom and insights.
September 3, 2012
Brent Bill, a Quaker minister, writes to help individuals discover the spiritual practice of discernment. He begins by telling about the Quaker saying, "when way opens," which means the ability to discern when God opens a way for a person to move in a particular direction.
Too often, Christians base their decisions on what "feels" right or by using decision making practices that they have learned in their trade. These decision making tools are not wrong, but we have been given the Holy Spirit who can guide us in a different way--a way not conformed to the pattern of this world.
Bill gives tremendous insights for how individuals can discern the voice of God. Two chapters, in particular, were of tremendous value: Chapter 3 "Paying Attention: Seeing the Signs on the Way" and Chapter 7, "Traveler's Aid: Offering Assistance to Others Along the Way."
Bill is a very good writer and story-teller, so the book never felt like an instruction manual on how to discern. Instead it felt like a conversation in which he gently guided the readers to understanding discernment.
I would highly recommend this book to ministers, to Christians who are facing big decisions, to college students who want to understand God's will for their lives.
Too often, Christians base their decisions on what "feels" right or by using decision making practices that they have learned in their trade. These decision making tools are not wrong, but we have been given the Holy Spirit who can guide us in a different way--a way not conformed to the pattern of this world.
Bill gives tremendous insights for how individuals can discern the voice of God. Two chapters, in particular, were of tremendous value: Chapter 3 "Paying Attention: Seeing the Signs on the Way" and Chapter 7, "Traveler's Aid: Offering Assistance to Others Along the Way."
Bill is a very good writer and story-teller, so the book never felt like an instruction manual on how to discern. Instead it felt like a conversation in which he gently guided the readers to understanding discernment.
I would highly recommend this book to ministers, to Christians who are facing big decisions, to college students who want to understand God's will for their lives.
May 10, 2014
J. Brent Bill in Sacred Compass: The Way of Spiritual Discernment uses Quakerism as a foundation to find, follow, and ultimately live a more God-directed life.
He acknowledges that much of life can feel unclear and unstable. And he affirms there are practices that can be used like a compass to help us in our uncertain moments to walk with and towards Divine wisdom.
One of these practices is Lectio divina which “is Latin for ‘divine reading.’ It’s a structured way of combining prayer and scriptural reading that deepens our communion with God and gives us spiritual insight.” (p. 79)
You may be familiar with one or more of the four steps he...
To read more, please visit: http://www.kathrynvwhite.com/1/post/2...
He acknowledges that much of life can feel unclear and unstable. And he affirms there are practices that can be used like a compass to help us in our uncertain moments to walk with and towards Divine wisdom.
One of these practices is Lectio divina which “is Latin for ‘divine reading.’ It’s a structured way of combining prayer and scriptural reading that deepens our communion with God and gives us spiritual insight.” (p. 79)
You may be familiar with one or more of the four steps he...
To read more, please visit: http://www.kathrynvwhite.com/1/post/2...
June 20, 2015
Dial in your sacred compass
This is not another mere "how to" book of guidance or spirituality. In this book the author lets us in on some of the ways of God's leading among us primarily looking to his own experience of paying attention to the "sacred compass" found in each one.
This is not another mere "how to" book of guidance or spirituality. In this book the author lets us in on some of the ways of God's leading among us primarily looking to his own experience of paying attention to the "sacred compass" found in each one.
November 7, 2019
circles, angles, and trajectories
J. Brent Bill, a friend who's a Friends (Quaker) pastor blogs at Brent Bill dot com and at the highly sacramental-sounding Holy Ordinary. Sacred Compass is about discerning, trusting, and following the direction(s) of Jesus' leadings in our lives. I love the size and heft of Sacred Compass and the jacket design is beautiful, featuring my favorite yellow and blue color palette!
The circular rhythms of the liturgical year keep coming round again, despite our insisting God of the prophets, God of Israel, God and Father of Jesus Christ is God of history ...in one of my commonplace books I quoted, "You won't know where you're going if you are always looking back!" But on the same page I also wrote, "The road that leads you away will turn and lead you home."
As part of writing our stories, Brent suggested answering why we have chosen or stayed in our particular church tradition—a great one for me to ponder. Despite a few sojourns elsewhere, I've remained mostly in the Reformation tradition whose theology, liturgy, activism, and style first attracted, then enticed and captured me, as it continues to shape and form me. I appreciate its consistent ecumenicity and catholicity, an emphasis on the sacraments and a sacramental worldview, a justice and advocacy oriented public identity and confessional theology; besides, these are the means of grace churches!
As we often observe, life is a long, strange trip. To name a handful who have walked in trust, like Abraham, Jacob, and Paul and exactly like Bonhoeffer and MLK, those of us who commit to an often precarious path quickly discover it's far stranger and way more exciting than any human could invent. We all walk by Spirit-inspired faith rather than being led by physical human senses and plodding reason and in order to not stay stuck, everyone frequently needs to follow what seem like illogical signals. Sometimes by radically rooted trust and sometimes with reasonably clear vision and hearing, often by gracefully perceiving subtle signs and obvious ones, each of us can discern and follow our own particular compass. Brent Bill's own experience and this book can become a helpful part of that way you might decide to revisit and read through again.
(originally blogged and reviewed from late December 2009)
J. Brent Bill, a friend who's a Friends (Quaker) pastor blogs at Brent Bill dot com and at the highly sacramental-sounding Holy Ordinary. Sacred Compass is about discerning, trusting, and following the direction(s) of Jesus' leadings in our lives. I love the size and heft of Sacred Compass and the jacket design is beautiful, featuring my favorite yellow and blue color palette!
The circular rhythms of the liturgical year keep coming round again, despite our insisting God of the prophets, God of Israel, God and Father of Jesus Christ is God of history ...in one of my commonplace books I quoted, "You won't know where you're going if you are always looking back!" But on the same page I also wrote, "The road that leads you away will turn and lead you home."
As part of writing our stories, Brent suggested answering why we have chosen or stayed in our particular church tradition—a great one for me to ponder. Despite a few sojourns elsewhere, I've remained mostly in the Reformation tradition whose theology, liturgy, activism, and style first attracted, then enticed and captured me, as it continues to shape and form me. I appreciate its consistent ecumenicity and catholicity, an emphasis on the sacraments and a sacramental worldview, a justice and advocacy oriented public identity and confessional theology; besides, these are the means of grace churches!
As we often observe, life is a long, strange trip. To name a handful who have walked in trust, like Abraham, Jacob, and Paul and exactly like Bonhoeffer and MLK, those of us who commit to an often precarious path quickly discover it's far stranger and way more exciting than any human could invent. We all walk by Spirit-inspired faith rather than being led by physical human senses and plodding reason and in order to not stay stuck, everyone frequently needs to follow what seem like illogical signals. Sometimes by radically rooted trust and sometimes with reasonably clear vision and hearing, often by gracefully perceiving subtle signs and obvious ones, each of us can discern and follow our own particular compass. Brent Bill's own experience and this book can become a helpful part of that way you might decide to revisit and read through again.
(originally blogged and reviewed from late December 2009)
December 7, 2018
This is the first book I've read in 2018 where I really met God in the reading. It's essentially a collection of Quaker wisdom and practice for discerning God's will, written in a way that manages to settle you into his peace as you read.
I love the Quaker tradition, in that it is radically experiential (or experimental, as it used to be put), without doing anything to try to stir up emotions. Quite the opposite, in fact, since one of the primary features of Quaker spirituality is silence. It's a welcome antidote to our time, where everything from religion to politics to your choice of detergent seems aimed at stirring up your emotions (especially fear & outrage) to as high a pitch as possible.
It's not a perfect book, but I found it to be rather wonderful.
I love the Quaker tradition, in that it is radically experiential (or experimental, as it used to be put), without doing anything to try to stir up emotions. Quite the opposite, in fact, since one of the primary features of Quaker spirituality is silence. It's a welcome antidote to our time, where everything from religion to politics to your choice of detergent seems aimed at stirring up your emotions (especially fear & outrage) to as high a pitch as possible.
It's not a perfect book, but I found it to be rather wonderful.
January 16, 2024
Very helpful and well-written. I've taken several excerpts from the book and used it on my blog: Find Your Next Calling. If you're looking for guidance to find your own next calling, this is an excellent resource.
January 30, 2018
Note: buy a copy
November 14, 2024
Deeply meaningful and helpful.
Read
December 28, 2009I loved this book. It is a wonderful book to help you on the road to finding out God's will for your life. I picked this up at the Indiana Historical Society's Annual Indiana Author Holiday Book signing. Unfortunately Brent Bill was ill and not able to attend, but the book looked intriguing to my daughter and me, so we picked it up! I am going to share it with everyone I know!
December 9, 2013
Read this book for a small group study. Since I come from the same faith background as Brent (Quaker), much of the contents felt familiar. Still, it was good to be reminded that listening well trumps giving advice, and discernment isn't always about making decisions. Appreciated the "compass" motif. This will be a helpful book for many.
November 3, 2013
Really enjoyed this short and well written guide to spiritual discernment. The author is genuine, level headed, and funny. I loved the suggestions on the practical application of discernment! I also loved the quotes from other books - he definitely have me a few suggestions of things to read!
March 7, 2013
I like his down to earth style and his honesty.
I've read the whole, short book at least three times. It was worth it.
I've read the whole, short book at least three times. It was worth it.
August 3, 2013
Wonderful little book about discernment.
July 27, 2013
Excellent book. Sweet and useful. I had to add all the books the author recommended to my Amazon wishlist. I have never been to a Quaker meeting but "the way" has always appealed to me.
January 10, 2015
One of the best books I've ever written. :)
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews