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Dwell: Life with God for the World
Popular notions of Christian spirituality today tend to focus on getting us out of the world or getting the world out of us. Many are looking to spirituality as a means of disengaging from this life―to experience the transcendent or discover personal wholeness. On the other hand, much of popular Christian thought seems to be about avoiding the corruption of the world by being pious and following the rules. But Jesus offers a radical model for living. As the Incarnate One who dwelt among us to accomplish the mission of God, he teaches us how to dwell in the world for the sake of the world. If we are to become like him, we must learn what it means to live out this missional spirituality in the places we dwell. What does a Christian life deeply rooted in the logic of the Incarnation look like? Missional teacher and pastor Barry Jones shares his vision for authentic Christian spirituality focused on becoming more like Jesus. We dwell in a specific place and time in history, with unique bodies and in a world for which God has great purposes of redemption. This presence in the world should lead us to pattern our lives after the life of Jesus who was a boundary breaker, a shalom-maker, a people-keeper, and a wounded-healer. "Jesus' life shows us what it looks like to be fully human, to be whole and holy . . . to be in the world and not of the world, to live passionately for the world and not protectively withdrawn from it, " says Jones. "Allowing the logic of the Incarnation to inform our vision of the spiritual life corrects the tendency toward a self-oriented pursuit of transcendence or a negative spirituality of behavior modification and disengagement from the world." Including practical suggestions for real-life application and questions for discussion, Jones describes living a missional life from a place of deep connection with and dependence on God. Not only must we have a clear and compelling vision of the life we want to live, but we must also cultivate the spiritual disciplines necessary to live out our vision in the specific contexts of day-to-day life. We need a renewed vision of Christian spirituality that leads us to be conformed into the image of Christ who dwelt with us for us.
229 pages, Paperback
First published September 2, 2014
48 people are currently reading
220 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
February 13, 2015
This book is SUCH an important and challenging book. It has been so incredibly helpful in integrating my understanding of spiritual growth and the church's mission within the context of the church community - both theologically and practically. I want every church leader I know to read THIS BOOK! It's early in the year, but I'm expecting that this may be my "Book of the Year". Thank you Barry Jones for doing us this favour.
December 12, 2025
Read for Christian Life & Witness (PM5101). I really enjoyed this book. Because we as God’s people aren’t just called to individual spirituality, I especially enjoyed that Jones talked about both individual and corporate spiritual practices that inform our life with God for the world. I’m not sure I’ve ever read another resource with emphasis on corporate practices. I found this both challenging and beneficial to think about & engage in for my own spiritual growth.
May 14, 2015
I loved this book. To get the most of it one must sit and chew through its contents allowing oneself the opportunity to digest and assimilate what Jones has to say. I particularly found his chapter on fasting to be the most helpful understanding of he topic I have ever read. This book is definitely recommended for fans of NT Wright, Walter Brueggemann, and Eugene Peterson. 5 stars without a doubt!
June 15, 2017
I've started this review five times. Every time I think to myself that I am too effusive or too enthusiastic, and I start all over.
Here's why I give this book such high marks:
1. When we become Christians, we have high expectations that are rarely met. Jones explores this disconnect and challenges readers to look more closely at what Christ says and what Scripture shows. He presents the challenges of following Christ more completely while at the same time offering the benefit.
2. Jones calls out the tendency to focus on mission (doing things) and (experience) and demonstrates that followers of Christ can't pick and choose. It can't be one or the other, but these must be linked.
3. His book is well sourced, by Scripture and the analysis of other theologians. I love the use of evidence.
4. His analysis is clear, easy to follow, and detailed with examples.
5. This book is not just theoretical; it is also practical. In particular, the section on prayer and the section on the Lord's Prayer are very useful.
I have read this book now three times, and I will read it again. That's probably the highest praise I could ever give a book.
Here's why I give this book such high marks:
1. When we become Christians, we have high expectations that are rarely met. Jones explores this disconnect and challenges readers to look more closely at what Christ says and what Scripture shows. He presents the challenges of following Christ more completely while at the same time offering the benefit.
2. Jones calls out the tendency to focus on mission (doing things) and (experience) and demonstrates that followers of Christ can't pick and choose. It can't be one or the other, but these must be linked.
3. His book is well sourced, by Scripture and the analysis of other theologians. I love the use of evidence.
4. His analysis is clear, easy to follow, and detailed with examples.
5. This book is not just theoretical; it is also practical. In particular, the section on prayer and the section on the Lord's Prayer are very useful.
I have read this book now three times, and I will read it again. That's probably the highest praise I could ever give a book.
March 21, 2022
Jones does an excellent job painting the vision of “life with God for the world.” It’s an excellent book for discipleship, one that is helpful cultivating both personal devotion and communal responsibility.
July 28, 2015
Summary: A focus on mission and a focus on spiritual formation are often divorced from one another. This book argues for a missional spirituality rooted in the incarnation of Jesus, his dwelling among us to restore broken shalom that is revealed in spiritual practices that herald the vision of the kingdom that is both present and to come.
If I were to draw a Venn diagram (remember Venn diagrams?) of the group of people who are missional, and the group of people who care deeply about spiritual formation, I would probably draw one with two circles with only a small area of overlap. And sadly, we sometimes have people who live at one of two extremes, either rabidly engaged in mission but lacking in spiritual depth and self-understanding, or people whose spirituality has seemed to turn in on itself, with little or no concern for the world.
Barry Jones believes that the key to a life that brings mission and spiritual formation together is the incarnation of Jesus, his dwelling among us both in a vibrant relationship with the Father and for a mission to restore the broken shalom of the world. He organizes his discussion of missional spirituality around the incarnation of Jesus into three parts: vision, practice, and context.
Chapters one through four focus on gaining a vision of God's intention in the world. Chapter one begins with the biblical narrative, contending that the concluding vision of the new heaven and earth shapes a spirituality that is creation affirming, people affirming, body affirming, intimately connected to God, and God's just reign. Chapter two centers on the breaking of God's shalom by human rebellion and contends that the most appropriate response is a sacred discontent that looks beyond ourselves to God to address the world's condition. The next chapter explores our deep thirst, a longing for God fulfilled in the outpouring of the Spirit of God through Christ giving us living water and making us as the church, the dwelling place or temple of God on the earth. Finally, in chapter four (which I think should have preceded chapter three) he explores how Jesus incarnation reveals God's vision for the world as boundary breaker, shalom maker, people keeper and wounded healer.
In the next five chapters, he explores how various spiritual practices flesh out living the vision of God in the world. Chapter five focuses on a "grammar" of the spiritual disciplines, a substructure that governs the appropriate engagement of disciplines in a missional spirituality that includes attentiveness, receptivity, embodiment, community and rhythm. Then in succeeding chapters he focuses on four practices among others that sustain our life in God for the world. These are prayer, worship (the work of the people), sabbath rest, and feasting and fasting. He has some challenging remarks in the chapter on sabbath about engaging relationships and disengaging from our technology. And he observes that feasting as well as fasting are spiritual disciplines that reflect our incarnate life as we long as we long for the world to come.
The final part, on context, consists of just one chapter, which was somewhat surprising. It would seem that much more might be said about this. His focus is first of all on what he sees as a post-Christian western world in which he believes our call is to live question posing lives of faithfulness sustained by our practices and centered around vibrant, parish-like communities that take seriously the physical place in which they are located.
I appreciated the grounding of missional spirituality in the doctrine of the incarnation. The dangers of over-spiritualizing both mission and formation find their corrective in the God who truly has dwelt with us in human flesh and continues to dwell among us and in us through his Spirit. Jones' ideas about the embodiment inherent in the practices, the incarnational presence of the church and particularly the concern for "placed" parish missional life are helpful contributions to developing a missional spirituality. I hope the author will continue to flesh out these ideas, perhaps thinking and writing more about the third category of context and how congregations may live out an embodied spirituality and missional presence in their local contexts.
If I were to draw a Venn diagram (remember Venn diagrams?) of the group of people who are missional, and the group of people who care deeply about spiritual formation, I would probably draw one with two circles with only a small area of overlap. And sadly, we sometimes have people who live at one of two extremes, either rabidly engaged in mission but lacking in spiritual depth and self-understanding, or people whose spirituality has seemed to turn in on itself, with little or no concern for the world.
Barry Jones believes that the key to a life that brings mission and spiritual formation together is the incarnation of Jesus, his dwelling among us both in a vibrant relationship with the Father and for a mission to restore the broken shalom of the world. He organizes his discussion of missional spirituality around the incarnation of Jesus into three parts: vision, practice, and context.
Chapters one through four focus on gaining a vision of God's intention in the world. Chapter one begins with the biblical narrative, contending that the concluding vision of the new heaven and earth shapes a spirituality that is creation affirming, people affirming, body affirming, intimately connected to God, and God's just reign. Chapter two centers on the breaking of God's shalom by human rebellion and contends that the most appropriate response is a sacred discontent that looks beyond ourselves to God to address the world's condition. The next chapter explores our deep thirst, a longing for God fulfilled in the outpouring of the Spirit of God through Christ giving us living water and making us as the church, the dwelling place or temple of God on the earth. Finally, in chapter four (which I think should have preceded chapter three) he explores how Jesus incarnation reveals God's vision for the world as boundary breaker, shalom maker, people keeper and wounded healer.
In the next five chapters, he explores how various spiritual practices flesh out living the vision of God in the world. Chapter five focuses on a "grammar" of the spiritual disciplines, a substructure that governs the appropriate engagement of disciplines in a missional spirituality that includes attentiveness, receptivity, embodiment, community and rhythm. Then in succeeding chapters he focuses on four practices among others that sustain our life in God for the world. These are prayer, worship (the work of the people), sabbath rest, and feasting and fasting. He has some challenging remarks in the chapter on sabbath about engaging relationships and disengaging from our technology. And he observes that feasting as well as fasting are spiritual disciplines that reflect our incarnate life as we long as we long for the world to come.
The final part, on context, consists of just one chapter, which was somewhat surprising. It would seem that much more might be said about this. His focus is first of all on what he sees as a post-Christian western world in which he believes our call is to live question posing lives of faithfulness sustained by our practices and centered around vibrant, parish-like communities that take seriously the physical place in which they are located.
I appreciated the grounding of missional spirituality in the doctrine of the incarnation. The dangers of over-spiritualizing both mission and formation find their corrective in the God who truly has dwelt with us in human flesh and continues to dwell among us and in us through his Spirit. Jones' ideas about the embodiment inherent in the practices, the incarnational presence of the church and particularly the concern for "placed" parish missional life are helpful contributions to developing a missional spirituality. I hope the author will continue to flesh out these ideas, perhaps thinking and writing more about the third category of context and how congregations may live out an embodied spirituality and missional presence in their local contexts.
February 28, 2015
Barry Jones has written a guidebook for postmodern incarnational living. His approach to ancient practices adds a perspective that has been lacking in the missional conversation.
Dwell is thoughtful, personal, enjoyable, relatable, inspiring, beautiful, and applicable to our current cultural moment. And it packs a wallop of source material. Jones curates a range of thinkers from Charles Dickens to Walter Brueggemann, Basil the Great to N.T. Wright.
Dwell calls us to ancient ��� even primal ��� themes, not in antipathy to our culture, but in compassion for it. If the American evangelical church is going to find her way through postmodern exile, she will need to listen to voices like Barry Jones.
Dwell is thoughtful, personal, enjoyable, relatable, inspiring, beautiful, and applicable to our current cultural moment. And it packs a wallop of source material. Jones curates a range of thinkers from Charles Dickens to Walter Brueggemann, Basil the Great to N.T. Wright.
Dwell calls us to ancient ��� even primal ��� themes, not in antipathy to our culture, but in compassion for it. If the American evangelical church is going to find her way through postmodern exile, she will need to listen to voices like Barry Jones.
May 18, 2017
This is an excellent read. It is a wonderful reflection on what it means to live as a missionary in the midst of a context that has pushed the church to the margin.
Barry's definition of missional is not correct (missional is not just about the outward journey but includes the inward), but the content of the book is wonderful and I would strongly recommend this book to those who are serious about following Jesus. The tagline is beautiful - a Life with God for the world - and reflects a part of the meaning of God's name. Anyone serious about following Jesus will read this book. It is inspiring, encouraging and challenging.
Barry's definition of missional is not correct (missional is not just about the outward journey but includes the inward), but the content of the book is wonderful and I would strongly recommend this book to those who are serious about following Jesus. The tagline is beautiful - a Life with God for the world - and reflects a part of the meaning of God's name. Anyone serious about following Jesus will read this book. It is inspiring, encouraging and challenging.
September 12, 2014
This is an important book. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is that it's written for an audience who is deeply familiar with the faith. A newcomer might not be ready for the depth. But as a longtime pastor this book resonated deeply with me. If you're wanting to be challenged to a deeper & more authentic walk even after years of following Christ, I highly recommend this book. If you don't want to stretch and grow, don't bother.
September 18, 2023
I read this for my DTS seminary class, Christian Life and Witness. Dr. Jones does an amazing job of explaining the human condition through the lens of Scripture. In the first half, Dr. Jones starts by explaining God's vision of life. He delves into what it means to live a life that is spiritual. Dwell is thoughtful and provoking, pushing the reader to wrestle with the important questions of life. What do humans live for? What does it mean to walk with God? What does it mean to pursue Him in our lives? I found Dr. Jones' words challenging and enlightening. Reading this book gave me a more holistic understanding of God's intended reign through mankind and His loving vision for us all.
In the second half of the book, he walks the reader through different spiritual disciplines and how to live a life in anticipation of the full vision of God. In my opinion, the latter half of the book lacks depth and focus, especially in the sections regarding spiritual disciplines and liturgical rhythms. Dr. Jones does an excellent job of explaining the heart behind the practices and tries to apply them to the current cultural moment. However, his application and analyses leave me wanting.
Overall, I highly recommend the book for those on their journeys of spiritual formation. It provides a fresh and convicting perspective of what it means to live with God. For studies into spiritual disciplines and spiritual formation in the modern cultural moment, readers should supplement their understanding with books such as Desiring the Kingdom by James K. A. Smith and Invitation to a Journey by M. Robert Mulholland Jr.
In the second half of the book, he walks the reader through different spiritual disciplines and how to live a life in anticipation of the full vision of God. In my opinion, the latter half of the book lacks depth and focus, especially in the sections regarding spiritual disciplines and liturgical rhythms. Dr. Jones does an excellent job of explaining the heart behind the practices and tries to apply them to the current cultural moment. However, his application and analyses leave me wanting.
Overall, I highly recommend the book for those on their journeys of spiritual formation. It provides a fresh and convicting perspective of what it means to live with God. For studies into spiritual disciplines and spiritual formation in the modern cultural moment, readers should supplement their understanding with books such as Desiring the Kingdom by James K. A. Smith and Invitation to a Journey by M. Robert Mulholland Jr.
April 23, 2022
This is an excellent book. If I were a pastor, this is what I would have everyone read in membership classes. Jones beautifully balances spirituality and mission in a thoughtful, practical, and historical way. It is clear that Jones practices what he preaches through the depth of scholarly quotes from saints of the past and his personal examples of how the principles have played out in his own life.
The greatest element is that this book is meant for all Christians everywhere. If you are a brand new believer or if you have been through seminary, everyone can walk away from this book with something learned that can be applied. He begins by framing the reality of our world's spiritual state, the narrative of our world, our place in it, and how we are called to live with God for the world as we look forward to His future shalom, a complete and whole peace on earth.
The greatest element is that this book is meant for all Christians everywhere. If you are a brand new believer or if you have been through seminary, everyone can walk away from this book with something learned that can be applied. He begins by framing the reality of our world's spiritual state, the narrative of our world, our place in it, and how we are called to live with God for the world as we look forward to His future shalom, a complete and whole peace on earth.
June 11, 2020
"The Bible has the capacity to both comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. It isn't out to flatter us but to transform us. It isn't primarily interested in making sense of our lives as they already are but in dismantling and remaking us.”
This is just one of many quotes from this book that I found myself enlightened by. Though at times seemingly a bit scattered (somewhat understandably due to the breadth of the topic), this book is full of keen insights and interesting thoughts on the Sabbath, worship, preaching, the Gospel, living in a post-Christian world, community, and many more areas.
Written with a rare intelligence, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in theologically sound recommendations for living more in line with God's purpose for humanity.
This is just one of many quotes from this book that I found myself enlightened by. Though at times seemingly a bit scattered (somewhat understandably due to the breadth of the topic), this book is full of keen insights and interesting thoughts on the Sabbath, worship, preaching, the Gospel, living in a post-Christian world, community, and many more areas.
Written with a rare intelligence, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in theologically sound recommendations for living more in line with God's purpose for humanity.
December 12, 2023
I really enjoyed this and would highly recommend to any Christian. It is written for a general audience, and was just a great, thoughtful treatment on the topic of missional living. The author does a great job of establishing good, healthy theology that informs a missional lifestyle that avoids over spiritualizing life, and instead is focused on the people and places believers are in every day. He calls this an “incarnational” approach to mission and spirituality, and it spoke to me a lot. I would recommend any Christian to read this.
December 3, 2024
I love what Barry Jones has to say about working to be really live amongst your neighbors and local community. I love the spiritual disciplines raised & discussed in this book. However, I felt the first half of the book spent a lot of time defining what it means to have spirituality be symbiotic with love for others, and ultimately, I felt chapters 1-4 could have been accomplished in 20 pages.
Mostly, this book has pointed me towards other theologians whose work I am excited to engage with, and for that I am grateful!
Mostly, this book has pointed me towards other theologians whose work I am excited to engage with, and for that I am grateful!
July 31, 2025
ok. So it's not bad. To me, the author took some big swings, and some of them were home runs, and some were not. Some chapters were really great and lended to his thesis really well and challenged me spiritually. Other times, I was just kind of lost and wondering how it contributed to the point. Overall, 3 and a half. I just think some chapters could be shorter.
September 11, 2025
3.5 if I could
It seems as if Jones’ goal with this book is to build an argument for what true human flourishing is (shalom), and how we as believers live in that (with the Lord for the world). At times I got lost in what exactly Jones was trying to accomplish in the chapters. Throughout though, there are convicting points that made this worthwhile
It seems as if Jones’ goal with this book is to build an argument for what true human flourishing is (shalom), and how we as believers live in that (with the Lord for the world). At times I got lost in what exactly Jones was trying to accomplish in the chapters. Throughout though, there are convicting points that made this worthwhile
December 31, 2019
This book is really hard for me to describe, especially a few months out, but it is my favorite nonfiction of the year. It's just so thoughtful and healthy in the way it thinks through how we live out our faith in this world.
February 13, 2021
Wonderful call to leave living for Christ. Loved the concepts of this book. Would love to study under Barry Jones. Only reason I'm 4 star is writing style. While well worth pushing through, there were several "long road to a small house" moments.
August 12, 2021
This is a fine book exploring the connection between missionality and spirituality. The introduction alone is worth the price if the book. A couple of chapters on the practices of the faith were not up to the standard set initially.
October 6, 2023
One of the few books on the spiritual disciplines that isn’t completely centered on the individual. Instead, it argues that spiritual formation should help us love others. It’s an idea that I rarely hear and is desperately needed. I do wish it would have chased that idea more than it did.
May 14, 2017
This is an important book. Simple explains the Spiritual Life rooted in biblical truth and theological depth.
May 15, 2019
A great read with tons to chew on. This one will be on my shelf to read again.
November 1, 2020
An excellent exploration of what life with God is meant to look like, in theory and practicality. Beautifully written, compelling, and challenging.
March 3, 2021
Fantastic book. Sums up helpful themes around God's purpose for life with us, and how we might inhabit that purpose in our relationship to our world around us.
March 7, 2023
Great book! Really enjoyed it. Probably a 4.5 really.
January 30, 2025
This is a book I will probably revisit every couple of years. It was a great encouragement for a January read, and I’m thankful for practical steps for how to love & live better!
December 7, 2025
Read for class but did really enjoy this! Interesting and practical and down to earth but still got me thinking a lot!
July 30, 2025
80/100.
Great content but doesn’t always follow the thesis.
Great content but doesn’t always follow the thesis.
August 27, 2015
I'm not sure I can overstate how deeply challenging and also satisfying this book is. Barry's words are hugely important and poignant in our time. Read this book!
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews