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Rewilding the Way: Break Free to Follow an Untamed God
When did we become so tame? How has “the good life” come to mean addiction to screens and status, fossil fuels and financial fitness? Can we break free to become the joyful and prophetic people God calls us to be? Trek along with wilderness guide Todd Wynward as he “rewilds” the Jesus Way. Seek the feral foundations of Scripture and the lessons that the prophets and disciples gleaned from wilderness testing.
Packed with inspiring stories of how contemporary people and groups are caring for the land and each other, Rewilding the Way issues a call to action. Read about how reskilling and local food covenants are transforming churches, and how place-based activism and creative housing are nurturing communities. Learn from those who are recovering from affluenza, replacing visions of personal wealth with the commonwealth of the earth and restoring their humble place in the community of creation. Do you despair about life on our changing planet? Join the hopeful band of seekers of God and makers of change who are rewilding the Way.
Packed with inspiring stories of how contemporary people and groups are caring for the land and each other, Rewilding the Way issues a call to action. Read about how reskilling and local food covenants are transforming churches, and how place-based activism and creative housing are nurturing communities. Learn from those who are recovering from affluenza, replacing visions of personal wealth with the commonwealth of the earth and restoring their humble place in the community of creation. Do you despair about life on our changing planet? Join the hopeful band of seekers of God and makers of change who are rewilding the Way.
300 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2015
15 people are currently reading
255 people want to read
About the author
Todd Wynward
2 books3 followersTodd Wynward is a public school founder, small-scale farmer, wilderness educator and Mennonite organizer for watershed discipleship in the Mountain States region. He has been engaged in education reform and social change movements for twenty years, and has spent more than a thousand nights outdoors. He and his wife Peg founded a wilderness-based public charter school in 2001 and are now creating TiLT, a discipleship co-housing community emerging in Taos, NM.
Richard Rohr calls Wynward’s novel, The Secrets of Leaven, “a spiritual roller-coaster that skewers everything we think we know about organized religion, social change, and human potential.” More of Todd’s writings and doings can be found at https://www.taostilt.org and his Author Page on Facebook.
Richard Rohr calls Wynward’s novel, The Secrets of Leaven, “a spiritual roller-coaster that skewers everything we think we know about organized religion, social change, and human potential.” More of Todd’s writings and doings can be found at https://www.taostilt.org and his Author Page on Facebook.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 12, 2015
Full disclosure. This is my friend Todd's latest book and I love him and I loved reading this. It is disarming yet friendly and Todd shares some of the wisdom he has learned over the years. There really are some great insights. It has a lot of Christian-y sort of stuff in there, but in a self-deprecating way that I did not find preachy. One question I kept asking as I read the book, was, “Geez where the hell did my old friend Todd get so smart?” This is a big book that reads like a little book – powerful, but not daunting. Its very essence is counter-cultural, but in a way that most of us in the mainstream can hear it. If you have a nagging in your soul that aches for a simpler life, a happier life, a more fulfilling life, a life that is more connected to people and to the natural world, then this is a great book to nudge and guide you a few more steps in that direction.
February 13, 2016
(This review is based on a free ebook download I received in exchange for my honest review.)
I've always seen faith in God as compatible with respect for science/nature, so in a sense, Wynward wasn't telling me anything I didn't already believe. However, his argument did strike me as one of the better Bible-based reasons to see the two as intertwined rather than opposed. The essence of his reasoning is this: Our most profound encounters with God occur in the wilderness -- literally, not metaphorically. It's where we go to discover just how reliant we are on God, away from all the technological and social distractions. It's a place where our faith can be tested, as demonstrated by the experience of Jesus, of the Israelites during the Exodus, of John the Baptist. If we continue to live in ways that are destructive to the ever dwindling wilderness areas that remain to us, we are also destroying our best hope of authentic encounter with the Divine.
While the book does include some practical examples of communities working to live less destructively, I didn't feel as though Wynward was telling me, "You should do this exact same thing." What I came away with was more of a sense of having been encouraged to examine my own life, and that of the communities I'm a part of, to look for ways to live more sustainably and encourage others to do the same. Because, ultimately, things are only going to change if we work together.
I've always seen faith in God as compatible with respect for science/nature, so in a sense, Wynward wasn't telling me anything I didn't already believe. However, his argument did strike me as one of the better Bible-based reasons to see the two as intertwined rather than opposed. The essence of his reasoning is this: Our most profound encounters with God occur in the wilderness -- literally, not metaphorically. It's where we go to discover just how reliant we are on God, away from all the technological and social distractions. It's a place where our faith can be tested, as demonstrated by the experience of Jesus, of the Israelites during the Exodus, of John the Baptist. If we continue to live in ways that are destructive to the ever dwindling wilderness areas that remain to us, we are also destroying our best hope of authentic encounter with the Divine.
While the book does include some practical examples of communities working to live less destructively, I didn't feel as though Wynward was telling me, "You should do this exact same thing." What I came away with was more of a sense of having been encouraged to examine my own life, and that of the communities I'm a part of, to look for ways to live more sustainably and encourage others to do the same. Because, ultimately, things are only going to change if we work together.
March 24, 2016
A thoroughly engaging book that lifts routine suggestions for social action to new heights of possibility. Todd's honesty, humor, and vast experience make the possibilities of "wildness" seem doable, even to the most staid among us. He breathes fresh air into the sometimes dismal approaches to climate change and environmental destruction. His book gives me hope for a new generation of thinkers and doers who can turn things around.
Read
February 16, 2016Accessible, confessional, with real-life, inspirational examples of people and groups seeking to live sustainably. Some favourite quotes:
"we follow a ferociously loving and fantastically living God"
"life can be better with less stuff and less frenzy"
today's tech can make us "over-connected and disconnected at the same time."
"we follow a ferociously loving and fantastically living God"
"life can be better with less stuff and less frenzy"
today's tech can make us "over-connected and disconnected at the same time."
May 27, 2016
Rewinding the Way — Break Free to Follow an Untamed God, by Todd Wynward. Review by Bob Pajer
In a book I read recently, “The Jihad of Jesus The Sacred Nonviolent Struggle for Justice,” by Dave Andrews, the author considers Jesus as Jihadist. In Todd Wynyard’s book, Rewinding the Way, Jesus becomes the model for returning to the wild, which is supposed to be a place of balance, where all depends on all, creatures living in a form that preserves their nature and produces an environment that supports heathy continuance of the species (including one species preying on another to maintain some kind of fixed interdependence that is both, at least in our minds, cruel and loving.) The parenthetic comment is my thought, not Wynward’s.
According to Wynward we seem in this world to be caught up in a period that is aiming toward destruction. The cause of our demise is a growing world of corporate environment, gone astray with “afluenza,” which is the need for more and more of what great societies can produce, and — all through selfish practices. Get what you can while you are here and you will be doing what’s best for yourself, and some feel, for everyone. Live life to its fullest. Religions have lost their way in teaching us love, compassion and salvation. Our current political campaign to win the presidency of the United States and become head of the world’s richest and historically one of the most Christian and violent empires, seems to reflect a self-centeredness beyond what the world has ever seen.
Jesus, who is very much the hero of Wynward’s very thought-provoking book, is depicted along the lines of what he sees as an answer: something is terribly broken and what has to happen is a correction of the “out there,” namely our environment. The saving grace is rewilding, returning to what is natural in the environment that will provide a course for correction. An untamed God, meaning I guess we have tamed God, is our last great hope for salvation.
That we have “tamed” God is something I agree with. Of course you can’t tame God because there is no power outside of God. Taming means there is some power to do so. But we can think we have made God up to suit our ego. Genesis, I believe, essentially tells us we have killed off the old God and made a new one. If one believes illusions are true it will seem so. The story begins with God calling for Adam, “Where are you?’ where he is (spiritually), to God putting everyone out of paradise. The moment Adam expresses his guilt for his mistake by blaming or faulting Eve, Adam has separated from her and God, in his mind. Not in reality.
I think Jesus would agree with returning our minds to what the real God is and always will be. But that return is in our minds, which are in God’s mind. Not “out there”. In fact there is no “out there.” Only an illusion.
I believe in fact that Jesus’ only message is: salvation takes place as a movement inside us, in our minds, as we let go of the illusion we are separated from God. Yet, while we struggle to reach God, we struggle more in maintaining the horror of the struggle and maintaining our seeming separateness and the safety it seems to hold out to us. We are terrified of letting go of what we think we have: a life of illusion and separate state of mind we make up to search for the one way that will supplant the creation we think we have left. Jesus has only on answer to our one problem: because we feel and think we are separated (our problem), let go of and unlearn all the blocks we have made to God’s everlasting love. Separation and specialness go hand in hand along with loneliness and despair, even though neither choice is real. And it takes an enormous amount of our energy leaving no time to awaken and see what we really are: God’s holy children; we are His love for us. We make up an awful lot to disprove that which is the only truth there is. Yet we can unmake the path that got us to where we are. Not alone, but with each other and God’s grace. The one solution is: return to God through forgiveness in this world. Not to change the world, but to change ourselves. Not really to change anything. Forgiveness means we are exactly how God created us.
Jesus has a singular view that comes from his pure and absolute love for us, all of us: we need miracles to be saved, and he makes it possible to accept them, be a part of carrying them out, and for us to use them, as he offers them to us. In a sense, this is in agreement with Wynward’s idea of returning to what we are and can never be otherwise, because miracles are natural changeless states of being. However, for Jesus’, that is an inside job. The truth is we cannot separate from our Source (it is only in our delusional thinking that we can) and we cannot not be on a path which will free us of the feelings we are alone and endlessly searching for our home in God’s Kingdom. We haven't gone anywhere and there’s no where to go.
Yet we can’t save ourselves. Separation is too complicated and depends on mighty mind tricks and magic so deep and so well constructed by the ego, our seeming dwelling place in the illusion, can’t be corrected within itself. However, it is the only place correction can take place. Miracles are needed because they come out of our higher Mind, in the unconscious place where we are still connected to God. Some call this the Christ Mind. There are other names for It and ways in addition to Christianity to reach it. Jesus is a Source for salvation because he re-established an unbroken connection to our Source in the realm of the Peace of God, the Atonement. Miracles are a return to a loving God who in truth never allowed it to be otherwise. There is nothing unnatural about reality. There is nothing at all violent about our return. We don’t owe a debt. We do need to repent: follow God’s plan for returning our compass in the direction of God.
Miracles are simply a return to how things always were and always will be. In our natural state we are as God created us. Miracles are a product of God’s changeless love to bring all of His children home. There is no special order to miracles. One is equal to every other. No matter what we think as to their special characteristics, perceived major or minor power, or how they stack up against the laws of the world. Yes, we do need miracles because our self-centeredness has produced only sorrow and suffering, for all, even if I think I’m sitting in my nice home with two fireplaces, a few bathrooms, a beautiful garden, a lovely family, without a dog. I cannot separate in reality from those who have or have not otherwise. Sadness is of the world we made.
There must be a better way and that better way is in all of us to be recognized through spiritual awakenings and experiences that are a result of Jesus’ miracles. Changing symptoms, or effects, will not change the cause that brings about our mistakes.
Our suffering, off the track world, will change before our eyes as we gain the vision that is ours. Jesus must have felt that. Because in the midst of his mind blowing, extreme example of what it is like to think, “Brother, you think you are murdering me. You are mistaken. I think not; and, my thinking is in my Father’s mind, as is yours,” — and in that one moment he changed the thinking of the whole world. And from that moment on we are set on a course to look upon Adam, who must have been insane for a moment, with forgiveness. We are no longer looking at a God who condemns, punishes, and dismisses His Son. We are looking at the thought we are forgiven, because nothing happened. Nothing could possibly happen to make God angry. God does not condemn. He doesn’t do guilt. We are sinless. We don’t have to change the earth, or protect it. We do need to see it differently and know that is in fact its protection. It is our dominion over the earth.
Wynward starts the book, as many of us know, implying there is something wrong “out there”: “The good life in modern society really isn’t so good. In fact, these days it often feels exhausting. Frantic. Broken. Headed for a cliff. Actually, why is it called ‘the good life’ when its so often stress-inducing, resource-hogging, soul-deadening, never-ending pursuit of more?” (p. 9)
Maybe, what we call life is not just not all right, but it’s not reality. Just maybe we mess things up and God corrects everything the moment we do so. But correction now becomes a correction in mind, perception, not any change in what we see as something amiss in God’s world. Because we don’t see. Nothing is amiss and His correction is so the moment in time when we believe something is amiss. We, however, dream a world that we can’t let go of, an illusion of life, built on perceptions that could never be a part of our co-creator role with God, yet we cling to,which takes enormous energy to prove we’re right and God is wrong. But maybe everything is heading in the only way God’s plan will take it after all. I believe it is.
How painful is or world in its constant effort to deny God’s existence! Excruciating if we really think about it. Miserable, definitely. Brutal, conflictual, deadening, murderous, violent, hateful…..? Yes. And no religious belief but perhaps the Mennonite religion comes anywhere close to bringing about a leadership process that opens our minds to the Peace of God instead. Only forgiveness will bring us back to a loving God. Todd Wynward is a Mennonite and he is certainly on course in seeing this group of people on the path, as true practitioners of forgiveness, as Jesus teaches us. ( Amish School Shooting. www.lancasterpa.com)
That Wynyard recognizes Mennonite people have come about as close as anyone has ever come to peace and understanding in this world is truly a reminder to all of us who take a breath here: forgive and we change the world as it changes before our eyes. That is happening. Here and there, but on a steady course. In God’s time.
Jesus is no holier than we are. He asks that we not ever consider ourselves holier than anyone else. Yet Jesus is still far ahead of most everyone in terms of what it takes to recognize union with God and union with all of our brothers and sisters. I’m not sure, however, re-wilding our description of him and his teaching will get us there. We are really called to achieve the level of thinking he did, a change in perception brought about by God, who then takes the last step in returning us, away from perceptions to Knowledge and our true nature, which is complete acceptance of God’s gift of creation: everything. Anything short of our truly changing our perception to recognize our holiness in ourselves and everyone, cannot work.
Jesus has done something perhaps no one has yet done. It is accept that our only function here is forgiveness. The ego has a way of changing how we use words to keep us in the dark over our fear mongering. Understandable, because it want’s nothing to do with forgiveness. Except to re-define it as a judgment, condemnation, pardon within the context of those two mindsets, and then feeling superior to the person we try to pardon for what we also do, but cannot see.
Forgiveness means, a recognition that each and everyone of us is God’s creation, “given” all by All. To recognize means to re-know. It is in this process we begin to understand that we are all in God’s hands and cannot be harmed. Peace comes with this understanding. No where else. Forgiveness is a mighty reflection of God’s love on earth. Since we know so little about Love here, God offers us a reflection of it we can put into practice. At least practice its meaning as often as we need to to get it through our thick ego skulls that nothing can harm us in our true reality. It does not mean we are credulous. People do harm people. Bodies can be torn apart. But we are not bodies. Our minds are in the Mind of God, all of us. No exceptions. My interests are shared, as are yours, along with everyone else’s in this world. I am here for the same reason you are: I forgot one day that God is God and we, you and I, are His children who need guidance and love. He has no special child among us because His love for us won’t allow it. His laws are non-dual, meaning He alone has no opposite or opposing force. All defense then becomes an attack on God’s will. There is nothing to defend. We are invulnerable and when we try to defend ourselves, the defense is an attack on our own God given invulnerability.
Todd Wynyard has done some wonderful things with his life, as described in this book. I love this book because it is so very well written and touches on all the things we need to be concerned about but must know that whatever we do alone won’t work, for alone we are nothing. I think that kind of surrender is what it takes for the Christ in all of us to awaken to the only connection there is, in oneness we find God. It is God’s plan for all of us and it is being carried out. In different forms, surely. Christianity is one of many forms of returning to the Father who has never left us. Our mistake of thinking we can think without Him, is our mistake. We are not to feel guilty for such an arrogant thought. God will always prevail in our thinking, where the thought of Him has never left. God only wants us to see the unconditional love He has for us, in His divine children, our brothers and sisters, and to forgive each for what he/she has not done. Guilt can never be a part of that. We don’t have to prove anything to God, for nothing has ever affected His love for us. Changing our environment, returning it to its original place, seeing to our garden is a wonderful first step. But caring for our spiritual centers through the forgiveness Jesus taught us is all that will ever return us to, “I am come home.” (p. 262)
I received this book free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book
review network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are
my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR,Part
255.
In a book I read recently, “The Jihad of Jesus The Sacred Nonviolent Struggle for Justice,” by Dave Andrews, the author considers Jesus as Jihadist. In Todd Wynyard’s book, Rewinding the Way, Jesus becomes the model for returning to the wild, which is supposed to be a place of balance, where all depends on all, creatures living in a form that preserves their nature and produces an environment that supports heathy continuance of the species (including one species preying on another to maintain some kind of fixed interdependence that is both, at least in our minds, cruel and loving.) The parenthetic comment is my thought, not Wynward’s.
According to Wynward we seem in this world to be caught up in a period that is aiming toward destruction. The cause of our demise is a growing world of corporate environment, gone astray with “afluenza,” which is the need for more and more of what great societies can produce, and — all through selfish practices. Get what you can while you are here and you will be doing what’s best for yourself, and some feel, for everyone. Live life to its fullest. Religions have lost their way in teaching us love, compassion and salvation. Our current political campaign to win the presidency of the United States and become head of the world’s richest and historically one of the most Christian and violent empires, seems to reflect a self-centeredness beyond what the world has ever seen.
Jesus, who is very much the hero of Wynward’s very thought-provoking book, is depicted along the lines of what he sees as an answer: something is terribly broken and what has to happen is a correction of the “out there,” namely our environment. The saving grace is rewilding, returning to what is natural in the environment that will provide a course for correction. An untamed God, meaning I guess we have tamed God, is our last great hope for salvation.
That we have “tamed” God is something I agree with. Of course you can’t tame God because there is no power outside of God. Taming means there is some power to do so. But we can think we have made God up to suit our ego. Genesis, I believe, essentially tells us we have killed off the old God and made a new one. If one believes illusions are true it will seem so. The story begins with God calling for Adam, “Where are you?’ where he is (spiritually), to God putting everyone out of paradise. The moment Adam expresses his guilt for his mistake by blaming or faulting Eve, Adam has separated from her and God, in his mind. Not in reality.
I think Jesus would agree with returning our minds to what the real God is and always will be. But that return is in our minds, which are in God’s mind. Not “out there”. In fact there is no “out there.” Only an illusion.
I believe in fact that Jesus’ only message is: salvation takes place as a movement inside us, in our minds, as we let go of the illusion we are separated from God. Yet, while we struggle to reach God, we struggle more in maintaining the horror of the struggle and maintaining our seeming separateness and the safety it seems to hold out to us. We are terrified of letting go of what we think we have: a life of illusion and separate state of mind we make up to search for the one way that will supplant the creation we think we have left. Jesus has only on answer to our one problem: because we feel and think we are separated (our problem), let go of and unlearn all the blocks we have made to God’s everlasting love. Separation and specialness go hand in hand along with loneliness and despair, even though neither choice is real. And it takes an enormous amount of our energy leaving no time to awaken and see what we really are: God’s holy children; we are His love for us. We make up an awful lot to disprove that which is the only truth there is. Yet we can unmake the path that got us to where we are. Not alone, but with each other and God’s grace. The one solution is: return to God through forgiveness in this world. Not to change the world, but to change ourselves. Not really to change anything. Forgiveness means we are exactly how God created us.
Jesus has a singular view that comes from his pure and absolute love for us, all of us: we need miracles to be saved, and he makes it possible to accept them, be a part of carrying them out, and for us to use them, as he offers them to us. In a sense, this is in agreement with Wynward’s idea of returning to what we are and can never be otherwise, because miracles are natural changeless states of being. However, for Jesus’, that is an inside job. The truth is we cannot separate from our Source (it is only in our delusional thinking that we can) and we cannot not be on a path which will free us of the feelings we are alone and endlessly searching for our home in God’s Kingdom. We haven't gone anywhere and there’s no where to go.
Yet we can’t save ourselves. Separation is too complicated and depends on mighty mind tricks and magic so deep and so well constructed by the ego, our seeming dwelling place in the illusion, can’t be corrected within itself. However, it is the only place correction can take place. Miracles are needed because they come out of our higher Mind, in the unconscious place where we are still connected to God. Some call this the Christ Mind. There are other names for It and ways in addition to Christianity to reach it. Jesus is a Source for salvation because he re-established an unbroken connection to our Source in the realm of the Peace of God, the Atonement. Miracles are a return to a loving God who in truth never allowed it to be otherwise. There is nothing unnatural about reality. There is nothing at all violent about our return. We don’t owe a debt. We do need to repent: follow God’s plan for returning our compass in the direction of God.
Miracles are simply a return to how things always were and always will be. In our natural state we are as God created us. Miracles are a product of God’s changeless love to bring all of His children home. There is no special order to miracles. One is equal to every other. No matter what we think as to their special characteristics, perceived major or minor power, or how they stack up against the laws of the world. Yes, we do need miracles because our self-centeredness has produced only sorrow and suffering, for all, even if I think I’m sitting in my nice home with two fireplaces, a few bathrooms, a beautiful garden, a lovely family, without a dog. I cannot separate in reality from those who have or have not otherwise. Sadness is of the world we made.
There must be a better way and that better way is in all of us to be recognized through spiritual awakenings and experiences that are a result of Jesus’ miracles. Changing symptoms, or effects, will not change the cause that brings about our mistakes.
Our suffering, off the track world, will change before our eyes as we gain the vision that is ours. Jesus must have felt that. Because in the midst of his mind blowing, extreme example of what it is like to think, “Brother, you think you are murdering me. You are mistaken. I think not; and, my thinking is in my Father’s mind, as is yours,” — and in that one moment he changed the thinking of the whole world. And from that moment on we are set on a course to look upon Adam, who must have been insane for a moment, with forgiveness. We are no longer looking at a God who condemns, punishes, and dismisses His Son. We are looking at the thought we are forgiven, because nothing happened. Nothing could possibly happen to make God angry. God does not condemn. He doesn’t do guilt. We are sinless. We don’t have to change the earth, or protect it. We do need to see it differently and know that is in fact its protection. It is our dominion over the earth.
Wynward starts the book, as many of us know, implying there is something wrong “out there”: “The good life in modern society really isn’t so good. In fact, these days it often feels exhausting. Frantic. Broken. Headed for a cliff. Actually, why is it called ‘the good life’ when its so often stress-inducing, resource-hogging, soul-deadening, never-ending pursuit of more?” (p. 9)
Maybe, what we call life is not just not all right, but it’s not reality. Just maybe we mess things up and God corrects everything the moment we do so. But correction now becomes a correction in mind, perception, not any change in what we see as something amiss in God’s world. Because we don’t see. Nothing is amiss and His correction is so the moment in time when we believe something is amiss. We, however, dream a world that we can’t let go of, an illusion of life, built on perceptions that could never be a part of our co-creator role with God, yet we cling to,which takes enormous energy to prove we’re right and God is wrong. But maybe everything is heading in the only way God’s plan will take it after all. I believe it is.
How painful is or world in its constant effort to deny God’s existence! Excruciating if we really think about it. Miserable, definitely. Brutal, conflictual, deadening, murderous, violent, hateful…..? Yes. And no religious belief but perhaps the Mennonite religion comes anywhere close to bringing about a leadership process that opens our minds to the Peace of God instead. Only forgiveness will bring us back to a loving God. Todd Wynward is a Mennonite and he is certainly on course in seeing this group of people on the path, as true practitioners of forgiveness, as Jesus teaches us. ( Amish School Shooting. www.lancasterpa.com)
That Wynyard recognizes Mennonite people have come about as close as anyone has ever come to peace and understanding in this world is truly a reminder to all of us who take a breath here: forgive and we change the world as it changes before our eyes. That is happening. Here and there, but on a steady course. In God’s time.
Jesus is no holier than we are. He asks that we not ever consider ourselves holier than anyone else. Yet Jesus is still far ahead of most everyone in terms of what it takes to recognize union with God and union with all of our brothers and sisters. I’m not sure, however, re-wilding our description of him and his teaching will get us there. We are really called to achieve the level of thinking he did, a change in perception brought about by God, who then takes the last step in returning us, away from perceptions to Knowledge and our true nature, which is complete acceptance of God’s gift of creation: everything. Anything short of our truly changing our perception to recognize our holiness in ourselves and everyone, cannot work.
Jesus has done something perhaps no one has yet done. It is accept that our only function here is forgiveness. The ego has a way of changing how we use words to keep us in the dark over our fear mongering. Understandable, because it want’s nothing to do with forgiveness. Except to re-define it as a judgment, condemnation, pardon within the context of those two mindsets, and then feeling superior to the person we try to pardon for what we also do, but cannot see.
Forgiveness means, a recognition that each and everyone of us is God’s creation, “given” all by All. To recognize means to re-know. It is in this process we begin to understand that we are all in God’s hands and cannot be harmed. Peace comes with this understanding. No where else. Forgiveness is a mighty reflection of God’s love on earth. Since we know so little about Love here, God offers us a reflection of it we can put into practice. At least practice its meaning as often as we need to to get it through our thick ego skulls that nothing can harm us in our true reality. It does not mean we are credulous. People do harm people. Bodies can be torn apart. But we are not bodies. Our minds are in the Mind of God, all of us. No exceptions. My interests are shared, as are yours, along with everyone else’s in this world. I am here for the same reason you are: I forgot one day that God is God and we, you and I, are His children who need guidance and love. He has no special child among us because His love for us won’t allow it. His laws are non-dual, meaning He alone has no opposite or opposing force. All defense then becomes an attack on God’s will. There is nothing to defend. We are invulnerable and when we try to defend ourselves, the defense is an attack on our own God given invulnerability.
Todd Wynyard has done some wonderful things with his life, as described in this book. I love this book because it is so very well written and touches on all the things we need to be concerned about but must know that whatever we do alone won’t work, for alone we are nothing. I think that kind of surrender is what it takes for the Christ in all of us to awaken to the only connection there is, in oneness we find God. It is God’s plan for all of us and it is being carried out. In different forms, surely. Christianity is one of many forms of returning to the Father who has never left us. Our mistake of thinking we can think without Him, is our mistake. We are not to feel guilty for such an arrogant thought. God will always prevail in our thinking, where the thought of Him has never left. God only wants us to see the unconditional love He has for us, in His divine children, our brothers and sisters, and to forgive each for what he/she has not done. Guilt can never be a part of that. We don’t have to prove anything to God, for nothing has ever affected His love for us. Changing our environment, returning it to its original place, seeing to our garden is a wonderful first step. But caring for our spiritual centers through the forgiveness Jesus taught us is all that will ever return us to, “I am come home.” (p. 262)
I received this book free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book
review network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are
my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR,Part
255.
March 29, 2021
This book pushes people--especially Christians--to reflect on their relationship to the divine and to nature. I grew up with the author and know well his core message: the gospel is radical, both with regard to social justice and the environment. If you want to shake loose the roots of dried-out faith and replant them in richer soil--in the wild, not a new pot, this is for you.
June 12, 2016
Environmentalism and Jesus both call us to oppose the dominant cultural mode of consumption and affluenza. However most of us Christians are not all that radically different from our neighbors in what or how much we consume. Some of us deny our world is in an ecological crisis where most of us respond to the inconvenient truth of global warming, the destruction of ecosystems, and rising tides with just a little bit of green washing. We care. So we recycle our plastic bottles, drive electric cars, buy organic food™ but our consumption rages on.
Todd Wynward is both a Christian and an environmentalist. He is a wilderness guide, founder of a wilderness-based charter school, a member of an intentional community and a leader in the Mennonite denomination. In Rewilding the Way, Wynward borrows the concept of 'rewilding' from conservation biology (the idea of turning land back to nature, to allow the ecosystem to be restored). Rewilding the Jesus Way means bringing the Christian faith back into connection with the earth and allowing vitality come back to a faith that has been tamed by technology and corporate industrial culture (11). Wynward hopes to steer the way between total reunification of the world and conspicuous consumption and paint a picture of watershed discipleship (discipleship that responds to this watershed moment in history, cares for our watershed, and treats our watersheds as Rabbi).
Rewilding the Way unfolds in three parts. Part I describes our current predicament of affluenza, distance from nature, and the lack of outrage for the current cultural malaise. Part II describes seven paths to wild your way: (1) steer by inner authority, (2) rely upon radical grace, (3) embody enoughness (4) lead through meekness, (5) cultivate a divine insecurity, (6)embrace the unraveling and (7) trust in the service. Part III outlines the work ahead and highlights some of the initiatives that are bringing together faith, radical discipleship and creation care.
Wynward points to church initiatives and ecological activism to unfold these practices. The book teems with stories from both spheres, as well as drawing lessons from the Bible. I found a lot to chew on in this volume. Wynward simultaneously calls us towards a holy discontent with where we are, and trust in God and contentedness with what we are given (embodying enoughness). I am in a moment of in-between-ness wondering what God has next for me an my family and Wynward's words and practices touch something in me and make me hunger for more of God's Kingdom and the redemption of all of creation.
I really liked the way Wynward re-imagines the words of the Lord's Prayer, taking them from a passive voice to this:
He doesn't offer these as a scholarly, literal translation, but as meditation of the meaning of Jesus' prayer for us as we pray this and follow him. The book is full of other fresh reads of scripture and insights (Wynward regards Ched Meyers and Richard Rohr as mentors in the way, and their insights can be seen throughout). I give this book four stars and recommend it for anyone frustrated by where the Christian faith fails to intersect with care for the physical world. Wynward is one of the good guys who sees the intimate connection between the Jesus way and the rocks and trees, and skies and seas of this, our Father's World.
Note: I received this book from the author or publisher through SpeakEasy in exchange for my honest review.
Todd Wynward is both a Christian and an environmentalist. He is a wilderness guide, founder of a wilderness-based charter school, a member of an intentional community and a leader in the Mennonite denomination. In Rewilding the Way, Wynward borrows the concept of 'rewilding' from conservation biology (the idea of turning land back to nature, to allow the ecosystem to be restored). Rewilding the Jesus Way means bringing the Christian faith back into connection with the earth and allowing vitality come back to a faith that has been tamed by technology and corporate industrial culture (11). Wynward hopes to steer the way between total reunification of the world and conspicuous consumption and paint a picture of watershed discipleship (discipleship that responds to this watershed moment in history, cares for our watershed, and treats our watersheds as Rabbi).
Rewilding the Way unfolds in three parts. Part I describes our current predicament of affluenza, distance from nature, and the lack of outrage for the current cultural malaise. Part II describes seven paths to wild your way: (1) steer by inner authority, (2) rely upon radical grace, (3) embody enoughness (4) lead through meekness, (5) cultivate a divine insecurity, (6)embrace the unraveling and (7) trust in the service. Part III outlines the work ahead and highlights some of the initiatives that are bringing together faith, radical discipleship and creation care.
Wynward points to church initiatives and ecological activism to unfold these practices. The book teems with stories from both spheres, as well as drawing lessons from the Bible. I found a lot to chew on in this volume. Wynward simultaneously calls us towards a holy discontent with where we are, and trust in God and contentedness with what we are given (embodying enoughness). I am in a moment of in-between-ness wondering what God has next for me an my family and Wynward's words and practices touch something in me and make me hunger for more of God's Kingdom and the redemption of all of creation.
I really liked the way Wynward re-imagines the words of the Lord's Prayer, taking them from a passive voice to this:
Father of Everything,
Your presence fills all of Creation.
Again today, your kingdom has come.
Again today, I join my will to your will to make earth as in heaven.
Again today, you'll give us the bread we need for your daily work,
and you'll show mercy to us just as much as we show mercy to others.
Again today, as we face times of testing, you'll be with us in our trials. (63).
He doesn't offer these as a scholarly, literal translation, but as meditation of the meaning of Jesus' prayer for us as we pray this and follow him. The book is full of other fresh reads of scripture and insights (Wynward regards Ched Meyers and Richard Rohr as mentors in the way, and their insights can be seen throughout). I give this book four stars and recommend it for anyone frustrated by where the Christian faith fails to intersect with care for the physical world. Wynward is one of the good guys who sees the intimate connection between the Jesus way and the rocks and trees, and skies and seas of this, our Father's World.
Note: I received this book from the author or publisher through SpeakEasy in exchange for my honest review.
May 26, 2017
Norman Rockefeller, one of the richest men in America in the early 20th century was asked by a reporter how much money was enough. Rockefeller reflected a few seconds before responding, he said: "Just a little more".
Todd Wynward's, Rewilding the Way (2015 Herald Press) is a book for the post-tipping point times we are in on the climate change continuum. The talk about environmental collapse is not new, but Wynward's approach to it is. Accepting the change is crucial to "managing" the decline. There is too much CO2 in the atmosphere to turn back the clock, according to most independent scientists. However, the book is not about gloom and doom, but how to live in a declining civilization with far less stuff.
A Mennonite by conversion, the author deplores the runaway train of resource exploitation destroying everything in its path. According to Wynward, we are obsessed with more and more stuff at the expense of living things. He calls it affluenza, a word made up of "affluent" and "influenza" which extends beyond mere conspicuous consumption to a lust for more and more. Our wasteful ways have consumed the planet's resources at an unprecedented rate the earth has ever known.
Using a combination of science and the Bible, the author illustrates the original plan for the earth is the polar opposite of the current one. According to Wynward, God called humankind to care for the earth, not use it as a commodity. Somewhere along the way, we have dropped the ball, revering what we manufacture rather than the natural world. The exploitation and extraction of resources has spiraled out of control, raping the earth, destroying wildlife and putting the earth's future in question. The destruction is largely based on the economic theory of infinite growth.
The Way is what Jesus Christ's early followers called how they lived. It was based on Jesus' teachings. Further, they shared everything and lived like nomads, leaving a small footprint, owning very few personal items. However, modern "Christians" are not any different than the culture they inhabit. The "good life" or American Dream is more enticing than living simply. John Lennon said it best when he wrote in a song, "Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can".
Unlike many books on the subject, Wynward doesn't offer a way out, but a way through the man-made mess. He offers ways to cope with the decline. He recommends adopting a attitude of "enoughness", surrendering the obsessive need for more and adopting a simple lifestyle (he lives in a yurk with his family in New Mexico). He also recommends a radical new way of viewing the world. Rather than see lakes, rivers, mountains as commodities to be bought and sold, he suggests they be given rights like unborn babies. After all, corporations are given rights, why not the sky or ocean? This way, instead of being treated like trash disposal sites or objects to use and abuse, the natural world would be given legal rights that can be defended in court.
Rewilding the Way in the final analysis is a story of human complacency and emptiness. We have ditched our spiritual selves and adopted a utilitarian version. The void has been filled by gadgets, updates, devices and technology. They can help us escape, stay entertained or manage the decline, but they cannot save our souls. The early members of the Way knew this 2000 years ago and chose intentional community over a manufactured society.
Have we have lost our ability to "rough it" to even the slightest degree? Sidewalks in suburban areas are rare, bartering only occurs in rural areas, we have food flown in from miles and miles away. While not suggesting everyone live in a yurk, Wynward does suggest we could all live more simply and enjoy the things that matter, clean air and water, the outdoors and the love of friends and family. It's not a book for tree-huggers or fatalists, but for those who want to leave a failing planet knowing they did their part.
Todd Wynward's, Rewilding the Way (2015 Herald Press) is a book for the post-tipping point times we are in on the climate change continuum. The talk about environmental collapse is not new, but Wynward's approach to it is. Accepting the change is crucial to "managing" the decline. There is too much CO2 in the atmosphere to turn back the clock, according to most independent scientists. However, the book is not about gloom and doom, but how to live in a declining civilization with far less stuff.
A Mennonite by conversion, the author deplores the runaway train of resource exploitation destroying everything in its path. According to Wynward, we are obsessed with more and more stuff at the expense of living things. He calls it affluenza, a word made up of "affluent" and "influenza" which extends beyond mere conspicuous consumption to a lust for more and more. Our wasteful ways have consumed the planet's resources at an unprecedented rate the earth has ever known.
Using a combination of science and the Bible, the author illustrates the original plan for the earth is the polar opposite of the current one. According to Wynward, God called humankind to care for the earth, not use it as a commodity. Somewhere along the way, we have dropped the ball, revering what we manufacture rather than the natural world. The exploitation and extraction of resources has spiraled out of control, raping the earth, destroying wildlife and putting the earth's future in question. The destruction is largely based on the economic theory of infinite growth.
The Way is what Jesus Christ's early followers called how they lived. It was based on Jesus' teachings. Further, they shared everything and lived like nomads, leaving a small footprint, owning very few personal items. However, modern "Christians" are not any different than the culture they inhabit. The "good life" or American Dream is more enticing than living simply. John Lennon said it best when he wrote in a song, "Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can".
Unlike many books on the subject, Wynward doesn't offer a way out, but a way through the man-made mess. He offers ways to cope with the decline. He recommends adopting a attitude of "enoughness", surrendering the obsessive need for more and adopting a simple lifestyle (he lives in a yurk with his family in New Mexico). He also recommends a radical new way of viewing the world. Rather than see lakes, rivers, mountains as commodities to be bought and sold, he suggests they be given rights like unborn babies. After all, corporations are given rights, why not the sky or ocean? This way, instead of being treated like trash disposal sites or objects to use and abuse, the natural world would be given legal rights that can be defended in court.
Rewilding the Way in the final analysis is a story of human complacency and emptiness. We have ditched our spiritual selves and adopted a utilitarian version. The void has been filled by gadgets, updates, devices and technology. They can help us escape, stay entertained or manage the decline, but they cannot save our souls. The early members of the Way knew this 2000 years ago and chose intentional community over a manufactured society.
Have we have lost our ability to "rough it" to even the slightest degree? Sidewalks in suburban areas are rare, bartering only occurs in rural areas, we have food flown in from miles and miles away. While not suggesting everyone live in a yurk, Wynward does suggest we could all live more simply and enjoy the things that matter, clean air and water, the outdoors and the love of friends and family. It's not a book for tree-huggers or fatalists, but for those who want to leave a failing planet knowing they did their part.
September 4, 2015
I received this ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review
A wise friend once told me that sometimes in life and especially in church, “You’ve got to eat the meat and spit out the bones.” In other words, take the good and leave bad; take the truth and leave the false.
Fortunately, this book was primarily meat. I think I highlighted a good 3/4 of it saying “yes, yes!” out loud to myself. But nearly halfway through the book, I had a heart crushing moment. I came across one major bone that I had to toss out. As much as I want to shout about this book from the rooftops, I feel this ‘bone’ will not allow me, which truly, breaks my heart.
My bone is this: Todd is sharing his doubt about the existence and consequence of Hell and presenting an alternative of not believing in Hell. This is dangerous. Especially in the case that Todd could be wrong. He also suggests that Heaven is actually earth as we know it today. (I simply think this is off the mark.)
But back to the issue of hell: The heart behind the message (that I heard) is that we don’t have to approach a relationship with God out of fear but a better motivation would be out of gratitude for the great love God has for us. He loves us anyway! I’m all for this.
Todd could have communicated this message simply by saying, “Hey, we don’t have to be motivated into relationship with God by trying to escape Hell. Look how much he loves us!” If he had done that, I could have supported this book 100% and shared it on every social media outlet. But he didn’t and I can’t share it. Instead, He created doubt about hell’s very existence.
It is totally fair for someone to be transparent and share their doubts and struggles about reconciling aspects of God and Christianity. However, I think this was an inappropriate platform to do so since it could cause a lot of confusion for people. (I also don’t think you need to tell people that Heaven is our planet in order to get people to take care of it.)
I would have even been ok with him saying that he struggles to reconcile a God who teaches mercy and forgiveness and yet supposedly sends people to eternal damnation. I can even concede that our perceptions of Hell (and Heaven) have been heavily influenced by extra-biblical sources.
But I still see room for the argument of an eternal separation for those who reject Christ. I think a case can be made that He will not have mercy on them because although Christ is love and He is also JUST. The eternal separation from Christ who is the source of life is, in fact, Hell-eternal death.
But he erases hell. And kinda, sorta Heaven, too.
For me, it is too dangerous for me to send people to someone who will suggest that Hell isn’t real. I am saddened by this because I think the other 98% of his message NEEDS to be heard.
I can appreciate Todd’s heart for the environment and calling disciples to action. He creates a wonderful case for us not to live sedated lives and follow an untamable God. I cannot get on board with his doctrinal beliefs of heaven and hell.
If you read this book, I would simply encourage you to weigh what Todd suggests heavily against the context of Scripture and choose what is meat, and what the bones are that you may need to spit out. For me, I am on board with 98% of this book.
A wise friend once told me that sometimes in life and especially in church, “You’ve got to eat the meat and spit out the bones.” In other words, take the good and leave bad; take the truth and leave the false.
Fortunately, this book was primarily meat. I think I highlighted a good 3/4 of it saying “yes, yes!” out loud to myself. But nearly halfway through the book, I had a heart crushing moment. I came across one major bone that I had to toss out. As much as I want to shout about this book from the rooftops, I feel this ‘bone’ will not allow me, which truly, breaks my heart.
My bone is this: Todd is sharing his doubt about the existence and consequence of Hell and presenting an alternative of not believing in Hell. This is dangerous. Especially in the case that Todd could be wrong. He also suggests that Heaven is actually earth as we know it today. (I simply think this is off the mark.)
But back to the issue of hell: The heart behind the message (that I heard) is that we don’t have to approach a relationship with God out of fear but a better motivation would be out of gratitude for the great love God has for us. He loves us anyway! I’m all for this.
Todd could have communicated this message simply by saying, “Hey, we don’t have to be motivated into relationship with God by trying to escape Hell. Look how much he loves us!” If he had done that, I could have supported this book 100% and shared it on every social media outlet. But he didn’t and I can’t share it. Instead, He created doubt about hell’s very existence.
It is totally fair for someone to be transparent and share their doubts and struggles about reconciling aspects of God and Christianity. However, I think this was an inappropriate platform to do so since it could cause a lot of confusion for people. (I also don’t think you need to tell people that Heaven is our planet in order to get people to take care of it.)
I would have even been ok with him saying that he struggles to reconcile a God who teaches mercy and forgiveness and yet supposedly sends people to eternal damnation. I can even concede that our perceptions of Hell (and Heaven) have been heavily influenced by extra-biblical sources.
But I still see room for the argument of an eternal separation for those who reject Christ. I think a case can be made that He will not have mercy on them because although Christ is love and He is also JUST. The eternal separation from Christ who is the source of life is, in fact, Hell-eternal death.
But he erases hell. And kinda, sorta Heaven, too.
For me, it is too dangerous for me to send people to someone who will suggest that Hell isn’t real. I am saddened by this because I think the other 98% of his message NEEDS to be heard.
I can appreciate Todd’s heart for the environment and calling disciples to action. He creates a wonderful case for us not to live sedated lives and follow an untamable God. I cannot get on board with his doctrinal beliefs of heaven and hell.
If you read this book, I would simply encourage you to weigh what Todd suggests heavily against the context of Scripture and choose what is meat, and what the bones are that you may need to spit out. For me, I am on board with 98% of this book.
September 7, 2016
We all recognize that there is supposed to be more to this Christianity thing than singing songs, saying prayers, and talking about God. We see in the Gospels a Jesus who calls his disciples to radically changed lives.
Yet our teachers, preachers, and spiritual guides tend to fall into one of two extremes. They either downplay the wild side of Jesus—merely adding Christian theology to our comfortable lives—or they embrace the wild Jesus so wholeheartedly that few there be who can follow their examples.
At this point, I need to admit two things. One, I gravitate toward those radical heroes of the Christian faith. I would far rather fail in attempting to follow their examples than succeed at apathy. Two, I’m not always able to live up to my radical aspirations, and it can at times be discouraging.
In real life, it’s just not always possible to live according to simplistic ideals. This is especially true when raising a family. Don’t get me wrong—that’s not a complaint. Far from it! I am so incredibly thankful for my wife and kids. I wouldn’t trade my life with them for the world! But I have to be honest about the needs of my family that must be met.
At the same time, I want myself and my family to follow the radical Christ into whatever he may call us. So how do we find that balance? How do we live a radical Christian life as a family?
Todd Wynward and his family have had plenty of experience asking these questions and seeking to live out such a life. In Rewilding the Way , he describes the shifts his family started making five years ago. Among other changes, they’ve chosen to live in a yurt, rather than a traditional house, and they use a composting toilet. But he’s quick to add a clarification:
The book is filled with such refreshing honesty. Wynward gently pushes us toward a more radical lifestyle, while fully acknowledging how difficult it can be, and with no pretense that he has it all figured out himself. Still, he has made tremendous strides in the right direction, and he’s able to offer many helpful practical tips, along with numerous stories and anecdotes to tie it all together.
There is much more that could be said about this book, but I’ll leave it there for now. Suffice it to say that Rewilding the Way is one of the most enjoyable, insightful, and challenging-yet-hopeful books I’ve read in some time. I wholeheartedly recommend it to you.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from SpeakEasy in exchange for an honest review.
This review has been adapted from one originally written for my blog, HippieHeretic.com.
Yet our teachers, preachers, and spiritual guides tend to fall into one of two extremes. They either downplay the wild side of Jesus—merely adding Christian theology to our comfortable lives—or they embrace the wild Jesus so wholeheartedly that few there be who can follow their examples.
At this point, I need to admit two things. One, I gravitate toward those radical heroes of the Christian faith. I would far rather fail in attempting to follow their examples than succeed at apathy. Two, I’m not always able to live up to my radical aspirations, and it can at times be discouraging.
In real life, it’s just not always possible to live according to simplistic ideals. This is especially true when raising a family. Don’t get me wrong—that’s not a complaint. Far from it! I am so incredibly thankful for my wife and kids. I wouldn’t trade my life with them for the world! But I have to be honest about the needs of my family that must be met.
At the same time, I want myself and my family to follow the radical Christ into whatever he may call us. So how do we find that balance? How do we live a radical Christian life as a family?
Todd Wynward and his family have had plenty of experience asking these questions and seeking to live out such a life. In Rewilding the Way , he describes the shifts his family started making five years ago. Among other changes, they’ve chosen to live in a yurt, rather than a traditional house, and they use a composting toilet. But he’s quick to add a clarification:
If you’re daunted by our example, don’t be. We’re pretenders. Yes, we’ve cultivated a slightly parallel existence, but don’t be fooled: we’re still solidly embedded in American consumer culture. … Though we dabble with homesteading in the high desert, we’re still enmeshed in the economy of empire, deeply conforming to the system. (p. 16)
The book is filled with such refreshing honesty. Wynward gently pushes us toward a more radical lifestyle, while fully acknowledging how difficult it can be, and with no pretense that he has it all figured out himself. Still, he has made tremendous strides in the right direction, and he’s able to offer many helpful practical tips, along with numerous stories and anecdotes to tie it all together.
There is much more that could be said about this book, but I’ll leave it there for now. Suffice it to say that Rewilding the Way is one of the most enjoyable, insightful, and challenging-yet-hopeful books I’ve read in some time. I wholeheartedly recommend it to you.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from SpeakEasy in exchange for an honest review.
This review has been adapted from one originally written for my blog, HippieHeretic.com.
May 19, 2016
REWILDING THE WAY: BREAK FREE TO FOLLOW AN UNTAMED GOD by Todd Wynward
Publisher: Herald Press
Date published: September 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8361-9948-2
Religion/Christian Life/Social Issues
Paperback
http://www.amazon.com/Rewilding-Way-B...
Obtained via Speakeasy
Rating: 5
REWILDING THE WAY: BREAK FREE TO FOLLOW AN UNTAMED GOD by Todd Wynward is a blend of reality, together with stories of various communities and other people who are “rewilding” the way things are done.
To pull themselves away from the bondage of corporate-controlled America, several groups of people, intent on serving Jesus in a different Way, away from the world so to speak, these inspired souls have taken the first steps, experimenting in a new way of life that should inspire others to follow suit, especially in the Christian church communities. The question Wynward asks is, “Can we break free to become the joyful and prophetic people God calls us to be?”
REWILDING THE WAY: BREAK FREE TO FOLLOW AN UNTAMED GOD by Todd Wynward is a timely, thought-provoking book that may inspire the reader to take a different look at the world around him or her and how we care to live in it.
We have been locked into our known lifestyles for so long that perhaps none of us have ever considered that there mighty be a better way to live, one more in keeping with what God intended. A life of freedom, peace, self-sustainment to a degree, and basically, a form of Heaven on earth.
REWILDING THE WAY: BREAK FREE TO FOLLOW AN UNTAMED GOD by Todd Wynward is a great read, with much to offer. Wynward, a Mennonite now, is forging a new path for us to follow, to learn by. I so much enjoyed this book that I wanted to leave everything behind and start anew, moving to Taos, New Mexico or some other place, well off the grid, so to speak, to see if I could survive in the wilderness awhile by myself, just trusting God to provide for me, sustain me, guide, and help me, and using whatever knowledge, wisdom, or education I have to survive and, hopefully, live life as it was meant to be lived and enjoyed.
I strongly urge anyone not happy with what is happening in our world to read REWILDING THE WAY: BREAK FREE TO FOLLOW AN UNTAMED GOD by Todd Wynward. It is indeed very well written and inspiring. As a wilderness guide, a hopeful God-seeker, and change-maker, Wynward gives the reader a thorough argument for his reasons in semi-leaving the 'real' world and the despair about life's current situation on this planet. Wynward shares how the early prophets and disciples “gleaned from wilderness testing”...and lived the Jesus Way.
REWILDING THE WAY: BREAK FREE TO FOLLOW AN UNTAMED GOD by Todd Wynward lays out a challenge to the reader, to step out into the wild and live counter to our dominant culture. It is well worth some thought, and the possibilities are endless.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book review network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.
Publisher: Herald Press
Date published: September 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8361-9948-2
Religion/Christian Life/Social Issues
Paperback
http://www.amazon.com/Rewilding-Way-B...
Obtained via Speakeasy
Rating: 5
REWILDING THE WAY: BREAK FREE TO FOLLOW AN UNTAMED GOD by Todd Wynward is a blend of reality, together with stories of various communities and other people who are “rewilding” the way things are done.
To pull themselves away from the bondage of corporate-controlled America, several groups of people, intent on serving Jesus in a different Way, away from the world so to speak, these inspired souls have taken the first steps, experimenting in a new way of life that should inspire others to follow suit, especially in the Christian church communities. The question Wynward asks is, “Can we break free to become the joyful and prophetic people God calls us to be?”
REWILDING THE WAY: BREAK FREE TO FOLLOW AN UNTAMED GOD by Todd Wynward is a timely, thought-provoking book that may inspire the reader to take a different look at the world around him or her and how we care to live in it.
We have been locked into our known lifestyles for so long that perhaps none of us have ever considered that there mighty be a better way to live, one more in keeping with what God intended. A life of freedom, peace, self-sustainment to a degree, and basically, a form of Heaven on earth.
REWILDING THE WAY: BREAK FREE TO FOLLOW AN UNTAMED GOD by Todd Wynward is a great read, with much to offer. Wynward, a Mennonite now, is forging a new path for us to follow, to learn by. I so much enjoyed this book that I wanted to leave everything behind and start anew, moving to Taos, New Mexico or some other place, well off the grid, so to speak, to see if I could survive in the wilderness awhile by myself, just trusting God to provide for me, sustain me, guide, and help me, and using whatever knowledge, wisdom, or education I have to survive and, hopefully, live life as it was meant to be lived and enjoyed.
I strongly urge anyone not happy with what is happening in our world to read REWILDING THE WAY: BREAK FREE TO FOLLOW AN UNTAMED GOD by Todd Wynward. It is indeed very well written and inspiring. As a wilderness guide, a hopeful God-seeker, and change-maker, Wynward gives the reader a thorough argument for his reasons in semi-leaving the 'real' world and the despair about life's current situation on this planet. Wynward shares how the early prophets and disciples “gleaned from wilderness testing”...and lived the Jesus Way.
REWILDING THE WAY: BREAK FREE TO FOLLOW AN UNTAMED GOD by Todd Wynward lays out a challenge to the reader, to step out into the wild and live counter to our dominant culture. It is well worth some thought, and the possibilities are endless.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book review network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.
February 3, 2017
Made me want to buy a tent and disappear into the wilderness! Presents a challenge to rewild our faith and care for our Earth.
December 21, 2015
Review soon to come on the Englewood Review of Books. Check it out! englewoodreview.org
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews