Magnificent Surrender: Releasing the Riches of Living in the Lord

by Roger Helland

""God's kingdom is our true home, but we've picked up a habit of resisting it. And when, finally, we do fall in, most of us find we've survived so long outside his kingdom that we've lost all instinct for thriving in it. That's where Roger Helland meets us. Roger has thought long and studied hard on these matters. He has pondered deeply what it means to be fully alive in Christ and for Christ, and he's tested his insights in classrooms, in churches, with denominations, but mostly in his own life. In Magnificent Surrender, he's distilled what he's learned into a field guide for kingdom living. But Roger draws from an even deeper source. His book derives its force and depth from Paul's letter to the Colossians. Indeed, Magnificent Surrender is an extended pastoral reflection on and application of that letter. Colossians, in four brief chapters, presents the glory of Jesus Christ and the glory of a life wholly submitted to him. It is a manifesto of the rich life. Magnificent Surrender heralds that brilliantly. It's a wise, loving, and sometimes stern invitation to read Colossians again, with fresh eyes and fierce resolve. It's also a challenge to take to heart its promise and its exhortation--that we can and must live in, through, with, and for Christ, who is all and in all, supreme and sufficient."" -Mark Buchanan, from the Foreword ""Existentially, the words 'magnificent' and 'surrender' don't fit together. Roger Helland writes a compelling book luring us to embrace the fullness of both words. Biblically based, as a reflection of Colossians, and thoughtfully expressed by an experienced pastor and leader, Magnificent Surrender invites us into a deeper embrace of Christ's reign in our everyday lives."" -MaryKate Morse Professor of Leadership and Spiritual Formation George Fox Evangelical Seminary ""Roger calls the Church back to first purposes in this work. Structural and methodological strategies will not make revitalized churches. He writes, 'Revitalized Christian people are what make revitalized churches.' Magnificent Surrender begins with the most important question that each of us must 'What does it mean that Jesus is Lord?' Read this book to find out."" -Mike Slaughter Lead Pastor Ginghamsburg Church ""Roger Helland brings the ancient letter to the Colossians alive for the twenty-first-century church. By inviting us to a renewed devotion to Christ, he exposes many of the ways in which we have become distracted from our mission as the church in the world. With compelling stories and soul-stretching reflections from classic devotional literature, Roger inspires a fresh and liberating spiritual life. I highly recommend this book."" -Phil C. Zylla Academic Dean McMaster Divinity College About the Contributor(s): Roger B. Helland is district executive coach of the Baptist General Conference in Alberta, Canada. He is the author of Missional Spirituality, The Journey, The Revived Church, and Let the River Flow.

Genres: Spirituality

134 pages, Hardcover

First published October 5, 2011

Reviews

[Clint Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

There have been hundreds of books written about the missional church movement. I might have at least a quarter of them in my personal library. This is because I think the one thing of central importance for churches is making the "missional turn" from attempting to attract people to their church to sending out their church members as missionaries and evangelist to "do church" outside the four walls of the local church. Too many churches put a heavy emphasis on gathering, but scatter with very little purpose.

At the same time, it is possible to be focused on being "evangelists", being "missional", and going out into one's community equipped to serve and reach them, and yet have very little spiritual depth as a congregation. The key as a church is to have spiritual depth, and yet at the same time have missional purpose and missional fervor. It is a challenge.

In Missional Spirituality Helland and Hjalmarson attempt to explain what a church with spiritual depth and missional energy might look like. At the beginning of the book, the authors attempt to identify the church within the world it exists in. Then, Helland and Hjalmarson strive to establish a theological foundation for a church that is externally focused. Following this, they seek to identify spiritual practices that equip believers to live their faith in the world, and to allow those believers to grow deeper and more united as a congregation. They base these practices on the Shema, or the Great Commandment. Every practice that they identify helps believers grow to love God and neighbor more powerfully and more holistically.

Missional Spirituality is both inspirational, and instructional. I was inspired page after page. And, I felt the teaching of the authors both comforted and challenged me as a Christian leader. This book just isn't a game changer, it is a life changer. I will return to it often.

[Peter Voorhees · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book! Challenging, engaging, and prompting to rely upon the Holy Spirit in dwelling amongst people and allowing Him to change and draw people to salvation. A book that challenges the cultural norms and uses the examples from the lives of the authors as a personal witness to power and presence of the Holy Spirit. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is looking at the current social landscape and asking the question as to where the Holy Spirit is at work in the community.

[Frank Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book that gently presents the church as I believe it should be. It is based on Jesus teaching to love God with all our hearts, souls, minds and strengths and to love our neighbours as ourselves. These put everything in balance.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title of this books brings together two words you rarely see in the same sentence let alone in a title. In the circles I run in, I hear lots about missional Christians, and also about Christians who care deeply about spirituality--particularly spiritual formation. These often seem to be distinct circles and separate worlds. The co-authors of this book have had a similar experience but had the strong conviction that these two are inextricably woven together.

For them, the connection is the Shema statement of Jesus that we should love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and our neighbors as ourselves. After exploring the disjunct between mission and spirituality, they develop the idea of missional spirituality in an extended exploration of how to live out this statement in missional spiritual practices. Each chapter includes practices and discussion questions that individuals or groups can use in reflection and action.

It might be easy to overlook the appendices to this book but in this case, I would strongly recommend reading them. The first gives recommendations for implementing this in both church and theological contexts. The second narrates some of the ways this has been worked out in the life of one congregation. Both are very helpful in fleshing out the concepts of this book.

Disclaimer: the reviewer works as a collegiate ministry director with the parent organization of InterVarsity Press, the publisher of this book.

[Priscilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book the authors bring together two disciplines that are sometimes considered mutually exclusive. The more contemplative field of Christian spiritual development and the action oriented field of reaching out missionally are integrated with a simple, relational, kingdom-oriented focus. "...inward dimensions of the heart and mind with outward dimisions of the physical and social." (p111) The authors explain: "Jesus fed on the Father's will and work and this produced a harvest. ...He connected spirituality and mission." (p24)

The authors have an excellent grasp of the changing times and walk us through the transition we are facing with the ending of modernity. "A missional spirituality is imperative during transformation. Only radical commitment to God's kingdom, as we walk in the ways of Jesus in the power of the Spirit will enable us to welcome newness and surprise as we join God on mission to reach lost people who also experience liminality." (p13)

I especially enjoyed how the authors wove together extensive quotes, ideas and references from books and people with whom I am familiar. This brought a relational aspect to the book and the subject, a being-at-homeness, and an openess to receive the words in the spirit they were written. I think missional spirituality is the balance we are seeking and this book helps us find it.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book, and probably very necessary for the contemporary American church. It has lots of good ideas for individuals and churches looking to increase discipleship among members. Probably a more helpful fix-the-church book than Pagan Christianity, which identifies similar challenges but offers only a single radical solution for fixing them. MIssional Spirituality is more thoughtful and undoubtedly will be more helpful to the typical church.