尘俗灵程——在平凡生活中与神相遇

by R. Paul Stevens, 陈锦荣 (Translator)

Most books on spirituality focus on disciplines like prayer and Bible study. But this can mislead us into thinking that God can only be experienced when we are doing something "spiritual." Apart from private devotional times or church on Sundays, God may seem distant and even irrelevant to our daily lives.R. Paul Stevens has a radically different view of Christian spirituality. True spirituality, he says, is down-to-earth--we encounter God in the ordinary, common stuff of everyday life. Taking his cue from the biblical story of Jacob, Stevens explores the Genesis narrative and uncovers how ordinary moments are made extraordinary, transformed by the presence of God in the midst of the mundane.Dreamer, schemer, worker and entrepreneur, Jacob embodies a multifaceted life of earthy passion and gritty spirituality. Jacob encounters the sacred not only through visions of ladders to heaven and mysterious wrestling matches with angles. Jacob also meets God at home and at work, at meals and in sleep, in solitude and in relationships. From birth to death, through every passage of life, Jacob sees God in the routine details of his everyday experience."Everyday life is the spiritual discipline in which God continuously and graciously meets us," Stevens writes. And in this book, Stevens helps us see that what appears commonplace on the surface actually has great spiritual significance. When we least expect it, God surprises us by re-enchanting our daily experience and making every moment an opportunity to experience his blessing.

225 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2003

About the author

R. Paul Stevens is professor emeritus of marketplace theology and leadership at Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia, and a marketplace ministry mentor. He has worked as a carpenter and businessman, and served as the pastor of an inner-city church in Montreal. He has written many books and Bible studies, including Doing God's Business, Work Matters, Marriage Spirituality, The Other Six Days and Spiritual Gifts. He is coauthor (with Pete Hammond and Todd Svanoe) of The Marketplace Annotated Bibliography.

Reviews

[R · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agreed with the thesis of the book but found the explanations to be lacking and sometimes problematic. Alot of traits were attached to characters that I do not think are fair ex. Issac's obidence to his father and God was due to having no back bone in contrast to respect/reverence.

[Kyle D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tried to read this 9 years ago, but I didn't get very far. Following the title, I thought it was going to be a book full of "down-to-earth" suggestions for how to live well, but it turned out to be more of a meandering, thoughtful reading of the biblical story of Jacob with occasional digressions into what that implied for thoughtful living today.

This broad, unusual approach turns out to be exactly what I wanted this time around, though I wasn't ready for it back then. Stevens is clearly a scholar who knows his topic well and is eager to discuss it in whatever way he can fit in as many ideas as possible, but he does so with an everyday reader in mind, not bogging things down with big words or theological disputes (though his footnotes show he knows his stuff).

I guess I'm meandering as much as Stevens, just to say that yes, this turned out to be a lovely little book after all.

[RF · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to take this man's class from Regent... this is a main area of my interests!

This is a MUST read. The author uses the story of Jacob to demonstrate a down to earth spirituality and how God worked in the midst of a "dysfunctional" family.

Great great stuff... I underlined a LOT of this one...