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A Theology of the Ordinary
Julie Canlis is an award-winning author who has turned her attention to the ordinary. With the surge of books and blogs celebrating the ordinary, she lays a theological foundation for this celebration based upon the Father's blessing of ordinary life, the Son's incarnation in ordinary life, and the Spirit's re-creation of ordinary life.
First, turning her attention to American revivalist roots, she explores how this has seeped into evangelicalism's DNA, pushing ordinary life in Christ to the margins. Then, she begins by turning to the Father's blessing of ordinary life in creation, and the way in which temple-language mimics creation-language, revealing all of the world to be God's temple and, therefore, holy. This is contrasted with the prevailing Gnostic counter-story of a "super" spirituality that transcends ordinary creation.
The Son's incarnation into ordinary life is seen as the supreme blessing upon all of creation. Following the Son's "ordinary" life and the stages through which he passed, the "Seven Days of Re-creation" are seen as pivotal for redemption. This is contrasted with the prevailing Docetist counter-story which seeks to undermine Christ's true humanity, and its setting in ordinary life.
Finally, the Spirit's work of re-creation reveals the hallowed contours of our ordinary life. Working through the Spirit's activity in creation, the new creation, and the church, it is shown that the Spirit works not despite materiality but in it. This is contrasted with the lingering Platonic counter-story that eschews materiality for a higher "spiritual" plane.
The Introduction and chaters of Father, Son, and Spirit have questions at the end of each chapter, making this ideal for theologically-minded small groups.
First, turning her attention to American revivalist roots, she explores how this has seeped into evangelicalism's DNA, pushing ordinary life in Christ to the margins. Then, she begins by turning to the Father's blessing of ordinary life in creation, and the way in which temple-language mimics creation-language, revealing all of the world to be God's temple and, therefore, holy. This is contrasted with the prevailing Gnostic counter-story of a "super" spirituality that transcends ordinary creation.
The Son's incarnation into ordinary life is seen as the supreme blessing upon all of creation. Following the Son's "ordinary" life and the stages through which he passed, the "Seven Days of Re-creation" are seen as pivotal for redemption. This is contrasted with the prevailing Docetist counter-story which seeks to undermine Christ's true humanity, and its setting in ordinary life.
Finally, the Spirit's work of re-creation reveals the hallowed contours of our ordinary life. Working through the Spirit's activity in creation, the new creation, and the church, it is shown that the Spirit works not despite materiality but in it. This is contrasted with the lingering Platonic counter-story that eschews materiality for a higher "spiritual" plane.
The Introduction and chaters of Father, Son, and Spirit have questions at the end of each chapter, making this ideal for theologically-minded small groups.
82 pages, Paperback
Published February 15, 2017
21 people are currently reading
1001 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
November 6, 2017
In a world where everything must be special and extraordinary, this book argues to celebrate the dirt and dust of life through simple trinitarian theology. wonderful meditations.
October 31, 2018
Love, love, love. So refreshing to hear someone going against the current trend in many Christian teachings making people feel like they must be "radical" Christians. It's a true celebration of the ordinary tasks of everyday life and how we can and should find and celebrate God in that.
Will definitely re-read.
Will definitely re-read.
December 29, 2024
I really enjoyed this book! It is short and to the point, yet unexpectedly profound, reflecting on the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the mundane parts of our lives (which ultimately make up most of it). Through it, I was reminded that God cares and is with us in the midst of everyday life, not in spite of it—a message I don't think I could ever hear too many times.
September 11, 2024
Quiet, funny, generous, thoughtful, and short. And not without some serious scholarly backbone. Not much else you can ask for in a potentially lifechanging book.
This is really good on how we are all socially addicted to the big and exciting and intense, and because of this we tend to neglect the humble duties and "despise the day of small things."
Let's get better at just living, man, says this book. Let's be Christlike in little ways, and maybe that will be transformative for the world.
One note: lots of shots at Platt and Radical and the like in here. I happen to really like Platt and I think you should donate time and money to Radical (https://radical.net/). But, presumably like Canlis, I think you should do this as part of a local church body and useful family member and private Christian.
This is really good on how we are all socially addicted to the big and exciting and intense, and because of this we tend to neglect the humble duties and "despise the day of small things."
Let's get better at just living, man, says this book. Let's be Christlike in little ways, and maybe that will be transformative for the world.
One note: lots of shots at Platt and Radical and the like in here. I happen to really like Platt and I think you should donate time and money to Radical (https://radical.net/). But, presumably like Canlis, I think you should do this as part of a local church body and useful family member and private Christian.
June 20, 2025
“On the cross, Christ does not do something called ‘the atonement.’ He is the atonement… the important thing to note is this is not something Jesus ‘does.’ It is who He is that saves us.”
“He is now interceding for us. However, just like the crucifixion, this is not something He does. He is the intercession.”
“He is now interceding for us. However, just like the crucifixion, this is not something He does. He is the intercession.”
November 27, 2021
This tiny tome precisely and beautifully addresses the biggest theological lies—Gnosticism, Docetism, and Dualism—that have long plagued me. I plan to make it a regular addition to the circuit of my quiet time reading.
Read
October 10, 2022Gonna be thinking about this for a long time
May 6, 2025
Ordinary life can be a place of communion with Christ.
This has been so sweet and gentle to my ever discontent heart.
This has been so sweet and gentle to my ever discontent heart.
September 10, 2019
This is a truly extraordinary little book. I highly recommend it to any leader who desires to connect their faith with the work they do and who wants to encourage others to do the same.
Julie is a masterful writer who has expanded my view of salvation and the Gospel without compromising or watering down theology. I have been involved in this conversation for a long time. Julie gives me some new language that helps clarify and deepen my desire to connect faith and work. Finally, she elevates the importance of the ordinary which is a welcome addition to the broader work of theology.
Please contact Byron Borger at Hearts and Minds Books to get your copy.
Julie is a masterful writer who has expanded my view of salvation and the Gospel without compromising or watering down theology. I have been involved in this conversation for a long time. Julie gives me some new language that helps clarify and deepen my desire to connect faith and work. Finally, she elevates the importance of the ordinary which is a welcome addition to the broader work of theology.
Please contact Byron Borger at Hearts and Minds Books to get your copy.
March 4, 2025
This book is a breath of fresh air. Rooted in the finished work of the person of Jesus.
Short, no fluff, to the point, steeped in rich theology and history - this book encourages the expectation of meeting God in the normality of each day.
My only concern is the potential to justify a hungerless Christianity marked by mediocrity, but here Canlis preempts me, and introduces the book with these lines...
"...recovering the holiness of ordinary life, it will be lifeless if it is animated only by a reaction against fundamentalist dualism. We must be on our guard, lest a recovery of ordinary life becomes no more than a blessing of the status quo, devoid of sacrifice or hope for the future." (Kindle Locations 82-84).
Boom!
Give it a read. Enjoy God in your ordinary days.
Short, no fluff, to the point, steeped in rich theology and history - this book encourages the expectation of meeting God in the normality of each day.
My only concern is the potential to justify a hungerless Christianity marked by mediocrity, but here Canlis preempts me, and introduces the book with these lines...
"...recovering the holiness of ordinary life, it will be lifeless if it is animated only by a reaction against fundamentalist dualism. We must be on our guard, lest a recovery of ordinary life becomes no more than a blessing of the status quo, devoid of sacrifice or hope for the future." (Kindle Locations 82-84).
Boom!
Give it a read. Enjoy God in your ordinary days.
September 23, 2023
The Christian life is much simpler and more beautiful than how we often think and act. God did the extraordinary in redeeming us, and He accomplished this by entering the ordinary and joining us to Him.
August 1, 2025
Vital read to understanding culture and intersection of the gospel. The book details the main christian influences and philosophies that have largely shaped our way of relating to the gospel in America. Definitely worth the read!
January 2, 2019
A needed book. In some segments of Christian culture, it’s fashionable to sacrifice all for the sake of the Gospel and changing the world. If done for the wrong reasons (self glorification, proving ourselves to God/our team/our enemies), it will only lead to burnout and a character that fails to mirror Jesus. But how do you know if your motivations are off? After reading this book, I believe one of the warning signs is an inability to be content in the ordinary spaces of life, which we all inhabit, even if we end up in extraordinary spots from time to time.
July 21, 2024
A breath of fresh air to read this well-grounded teaching on how living in Christ (walking by the Spirit) IS the Father's will, and although this may seem ordinary, this perspective makes every day extraordinary. We don't need , nor is it the Lord's plan, that we seek " mountain top" spiritual experiences. This brief book is well worth reading.
May 9, 2025
This book is so important for anyone who feels like they need to do big things or make big differences in order to serve and worship God. God created us and the world and called it all “very good” so we worship Him just by calling Him into our ordinary and mundane lives and delighting in it.
October 20, 2020
Straightforward. Good call to recognize our union with Christ in the ordinary. But felt like it was creating a diachotomy to attack a prevailing path that she didn't need to.
April 21, 2023
Really great little read. Jammed pack full of great theology.
August 18, 2023
Being ordinary isn't just ok, it's what we were made for. Don't let burnout get you down.
June 19, 2025
It’s easy to become so focused on doing and achieving that you lose sight of God saying “it is good” from the beginning.
June 28, 2025
This was good, especially the last section about the Holy Spirit and the church. Read this short book if you come across it.
October 11, 2023
This brilliant, short book was captivating to me. It highlights how our ordinary lives actually breathe new creation and extraordinary moments simply because Christ has redeemed us. Changing a diaper is not meaningless, it’s actually a chance to see “Jesus in my humanity.” As Eugene Peterson says, “When God fills the world, we discover every conversation and vocation and human endeavor to be a burning bush. Holiness everywhere. God everywhere.”
At the end of her book she quotes from a old Celtic prayer called “Milking Prayer” that to me sums up the entire book beautifully…
“Bless, O God, my little cow.
Bless, O God, my desire;
Bless Thou my partnership
And the milking of my hands,
O God.
Bless, O God, each teat.
Bless, O God, each finger;
Bless Thou each drop
That goes into my pitcher,
O God!”
At the end of her book she quotes from a old Celtic prayer called “Milking Prayer” that to me sums up the entire book beautifully…
“Bless, O God, my little cow.
Bless, O God, my desire;
Bless Thou my partnership
And the milking of my hands,
O God.
Bless, O God, each teat.
Bless, O God, each finger;
Bless Thou each drop
That goes into my pitcher,
O God!”
September 5, 2020
Fantastic book on developing a robust faith of the ordinary. God is working in all of life and yet we’ve made our spirituality into something that only counts in the extraordinary and spiritual ecstasies. Good read, short, and challenging.
September 27, 2021
This book is small, but mighty. I will be reading again. It gave me a beautiful new perspective on creation and how we have always been created to be dependent upon on God even before the fall.
February 11, 2022
“How many conferences have you attended that emphasize Paul's command to the mature and growing church in Thessaloniki, "Aspire to live quietly, and to
mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands as
we have instructed you" (1 Thess 4:11)?
These modern conferences and movements give people an expectation that growth happens only when we are away from our local church, away from the people whom God has placed in our lives. Paul's command to the Theselonians is not bare-minimum Christianity; it holds out ordinary life as a life that pleases God and sets one on the road for fulfilling the Great Commission.” (9)
mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands as
we have instructed you" (1 Thess 4:11)?
These modern conferences and movements give people an expectation that growth happens only when we are away from our local church, away from the people whom God has placed in our lives. Paul's command to the Theselonians is not bare-minimum Christianity; it holds out ordinary life as a life that pleases God and sets one on the road for fulfilling the Great Commission.” (9)
February 17, 2018
Julie Canlis gem of a book A Theology of the Ordinary proves the adage "Great things come in small packages" as this book, although small in size and short in pages, is filled with tremendous content and potential. My wife and I were fortunate enough to meet Matt Canlis at a recent Hutchmoot conference where we were given a copy of this book and we have since not stopped recommending it to others. Mrs. Canlis invites her reader to recognize the cultural challenges and pressures that make it difficult to recognize Christ in all aspects of life and invites us to explore living life - every moment of life - in the knowledge we are loved by our Creator and redeemed in Christ. Although the subject matter is deep, her writing and examples make this book as readable as it is engaging. It has made for some good family conversations and I highly recommend to those who feel the pressure to do something radical with their life yet recognize their life is moving too fast to know how to slow down.
September 11, 2025
kleine trinitarische theologie van het alledaagse, tegenover een geloofsbeleving die voor het grootse en het radicale gaat.
February 4, 2024
I wanted to give this book 3 stars but I couldn’t because of the extreme lack of scholarly effort for someone so very qualified.
Just try and google search “Temples built in six days” nothing will come up. Especially nothing Jewish or even Egyptian which are the two people groups she is arguing immediately understood this secret message of imagery.
The claim was unnecessary, she only needed to point out that there are symbols in the temple to reflect the structure of the creation account.
There were many conclusions that she came to that I can agree with, or consider that they are possible if not probable. But I felt offended by the lack of support for points she assumes and lack of research into if those claims are at all verifiable, or if the people she sights are credible in the claims she quotes them to be making.
Nearly every page had a logical fallacy, and I am kind of mad I paid $12.50 for a 60pg book.
Just try and google search “Temples built in six days” nothing will come up. Especially nothing Jewish or even Egyptian which are the two people groups she is arguing immediately understood this secret message of imagery.
The claim was unnecessary, she only needed to point out that there are symbols in the temple to reflect the structure of the creation account.
There were many conclusions that she came to that I can agree with, or consider that they are possible if not probable. But I felt offended by the lack of support for points she assumes and lack of research into if those claims are at all verifiable, or if the people she sights are credible in the claims she quotes them to be making.
Nearly every page had a logical fallacy, and I am kind of mad I paid $12.50 for a 60pg book.
May 10, 2019
I LOVE the idea of this book. The thesis is so good and so needed today. And I loved the documentary that it is connected with, Godspeed.
So, maybe my hopes were set way to too high, but I was disappointed in this book. First, it cost me $18 (after shipping), and it is a tiny tiny book with very little bang for the buck. Second, it feels disjointed, as if it doesn't quite know what it is. In fact, it feels like I am reading three separate papers written by a seminary student. They are good papers, but they don't make a great book collectively. I hope the author takes a second stab at it and writes a much bigger better second edition. I think she is capable of it. So, I give the basic ideas within the book 5 stars, but the book as a whole 3.
I do recommend please the delightful documentary, Godpseed. It is well worth your time. https://www.livegodspeed.org/home
So, maybe my hopes were set way to too high, but I was disappointed in this book. First, it cost me $18 (after shipping), and it is a tiny tiny book with very little bang for the buck. Second, it feels disjointed, as if it doesn't quite know what it is. In fact, it feels like I am reading three separate papers written by a seminary student. They are good papers, but they don't make a great book collectively. I hope the author takes a second stab at it and writes a much bigger better second edition. I think she is capable of it. So, I give the basic ideas within the book 5 stars, but the book as a whole 3.
I do recommend please the delightful documentary, Godpseed. It is well worth your time. https://www.livegodspeed.org/home
January 5, 2018
One of the most formative spiritual experiences I have had as a pastor has been preaching through the lectionary in the context of the church calendar. More than any reading I have done, it helped me to see the importance of the whole of the life of Christ for our salvation: incarnation, baptism, transfiguration, death, resurrection and ascension. Thus was so pleased to discover this slim volume by Julie Canlis that describes how Trinitarian theology relates to everyday life, and how the key moments in the life of Christ redeem our lives. I also highly recommend her book, Calvin's Ladder!
December 16, 2022
Perfect little book for my heart and soul. My favorite type of book - theology that goes straight to the heart, gives me plenty to ponder, ending in worship and awe of Jesus.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews