As most of the regular readers of this blog know, I have recently attended the Aprentis Conference in Wichita, Kansas. The Aprentis Institute and James Bryan Smith have developed a curriculum that takes much of the theology and spirituality that Renovare has been teaching for a number of years, and distills it into a series of books that are designed to be used as a curriculum for spiritual formation in the local church.
This curriculum is called the Apprentice Series, and every book in the trilogy begins with the phrase "GOOD AND BEAUTIFUL" in the title. While at the Aprentis conference, I was able to pick up the book GOOD AND BEAUTIFUL GOD on audiobook. I listened to it with my wife on our little mini-vacation this week.
Much of the content in the book is summarized by the subtitle which says, "falling in love with the God that Jesus knows." Thus, what much of the book does is address mental narratives we have accepted about God. It addresses false narratives that the world around us or we create, and replaces them with a new narrative that Jesus taught about that runs counter to those false narratives. Then, at the end of each chapter there is a "soul training" exercise that reinforces the lesson through the taking on of a spiritual practice for a week.
The soul training exercises may be challenging for some of us, but Smith is very realistic about how to integrate them into our lives. He takes his time, and he goes slowly. He explains them simply, and attempts to calm his readers anxiety. He begins his soul training exercises by encouraging people to sleep well for a week, which I thought was absolutely brilliant.
After listening to this book, I am eager to try it out in a church setting, and I am eager to read the next books in the series. I would also be excited to use these books in a together in ministry group at some point.
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