Daniel Wolpert

Looking Inward, Living Outward

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 20:53:49 GMT

Available June 2024; Pre-Order Now!

In a world of so much hurt, how can we create communities of care and healing?

While much of contemporary Christianity careens toward a spirituality of individual salvation and the afterlife, the call of Jesus to create communities that enact justice and bring peace on earth is often tragically ignored. In his revelatory new book Looking Inward, Living Outward, author and student of the spiritual life Daniel Wolpert calls us back to a life of prayer and core spiritual practices that re-orient our gaze outward in acts of social transformation.

Drawing from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, one of the most radical speeches in human history, this encouraging and practical guide connects acts of contemplation with action, providing a biblically based and spiritually grounded course corrective for how Christians are called to live as Beloved Community today. Discover how spiritual practices can change the way you interact with the world and inspire lasting social change.

Key Takeaways:

Learn practical spiritual practices to live a life molded by a deep spiritual connection.
Explore the nature of the spiritual life and how it can become a guiding force in our daily lives.
Understand the teachings of Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount as a blueprint for living in community and society.
Discover the importance of communities of practice in reorienting our actions and promoting compassion in a world filled with challenges.

Creating a Life with God

Sat, 14 May 2022 02:20:55 GMT

"This book is truly about life with God: a life in which the awareness and consciousness of God sweep us off our feet the way a lover would. It is about taking on the mind of Christ, a process that is a journey, the journey of prayer."

So begins Wolpert's invitation to fully experience the lifeline God offers us in prayer.

Creating a Life with God goes beyond the rote prayers that so many of us have experienced and found wanting. In fact, Wolpert admits that his own frustration with the formula prayers and his unsettled longing immediately after college led to his search for a different kind of prayer, one that's "a deep conversation with God beginning with communion and leading to transformation."

Prayer illuminates our minds, enabling the love of God to permeate all that we do. The purpose of this book is to nourish a deeper, more satisfying prayer life. Wolpert explains 12 prayer practices and introduces you to historical figures who best illuminate each practice. You'll discover new ways to pray through

experiencing solitude and silence
using your mind and imagination
using your body and creativity
connecting with nature and community

You'll discover how classical approaches to God can deepen your prayer life today. An appendix offers step-by-step instructions for practicing the Jesus Prayer and the prayer of examen, for walking the labyrinth, and more.

Creating a Life with God is suitable for both individual and small group study.

Leading a Life with God

Sat, 14 May 2022 00:19:47 GMT

People who pray together can change the world.

A faith community's deepening prayer life depends on an effective spiritual leader. Many are willing to assume this role, but some aspiring guides have trouble making the transition from an individual practice to leading a group. Wolpert demonstrates how personal devotion can evolve into leadership practice.

Bestselling spiritual leadership books "provide insights from secular leadership disciplines and then add a paragraph about how these disciplines should be 'led by the Spirit,'" writes Wolpert. "I have yet to find a resource describing in depth how to be led by the Spirit. Such is the purpose of this volume."

Leading a Life with God grew out of Wolpert's previous book, Creating a Life with God, which focuses on different prayer practices and how we can integrate them into our personal devotions. Like his previous title, Leading a Life with God focuses on forms of prayer that offer ways to discern God's calling and introduces you to historical figures who best illuminate each practice. These include:

the Jesus Prayer
the examen
contemplative prayer
praying the Bible
praying in nature
creativity as prayer

Make prayer an important part of your congregation's spiritual life and ministry. As Wolpert concludes, "The spiritual life is way too precious to keep to ourselves but rather is a banquet to be shared."

Leading a Life with God contains detailed appendix material, including "A Step-by-Step Guide to the Prayer Practices" and "A Retreat Model."