Invitation to Retreat

Invitation to Retreat
The Gift and Necessity of Time Away with God
(IVP, 2018)

WHO: Ruth Haley Barton, founding president/CEO of the Transforming Center.

SHE SAYS: “We are invited to enter into something so good for us—body, mind and soul—that once we recognize it as the winsome opportunity it really is, everything in us will leap to say yes.”

THE BIG IDEA: Retreat is a key spiritual practice that opens us up to God.

THE PROGRESSION:
In this book, the author offers seven specific invitations within the general invitation to retreat with God. The book is 12 chapters long, and sections of chapters are divided by an “Interlude,” a two-page selection of writings. Sprinkled throughout are small sections called “Practicing Retreat,” that ask thought-provoking reflection questions.

“When I trust that good things have happened on retreat that I might not even be aware of—that I have been lifted to a higher plane just by being in God’s presence—I am ready to return. I trust good things will come to me and to others. This is how we will all be saved.”

Order this book from Amazon.com »
Read an excerpt from this book »

Walking Like Jesus

Jesus seems to have an unhurried pace. That is to say, he always seems to have time to stop for people, even when doing so was annoying to those around him.

Fight Church: A Fighting Chance

“Here was a people group that wasn’t being served by any form of chaplaincy like many major sports have,” says Pastor Joshua Boyd, of the local MMA community. “And they needed care just like anyone else.”

Perfectly Imperfect Churches

Most of the great breakthroughs and innovative ideas are a result of problems being viewed not as a problem to solve, but an opportunity to make things better.