I am in the process of reading an excellent book by L. Paul Jensen titled Subversive Spirituality: Transforming Mission through the Collapse of Space and Time. I hope to share more in the near future, but for now I want to take a moment and recommend Jensen’s work. Subversive Spirituality is not only a very insightful and profitable read, but I find it to be extremely timely. Among the vast array of voices in the missional church conversation, few are speaking on the importance of spiritual formation, both in informing and empowering our missional activities. Jensen does just that.
The heart of the book is a survey of the practical rhythms of spirituality and mission in (1) the life of Jesus, (2) the early church, (3) the church in recent centuries, and (4) the church today. Jensen highlights the actual spiritual disciplines and the interplay with mission/ministry activities throughout each time period. He provides compelling evidence of the vital relationship between spiritual disciplines and mission practices throughout the history of the church. He then argues that the church today must recapture such spiritual rhythms if it hopes to engage in significant, effective ministry in a Post-Christian culture.
In the introduction Jensen writes:
The book seeks to show a correlation between inward spirituality and outward mission in the historical context of space and time and the current cultural collapse of these. Findings from my cultural, Biblical/theological, historical, and field research will demonstrate this correlation. My thesis is twofold: (1) that empowered inward spirituality — expressed in creating time and space for God through solitary and communal spiritual practices — correlates with transforming outward mission — expressed in word and deed; and (2) that because of the cultural collapse of space and time, postmodern mission requires the church to subvert these temporal-spatial codes by devoting more plentiful space and time to spiritual practices in her structures of mission, church, and leadership development.
Has anyone else read this book? I would love to hear from those who have. Has it changed the way you have thought about mission/ministry? If so, what has changed? I would love to have a dialog around the key elements of the book.
Thanks Brad! Will check it out.
Hope you are well.
Dan
Dan, you will absolutely love this book, right up your alley. Doing great here in KC, hope all is well in the Northwest.
Brad, thanks for posting this… seems like a great refocusing book toward spiritually vital mission. Amidst changing paradigms that focus primarily on the outer layers of church (model and expression), it seems a necessary reminder of the spirituality that will breathe transformation into missional structures.