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Spiritual Theology #5
Practice Resurrection: A Conversation on Growing Up in Christ
Winner of Christianity Today's 2011 award for best book in spirituality
Though bringing people to new birth in Christ through evangelism is essential, says Eugene Peterson, isn't growth in Christ equally essential? Yet the American church by and large does not treat Christian maturity and character formation with much urgency.
In Practice Resurrection Peterson brings the voice of Scripture -- especially Paul's letter to the Ephesians -- and the voice of the contemporary Christian congregation together to unpack the crucial truth of what it means to fully grow up to the "stature of Christ."
Though bringing people to new birth in Christ through evangelism is essential, says Eugene Peterson, isn't growth in Christ equally essential? Yet the American church by and large does not treat Christian maturity and character formation with much urgency.
In Practice Resurrection Peterson brings the voice of Scripture -- especially Paul's letter to the Ephesians -- and the voice of the contemporary Christian congregation together to unpack the crucial truth of what it means to fully grow up to the "stature of Christ."
272 pages, Hardcover
Published January 22, 2010
258 people are currently reading
1402 people want to read
About the author
Eugene H. Peterson
432 books984 followersEugene H. Peterson was a pastor, scholar, author, and poet. For many years he was James M. Houston Professor of Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He also served as founding pastor of Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland. He had written over thirty books, including Gold Medallion Book Award winner The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language a contemporary translation of the Bible. After retiring from full-time teaching, Eugene and his wife Jan lived in the Big Sky Country of rural Montana. He died in October 2018.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 122 reviews
February 16, 2017
This is the fifth book in Peterson's spiritual theology series, though you can pick up any one by itself, they do not build on each other. Like the previous four, this one is fantastic. In this one, Peterson takes us on a tour of the book of Ephesians, introducing us to the church in Ephesus. The church community is at the center of this book, it is not too much to say that the way we grow up in Christ is to join others in community who are also moving towards that goal.
I highly recommend this book, or any of these books by Peterson. Peterson was a pastor and writes like one, any of these books could be a beneficial read for any Christian. They are a bit more demanding then much of the fluff that litters the shelves of Christian bookstores. That said, Peterson is no hip megachurch pastor with a book deal writing easy-to-swallow best-sellers. His books come out of a lifetime of ministry, a lifetime of engaging with real people in the real challenges of life. Plus, he is just a fantastic writer. I think I read Peterson slowly because the writing is so good. You can scarf down a burger and fries at McDonalds to briefly appease your appetite; reading Peterson is like enjoying a bountiful, five course steak dinner.
I highly recommend this book, or any of these books by Peterson. Peterson was a pastor and writes like one, any of these books could be a beneficial read for any Christian. They are a bit more demanding then much of the fluff that litters the shelves of Christian bookstores. That said, Peterson is no hip megachurch pastor with a book deal writing easy-to-swallow best-sellers. His books come out of a lifetime of ministry, a lifetime of engaging with real people in the real challenges of life. Plus, he is just a fantastic writer. I think I read Peterson slowly because the writing is so good. You can scarf down a burger and fries at McDonalds to briefly appease your appetite; reading Peterson is like enjoying a bountiful, five course steak dinner.
December 28, 2024
At this point, no Christian writer has influenced me more in the past five years than Eugene Peterson. And with his relentless emphasis and clarity on how the Christian faith translates into our ordinary lives, I wouldn't have it any other way. In this one, he works through Ephesians to explore what it means to grow to maturity in Christ. The result is a book that I think would encourage and challenge every Christian. What a gift Peterson was to the Church.
Favorite Quotes:
- Love is not a solitary act; it is relational. Love is not a general act; it is always local.
- But any focus on a goal that dismisses, ignores, and avoids spouse, children, and neighbors who are perceived as impediments to pressing on to the "heavenly call" simply doesn't understand the way the goal functions in a mature life.
Favorite Quotes:
- Love is not a solitary act; it is relational. Love is not a general act; it is always local.
- But any focus on a goal that dismisses, ignores, and avoids spouse, children, and neighbors who are perceived as impediments to pressing on to the "heavenly call" simply doesn't understand the way the goal functions in a mature life.
August 29, 2019
What to say? Vintage Peterson. Yet another proof for the case he makes to be my favorite writer.
October 29, 2020
A love-letter (with more than a twinge of lament) to the church, and a pretty fine commentary on Ephesians to boot.
May 25, 2025
Peterson on the response of Christians living in a fallen world:
"The obvious responses fall into one of two categories. We sink into a quicksand of paranoia. Live in panic, never sure of where the evil is coming from or how it will show itself, doing everything we can to keep the evil at a distance, or we join forces with demagogues, moralists and defenders of purity. We vilify mounted crusades, define ourselves by what we are against, and live lives of negative spirituality.
There are, of course, a great many who don't join up with either side, but get along as best they can in a kind of flaccid complacency, in offensive, Laodicean lukewarmness.
But there is another way to live neither on the defensive nor on the offensive, but to take our stand as Christians, acting and believing out of who we are in Christ, neither in panic before the enemy nor in crusade against it.
This is the way Paul lays out in Ephesians, We are called to realize and cultivate our unique identity as men and women living under the Lordship of Christ in the household of God, that is the church, we are witnesses to a unique and revealed way of life in the practice of resurrection."
This was the final book in Petersons 5 book Spiritual Theology series. He uses the book of Ephesians as a study to show how we are to 'live' or conform. He calls this, 'practicing resurrection'. I really enjoyed this series and Ive now purchased the full series in card copy to sit in my library. I'm sure they will be picked up again and again.
I'm not sure there has been a more elegant Christian writer from this century than Eugene Peterson. What are the chances that someone would have his unmatched ability to write prose, as well as his ancient language skills, historical knowledge, theological mind and wit. I dont think it happened by chance :)
"The obvious responses fall into one of two categories. We sink into a quicksand of paranoia. Live in panic, never sure of where the evil is coming from or how it will show itself, doing everything we can to keep the evil at a distance, or we join forces with demagogues, moralists and defenders of purity. We vilify mounted crusades, define ourselves by what we are against, and live lives of negative spirituality.
There are, of course, a great many who don't join up with either side, but get along as best they can in a kind of flaccid complacency, in offensive, Laodicean lukewarmness.
But there is another way to live neither on the defensive nor on the offensive, but to take our stand as Christians, acting and believing out of who we are in Christ, neither in panic before the enemy nor in crusade against it.
This is the way Paul lays out in Ephesians, We are called to realize and cultivate our unique identity as men and women living under the Lordship of Christ in the household of God, that is the church, we are witnesses to a unique and revealed way of life in the practice of resurrection."
This was the final book in Petersons 5 book Spiritual Theology series. He uses the book of Ephesians as a study to show how we are to 'live' or conform. He calls this, 'practicing resurrection'. I really enjoyed this series and Ive now purchased the full series in card copy to sit in my library. I'm sure they will be picked up again and again.
I'm not sure there has been a more elegant Christian writer from this century than Eugene Peterson. What are the chances that someone would have his unmatched ability to write prose, as well as his ancient language skills, historical knowledge, theological mind and wit. I dont think it happened by chance :)
September 8, 2022
Peterson here consider Ephesians and the life of the church, and how maturity can become part of the Christian life. I always feel provoked to love and good works after spending time with Peterson, and Practice Resurrection was no different.
The only downside for me here is Peterson discussed the concreteness of holiness, and then would turn around and write a flowery section. I like both, but it seemed to undercut his point.
The appendix contains an annotated reading list of works in which Peterson finds a practice of resurrection. I love that sort of thing, and it had some good and interesting options.
The only downside for me here is Peterson discussed the concreteness of holiness, and then would turn around and write a flowery section. I like both, but it seemed to undercut his point.
The appendix contains an annotated reading list of works in which Peterson finds a practice of resurrection. I love that sort of thing, and it had some good and interesting options.
September 25, 2022
An absolutely essential book in an age where we are wondering and trying to rediscover what it means to be the church. Peterson's words are challenging, thoughtful, and prophetic for us as Christians and I personally think we ought to tune in to what he is saying.
March 23, 2025
What an insightful treatment of the letter to the Ephesians. Peterson's insistence on the particular, the personal, the relational nature of God is always a worthwhile reminder.
November 7, 2014
This book focuses on relevant analysis and applications of Ephesians. It is beautifully written and helped renew my belief in the (local) church. Peterson, in his usual gentle voice, reminds us that the church is God's gift to us to minister to one another faithfully and learn to love one another and bear with one another patiently, warts and all. Peterson's lyrical prose resists the prescriptive "how to" reductionism that inundates most Christian bookstores and instead, embraces the tension of faith amid our skeptical age. In this way, the book also resists dogmatism and oversimplications. In addition, the book plumbs the depths of paradox: Flawed humans striving to believe who need grace and forgiveness daily (because they sin) and who need likewise to forgive and show grace to others who sin against them. Not easy to pull off, but Peterson's life of "long obedience in the same direction" is a testimony to how it can be done. Especially noteworthy is how Peterson incorporates poetry into every one of his chapters, something very rare in a book about ecclesiology (rare for any book these days, really). Although I don't always agree with Peterson's interpretations of the poems (he stretches a couple of them to fit his Christian worldview), overall, they do enrich the chapters by adding complexity and beauty that illuminate Peterson's interpretations of Ephesians. Most important, this approach may reach artists and writers, who are largely ignored by evangelical Christianity (but certainly not by Peterson's Presbyterians) and who otherwise might not bother reading a book on this topic.
April 21, 2015
This book is about Christian maturity and transformation based on Ephesians with a focus on the church. This is Peterson's 5th and final book in his series on spiritual theology. It's been a very enjoyable series for me to read. The point that impacted me and encouraged me in this book was Peterson's focus on the people who make up the church. All kinds of people are found in the church at various stages of growth or non-growth. He recounted one man who attended his church for many years, sat in the same place each Sunday and never changed. Then he died and Peterson led his funeral. Some people will not change and others will. We have who we have in the church and need to simply accept each other for who we are. I personally found this encouraging because it's easy at times for me to criticize leadership and the way services are conducted, sermons preached, meetings held, etc. Sometimes people can aggravate me. I find the need for more patience and love with my brothers and sisters in the church. I also need their love and patience when I may aggravate them.
I am also encouraged to stick with the church wherever I'm attending. I can't walk this spiritual journey on my own. I need these brothers and sisters to help me grow spiritually and be transformed more in the likeness of Christ. God made us for relationships in the church.
I am also encouraged to stick with the church wherever I'm attending. I can't walk this spiritual journey on my own. I need these brothers and sisters to help me grow spiritually and be transformed more in the likeness of Christ. God made us for relationships in the church.
February 25, 2022
This Peterson book is a study of the book of Ephesians. Peterson's title infers that we are not just looking toward the resurrection, but we are practicing how to live as resurrected saints now.
This book really resonated with me. Peterson starts by pointing at the luminous introduction to the book in which he uses eight verbs to describe what Jesus has done for us in redeeming us. He then drives home the point that all these are Jesus actions. Not one is done by our efforts.
Another theme is a love for the church. Peterson firmly believe that the imperfect church is where we are able to hone our skill as we practice being resurrected.
A down side of this particular audio book is that the reader interupts the flow of the reading by inserting every footnote that Peterson included. And there are many. The effect is that a signficant phrase or thought is interupted as the reader adds the footnote down to the page number, publisher and year. This is a terrible thing to do in an audio book, especially one as thought provking and footnoted as this.
This book really resonated with me. Peterson starts by pointing at the luminous introduction to the book in which he uses eight verbs to describe what Jesus has done for us in redeeming us. He then drives home the point that all these are Jesus actions. Not one is done by our efforts.
Another theme is a love for the church. Peterson firmly believe that the imperfect church is where we are able to hone our skill as we practice being resurrected.
A down side of this particular audio book is that the reader interupts the flow of the reading by inserting every footnote that Peterson included. And there are many. The effect is that a signficant phrase or thought is interupted as the reader adds the footnote down to the page number, publisher and year. This is a terrible thing to do in an audio book, especially one as thought provking and footnoted as this.
August 2, 2017
Using Ephesians, Peterson focuses on the Church as a living and local body of Christ. This is thoughtful and consistently challenging - it has caused me to change how I approach and participate in church. I can't recommend this book enough. I will revisit this one often.
This is the last part of his five-book spiritual theology series, all written in Peterson's 70s. They don't have to be read in order. The Jesus Way and Practice Resurrection impacted me the most, but I still think all are essential reading.
This is the last part of his five-book spiritual theology series, all written in Peterson's 70s. They don't have to be read in order. The Jesus Way and Practice Resurrection impacted me the most, but I still think all are essential reading.
October 28, 2022
Life Lived Fully
Mr Peterson walks us through the letter of Ephesians. That walk is one filled with a life full of Christ answering what does it mean to live for Him by grace instead of oneself..Challenging, encouraging and always Instructing
Mr Peterson walks us through the letter of Ephesians. That walk is one filled with a life full of Christ answering what does it mean to live for Him by grace instead of oneself..Challenging, encouraging and always Instructing
May 4, 2019
One my favorite books on ecclesiology— the theology of the Church
May 23, 2022
When we practice resurrection, we enter into what is more than what we are, we keep company with Jesus, alive and present, who knows where we’re going better than we do, which is always from glory unto glory.
The practice of resurrection is an intentional decision to believe and participate in resurrection life, life out of death, life that trumps death, life that is the last word, Jesus life. In a world preoccupied with death and the devil. Worship of God, acceptance of resurrection, born from above by baptism identity, embrace of resurrection by eating and drinking Christ’s resurrection body and blood, attentive reading of and obedience to the revelation of God in scriptures, prayer that cultivates an intimacy with realities that are inaccessible to our senses, confession and forgiveness of sins, welcoming the stranger and outcast, working for peace and justice, healing and truth, sanctity and beauty, care for creation.
Balance - when the weights are balanced. The unknown and known weight measurements, two items (flour and lead) are axios, worthy. They have the same value, weight. God’s calling and human living. I beg you to walk worthy of the calling to which you have been called. When our living and God’s calling are in balance we are whole, living maturely, congruent with who God’s called us to be. Ephesians 4:1
4:12 These are not gifts to entertain us, but to equip us to work alongside of and in company with Jesus, the work of ministry to build up the body of Christ. We’re being invited to work with the Trinity. Implicit in the gift is an assignment.
7 verbs, blessed, chose, destined, bestowed, lavished, made known, gather up. (Eph 1:3-14)
Everybody I know has a story of not being chosen (clubs, teams). The last to be chosen is worst than not being chosen at all. Not chosen for job, as a spouse. It carries the message: I have no worth. I am not useful. I am good for nothing. We then insist on being noticed. We borrow identity from others (politics, sport) or bullying others or alter our physical appearance. Chose is a breath of fresh air. God chose us.
Birth certificate is a record of our biological birth. Baptism is a record of God’s eternal claim upon us. When we take it seriously, we live out, daughter or son of God.
Paul in Eph. 1:15-23 He is praying that God will give them wisdom & revelation, enlightened heart, hope, riches of his glorious inheritance, immeasurable greatness of his power. Gifts and details on how God puts it to work in Christ. (Raise from dead, seated him at his right hand, put all things under his feet, made him head of the church) When we practice resurrection, we can expect the gifts. It’s personal and cosmic as we participate in what Christ does.
Mystery is not things kept secret, classified information, but refers to the inside story of the way God does things that brings us into the story.
Eph 2:10, Work is not what we do, we are the work that God does.
Church is primarily the activity of God in Christ through the Spirit. 2:14ff. Jesus is our peace, made us one, broke down the dividing wall of hostility, abolished the law, created one new humanity, made peace, reconciled, put to death, proclaimed peace. We are included in the action. (Passive verbs) brought near, Spirit ives us access, built upon the foundation, joined together, built together.
We get our identity not by what we do, but by what’s done.
Jesus brings us home, Jesus brings us together, Jesus breaks down hostility, Jesus recreates us as unified humanity, Jesus reconciles all of us to God.
Paul prays: God would…grant power through his Spirit, Christ may dwell in our hearts, may have the power to comprehend, and filled with all the fullness. Eph. 3:14-21
Inner man is specifically Jesus.
Common misunderstandings: It’s common to think that church is what WE do. We build, organize, count, measure, people, bricks, liturgies, programs. It’s a store front, a cathedral, a state church, a country church (what takes place in church is up to us) Secondly, that the real church is invisible, a mystical company of souls that have little to do with one another apart from occasional gatherings, not bodies or buildings, entirely spiritual. They are both an essential denial of scripture.
We do better to learn from scripture, the cornucopia of church, the fullness of him who fills all in all, new humanity, household of God, holy temple, dwelling place for God, body of Christ, marriage, community.
Ephesians 4:1-16 is transitional so that we don’t abruptly shift our attention from God to us.
Paul’s “therefore” function as pitons, pegs drive into the vertical rock face of church stretching between heaven and earth, on which the Christian calling is played out.
Christian maturity is not a matter of doing more for God, it’s a matter of God doing more in us and through us.
Not the drunken parties of Dionysus, but the beauty of melodic harmony of the congregation.
We find ourselves in the singing and giving thanks in the greetings and prayers freshly renewed by the Spirit to practice resurrection in the company of the trinity.
We are not adequate to live a life of love out of our own resources. Enter the Spirit, who lives the life of God in us.
Ephesians 5:21-6:4. The place we live together intimately as husbands and wives, parents and children, our kitchens where we cook and eat meals, the bedrooms were we sleep and make love, our living rooms where we receive guests and enjoy one another’s company. Then he moves to the places where we rub shoulders with people everyday, masters and servants, employees and employers, owners and workers, farms and markets, schools and factories, buildings and bricks. (6:5-9).
Way, truth, life: organic whole, light, visible, all out in the open, revealed. Not so with the devil, where everything is abstract, impersonal, disguised as good, concealed. It’s evil that doesn’t look live evil. But silently destroys people’s lives. It dehumanizing, death-dealing, and alienating.
Letter: Pray also for me. When we say this, ask someone, the church becomes stronger and more mature, we grow.
Tychichus will tell you everything, Paul intends the letter to be received in the context it was written. Conversationally. Everything that’s going on with Paul, the church in Rome, the political events, greetings from friends, stories of the journey, etc. There is more to the church than sermons, sacraments, theology and liturgy, bible studies and prayer meetings, committee minutes and mission statements there are names, meals, conversations, births, deaths, there is US. You and I are Tychichus.
The practice of resurrection is an intentional decision to believe and participate in resurrection life, life out of death, life that trumps death, life that is the last word, Jesus life. In a world preoccupied with death and the devil. Worship of God, acceptance of resurrection, born from above by baptism identity, embrace of resurrection by eating and drinking Christ’s resurrection body and blood, attentive reading of and obedience to the revelation of God in scriptures, prayer that cultivates an intimacy with realities that are inaccessible to our senses, confession and forgiveness of sins, welcoming the stranger and outcast, working for peace and justice, healing and truth, sanctity and beauty, care for creation.
Balance - when the weights are balanced. The unknown and known weight measurements, two items (flour and lead) are axios, worthy. They have the same value, weight. God’s calling and human living. I beg you to walk worthy of the calling to which you have been called. When our living and God’s calling are in balance we are whole, living maturely, congruent with who God’s called us to be. Ephesians 4:1
4:12 These are not gifts to entertain us, but to equip us to work alongside of and in company with Jesus, the work of ministry to build up the body of Christ. We’re being invited to work with the Trinity. Implicit in the gift is an assignment.
7 verbs, blessed, chose, destined, bestowed, lavished, made known, gather up. (Eph 1:3-14)
Everybody I know has a story of not being chosen (clubs, teams). The last to be chosen is worst than not being chosen at all. Not chosen for job, as a spouse. It carries the message: I have no worth. I am not useful. I am good for nothing. We then insist on being noticed. We borrow identity from others (politics, sport) or bullying others or alter our physical appearance. Chose is a breath of fresh air. God chose us.
Birth certificate is a record of our biological birth. Baptism is a record of God’s eternal claim upon us. When we take it seriously, we live out, daughter or son of God.
Paul in Eph. 1:15-23 He is praying that God will give them wisdom & revelation, enlightened heart, hope, riches of his glorious inheritance, immeasurable greatness of his power. Gifts and details on how God puts it to work in Christ. (Raise from dead, seated him at his right hand, put all things under his feet, made him head of the church) When we practice resurrection, we can expect the gifts. It’s personal and cosmic as we participate in what Christ does.
Mystery is not things kept secret, classified information, but refers to the inside story of the way God does things that brings us into the story.
Eph 2:10, Work is not what we do, we are the work that God does.
Church is primarily the activity of God in Christ through the Spirit. 2:14ff. Jesus is our peace, made us one, broke down the dividing wall of hostility, abolished the law, created one new humanity, made peace, reconciled, put to death, proclaimed peace. We are included in the action. (Passive verbs) brought near, Spirit ives us access, built upon the foundation, joined together, built together.
We get our identity not by what we do, but by what’s done.
Jesus brings us home, Jesus brings us together, Jesus breaks down hostility, Jesus recreates us as unified humanity, Jesus reconciles all of us to God.
Paul prays: God would…grant power through his Spirit, Christ may dwell in our hearts, may have the power to comprehend, and filled with all the fullness. Eph. 3:14-21
Inner man is specifically Jesus.
Common misunderstandings: It’s common to think that church is what WE do. We build, organize, count, measure, people, bricks, liturgies, programs. It’s a store front, a cathedral, a state church, a country church (what takes place in church is up to us) Secondly, that the real church is invisible, a mystical company of souls that have little to do with one another apart from occasional gatherings, not bodies or buildings, entirely spiritual. They are both an essential denial of scripture.
We do better to learn from scripture, the cornucopia of church, the fullness of him who fills all in all, new humanity, household of God, holy temple, dwelling place for God, body of Christ, marriage, community.
Ephesians 4:1-16 is transitional so that we don’t abruptly shift our attention from God to us.
Paul’s “therefore” function as pitons, pegs drive into the vertical rock face of church stretching between heaven and earth, on which the Christian calling is played out.
Christian maturity is not a matter of doing more for God, it’s a matter of God doing more in us and through us.
Not the drunken parties of Dionysus, but the beauty of melodic harmony of the congregation.
We find ourselves in the singing and giving thanks in the greetings and prayers freshly renewed by the Spirit to practice resurrection in the company of the trinity.
We are not adequate to live a life of love out of our own resources. Enter the Spirit, who lives the life of God in us.
Ephesians 5:21-6:4. The place we live together intimately as husbands and wives, parents and children, our kitchens where we cook and eat meals, the bedrooms were we sleep and make love, our living rooms where we receive guests and enjoy one another’s company. Then he moves to the places where we rub shoulders with people everyday, masters and servants, employees and employers, owners and workers, farms and markets, schools and factories, buildings and bricks. (6:5-9).
Way, truth, life: organic whole, light, visible, all out in the open, revealed. Not so with the devil, where everything is abstract, impersonal, disguised as good, concealed. It’s evil that doesn’t look live evil. But silently destroys people’s lives. It dehumanizing, death-dealing, and alienating.
Letter: Pray also for me. When we say this, ask someone, the church becomes stronger and more mature, we grow.
Tychichus will tell you everything, Paul intends the letter to be received in the context it was written. Conversationally. Everything that’s going on with Paul, the church in Rome, the political events, greetings from friends, stories of the journey, etc. There is more to the church than sermons, sacraments, theology and liturgy, bible studies and prayer meetings, committee minutes and mission statements there are names, meals, conversations, births, deaths, there is US. You and I are Tychichus.
November 17, 2024
A Profound and Life-Changing Read
Practice Resurrection by Eugene Peterson is a book that doesn’t just invite you to read—it invites you to live differently. Rooted in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Peterson unpacks what it means to mature in Christ, not as a checklist of behaviors, but as a vibrant, Spirit-filled process of growing up into the fullness of Jesus.
Reading this book was a deeply challenging and transformative experience. Peterson has a way of drawing out the richness of scripture, making the familiar feel fresh and the complex feel deeply personal. He speaks directly to the heart, urging us to embrace the slow, sacred work of spiritual growth. I found myself rethinking what it means to be part of the Church and how God works in the ordinary, messy moments of life to shape us into His image.
This book didn’t just deepen my understanding of Jesus—it deepened my love for Him. It stirred a passion in me to follow Him more fully, to see His presence in my everyday life, and to participate in His work with greater joy. If you’re ready to be stretched, encouraged, and drawn closer to the heart of Jesus, Practice Resurrection is a must-read.
Practice Resurrection by Eugene Peterson is a book that doesn’t just invite you to read—it invites you to live differently. Rooted in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Peterson unpacks what it means to mature in Christ, not as a checklist of behaviors, but as a vibrant, Spirit-filled process of growing up into the fullness of Jesus.
Reading this book was a deeply challenging and transformative experience. Peterson has a way of drawing out the richness of scripture, making the familiar feel fresh and the complex feel deeply personal. He speaks directly to the heart, urging us to embrace the slow, sacred work of spiritual growth. I found myself rethinking what it means to be part of the Church and how God works in the ordinary, messy moments of life to shape us into His image.
This book didn’t just deepen my understanding of Jesus—it deepened my love for Him. It stirred a passion in me to follow Him more fully, to see His presence in my everyday life, and to participate in His work with greater joy. If you’re ready to be stretched, encouraged, and drawn closer to the heart of Jesus, Practice Resurrection is a must-read.
January 28, 2025
Peterson's study of Ephesians is also a study of the church and what it means to grow to maturity in Christ. There is lots of wisdom here--wisdom which runs counter to our society's glorification of immaturity and celebrity. The ordinariness of church + the Spirit is enough. Church is ordinary and messy, but God is there.
Here are a few of my takeaways:
- Grace is like water to the swimmer. Water doesn't seem like it could hold us up or be used to move, but if one surrenders to it, and then reaches out one's hand, one will be held up and move.
- We are the work of God. God is always at work in us and among us.
- When we pray, Jesus is right there in us.
- Discernment is necessary to grow to the full stature of Christ--living into truth is not simple and requires hardship.
- The Spirit is shy--it is in ordinary, daily practice that the Spirit shows up.
- "Love is who we are, love is what we want, love is what we want to practice, but it is in loving and being loved that we accumulate the most failures."
Here are a few of my takeaways:
- Grace is like water to the swimmer. Water doesn't seem like it could hold us up or be used to move, but if one surrenders to it, and then reaches out one's hand, one will be held up and move.
- We are the work of God. God is always at work in us and among us.
- When we pray, Jesus is right there in us.
- Discernment is necessary to grow to the full stature of Christ--living into truth is not simple and requires hardship.
- The Spirit is shy--it is in ordinary, daily practice that the Spirit shows up.
- "Love is who we are, love is what we want, love is what we want to practice, but it is in loving and being loved that we accumulate the most failures."
March 13, 2024
This book was a sweet tour through the book of Ephesians. An encouragement to “practice resurrection” and a glimpse of what that can look like. “There is more to the church than sermons and sacraments, theology and liturgy, Bible studies and prayer meetings, committee minutes and mission statements. There are names, meals, small talk, births and deaths. There is us. Conversation is the form that language takes when the persons of the Trinity and the persons of the congregation are in the same room. The “everything” that Tychicus will have to say to the Ephesians is no insignificant part of what it means to be the church. And you and I ARE Tychicus.”
January 6, 2024
I quite like Peterson’s approach to writing about Ephesians: Commentary on a paragraph, followed by meditations provoked by it. It feels like a way of having all of life be marked by this text.
August 14, 2024
I began my journey through Peterson’s five-part Spiritual Theology Series in 2021. I finished this morning with gratitude for his influence on my life and sadness it’s over. Reading just a few pages in the morning, coffee in hand, journal beside, Eugene has kept me sane in insane times, like a dear old friend walking me back from the ledge. I’m going to miss him. And revisit him often.
May 23, 2017
Grow Up!
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Paul’s opening words in Colossians 3 remind his readers that the basis for all our right thinking and right behavior is the resurrection of Christ and the believer’s participation in resurrection living. Eugene Peterson has been helping me in my understanding of this as I have read and pondered Practice Resurrection: A Conversation on Growing Up in Christ. “Jesus alive and present” changes everything, and “a lively sense of Jesus’ resurrection, which took place without any help or comment from us, keeps us from attempting to take charge of our own development and growth.” (8)
Understanding the Practice of Resurrection Living
Mining truth from the book of Ephesians and laying it down beside the words of poets, novelists, and theologians, Peterson said-without-saying-it that a wide and rich reading life will enhance ones ability to read and learn from Scripture. Continually making “organic connection[s] from what you can see to what you can’t see,” he employs vivid metaphors to invite readers into Paul’s exhortation to practice resurrection:
“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beg you to live [or walk] a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” (4:1) In the Greek, the word “worthy” comes embedded with a picture of a set of balancing scales. Does my life demonstrate a balance between my walk and my calling? It is interesting that the entire structure of Ephesians models this balance with chapters 1-3 focusing on God’s calling and chapters 4-6 examining the believer’s walk.
Paul’s body of Christ metaphor emphasizes the homeliness of the church gathered. On one level, we see a building; on another level, we witness the reality of people and relationships that make up the family of God; on a “spiritual” level there is the truth of the believer as the “dwelling place for God.” With thirty plus years as a pastor on his resume, Peterson urges believers that “when we consider church, we must not be more spiritual than God.”
In the practice of resurrection, we work, but it is far more accurate to think that “we are God’s work and doing God’s work.” This takes the focus off me (and all my valiant efforts to rescue God) and puts the spotlight on the truth that the entire revelation of God is the story of God at work alongside the invitation to join Him.
Understanding Prayer and the Church
When the Apostle Paul calls the church at Ephesus to grow up, his exhortation reverberates through the centuries, incorporating a call to live in fellowship with a local body of believers and to spend plenty of time speaking “the primary language that we use as we grow up in Christ” — this is prayer. Ephesians resonates with prayer language and comprises some of the richest and most fluently theological material in Paul’s writings. When my children began to reach the age when my own prayers for them seemed shallow and limiting, I memorized Ephesians 1 and the prayer in Ephesians 3 so that I could join Paul on our “knees before the Father” — instead of prescribing to God a plan of action that suited me.
The more I enjoy a book, the more difficulty I have in writing a review. Therefore, after having dog-eared pages and made a list of books that I need to read in follow-up, I feel as if I’ve only just begun to understand the words of Paul the Apostle and Peterson the Pastor on the practice of resurrection. This may be the best possible outcome, for I’m seeing that “growing up in Christ means growing up to a stature adequate to respond heart and soul to the largeness of God.” (130)
This, of course, we know is a process that will take all the long leisure of eternity to realize.
//
This book was provided by William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company in exchange for my review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Paul’s opening words in Colossians 3 remind his readers that the basis for all our right thinking and right behavior is the resurrection of Christ and the believer’s participation in resurrection living. Eugene Peterson has been helping me in my understanding of this as I have read and pondered Practice Resurrection: A Conversation on Growing Up in Christ. “Jesus alive and present” changes everything, and “a lively sense of Jesus’ resurrection, which took place without any help or comment from us, keeps us from attempting to take charge of our own development and growth.” (8)
Understanding the Practice of Resurrection Living
Mining truth from the book of Ephesians and laying it down beside the words of poets, novelists, and theologians, Peterson said-without-saying-it that a wide and rich reading life will enhance ones ability to read and learn from Scripture. Continually making “organic connection[s] from what you can see to what you can’t see,” he employs vivid metaphors to invite readers into Paul’s exhortation to practice resurrection:
“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beg you to live [or walk] a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” (4:1) In the Greek, the word “worthy” comes embedded with a picture of a set of balancing scales. Does my life demonstrate a balance between my walk and my calling? It is interesting that the entire structure of Ephesians models this balance with chapters 1-3 focusing on God’s calling and chapters 4-6 examining the believer’s walk.
Paul’s body of Christ metaphor emphasizes the homeliness of the church gathered. On one level, we see a building; on another level, we witness the reality of people and relationships that make up the family of God; on a “spiritual” level there is the truth of the believer as the “dwelling place for God.” With thirty plus years as a pastor on his resume, Peterson urges believers that “when we consider church, we must not be more spiritual than God.”
In the practice of resurrection, we work, but it is far more accurate to think that “we are God’s work and doing God’s work.” This takes the focus off me (and all my valiant efforts to rescue God) and puts the spotlight on the truth that the entire revelation of God is the story of God at work alongside the invitation to join Him.
Understanding Prayer and the Church
When the Apostle Paul calls the church at Ephesus to grow up, his exhortation reverberates through the centuries, incorporating a call to live in fellowship with a local body of believers and to spend plenty of time speaking “the primary language that we use as we grow up in Christ” — this is prayer. Ephesians resonates with prayer language and comprises some of the richest and most fluently theological material in Paul’s writings. When my children began to reach the age when my own prayers for them seemed shallow and limiting, I memorized Ephesians 1 and the prayer in Ephesians 3 so that I could join Paul on our “knees before the Father” — instead of prescribing to God a plan of action that suited me.
The more I enjoy a book, the more difficulty I have in writing a review. Therefore, after having dog-eared pages and made a list of books that I need to read in follow-up, I feel as if I’ve only just begun to understand the words of Paul the Apostle and Peterson the Pastor on the practice of resurrection. This may be the best possible outcome, for I’m seeing that “growing up in Christ means growing up to a stature adequate to respond heart and soul to the largeness of God.” (130)
This, of course, we know is a process that will take all the long leisure of eternity to realize.
//
This book was provided by William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company in exchange for my review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
February 6, 2020
Basing his thoughts on the letter to the Ephesians, Eugene Peterson has blessed us with another installment in his 'Conversations in Spiritual Theology' series with some solid insights into what it means to be Church. In an age of dwindling church attendance in the West and the popular preference for spirituality over organized religion, this book brings us back to the glory of the church. Make no mistake. Peterson does not romanticize the church or hide behind the notion of the invisible church or point us back to the so-called 'ideal' of the first century church.
Rather he writes candidly about the ordinariness, even messiness of the church both in its inception and two thousand years on. How the world easily dismisses the church as irrelevant! It was understandably a stumbling block to the Greeks and a shame to the Jews. Yet, Peterson points us to 'Inscape' (Gerard Hopkins) : an insider's view, a practitioner's view of the miracle of the church. Much like the Incarnation and the Resurrection, where going by modern marketing standards God did not do a very good job getting the word out! He could have simply written on the sky the big bold letters 'Christ is Risen!' with cosmic pyrotechnics for effect. But he chose instead to reveal it to a woman and then the Twelve and several other small groups of ordinary people with whom he entrusts the good news.
That's the rub. God is not into mass publicity, propaganda or bureaucracy. He's into relationships so his modus operandi has been to reach out to people one at a time. He gets into our ordinary life and our mess and comes as one of us. He's not into 'I-it' (control) 'I- them' (division) but 'I- thou' (communion) encountering us face to face.
So that's what church is all about. There's more than meets the eye. It is the scruffy, motley crew that gather week after week for love and worship no doubt, yet it is also the bride being washed and presented without spot or wrinkle before the Christ. As such, the church cannot be reduced to its functions or tasks. Peterson brings the 'is-ness' of the church to a sharp focus. With that the personal comes to the fore.
The church is to 'walk' worthy of her 'calling'. That means the church lives out of who she is. This she does by consenting to the full outworking of the triune God. It is grace that will transform her into God's workmanship. There is no messianic complex nor spectatorship but active participation in the work of God, in uniting all things in heaven and earth under Christ, of which the church is the firstfruits.
The outworking of God's eternal plan and manifold wisdom is fleshed out in the reciprocal love among the various members of the church family as each seeks to honor the Lordship of Christ over all their relationships and in every sphere of life.
In the final chapter on the armour of God, Peterson helps us see how the church was to stand firm rather than obsess about fighting or retreating in the face of evil. The church simply holds out the Resurrection hope amidst a world that keeps putting death in the headlines. That is what it means to be church: to witness, to proclaim and to practice resurrection.
This is the gist I gather (a feeble attempt, no doubt) from this very rich book. As typical of Peterson's writing, the prose is a flourish of literary beauty and theological depths. Rich in metaphors, word play and poetic allusions, it lends itself to lectio divina. In a world that has opted for religious consumerism and DIY spirituality and quick fixes, this book is a breath of fresh air and a wonderful resource for recovering a robust understanding of what it means to be church. Eat this book!
Rather he writes candidly about the ordinariness, even messiness of the church both in its inception and two thousand years on. How the world easily dismisses the church as irrelevant! It was understandably a stumbling block to the Greeks and a shame to the Jews. Yet, Peterson points us to 'Inscape' (Gerard Hopkins) : an insider's view, a practitioner's view of the miracle of the church. Much like the Incarnation and the Resurrection, where going by modern marketing standards God did not do a very good job getting the word out! He could have simply written on the sky the big bold letters 'Christ is Risen!' with cosmic pyrotechnics for effect. But he chose instead to reveal it to a woman and then the Twelve and several other small groups of ordinary people with whom he entrusts the good news.
That's the rub. God is not into mass publicity, propaganda or bureaucracy. He's into relationships so his modus operandi has been to reach out to people one at a time. He gets into our ordinary life and our mess and comes as one of us. He's not into 'I-it' (control) 'I- them' (division) but 'I- thou' (communion) encountering us face to face.
So that's what church is all about. There's more than meets the eye. It is the scruffy, motley crew that gather week after week for love and worship no doubt, yet it is also the bride being washed and presented without spot or wrinkle before the Christ. As such, the church cannot be reduced to its functions or tasks. Peterson brings the 'is-ness' of the church to a sharp focus. With that the personal comes to the fore.
The church is to 'walk' worthy of her 'calling'. That means the church lives out of who she is. This she does by consenting to the full outworking of the triune God. It is grace that will transform her into God's workmanship. There is no messianic complex nor spectatorship but active participation in the work of God, in uniting all things in heaven and earth under Christ, of which the church is the firstfruits.
The outworking of God's eternal plan and manifold wisdom is fleshed out in the reciprocal love among the various members of the church family as each seeks to honor the Lordship of Christ over all their relationships and in every sphere of life.
In the final chapter on the armour of God, Peterson helps us see how the church was to stand firm rather than obsess about fighting or retreating in the face of evil. The church simply holds out the Resurrection hope amidst a world that keeps putting death in the headlines. That is what it means to be church: to witness, to proclaim and to practice resurrection.
This is the gist I gather (a feeble attempt, no doubt) from this very rich book. As typical of Peterson's writing, the prose is a flourish of literary beauty and theological depths. Rich in metaphors, word play and poetic allusions, it lends itself to lectio divina. In a world that has opted for religious consumerism and DIY spirituality and quick fixes, this book is a breath of fresh air and a wonderful resource for recovering a robust understanding of what it means to be church. Eat this book!
Read
September 11, 2023“All Christian spirituality is thoroughly incarnational.”
“Wisdom is the practice of revelation.”
“… a lived awareness of all the ways of God being God, and then participating in these ways, which is practicing resurrection.”
“I don’t think we have to make any apologies that church is not conspicuously prominent as a place of peace. Peace is continuous, complex, and strenuous…
We accept the conditions given to us as church:
Jesus, who does not force peace upon us; our neighbors, backyard and worldwide, upon whom we don’t impose peace; and sacrifice, the only way - the Jesus way - of bringing about peace without violence.
All of us who understand and practice peace in the company of Jesus, who is our peace, have a lot of maturing to do. About the time we are becoming mature (if we ever do), we find that we have brought another generation into the world that has to go through the whole process once again. Humankind does not mature all at once…
At the source and center of church, Jesus is our peace. And so we don’t quit.
Neither are we intimidated by our critics, critics who know nothing of the ontological church, when they are scandalized by our failures.”
“The Christian life does not start with moral behavior. We don’t become good in order to get God. But having been brought into the operations of God, moral behavior provides forms for maturing in a resurrection life…
Moral acts are art forms for arranging and giving expression to resurrection.”
“Everything involved in the practice of resurrection requires vigilance lest we wander off on our own. Not a worried, anxious vigilance, to be sure, but vigilance nevertheless.
Protection here consists in deliberately and unhurriedly immersing ourselves in God’s ways before we go off on our own… absorbing into our praying imaginations a way of being. Like children who learn proper behavior from their parents, be imitators of God, keep company with God. Read the stories…
We marinate our prayers and our behavior in these stories that reveal God and His ways to us. Left to ourselves, most of what we imagine God to be and do is wrong. Nearly all of what our culture tells us that God is and does is wrong…
Revelation is a radical reorientation of reality…
We require a continuously repeated immersion in the revelation of God in Scriptures and Jesus as protection against the lies of the devil. They are such affable lies: lies that smilingly seduce and distract us from the cross of Christ, lies that genially offer to show us how to depersonalize the living God into an idol customized to our use and control.”
“Reverence opens up in us a capacity to grow, to become more than we are - to mature. Fear of the Lord opens our spirits, our souls, to become what we are not yet.”
“When we squander life on anything less than God revealed in Jesus and made present in the Spirit, we miss out on life itself, resurrection life…
The Christian life was never intended to be a conventional, cautious, careful, tip-toeing-through-the-tulips way of life, avoiding moral mud-puddles, staying out of trouble, and hopefully accumulating enough marks for good behavior to insure us a happy hereafter. And the church was never intended to be a subculture specializing in holiness, sanctification, or perfection.”
“There are no shortcuts to growing up… but stories help. By means of story we are immersed in the intricate complexities of persons and places, sacrifice and trouble, failure and achievement, laughter and tears… that word by word, day by day, gives form and beauty to it all.
But we must stay in the story…”
“Wisdom is the practice of revelation.”
“… a lived awareness of all the ways of God being God, and then participating in these ways, which is practicing resurrection.”
“I don’t think we have to make any apologies that church is not conspicuously prominent as a place of peace. Peace is continuous, complex, and strenuous…
We accept the conditions given to us as church:
Jesus, who does not force peace upon us; our neighbors, backyard and worldwide, upon whom we don’t impose peace; and sacrifice, the only way - the Jesus way - of bringing about peace without violence.
All of us who understand and practice peace in the company of Jesus, who is our peace, have a lot of maturing to do. About the time we are becoming mature (if we ever do), we find that we have brought another generation into the world that has to go through the whole process once again. Humankind does not mature all at once…
At the source and center of church, Jesus is our peace. And so we don’t quit.
Neither are we intimidated by our critics, critics who know nothing of the ontological church, when they are scandalized by our failures.”
“The Christian life does not start with moral behavior. We don’t become good in order to get God. But having been brought into the operations of God, moral behavior provides forms for maturing in a resurrection life…
Moral acts are art forms for arranging and giving expression to resurrection.”
“Everything involved in the practice of resurrection requires vigilance lest we wander off on our own. Not a worried, anxious vigilance, to be sure, but vigilance nevertheless.
Protection here consists in deliberately and unhurriedly immersing ourselves in God’s ways before we go off on our own… absorbing into our praying imaginations a way of being. Like children who learn proper behavior from their parents, be imitators of God, keep company with God. Read the stories…
We marinate our prayers and our behavior in these stories that reveal God and His ways to us. Left to ourselves, most of what we imagine God to be and do is wrong. Nearly all of what our culture tells us that God is and does is wrong…
Revelation is a radical reorientation of reality…
We require a continuously repeated immersion in the revelation of God in Scriptures and Jesus as protection against the lies of the devil. They are such affable lies: lies that smilingly seduce and distract us from the cross of Christ, lies that genially offer to show us how to depersonalize the living God into an idol customized to our use and control.”
“Reverence opens up in us a capacity to grow, to become more than we are - to mature. Fear of the Lord opens our spirits, our souls, to become what we are not yet.”
“When we squander life on anything less than God revealed in Jesus and made present in the Spirit, we miss out on life itself, resurrection life…
The Christian life was never intended to be a conventional, cautious, careful, tip-toeing-through-the-tulips way of life, avoiding moral mud-puddles, staying out of trouble, and hopefully accumulating enough marks for good behavior to insure us a happy hereafter. And the church was never intended to be a subculture specializing in holiness, sanctification, or perfection.”
“There are no shortcuts to growing up… but stories help. By means of story we are immersed in the intricate complexities of persons and places, sacrifice and trouble, failure and achievement, laughter and tears… that word by word, day by day, gives form and beauty to it all.
But we must stay in the story…”
June 11, 2017
I love the Church. I have loved the Church for decades. The Church is the Bride of Christ, and the gates of hell will not prevail against her.
In my years, there have been many who criticize the church (small c church), and not without good reason. Yes, it's messy. Yes, it is imperfect. But it is still the Church, when taken in all together.
Eugene Peterson's study in Ephesians in Practice Resurrection is stunning. He takes this little epistle and shows us how it applies to the Church and everything she does (or should be doing). At the same time, he shows us how God works, both in individual lives and in the life of the Church.
There is so much good knowledge in this book that I will most definitely read it again, more slowly, more studiously. On the first reading, though, the part that hit me the hardest was his discussion of Martin Buber's book, I and Thou, as he discussed the role of the Christian in family and workplace.
Buber came up with three different types of relationships. I-It, Us-Them, and I-You. Most people deal with relationships in an "I-It" mindset. Other people are objects to be used to my advantage. There are far too many of us who are trapped in an "Us-Them" mindset, especially people who claim the name of Jesus in our current culture. The only proper relationship mindset is "I-You," personalizing people, not objectifying them. We even tend to attempt to deal with God in an "I-It" mindset.
Obviously, I can't even begin to do this justice. Eugene Peterson has such a beautiful way with words, that any attempt I make to paraphrase them would sell them short.
I'll leave this review with my favorite quote (so far) from this book.
"The extensive commodification of worship in America has marginalized far too many churches as orienting centers for how to live a more effective life for God."
I could not agree more.
In my years, there have been many who criticize the church (small c church), and not without good reason. Yes, it's messy. Yes, it is imperfect. But it is still the Church, when taken in all together.
Eugene Peterson's study in Ephesians in Practice Resurrection is stunning. He takes this little epistle and shows us how it applies to the Church and everything she does (or should be doing). At the same time, he shows us how God works, both in individual lives and in the life of the Church.
There is so much good knowledge in this book that I will most definitely read it again, more slowly, more studiously. On the first reading, though, the part that hit me the hardest was his discussion of Martin Buber's book, I and Thou, as he discussed the role of the Christian in family and workplace.
Buber came up with three different types of relationships. I-It, Us-Them, and I-You. Most people deal with relationships in an "I-It" mindset. Other people are objects to be used to my advantage. There are far too many of us who are trapped in an "Us-Them" mindset, especially people who claim the name of Jesus in our current culture. The only proper relationship mindset is "I-You," personalizing people, not objectifying them. We even tend to attempt to deal with God in an "I-It" mindset.
Obviously, I can't even begin to do this justice. Eugene Peterson has such a beautiful way with words, that any attempt I make to paraphrase them would sell them short.
I'll leave this review with my favorite quote (so far) from this book.
"The extensive commodification of worship in America has marginalized far too many churches as orienting centers for how to live a more effective life for God."
I could not agree more.
March 15, 2018
Eugene Peterson is not popular in my evangelical tribe these days (to a large extent, rightly so). Nevertheless, this is profound spiritual theology based on Ephesians. It's not a commentary on Ephesians. Rather, it's an extended collection of reflections on the gift of *church* and a critique of western church culture. Some of it is practical; some quite ethereal. Most of it is evinces a pastor-professor of great learning and comes from sustained personal meditation. His is a sort of poetic writing that I've enjoyed. Like any author, we should take him with a grain of salt and examine him carefully (see a helpful article below on Peterson's work and consider it a disclaimer).
Still, I benefited deeply from the book's relentless reminder that everything about Christianity and church is personal: a real living Christ whom we love, know, and follow; and a church of real persons, called by God, broken, messed up, but raised by God into lives of resurrection, to whom God has joined us as members of one body.
I give this book 5 stars for originality and authenticity. Peterson's style of writing actually impacts me. It's the right kind of heady; it aims at the heart, it's compelling.
Disclaimer: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/ar...
Still, I benefited deeply from the book's relentless reminder that everything about Christianity and church is personal: a real living Christ whom we love, know, and follow; and a church of real persons, called by God, broken, messed up, but raised by God into lives of resurrection, to whom God has joined us as members of one body.
I give this book 5 stars for originality and authenticity. Peterson's style of writing actually impacts me. It's the right kind of heady; it aims at the heart, it's compelling.
Disclaimer: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/ar...
December 17, 2015
This is my second reading of Practice Resurrection. I have generally the same impression as the first time, that this is a great book about what it means to become mature in Christ and why the local church has to be a part of that. I think this is an important book for local church leaders to read about maturity and I think this is a book that counters the idea among some Christians that the focus of Christianity is on the salvation event. Christianity is not about an event, but about practicing to become more like Christ. Just like playing an instrument or doing anything else well, if we want to become better at it, we must practice. If we want to be more like Christ, we have to practice being like Christ.
This is also a long reflection on the book of Ephesians. I appreciate that Peterson grounds pretty much all of his book on a particular piece of scripture. While he moves around it is the book of Ephesians that is the heart.
My first Full review on my blog at http://bookwi.se/practice_resurrection/
My second reading review is at http://bookwi.se/practice-resurrection/
This is also a long reflection on the book of Ephesians. I appreciate that Peterson grounds pretty much all of his book on a particular piece of scripture. While he moves around it is the book of Ephesians that is the heart.
My first Full review on my blog at http://bookwi.se/practice_resurrection/
My second reading review is at http://bookwi.se/practice-resurrection/
September 9, 2021
Ephesians is the book of the Bible that helps us 'grow up in Christ' as the title of this book states. And indeed this is written in the wonderful conversational style that Peterson brings to many of his works. This is no verse by verse commentary, rather one that explores the big themes of the epistle and the life of walking with Christ.
This was a book I read very slowly, perhaps too slowly and have a desire to read it again soon as there is such good fruit within that one needs the repetition for it to sink deeper within one's heart.
I also used the accompanying Study Guide which is an excellent one, as it summarises the key points of each chapter, provides a page or two of the key quotes and then challenges you with a small number of questions that enable you to personalise the content.
Highly recommended.
This was a book I read very slowly, perhaps too slowly and have a desire to read it again soon as there is such good fruit within that one needs the repetition for it to sink deeper within one's heart.
I also used the accompanying Study Guide which is an excellent one, as it summarises the key points of each chapter, provides a page or two of the key quotes and then challenges you with a small number of questions that enable you to personalise the content.
Highly recommended.
October 9, 2018
This was the 5th and last book in Eugene Peterson's series on spiritual theology. Whereas other books in the series mostly focused on particular topics and jumped around in Scripture quite a bit, this one was a complete look at Paul's letter to the Ephesians. The focus was on resurrection living, or growing into maturity in Christ and in the church. There were chapters in this book that really hit me, specifically the ones focused on the view of the church that Peterson sees in Ephesians. There were other chapters that did not have much personal impact, likely because they were dealing with issues I have not yet discovered as important or that I have already grasped to a certain degree. I enjoyed this book. I loved this series.
June 22, 2020
I started reading this book almost four years ago when I began pastoring at my church and preaching through Ephesians.
Since then, I have picked it up and put it down periodically, chewing it little by little.
That's how I like to read Peterson, whose writing is rich and savory.
He is a pastor, with an insider's view of the particularities of ministry, but can also offer an outsider's prophetic voice, in criticism of the surrounding culture.
Moreover, his writingsare conversant with a variety of literature, and steeped in a biblical worldview.
The structure of this book strolls through Paul's letter to the Ephesians, repeatedly affirming the goodness and importance of the church, in all of its imperfections.
A wonderful book for any pastor or serious churchgoer!
Since then, I have picked it up and put it down periodically, chewing it little by little.
That's how I like to read Peterson, whose writing is rich and savory.
He is a pastor, with an insider's view of the particularities of ministry, but can also offer an outsider's prophetic voice, in criticism of the surrounding culture.
Moreover, his writingsare conversant with a variety of literature, and steeped in a biblical worldview.
The structure of this book strolls through Paul's letter to the Ephesians, repeatedly affirming the goodness and importance of the church, in all of its imperfections.
A wonderful book for any pastor or serious churchgoer!
May 19, 2018
I have found all of the books so far in this series to be tremendously helpful and illuminating in learning how to walk in the way of Christ. Peterson makes the path before us clearer and more hopeful, while still being transparent about the difficulties. It’s rare to find Christian teaching that is both so thoughtful and practical This book was focused on the book of Ephesians as a guide for “growing up in maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.” It emphasizes the importance of the church community in this growth and the joint effort needed to become new people. I found the last few chapters in particular to be quite profound. Highly recommend the series.
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