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Naked Spirituality: A Life with God in 12 Simple Words
Christianity is in crisis. Many sincere Christians feel their traditional Christian practices are in danger of becoming irrelevant, empty rituals. In his previous book A New Kind of Christianity, Brian D. McLaren offered new biblical models for how we understand the central ideas of a faith that provides hope for restoring and reinvigorating the power of the gospels to tra...more
ebook, 288 pages
Published
March 15th 2011
by HarperCollins e-books
(first published March 1st 2011)
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I actually did glean a few good ideas about drawing closer to God from this book and I would have rated this 1 1/2 stars if I could as a result. But otherwise, I had a lot of problems with this and actually just skimmed the last 1/3. First, the author started off blaming all the world's social issues on organized religion which is something about which I am sick of hearing. The organized Christian churches of this world do more socially than any other organizations out there. What is really odd...more
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Oct 25, 2011
Callie
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2011-nonfiction,
to-read-again
I really love this book. McLaren does a great job of identifying different stages of the spiritual life, which he says come and go cycliclly. I don't agree with all of what he has to say, but I was able to look past those things to take the good practices that he describes. I wouldn't recommend this to conservative Christians who feel that they have to write a teacher off if he disagrees with them in any area. I want to read this book again. last 1/4 was a little slow, maybe b/c I haven't been a...more
This is Brian McLaren at his best.
He shares stories from his own faith journey and places them within a context of four seasons and 12 disciplines of the spiritual life:
Simplicity: Spring
Here = Presence
Thanks = Appreciation
O = Adoration
Complexity: Summer
Sorry = Confession
Help = Petition
Please = Intercession
Perplexity: Autumn
When = Aspiration
No = Refusal
Why = Lament
Harmony: Winter
Behold = Meditation
Yes = Consecration
[silence] = Contemplation
This is not a light read, so be prepared to chew on the...more
He shares stories from his own faith journey and places them within a context of four seasons and 12 disciplines of the spiritual life:
Simplicity: Spring
Here = Presence
Thanks = Appreciation
O = Adoration
Complexity: Summer
Sorry = Confession
Help = Petition
Please = Intercession
Perplexity: Autumn
When = Aspiration
No = Refusal
Why = Lament
Harmony: Winter
Behold = Meditation
Yes = Consecration
[silence] = Contemplation
This is not a light read, so be prepared to chew on the...more
As another Goodreads' reader writes, Brian McLaren "shares stories from his own faith journey and places them within a context of four seasons and 12 disciplines of the spiritual life:
Simplicity: Spring
Here = Presence
Thanks = Appreciation
O = Adoration
Complexity: Summer
Sorry = Confession
Help = Petition
Please = Intercession
Perplexity: Autumn
When = Aspiration
No = Refusal
Why = Lament
Harmony: Winter
Behold = Meditation
Yes = Consecration
[silence] = Contemplation
This is not a light read, so be prepared...more
Simplicity: Spring
Here = Presence
Thanks = Appreciation
O = Adoration
Complexity: Summer
Sorry = Confession
Help = Petition
Please = Intercession
Perplexity: Autumn
When = Aspiration
No = Refusal
Why = Lament
Harmony: Winter
Behold = Meditation
Yes = Consecration
[silence] = Contemplation
This is not a light read, so be prepared...more
Jun 15, 2012
Cornelia
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
spiritual-formation
Pithy, well written. Easily accessible for beginners in spiritual formation, but deep enough to engage persons on a deeper walk.
With every McLaren book I read I find myself consistently agreeing with his insightful analysis of the modern church and his thoughts about the direction that faith in our culture needs to go. This book re-examines the classic spiritual disciplines from a more contemporary viewpoint. He suggests a single word for each discipline to direct our attention regarding that discipline. The book is easy to read as well as informative and with the exercises and questions at the back of the book, it could...more
Feb 14, 2013
James Titterton
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
theology-spirituality
I first heard about McLaren's book at a talk he gave at the Greenbelt festival in which he outlined his model of the 4 stages of the spiritual life - Simplicity, Complexity, Perplexity, Harmony, and then back around again. These four stages form the basis of 'Naked Spirituality', with each stage assigned three of the twelve words referred to in the book's subtitle. McLaren uses these twelve words as a framing device for his chapters on the practices and rituals that form the bedrock of the spiri...more
If you are exhausted by people sniping and grumbling about how subscribers to particular
Religious Traditions and views aren't spiritual, or don't know what spiritualty is, you must read this book. Brian D. McLaren does an excellent job of articulating how he himself found the hidden treasure of being fully human and fully alive and loved by a God who was both immanent and transcendent within a particular traditional right wing Protestant denomination. Not being of the same tradition, and leaning...more
Religious Traditions and views aren't spiritual, or don't know what spiritualty is, you must read this book. Brian D. McLaren does an excellent job of articulating how he himself found the hidden treasure of being fully human and fully alive and loved by a God who was both immanent and transcendent within a particular traditional right wing Protestant denomination. Not being of the same tradition, and leaning...more
I enjoy McLaren's vulnerability within his writing - I get the sense that I'm listening to someone who's still wrestling over things, like I am, and not someone who's professing to have it all worked out.
My take away from this book was the permission McLaren's stages brought to my own life and walk with God. The seasons were: Simplicity: The Season of Spiritual Awakening; Complexity: The Season of Spiritual Strengthening; Perplexity: The Season of Spiritual Survival; and Harmony: The Season of...more
My take away from this book was the permission McLaren's stages brought to my own life and walk with God. The seasons were: Simplicity: The Season of Spiritual Awakening; Complexity: The Season of Spiritual Strengthening; Perplexity: The Season of Spiritual Survival; and Harmony: The Season of...more
I like Brian McLaren, but I've found his books to be either hit or miss and this one seems to be a miss for me. It's a lightweight, I guess intentionally, but there's nothing really challenging here, it seems to me. It's like he set out to write a new book and just phoned it in. Very disappointing. I expected his usually radical approach to religion and spirituality, but felt deflated while reading it. Indeed, I didn't even finish. Made it halfway through before giving up. Pity. At least I'm con...more
I thought Naked Spirituality was a bit of a curates egg. There is some great wisdom and advice in it, the prayer exercise are helpful and simple and it is engagingly written. However I struggled to get through Naked Spirituality. I found that the way it was written, whilst original, made it hard to persevere. McLaren's idea of the 4 seasons is inventive, but it meant I was naturally drawn to the season I am experiencing now and found the other 3 less relevant. More importantly there seemed to be...more
Was not familiar with Brian McLaren prior to reading this. Because he broke his message into 12 neatly laid out chapters, for once I decide to take my time with a book and read it in small spurts. Indeed, he asks that you do just that. This is good for the long-time Christian who perhaps has vague feelings of dissatisfaction or questions what they have been fed. Thoughtful essays presented in the metaphor of seasons. Somewhat similar to the writing of Philip Gulley.
Read the chapters from the section "Perplexity" and while I like the ideas he presents, he doesn't go into enough depth. I suppose the book is supposed to be rather an intro to his version of spiritual practices, but chapters on doubt and suffering tend to need more space and handling than other topics, and the book would have benefited from that.
I had some wonderful moments with this book, and some less-than-wonderful moments. Not all of Mr. McLaren's arguments are well-formed and clear, but many of them are, and there is MUCH to be learned from this work. The author does an excellent job of describing the various stages (or "seasons" of faith). I do not think he disparages all organized religion, but is critical of those religious organizations who fail us when we need more than the Season of Simplicity (those pastors and religions who...more
I found this book very helpful in processing the stages through which the spiritual journey progresses. I was easily able to categorize my own journey using the framework presented.
For my more conservative friends - this book must be started with your flak jacket on to avoid being offended by the author's criticism of institutional religion. However, with an open mind and persistence, there are many meaningful and potentially productive insights and practices to be gleaned from this work.
For my more conservative friends - this book must be started with your flak jacket on to avoid being offended by the author's criticism of institutional religion. However, with an open mind and persistence, there are many meaningful and potentially productive insights and practices to be gleaned from this work.
In this book Brian is writing into an area that challenges mainstream popular Christian presentations of the "spiritual life".
To me the book feels like wide open spaces....using the seasons of winter spring summer and autumn as metaphors for different seasons of spirituality Brian broadens out(perhaps somewhat paradoxically because it attempts to describe the narrow places through which we must enter if we are to grow up in our relationship with God) our concepts of what we may experience over...more
To me the book feels like wide open spaces....using the seasons of winter spring summer and autumn as metaphors for different seasons of spirituality Brian broadens out(perhaps somewhat paradoxically because it attempts to describe the narrow places through which we must enter if we are to grow up in our relationship with God) our concepts of what we may experience over...more
Love the way he expressed thoughts that may not be original, but blends the spiritual and philosophical issues that continue to command attention. I wish all churches could follow this understanding of spirituality without religiosity.
A very insightful book, easy to read, provoking further thinking, helped me to relook at the things which were passed on to me in relation to faith, help me to rethink my own beliefs.
I seldom read books on spiritual disciplines as they tend to leave me feeling like I'm not very good at my relationship with God. This book is completely different. I really enjoyed it.
Brian McLaren talks about his spiritual journey in a long career as a minister. An encouraging book for people on their own spiritual journey.
Within this book McLaren is taking on the difficult task of experiencing and understanding a life with God. Not an easy task. However, while reading it, I felt like he was trying to modernize the old medieval spiritual practices that modern people could now encounter and understand with relating that to God. This is done in very vague and generic way so that all people could insert themselves. However, part of this is also the complexity of the subject, how a person lives their life with God. Th...more
So good for anyone who recognizes that we grow and change on our spiritual journey. That change can be cyclical, as faith/spirituality grows deeper.
I actually didn't finish. Not that it's a bad book, I simply got bored with it. I enjoy inspirational books, just not this one.
Ambiguity of language makes this book rare for me: I don't recommend it.
See http://www.BillDahl.net for the review
got up to chapter 8 - Aug 2011
So far I am enthralled.
Abandoned. Just didn't reach me the way his other books have.
McLaren discusses spirituality from a Christian perspective, but I also like the way he includes other faith systems in his approach to God. His 12 words help me focus on the journey and my response to God. I think he helps us see that we are not alone and that the journey can have many stages. For me, reading this book as part of a study at church was much better than trying to just read through it by myself. The insight of others and the guidance of our minister gave the book more depth for me...more
Excellent so far!
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Brian D. McLaren is an internationally known speaker and the author of over ten highly acclaimed books on contemporary Christianity, including A New Kind of Christian, A Generous Orthodoxy, and The Secret Message of Jesus.
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