When we . . . upon hearing the story desire to participate in God, we are no longer preoccupied with self, the welfare of self, the indulgence of self, and the preservation of self. Instead the focus is on God’s purposes for our life and the life of the world. . . . To worship...Read More
Current spirituality . . . is expressed more as “a journey into self” than “a journey into God.” Nevertheless, union with God does have to do with self, not as in the narcissistic self but as the challenge to be the new self—re-created to be all that God intends us to be in our restored...Read More
We can’t change ourselves or the world. So God does it for us. God’s story is the story of how God reversed the human condition, broke the hold of sin and death—which separates us from God, and restored us to the original vision of becoming the person God created us to be and making the...Read More
Christian spirituality . . . is God’s passionate embrace of us; our passionate embrace of God. . . . On the one side we find the divine initiative, referring to what God does to make us spiritual. On the other side we find our response, referring to our reception of the union. . . ....Read More
The heart of biblical and ancient Christian spirituality is our mystical union with God accomplished by Jesus Christ through the Spirit. God unites with humanity in his saving incarnation, death, and resurrection. We unite with God as we receive his new life within us. -Robert E. Webber, The Divine Embrace: Recovering the Passionate Spiritual Life (Grand Rapids,...Read More
There is no story but God’s story; no God but the Father, Son and Spirit; and no life but the baptized life. -Robert E. Webber, The Divine Embrace: Recovering the Passionate Spiritual Life (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2006), 243.Read More
The whole church belongs to God, and not just part of it. We need to see the particular emphasis of our own subculture as well as that of others as a necessary and vital part of the whole. True spirituality is inclusive, not exclusive. -Robert E. Webber, Common Roots: The Original Call to an Ancient-Future Faith (Grand...Read More
The incarnational approach to truth affirms that truth is beyond our comprehension but within our grasp. To assume we know it all is not spiritual. To assume we know nothing is not spiritual. . . . We must learn to test our ideas and subjective notions by good exegesis and the tradition of the church....Read More
We must restore the incarnational understanding of worship—that is, that in worship the divine meets the human. God speaks to us in his Word. He comes to us in the sacrament. We respond in faith and go out to act on it! -Robert E. Webber, Common Roots: The Original Call to an Ancient-Future Faith (Grand Rapids, MI:...Read More
In this third of four episodes, Jim discusses the intentionality behind IWS’s mission statement, the definitions of worship and Christian renewal, the value of Biblical, historical, and cultural grounding in renewal, the challenges of taking different cultural groundings into account within IWS’s context and the realities that many students face upon leaving the school. You...Read More
An incarnational understanding of spirituality affirms that Christ is our spirituality. It is his life, death, and resurrection that make us acceptable to God. We cannot love God with our whole heart, soul, and mind. But Christ can and has. We cannot love our neighbors as ourselves. But Christ can and has. -Robert E. Webber, Common...Read More
In this second installment of IWS President Jim Hart’s interview for the Provoked to Newness podcast, Jim talks about what it felt like to become president of IWS, special memories of Robert E. Webber (his friend and predecessor), Bob’s tendency to listen and ask questions, Bob’s influence in the lives of others, and his greatest...Read More
The constant reminder of time revolving around the life of Christ . . . will serve to break down those unhealthy distinctions we make between the secular and the sacred, causing us to realize that all time belongs to the Lord who has created it, redeemed it, and will consummate it in his coming. In...Read More
