Readings
Amazon links are provided for those books currently available. A few of the Ascension Press titles are still in the works.
Please order all the available books as soon as you have registered. The estimated cost if you order all as Kindle ebooks is $100 (Note: Seeking God is only available as a paperback). If you order all as paperbacks, the total cost is around $200+.
Required reading The list is below. In addition to the required books there will be shorter articles sent by email attachments or links. You need to purchase all the required books as you begin the program. Modules will draw on chapters from several books. The assignment for particulate sessions or modules will be listed in the “Readings and Assignments” links. The workshop sessions assume you have read the assigned readings.
1. Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict, Esther de Waal AMAZON
2. Fill All Things: The Spiritual Dynamics of the Parish Church, Robert A. Gallagher AMAZON
3. A Wonderful and Sacred Mystery: A Practical Theology of the Parish Church AMAZON
4. Done and Left Undone, Scott Benhase AMAZON
5. An Energy Not Its Own: Three cycles of parish life and the purposes of the parish church AMAZON
6. Nothing so contagious as holiness: Developmental Initiatives for Increased Parish Vitality Grounded in Spiritual Practice AMAZON
7. Finding God in All Things: Contemplation, Intercession, and Intervention AMAZON
Required reading will also include a number of PDFs sent to you by email.
Reading the seven required books, all the readings provided related to specific modules and sessions, and one book from the “Supplemental Reading” list (your choice). Note: everyone participating is asked to complete the assigned readings related to specific modules or sessions. That will include about 60% of the material in the 7 required books and other material provided as PDFs).
Supplemental reading - valuable resources, but not required for participation. If you want a certificate, you will need to read one of the books from this list.
Life in Christ: Practicing Christian Spirituality, Julia Gatta AMAZON
The Nearness of God: Parish Ministry as Spiritual Practice, Julia Gatta AMAZON
Pastoral Theology: a reorientation, Martin Thornton WIPS and Stock Publ
There is nothing so contagious as holiness, nothing more pervasive than Prayer. This is precisely what the traditional Church means by evangelism and what distinguishes it from recruitment.” –M. Thornton
Christian Proficiency, Martin Thornton WIPS and Stock Publ
“Proficiency” is not a term that readily comes to mind when one thinks of the spiritual life. Nevertheless, it is the term used by medieval writers on spirituality to distinguish those who are no longer beginners but who have not yet attained to perfection. The “Proficient” is best described as one who has an adult relationship with God. The book sets out to describe what this level of spirituality looks like and how one might achieve it. - Matthew Dallman
Concerning the Inner Life, Evelyn Underhill AMAZON
The Vision of God: The Christian Doctrine of the Summum Bonum, Kenneth Kirk AMAZON
The Corporate Culture Survival Guide Hardcover, Edgar H. Schein AMAZON
Primal Leadership: Learning to Lead with Emotional Intelligence, Goleman, etc. AMAZON
Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times, Peter L. Steinke AMAZON
A good text on Organization Development, for example
Organization Development & Change, Thomas Cummings and Christopher Worley, South-Western College Publishing, Cincinnati (or any recent edition) AMAZON
Organization Development: The Process of Leading Organizational Change, Donald L. Anderson AMAZON
Note: These books are usually rather expensive. Often an older edition will be adequate. These texts are best used to look up specific issues you want to explore.
If you decide to do the developmental initiative that uses this book -
In Your Holy Spirit: Traditional Spiritual Practices in Today’s Christian Life, Michelle Heyne. AMAZON
You may also find the companion book useful In Your Holy Spirit: Shaping the Parish Though Spiritual Practice, Robert Gallagher. AMAZON
