Smple Spirituality | Simple Spirituality: Learning to See God in a Broken World

Simple, yet profound | Simple Spirituality: Learning to See God in a Broken World | Christopher L. Heuertz

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	• Simple Spirituality: Learning to See God in a Broken World Christopher L. Heuertz IVP Books, 2008 - 159 pages average customer review:based on 8 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

complicated simplicity

heuertz has put his heart on the chopping block, given God the axe, and allowed a beautiful brokenness to be exposed. dare i say, rivaling greats like nouwen, vanier, and yancey, simple spirituality provides a powerful yet gentle glance into the true spirit of Jesus. there's really nothing simple about, except that it's simply a profound piece of writing.

Smple Spirituality

This book was sent to us as a gift. We liked it so much we bought 10 more to give away to others. The author uses personal experiences and observations throughout the book, which helps to reinforce the ideas presented. It is an easy read, but you will be challenged to look at the world in a different way when you finish the book.

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Simple, yet profound

In spite of the popularity of the term "simplicity", it seems that not much is simple these days. "Real Simple" magazine gives guidance on decorating your table for a five course meal or coordinating your living room curtains with your TV remote control. Stores sell wall plaques declaring "Simplicity" for $19.99 to add pizzazz to your home ambience.
To further complicate matters, we live in an information saturated society with the ability to access incredible amounts of knowledge in rapid fire succession. At times, this excessive knowledge spills over into spiritual lives, leaving us with piles of books, concordances, and commentaries with which to understand our spirituality. Sometimes the tools are useful, and sometimes, the weight of it all can be slightly overwhelming.

The attempt to sort through such complexities first drew me to a little book entitled Simple Spirituality. Written by Chris Heuertz, director of Word Made Flesh, an organization which serves among the poorest of the poor, Simple Spirituality stays true to its title by exploring five simple yet profound commitments:

* Humility
* Community
* Simplicity
* Submission
* Brokenness

In exploring these "lifestyle celebrations", Heuertz uses stories of his relationships with the poor around the world to illustrate the depth of spirituality he has learned from the poor. He examines what the wealthy western church misses from its lack of connection to the poor. "I believe that God is using the cries of our friends who suffer in poverty today to call the church out of its sound-proof sanctuaries," he writes. "God is challenging the church to respond to a world in need. Too often, however, the church has isolated itself and failed to listen, and thus contributed to the suffering. God is calling us to establish communities that offer the prophetic presence of Christ in today's world."

Heuertz addresses the temptation to use personal geography to justify disengaging from the difficulties of the rest of the world. His conclusion that "those who go without the basic necessities of life, regardless of their geographical location or proximity, are nevertheless counted as our family: fellow believers in the Sudan or Sri Lanka or Peru are as much an intrinsic part of the body of Christ as are the Methodists, Presbyterians, or Catholics down the street." He asserts that it is simplicity that helps us to remember such family obligations.

With deep gentleness, Heuertz uses the brokenness of the world as a springboard for spiritual vitality. Using what he calls the "Five Stones of Brokenness" - humility, community, simplicity, submission, and brokenness - he challenges those of us who live in plenty to seek a fuller faith by reconsidering how we might "live more simply so others may simply live" (Mother Theresa).

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Beautiful and Heartbreaking

I love this book for it's honesty and clear, simple message. Heuertz candidly shares heartbreaking stories of how his experience with the poor and broken have propelled him to contemplate spirituality in a new way. By doing so, he poetically gives a voice to those who are seemingly powerless in this world.

Clearly, Heuertz doesn't share these stories to focus on himself. There's no loud, boisterous qualities to this book. Simple Spiritually doesn't pontificate and Heuertz never mentions the words "relevant" or "emergent." I highly recommend this quiet, thoughtful and vulnerable book to anyone looking for a richer life experience.

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A needed challenge to the church.

Chris's book is a needed voice in the church today. It calls us to remember the poor as we find what it means to live a genuine Christian life. And he doesn't let himself or the church off the hook easily. He is honest with himself and invites the reader to be honest with themselves as well. It's challenging, causing the reader to rethink what the Christian life really can look like and pushes the reader to know who Jesus really is. It's one of those books that can be read again and again because it's lessons that we all struggle with and can continually grow in.

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Chris Heuertz believes that any true path to spiritual sight ought to be simple.

While he's not a contemplative and hardly a mystic, Chris has found, in the Bible and in his work with impoverished people, evidence of a simple spirituality.

This way of humility, community, simplicity, submission and brokenness will help you see--no matter how dark things get.

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