Forward Today: Making time for prayer

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Dear friends in Christ,

This gets to be a busy time of year for lots of people, especially for those who have kids at home. School has started, along with all its activities. And these days, there are extra sports and lessons and so forth for many families. It’s hard to fit it all in to 24 hours and seven days.

Of course, it’s not just families with kids. We live and work in a world that expects us to be “on” all the time. Emails must be answered. Mobile phones are standard equipment. Retirees I know sometimes tell me they’re busier after retirement than before!

Everything pushes us to stay busy all the time. And that’s too bad. Because I think that staying busy is antithetical to our call as disciples of Jesus Christ. It’s not how we’re meant to live.

People love to point out how Jesus said the sabbath was made for us, not us for the sabbath. But do you notice something? Jesus keeps the sabbath! Jesus goes to gardens and quiet places to pray. Jesus rested, just as God the Father commanded him to do. Yes, when God issued us the Ten Commandments, one of the most important things we are to do is keep a day for rest and to honor God.

It’s not going to just happen. Rest has to be scheduled. If you want to develop a prayer life, put it on your calendar. If you want to spend time with scripture, schedule some Bible reading. Jesus famously said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” I like to imagine he would also say, “Where your calendar is, there your heart will be also.”

I encourage you to set aside time for rest, time for prayer. It will probably mean saying no to a few things, and that’s OK. If you have kids at your house, the Grow Christians blog has lots of tips for ways to engage in intergenerational conversation, prayer, and learning.

As you receive this, I’m starting a vacation. Practicing what I preach, I’m looking forward to some rest. With any luck, I’ll even get bored. And that kind of rest and refreshment is essential for my journey as a follower of Jesus Christ. It’s not always easy to make this happen, but it’s always worth the effort, I’ve learned. How will you rest? When will you pray?

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

Image: Daughters of Melody Wilson Shobe color an Advent calendar.

Today’s Flash Sale: Living Reconciliation

In a world often defined by differences, Christians are called to be reconciled reconcilers. Inspired by the indaba process of deep listening and seeking common ground, this book shares stories of profound reconciliation from around the Anglican Communion. Written by staff of the Anglican Communion Office and with a foreword by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Living Reconciliation explores how reconciliation is at the heart of mission and a guiding principle of scripture.

Regular: $12
Today: $9

*Discount is valid until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time

New Resources…Coming this fall!

We’ve been hard at work on these new resources, and are excited to show you what we’ve been up to! We’re grateful for all the hard work, dedication, and heart that the authors and contributors put into these books. We hope they inspire you and enrich your spiritual journey.

These titles ship in October, and are now available for pre-order.

Angels of the Bible: Finding Grace, Beauty, and Meaning
Angels appear in the greatest of biblical moments: at the gates of the Garden of Eden, at the birth of Christ, and at the tomb of the resurrection. But modern-day Christians tend to either dismiss angels as fantasy or caricaturize them as one-dimensional cherubs.

Episcopal priest Kate Moorehead invites us into a more dynamic understanding of the realm of the angels. Her devotions recount fifty key appearances of angels in the Old and New Testaments as she shares stirring theological reflections on the presence of angels and our life of faith.

In addition, the book features 56 full-color pages with depictions of angels throughout history. Art professor and scholar P. Scott Brown offers historical and theological context for these paintings of pivotal angelic appearances, including the Annunciation, the Celestial Hierarchy, and the Final Battle from Revelation.

 

A Way to the Manger: Devotions for Advent and Christmas
Explore Christ’s birth as recounted in the Gospel of Luke through the lens of the Way of Love and the seven practices of turn, learn, pray, worship, bless, go, and rest. With daily devotions of personal stories, modern examples, art, and invitations to prayer and journaling, the authors challenge you to discover and incorporate these practices into your own life. During Advent and Christmas, walk with the shepherds and the angels, Mary and Joseph, Elizabeth and Zechariah, and Anna and Simeon. All of their paths—as well as yours—lead to the same destination: the humble manger where Love was born.

 

Faith and Courage: Praying with Mandela
In a world riven by poverty, prejudice, and power struggles, the faith and courage of activist Nelson Mandela remains a beacon of hope. South African Archbishop Thabo Makgoba recounts his ministry of prayer and presence in the final years of Mandela’s life—and how, time and again, the politician taught the pastor about ministry.

In this powerful and poignant memoir, Archbishop Makgoba explores how the struggles of his ancestors shape his life today, how growing up in apartheid South Africa fuels his desire for justice, and how faith compels him to champion the difficult work of reconciliation. These lessons of faith and courage provide insight for audiences around the world, for all people who care about Jesus’ commandment to love one another.

 

Sing to the Lord and Old Song: Meditations on Classic Hymns
Some hymns simply have an extra sprinkling of divine magic. The first notes thrill from the organ, and we are home. There’s little wonder that we refer to the majestic sound of choirs of angels: Surely the kingdom of God is full of the sound of singing.

Author Richard H. Schmidt offers a homecoming of sorts in his newest book, Sing to the Lord an Old Song. His meditations on forty classic hymns remind us of a shared faith—by generations before and with generations to come. Though the words and tunes may be entrenched in memory, Schmidt sheds new light on these hymns, inviting us to think about the texts through various lenses of scripture, faith, and personal experience. His reflections are painstakingly honest about how and when he has come up short as a follower of Christ—as well as how each time, he finds notes of forgiveness, love, and hope in these familiar songs.

Is Revive right for your congregation?

Dawn DavisBy Dawn Davis, creator of Revive

Do your lay leaders seem tired? Do you yearn for a deeper spiritual connection? Do your laity lack confidence engaging in spiritual leadership, such as leading a public prayer?

Is your congregation experiencing change and you are not sure what to do about it?

At one point I answered yes to all these questions. That is when I began creating Revive.

I had just been appointed to a parish that found itself in the midst of unexpected demographic changes (parishioners were aging, the community was changing, and attendance was beginning to decline). I was also recovering from a decade of leading a demanding program ministry at the diocese which left me feeling depleted. To top it off, my husband and I had just started a family, which brought insurmountable joy, but was shaking our ordered life to its foundations.

Both at home and in the parish, I sensed excitement laced with exhaustion and confusion. Up to this point in the church, we had mastered all circumstances with self-reliance, ingenuity, and good old elbow grease. Now we were uncertain, and our efforts seemed inadequate. All typical solutions to fix the problem seemed in vain. We were being brought to our knees and—consequently—to a deeper relationship with the living God.

I was trained as a pastor, liturgist, and theologian, and later in human resources and management. What did I know about how to facilitate another person’s spiritual growth? That kind of thing was supposed to happen privately and discreetly through good worship. Anglicans operated with the assumption: “Come to church and you will grow.” This passive approach to discipleship—the core mandate of the church—might have been good enough when we were building the empire but in this secular, post-Christian context, it was woefully inadequate, and suitable resources were few.

It is often at these emotionally depleted moments that the most profound spiritual encounters happen. God actually has a fighting chance of being heard through the cacophony of distractions, anxiety, and self-interested ego. I found I was being called back to my ministry beginnings, to my original love of God. As a congregation, we were being asked to encounter Jesus anew so as to pattern our lives after his. We were being invited to trust in the renewing and life-giving energy of the Spirit.

Your story might not be exactly like mine. It might be less, or even more dramatic. But there is no denying it; our church and our communities are in the midst of enormous change where the old, easy answers don’t work anymore. Maybe this is the space where truth, discovered in mystery, emerges, and a new call together begins.

My prayer is that Revive may serve you, not as a silver bullet to save your church, but as a relational way for lay leaders and clergy to find their way to God together, following Christ, and being healed, renewed, and enlivened in the Spirit.

May you be revived!

Read more guest posts from Revive here.

To learn more, visit the Revive website.

The downloadable program materials may be purchased here.

Pre-printed Participant Guides are available here.

Forward Today: Working on our spiritual fitness

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Dear friends in Christ,

Attending to our spiritual well-being is a bit like attending to our physical health. Regular spiritual practices such as daily prayer and scripture study are like physical exercise. The more we do them, the easier they get and the healthier we become.

Forward Movement launched RenewalWorks several years ago as a way for congregations to learn about their own spiritual health and then create a plan to encourage spiritual growth among the members of a church. It has seen great success at changing the conversation in congregations, as they move from maintenance to mission, from complacency to discipleship.

Over the years, we’ve had quite a few requests for a tool to help individuals create a plan for their own spiritual growth. I’m very glad to say that just yesterday we launched RenewalWorks for Me. This new resources – free of charge – begins with a brief self-assessment of where you are in your spiritual growth. Based on the results of that quiz, you can sign up for a series of weekly emails to offer you specific encouragement on a path that will foster spiritual growth.

Let’s say your assessment suggests that you’d benefit from increasing your habit of daily prayer. The weekly emails will offer specific, achievable steps you can take to develop a more robust prayer life.

I encourage you to give RenewalWorks for Me a try, especially if you’re feeling stuck in your spiritual life. It might be just the thing to get you moving. And it’s free, so there’s no reason not to take it for a spin.

We’ve heard great things from our testers, and I think you’ll find this helpful, too. Let me know how it works for you!

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

 

Image: Jay Sidebotham

Today’s Flash Sale: Bible Women

Women of the Bible have been trapped in dry and dusty literary caskets for centuries. While a few women, such as Mary, Sarah, Elizabeth, and Mary Magdalene, are familiar, many of the women who speak in the Bible have long been ignored. Yet their words are part of God’s Word, the Bible, for a reason. Through these women, God spoke, intervened, changed, illustrated, and proclaimed the story of redemption.

In this groundbreaking book named best Bible study of 2015 by Illumination Book Awards, Episcopal priest Lindsay Hardin Freeman identifies every woman who speaks in the Bible, providing their words, context, and historical background. We learn which women speak the most (hint: it’s not Mary!) and which books of the Bible have the fewest words from women.

Step into God’s sacred circle of mothers, grandmothers, warriors, prophets, prostitutes, and murderers. You won’t come out the same.

Regular: $22
Today: $16.50

*Discount is valid until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time

RenewalWorks for Me: A personalized tool for spiritual growth

Individuals have a new tool to support them in their spiritual growth. RenewalWorks, a ministry of Forward Movement, has released a free spiritual growth assessment and support program for personal use.

RenewalWorks for Me utilizes an online survey to assess where individuals are in their spiritual journey. After receiving initial results, participants can sign up for a free series of weekly emails to encourage and inspire them in their faith journey.

The assessment and recommendations from RenewalWorks for Me are based on data collected and analyzed from more than 500,000 Christians and thousands of church communities that have undergone a full congregational assessment.

“Through our work with over 300 churches around the Episcopal Church, we’ve learned that thriving church communities share similar characteristics. Chief among them is supporting the spiritual growth of the individuals who make up the congregation, in tangible and accessible ways,” said RenewalWorks Director Jay Sidebotham. “RenewalWorks for Me makes our work accessible to any individual who needs a little support and encouragement in their spiritual journey.”

RenewalWorks for Me is free, a gift from Forward Movement, offered in the confidence that as individual Christians grow in spiritual health, our congregations and dioceses will also be healthier—spiritually speaking.

The RenewalWorks for Me process starts at www.RenewalWorks.org

About RenewalWorks
A ministry of Forward Movement, RenewalWorks utilizes online assessment tools to help churches and individuals chart a course of deeper spiritual growth, experienced through a growing love of God and neighbor. 

About Forward Movement
Inspiring disciples and empowering evangelists around the globe every day, Forward Movement has been producing excellent, innovative resources to encourage spiritual growth in individuals and congregations for more than eighty years.

Forward Today: Local actions with global consequences

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Dear friends in Christ,

The news about Amazon rainforest fires is devastating. Damage to the environment is incalculable, and it’s particularly disturbing because these fires are almost certainly set by humans. I was thinking this is a depressing story that is happening far away until I saw a headline this week. “The Amazon is burning because the world eats so much meat.” Ouch. Even though I eat a mostly veggie diet, maybe this story involves me after all. Meat consumption may cause rainforest loss, but buying fresh peppers flown in from another country has its own costs.

The point is that my actions have global consequences. When I buy a shiny new phone, rare minerals had to be mined somewhere. There’s an environmental cost to my new phone, though I may never see the open strip mine. That same phone may be manufactured in a factory in which the working conditions are grim. Though I will never meet the factory workers, there is an impact on someone’s life from my choices. I can buy clothing that is made in a factory where conditions are poor, or I can spend a few more dollars and buy clothing made in a factory where workers are well paid and well treated.

I’m not here to castigate you, dear reader, for your life choices and spending habits. Nor am I here to wail about my own choices. But I am here to say that what I choose today in my home in Cincinnati may have repercussions in another part of the world.

Forest fire

Loving my neighbors doesn’t just mean being kind to the people who live in my neighborhood. We say in our baptismal promises that we will respect the dignity of every human being, and surely that includes human beings I will never meet.

The Gospel is lived out in many ways. I can tell someone about how Jesus Christ frees us from our sins. And I can live my life in a way that frees people from other kinds of tyranny, from the sinful consequences of endless consumption.

What is the good news here? There are lots of ways to live out our lives so that we support the quality of life of others. We can tell people that we are choosing not to eat something or to buy a particular item because of our faith, a faith that looks out for not only my own interests but the well-being of all creation.

What about you? Are you living in a way that helps others thrive? Are you willing to give up those things that might harm others? It’s not easy, but no one ever said it is easy to follow Jesus Christ.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

 

Image: Pixabay

Today’s Flash Sale: Hour by Hour

Hour by HourPray without ceasing with this compact edition of the Daily Office complete with prayers and psalms for one week. This beautiful little book, excerpted from The Book of Common Prayer, will enable anyone to say the hours every day: Morning Prayer, Noonday Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Compline. Perfect for prayer and worship at all times and in all places. Hour by Hour is a thoughtful gift – the cover is deluxe soft leather, and it’s packaged in a small white gift box.

Regular: $20
Today: $15

*Discount is valid until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time

 

What is Revive?

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Revive is a series of small group sessions that equips lay leaders to grow as spiritual leaders. Typically, lay leaders meet with a ministry leader for an opening and closing retreat and three six-week sessions to explore their spiritual lives, deepen their relationship with God and become proficient as spiritual leaders.

In a safe, non-judgmental setting, filled with warm humour, they learn a lot about themselves and others, and connect more deeply with God.

Revive is offered as a form of thanks to lay leaders who give so much to their church. Church ministry often involves important concerns for budgets, property, and people. But these concerns distract lay leaders from spiritually growing in a relationship with Christ.

Through Revive, lay leaders become confident with prayer and scripture, and they learn to see their ministry as a vocation. They also learn practical skills that are invaluable for their tasks and activities within the congregation.

What is the structure of the sessions?
Each Revive session typically runs for two hours and includes:

  • an icebreaker
  • a presentation (using the Revive video series, or presented by facilitator)
  • a discussion
  • an exercise
  • a take-home practice

 

The six-week sessions (referred to as Module 1, 2 and 3 in Revive materials) are usually held in the fall, winter and spring to avoid the busy church seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter.

Here is a sample schedule for a typical full year with Revive, though you can customize to your needs:

  • Week 1 (mid-August): Letter invitation sent out. Registration begins
  • Week 8 (early October): Registration ends, Opening Retreat is held
  • Week 9 (early October): Module 1, Communicating with God, begins
  • Week 14 (mid-November): Module 1 ends
  • Week 23 (mid-January): Module 2, Engaging in Scripture, begins
  • Week 28 (early March): Module 2, ends
  • Week 35 (mid-April): Module 3, Called for Ministry, begins
  • Week 41 (late May): Module 3, ends
  • Week 42 (early June): Closing Retreat.

 

Purchasing Revive Materials
When you purchase Revive (here), you get everything you need to run the program, including the facilitator and participant guides, and access to 30 short video presentations. Everything you need can be downloaded and printed as needed. The full program costs $299 (USD).

To save time at the copy machine, we do offer pre-printed participant guides for an additional charge.

Ministry leaders invite as many as 12 lay leaders to participate in Revive. Together, clergy, pastoral ministers and lay people deepen and grow in their faith as followers of Christ. It is the journey of a lifetime as you revive!

 

Read more guest posts from Revive here.

Forward Today: Do you have a Bible app?

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Dear friends in Christ,

Do you have a Bible app for your phone? You might, like me, prefer to read the Bible out of a paper book. But sometimes I want to look up a passage, and I don’t have my printed Bible with me. And you can’t use search in a paper book! I find it very handy—and sometimes inspiring—to have the Bible on my phone.

I’ve tried a bunch of different apps. Much of the time, I use the Logos app, because it has sophisticated study features and syncs with my desktop software. But it’s certainly not free. My current favorite free app is the YouVersion Bible app. You can get it for Android and iOS, and it includes over 1,500 versions of the Bible.

Way of Love Reading Plan

As I’ve mentioned before in Forward Today, our research through RenewalWorks tells us that daily scripture engagement is one of the most important catalysts for spiritual growth. That’s one of the reasons I was excited to think about offering daily Bible reading plans on the YouVersion Bible app, which has been downloaded almost 400 million times.

Our first plan has just gone live this week. Check out the Way of Love seven-day reading plan. It includes seven excerpts from The Way of Love Bible Challenge: A 50 Day Bible Challenge (learn more here). We hope this is the first of many plans—ways to read and be inspired by God’s word.

So often our phones are objects that get in the way of holy living. Our phones can enable us to pour hours of our lives into a tiny screen. I don’t know about you, but I for one am delighted to find ways to derive inspiration and knowledge from my phone. When the psalmist wrote, “Your word is a lantern to my feet,” I doubt he had in mind the glow of a tiny screen. But our phones can be guides to make time for scripture study.

Have you read the Bible on your phone? What was it like? If you haven’t, I hope you’ll give it a try.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

Today’s Flash Sale: The Way of Love Bible Challenge

Way of Love Bible ChallengeThe Way of Love is the way of Jesus. With seven core spiritual practices, the Way of Love offers an intentional, Spirit-led path to following Jesus. And what better guidebook for the journey than the Bible? The Way of Love Bible Challenge pairs each practice with a passage of scripture as well as reflections, questions, and prayers written by a variety of faith leaders.

Come and see what God has to say about the spiritual practices of Turn – Learn – Pray – Worship – Bless – Go – Rest. Informed by scripture and inspired through prayer, these practices offer the opportunity to transform our relationship with ourselves, with our family and communities, and with our Savior. Featuring fifty days of reflections, The Way of Love Bible Challenge is an extension of The Bible Challenge, a global initiative to encourage daily engagement with scripture and an exploration of the Word of God.

Regular: $15
Today: $11.25

*Discount is valid until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time

Is your church ready for visitors?

It’s the time of year when plenty of people think of finding a new church. Is your church ready for an influx of guests? We’ve collected a few ideas to help you provide a helpful welcome and introduction to your church and community this fall.

Have a guidebook available for newcomers, or a group study

Walk in Love: Episcopal Beliefs & Practices is a perfect resource for newcomers, while also providing long-time members a deeper understanding of their faith. This award-winning book offers “the most comprehensive, and comprehensible, guide to Episcopal faith and practice available.”

Restock your pamphlets to help guests and members learn more

From Welcome to the Episcopal Church to Ten Ways to Pray, our pamphlets provide concise and accessible answers and explanations to many common visitor questions. Topics like evangelism, prayer, and the sacraments also provide existing members with resources to grow in their faith.

Find over 65 pamphlets and review our latest online pamphlet catalog here.

*All pamphlets come in packs of 10 for $5 each
View our pamphlet catalog. 

Angels of the Bible

Churches that focus on scripture engagement grow, and so do their members

Based on research from RenewalWorks, we know that scripture engagement is one of the four main catalysts for spiritual growth in churches, and the individuals in them.

Take on The Bible Challenge and read the entire Bible in a year; or start with a smaller challenge. Study all the women of the Bible, and coming this October, the Angels of the Bible.

See the narrative of the Bible in a new light by exploring The Path, an excerpted and condensed journey from Genesis through Revelation.

Plan on taking part in the third year of The Good Book Club. We’ll be reading the Gospel of John during Epiphany 2020.

Flexible formation for all generations in mind

Thanks to a generous grant, our Living Discipleship series of formation resources is available for FREE! Available in English and Spanish, we crafted Celebrating the Saints, Exploring the Bible, and Practicing Our Faith, to serve as one-stop formation resources for all-ages.

Each curriculum is free to download and includes all facilitator and participant materials, with variations and options for adapting for adults, youth, and children. Find out more.

Forward Today: Unplugging to plug in

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Dear friends in Christ,

I’m writing this from the mountains of Colorado, where I’ve come to spend a few days learning from clergy colleagues. It’s an incredibly beautiful setting, and I’m learning a great deal about how to be a leader in the missionary church.

On Monday, when we arrived, one of the first things we did was sort out the WiFi password. All of us were quick to check emails and stay connected with our families and churches and so forth. Then, late afternoon on the first day, a close lightning strike took out the internet. And because we’re in the mountains, there’s not much of a mobile phone signal.

I’m not going to lie, the prospect of being disconnected was a little unsettling.

But you know what? This has turned out to be a blessing. I think we’re all paying a bit more attention to the speakers, because it’s not so easy to be distracted. In the lodge where I’m staying there’s absolutely no signal whatsoever, so when I walked up to go to bed, there was quiet peace. Often I read for a bit, catch up on social media, or send a few emails. Last night, I went straight to sleep.

I didn’t choose to unplug, but I’m grateful for this time. Avoiding the distraction of the internet has helped me focus on the folks here in a different way than I might have otherwise. And I’m noticing the beauty of this place in ways that I might have missed.

I’ve written about this before. The internet is a great blessing, I think. We can connect with people, learn all sorts of things, and share the Good News of God in Jesus Christ. But it also has some downsides.

Maybe I’ll try unplugging a little more often. It might help me plug in to new things.

Have you tried unplugging for a bit? What was it like? Does online life bring us closer to Jesus, or does it take us away from him? Plenty to ponder.

Yours faithfully,
Scott Gunn
Executive Director

 

P.S. I’m grateful to my friend Emily Mellott, who suggested this topic as she walked by when I was standing near a meadow trying to think of a topic—in the one place where there’s a good signal.

Photo by Scott Gunn, taken in Colorado

Today’s Flash Sale: Faith Confirmed

Faith ConfirmedIn our journey through life, we often face big questions: What is the meaning of life? Who is God? Why do people die and what happens after death? Throughout the ages, Christians have turned to the Bible and to the Church for answers.

Faith Confirmed is an introduction to Episcopal beliefs and practices and is a perfect primer for those preparing for confirmation in the Episcopal Church and for all those who want to know more about the essentials of the faith.

Each section of the book contains:

    • a clear and accessible explanation of what Episcopalians believe
    • stories and illustrations to unpack these beliefs
    • thought-provoking questions and a Bible study
    • prayer and suggested prayer topics for the week

 

Regular: $18
Today: $13.50

*Discount is valid until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time