Bruce G Epperly

Get ready for another adventure in process theology. Theology can transform your ministry and process theology provides a spiritual GPS to help us navigate the complexities of twenty-first century ministry and congregational life. Process theology reminds us that the physical, geographical, and spiritual limitations we experience are the womb of possibilities. In the concreteness of our ministries, we discover God's vision for ourselves and our congregations. This text invites us to claim our pastoral role as shamans of the spirit, wise preachers, healing companions, and prophetic witnesses. Written by an experienced theologian, pastor, and spiritual guide, this brief text provides a flexible and open-ended vision for 21st century ministry in our postmodern, pluralistic, and post-Christian world.

What is a mystic? Bruce Epperly defines mystics as people who see holiness in everyday life. We can be mystics without leaving our families, disengaging from daily responsibilities, becoming a priest, or joining a monastic order. Epperly shows how we can experience the living God in the midst of daily life and never again take everyday events for granted. Bruce Epperly introduces readers to 12 individuals or groups of mystics through the ages: St. Francis of Assisi, the desert mothers and fathers, Benedict of Nursia, the Celtic mystics, Hildegard of Bingen, Mechthild of Magdeburg, Brother Lawrence, the Baal Shem Tov, Howard Thurman, Etty Hillesum, Rumi, and Julian of Norwich. Each chapter describes each mystic's life, spiritual experiences and worldview, and provides spiritual exercises to help us experience the mystic firsthand. Through his conversational, down-to-earth approach, Epperly inspires us to realize that we can encounter God wherever we are, whatever we are doing.

What one believes about God shapes how one worships, prays, thinks, and lives. Dr. Bruce Epperly, who provided a very short introduction to process theology in Process Theology: Embracing Adventure with God, now provides a short and succinct guide to spiritual practices for those who want to embrace and live the adventurous spiritual life. From times of worship, to prayer, to solitude, and even to study, he provides a guide to living with a God who is deeply and intimately involved in our lives. Holiness and spirituality are not about being other-worldly. Rather, they are about being even more in the here and now than any of us may have thought possible.