Ross Thompson

Have you claimed your reward? If you are a Christian you have a reward waiting. Many Christians do not have their reward. Let me explain - Romans 6:22 - But now since you have been set free from sin and have become the slaves of God, you have your present reward in holiness and its end is eternal life. If you have received Jesus as your savior the reward is yours. That reward is holiness. If you are not sure what holiness is and don't know how to receive it for yourself, this book is for you.

Ministry, the authors contend, is a range of energies freely bestowed by the Spirit. Our task is to channel it mindfully and reflectively. Through the use of imaginative exercises based on scripture, focusing exercises directed at practical situations, and theological reflection that is rooted in the authors' own experience of ministry as Anglican priests, the following 'colours' of the ministerial rainbow are explored: • The Apostle: Mindful Representing, the Christlike shape of ministry. • The Holy One: Mindful Praying, the still centre of ministry. • The Pastor: Mindful Serving, the hard-working body of ministry. • The Teacher: Mindful Nurture, the wise soul of ministry • The Leader: Mindful Organising, the overseeing mind of ministry. • The Go-Between: Mindful Collaboration, Conviviality and Communication, the interlinking and encouraging hands of ministry. • The Herald of Good Tidings: Mindful Evangelism, the swift, urgent feet of ministry. • The Liberator: Mindful Subversion, the courageous heart of ministry.

Most of us have lived through painful, humiliating or traumatic experiences, leaving us haunted and conditioned by reactions that trap us in ongoing cycles of feeling hurt and hurting others. And on the wider political scale, we have obviously yet to learn the art of responding well to the hurts of terrorism, exploitation, or more local conflicts of interest. Either we resort to reciprocal violence, or claim too readily the status of innocent victim. The book begins by looking at three predominant negative responses. It then draws on a variety of traditions from the author's own Buddhist Christian perspective, exploring how deep meditation can help take us beyond the negative narratives of hurt. The author finds ambivalent but broadly positive images in childhood innocence and the tragicomic fool, and urges the importance of a radical and unconditional forgiveness of self and others that is grounded in both Buddhist Emptiness and the risen Christ. By these means, the habit of accusation that so easily dominates self and society can give way to humour and mutual wonder.

It is possible to be a Christian Buddhist in the context of a universal kind of belief that sits fairly light to both traditions. But Ross Thompson writes, my own biography has led me to take especially seriously the aspects of each faith that seem incompatible with the other, no God and no soul in Buddhism, for example, and the need for grace and the historical atonement on the cross in Christianity. Hence my Buddhist Christianity can be no bland blend of the tamer aspects of both faiths, but must result from a wrestling of the seeming incompatibles, allowing each faith to shake the other to its very foundations. The author traces the personal journey through which his need for both faiths became painfully apparent. He explores the Buddha and Jesus through their teachings and the varied communities that flow from them, investigating their different understandings of suffering and wrong, self and liberation, meditation and prayer, cosmology and God or not? He concludes with a bold commitment in which both faiths are combined.

We are used to making Lent a special time for renewal, but much less has been written on the other seasons of the year. This resource explores the traditions that have shaped each season, the lectionary readings, and the liturgies observed across the ecumenical spectrum.

The SCM Studyguide to Christian Spirituality is designed as a lucid and comprehensive introduction to spirituality for students of all religious backgrounds, especially those coming to the subject for the first time. Part One looks at the Christian spiritual tradition through an encyclopaedic study of a variety of spiritual writers. These are treated chronologically: the Bible, the patristic period, the time when monasticism triumphed, the Middle Ages, the Reformation, and the post-Enlightenment period. Part Two, which could also be used at a more advanced level, explores Christian spirituality through a range of interdisciplinary themes. Successive chapters look at its relation to personal experience, science, theology, psychology, sexual embodiment, and ethics. The final chapter raises urgent contemporary issues: the relation of Christian spirituality to that of other faiths, and to ‘postmodern’ culture in general. Each chapter concludes with questions for discussion and select further reading, and an extensive bibliography for each chapter is also provided.