By Brian J. Wright
Most of us think that if we could simply balance our lives better, we would be happier. But our problem isn’t balance. What we actually need is to rediscover the rhythm. As Christians, our whole life consists of loving God and loving others, just like Jesus did. In this book, Wright invites us to find true joy as we embrace these two core realities and discover how they are meant to work in tandem. Explore The Rhythm of Christian Life and recapture the joy of life together as God always intended.
Brian J. Wright earned his PhD from Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia, and serves in Pensacola, Florida, as a chaplain for the Federal Bureau of Prisons as well as a professor at several universities and seminaries. He is the author of Communal Reading in the Time of Jesus: A Window into Early Christian Reading Practices and coauthor of Revisiting the Corruption of the New Testament. He has also written for Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, Desiring God, The Christian Research Journal, and Power for Living.
“Everyone would benefit from pausing to think deeply about the rhythm of their daily life. Brian Wright’s book draws from the deep well of Bonhoeffer’s work on the rhythm of life; it’s refreshing and challenging at the same time. Read it together with someone or schedule it for the end of the year or season. We highly recommend this excellent book.”
—Dave Furman, Senior Pastor, Redeemer Church of Dubai, and author of Kiss the Wave and Being There; and his wife, Gloria Furman, author of Labor with Hope and Missional Motherhood
“How best to spend our limited time on earth is arguably our greatest challenge. God instructed Adam to keep the garden, Israel to keep the Sabbath, and the church to keep the feast—all examples of how the people of God are to ‘keep time.’ The Rhythm of the Christian Life explains that keeping time is our most important and neglected spiritual discipline. Only when we coordinate spending time alone with God and together before God will we get our out-of-sync lives back in sync. Forget about the program—get with the beat, the two-beat rhythm of the Christian life that structures Christian freedom and sustains human flourishing.”
—Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Research Professor of Systematic Theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
“God designed life to be lived together. The wisdom to live, the joy to celebrate, and the love to share are all found and experienced when we live together in harmony. Brian Wright makes this evident for us in the middle of an individualistic generation. Despite our busy schedules, we must find time to spend with God if we want to experience the joy of life together as part of the rhythm of the Christian life. Indeed, the good life is rhythmic. Don’t just read this book—live it!”
—Miguel Núñez, Senior Pastor, Iglesia Bautista Internacional in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and council member of The Gospel Coalition
“In the hectic, disjointed world, Brian Wright speaks wisdom. His calm measured voice rings as clear as the bell of a watchtower, calling us back to the rhythm of the Christian life. He reminds us that just as inhaling and exhaling are both essential to breathing, so time alone with God and time in fellowship with God’s people are equally essential. Building upon the work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Wright reminds us that this divine tempo is timeless and universal; God wired us to live this way and he built us to do it in community. Sin disrupts this cadence, and we must deliberately return to the fellowship of God’s people, to time alone with God, and again to the cadence of God’s rhythm.”
—E. Randolph Richards, Provost and Chief Academic Officer, Palm Beach Atlantic University, and author of Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes
“For a long time, I’ve been looking for a book that is spiritually and intellectually satisfying yet simple. This book does just that. With incredible simplicity, The Rhythm of the Christian Life engaged my mind, warmed my heart, and pushed me to apply what it says.”
—Maher Samuel, psychiatrist, apologist, and former Director of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) in the Middle East
"There's nothing more important than life with God. We are made for life with God. Brian J. Wright shows us how life with God is not an individualized pursuit of super-Christians who are climbing a ladder of hyper-spirituality. Thank God for this. Instead, with Bonhoeffer's Life Together as a muse, Wright offers a tonic for our deep loneliness and individualism. He guides us wisely through the pendulum swings of action and contemplation, community and solitude, time with God and time alone, and time together." ―Timothy Blackmon, Chaplain, Wheaton CollegeISBN 9781684263509
Pages 160
Dimensions (inches) 5 x 8
Weight (pounds) .5
