Bücher von Bruce Epperly

Who do you say Jesus is?In his answer to this age-old question, Bruce Epperly brings us a new vision of Jesus of Nazareth, the healer, mystic, and prophet who is always more than we can imagine. This Jesus embraces all times and places with his mystical union with God, his healing presence, and his transforming prophetic challenge.Rather than requiring supernatural intervention from outside our reality, the Jesus of the Gospels is present in the natural, ordinary-yet-amazing world we too inhabit. The energy of his love opens up new realms of unexpected possibilities within our daily lives. At the same time, he points the way to meeting the challenges of our broken world. He calls us to venture out beyond the safe boundaries of doctrines and institutions, into new adventures of spiritual growth and inclusive ethical imagination. The quest to know Jesus never ends-and yet at the same time, he lives in us, inspiring us to embrace the ever-present God and transform the world.

Can mystics be political activists? Can our encounter with God inspire us to be agents of social transformation? Through the lens of Howard Thurman's life and mystical theology, Bruce Epperly explores what it means to join prophetic ministry with personal and social healing. Despite the racism he experienced throughout his life, Thurman joined his spiritual experiences with a commitment to racial and social healing. He was a prophet, challenging racism and social injustice. He was also a healer who experienced God's presence in oppressor as well as oppressed. Thurman's holistic spirituality provides a pathway for social healing in a time characterized by polarization, incivility, and hatred. Thurman reminds us that we can both picket and pray, and protest injustice while working toward reconciliation.The spiritual exercises at the end of each chapter draw on Howard Thurman's work to challenge usif we practice these exercises seriously and with commitmentto develop a new view of our opponents. They help us toward loving our enemies, and becoming the ';friendly world of friendly persons' that Thurman described.

Every project is a team effort. No doubt the writing of Mark''s Gospel was the result of many storytellers and a few writers before the emergence of the final text attributed to an unknown "Mark." This is certainly true of this lectionary commentary. I give thanks for my parents, Everett and Loretta Epperly, from whom I learned to love scripture and One whose love gave birth to Jesus of Nazareth and the early Christian movement. I give thanks to my spiritual and theological teachers: John Akers, George (Shorty) Collins, John Cobb, David Ray Griffin, Bernard Loomer, Jack Verheyden, Richard Keady, and Ben White. I have learned much about scripture from courses I''ve taught at congregations: First Christian Church, Tucson, Arizona; Palisades Community Church, Washington D.C.; and Falls Church Christian Church, Falls Church, Virginia. I give great thanks to South Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, whose generosity of spirit has allowed me to be not only pastor, teacher, and spiritual leader, but also a writer. The beauty of our Cape Cod village with its ponds, beaches, streams, and beaches has inspired my writing, preaching, and teaching. It is a daily joy to be part of a community that seeks to learn, love, and live the word of God.I am grateful to Deborah Arca of Patheos (patheos.com), who encouraged me to write a weekly lectionary commentary for this forward-thinking spiritual website. As always, I give thanks for my companion of over 35 years, Kate, whose partnership in ministry, parenting, grand parenting, and family life has been at heart of my spiritual journey. Finally, I give thanks for you and your quest for faithful excellence in preaching. May these words be an inspiration and creativity in responding to God''s word and wisdom in your life. 

Perhaps the world is saved one act, one click, or one post at a time.When we do ordinary things with great love, as Therese of Lisieux counseled, we bring beauty and healing to our companions on the Internet and to the planetary mind. The omnipresent God is as near as the next key stroke, the next post or response to another''s online comment. We need a whole-person spirituality grounded in a sense of the holiness of all creation and reverence for life, despite the conflicts that characterize our world-and given the amount of time most of us spend online, we need to include these activities in our spiritual lives.Bruce Epperly guides his spiritual Internet manual with the wisdom of the Christian mystical tradition. These insights, both ancient and modern, help us to claim our vocation as God''s companions in healing the world-through the vehicle of social media and other online interactions. Each chapter''s dialogue with a mystic concludes with a spiritual practice that enables us to discover, in the spirit of the patriarch Jacob''s exclamation, that "God is online, and we did not know it."

Journey inside the pages of Scripture to meet a personal God who enters individual lives and begins a creative work from the inside out. Shaped with the individual in mind, Immersion encourages simultaneous engagement both with the Word of God and with the God of the Word to become a new creation in Christ. Immersion, inspired by a fresh translation--the Common English Bible--stands firmly on Scripture and helps readers explore the emotional, spiritual, and intellectual needs of their personal faith. More importantly, they'll be able to discover God's revelation through readings and reflections. Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah has eight sessions.