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Daniel Morehead, June 23, 2008 (view all comments by Daniel Morehead)
As the title suggests, this is a book about seeing God. With a fair measure of humility, it discusses both where to look and what it takes to see. Heuertz, who works for Word Made Flesh [see: http://www.wordmadeflesh.org/ ], an organization that feels called by Jesus to birth communities which practice the presence and proclamation of the Kingdom of God among the poorest of the poor, uses stories, his own and his friends, to make his points. It's a personal book, a book designed to be approachable in its writing and tone, and a book where Heuertz argues that spirituality is often made too difficult.

There is much to commend in Heuertz' book. He discusses five spiritual disciplines that he sees as essential to shaping the Christian life: humility, community, simplicity, submission, and brokeness. His life, work and stories continually point to those who are poor, marginalized, and exploited in society. This is the strength of the book. He is right to suggest that Christianity errs when it insulates and isolates itself from those who are poor, because in so doing it insulates and isolates itself from Jesus. The book gives snapshots of a life transformed by eschewing such isolation and it speaks to some of the pitfalls of our lives: our pride, individualism and independence, lives of excess, desire to be in control and be on the winning team. These pitfalls warp our lives and our churches making Christianity far from compelling.

Heuertz' book weighs in at a mere 150 pages (with afterword, epilogue, and acknowledgments and the print isn't small). Published by a wing of IVP, Likewise Books seeks to publish books that support a practicable, active faith. Heuertz' book fits in this vein, but possesses a wisdom which outstrips its simple and conversational writing. Part of this comes from hard won experience, part from relying heavily on some great thinkers and Christian practitioners (though they aren't necessarily ones with which everyone will be familiar). The reflections are wide-ranging:

* "Humility is a principle and virtue that flows from love in its purest form."
* [about MySpace and Facebook] "I wonder if this virtual environment is actually damaging the spirit of true community because they're actually more closely related to role playing games."
* "Our view of poverty [unfortunately] becomes defined not by access to resources or opportunity but by possessions."
* "...if we are unable to give something away, then we do not possess it, rather it possesses us."
* "On one hand, we assumed that giving to someone begging encourages a lifestyle of pathetic dependency. They all seem to have the same needs, but many of them fabricate stories to prey on the emotions of rich foreigners. It is also a challenge to determine whether the man, woman or child is being forced to beg. Black markets (informal economic endeavors) around the world have been known to kidnap children and intentionally mutilate them, gouge out their eyes, or otherwise maim them, then place them in strategic locations to earn money for their handlers. On the other hand, the man, woman, or child begging from you may literally be dying before your eyes. How, then, can you not give? Scripture says, 'Give to the one who asks you' (Matthew 5:42). But does that mean giving exactly what they ask?"
* "When we don’t submit our lives to God and our possessions to people in need, when we mistake our financial and material blessings as personal provision rather than as resources with potential for kingdom development — have we perpetuated an unjust imbalance between us and our neighbors?"

It's Heuertz' stories, however, that hold the chapters together. Getting to meet his friends through the stories he tells is worth the price of the book.

The only contention I had with the book is that in his effort to show that spirituality can and does have connections to the everyday activities of our lives, Heuertz seemingly harbors an implicit anti-institutional stance toward Christian practice. His desire to show us Jesus in the lives of those who happen to be poor is commendable, but that doesn't necessitate his worry about trying to fit our spirituality into complex religious practices. While religious practices can become corrupted or lose the purpose for which they created, all practices need institutions to sustain them. In a way, Heuertz knows this insofar as he works for the WMF organization. We need to police our institutions and keep them from becoming parasitic on the practices which they sustain and we need to make sure that they evolve with the evolution of our practices. However, while Heuertz is right to refresh us by returning our gaze to Jesus in and through those who might be considered least, the book could do more to think through God's creation and use of institutions for God's redemptive plans. Do our practices of baptism, eucharist, and ministry make connections to humility, community, simplicity, submission, and brokeness? Do they drive us to seek Jesus in the poor? This a criticism of what he does not say rather than what he says and in that sense perhaps the book (or his view of spirituality) is refreshing but too simple.

This is only Heuertz' first book, and what he does say I highly recommend. I promise you'll gain something from his discussion of humility, community, simplicity, submission, and brokeness. For a welterweight book, Simple Spirituality occasionally throws a cruiserweight punch.

What a delightful little book!

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Product Details

ISBN:

9780830836215

Subtitle:

Learning to See God in a Broken World

Author:

Heuertz, Christopher L

Foreword:

Claiborne, Shane

Author:

Heuertz, Christopher L.

Publisher:

IVP Books

Subject:

Christian Life - Spiritual Growth

Subject:

Christian Life

Subject:

Spirituality

Publication Date:

July 2008

Binding:

Paperback

Language:

English

Pages:

159

Dimensions:

826x580x47 46