FaithVillage Blog

Picking up on the conversation about being in charge of your own spirituality, one of the books that keeps coming to mind for me is Frederica Mathewes-Green’s The Illumined Heart: Capture the Vibrant Faith of the Ancient Christians. In this short, pocket-sized  book, Frederica uses realistic accounts of ancient Christian’s lives to illustrate the power and focus of ancient Christianity, and how it is sometimes so different than ours. Mathewes-Green makes it clear that she is not putting forth any new five step plan for spirituality or her own spin on an ancient concept. She is just a vessel for repeating the wisdom handed down by our Christian forefathers and foremothers, as she writes, “I hope not to say anything original. If I do, ignore it.”

The best example of this is the sheer fact that two whole chapters of the book are dedicated to returning to a pattern of repentance. Mathewes-Green is no poser: when she wants us to capture the spirituality of ancient Christians she really means it.

Community was a big deal for ancient Christians. Thankfully, it is becoming a big deal again through the use of small groups and other communal ways of organizing the modern church. We still have a long way to go in terms of understanding why we are gathering together. For many of us, myself included, I too often treat small groups like …keep reading →