Chapter 5 art for Flourishing on the Edge of Faith

Telos Podcast Episode and Book Excerpt | Flourishing on the Edge of Faith

Essays

Dear friends,

This week I’m delighted to share two gifts with you.

The first is a new podcast interview that I recently recorded with David Katibah for Telos’s The Check-in.

Andrew DeCort on Telos's The Check-in discussing The Practice of Flourishing based on his new book Flourishing on the Edge of Faith

In “The Practice of Flourishing,” David and I discuss what it takes to flourish in the face of conflict and pain. We explore how practicing Jesus’s prayer grounds us and gives us the courage to be peacemakers. This conversation is a great introduction to my book Flourishing on the Edge of Faith.

I was moved by David’s incredible warmth, insightful questions, and passion for peacemaking. I hope you listen in and enjoy the conversation. The episode is available here and on all major platforms.

Second, I’m delighted to share an excerpt from chapter five of my book Flourishing on the Edge of Faith. This chapter is all about Jesus’s practice of forgiveness: “Forgive us for our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”

Quotation from Flourishing on the Edge of Faith, God wants to forgive us

The last few weeks have reminded me just how intensely personal and painful seeking forgiveness can be... Read More

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Donation = Appreciation

Do you enjoy Stop & Think? Become a Sustaining Patron with a monthly donation and invest in my work around the world. Gifts are tax-deductible through the Institute for Faith and Flourishing. Yours with gratitude, Andrew

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My deepest passion is encouraging others in love. As you stop and think with me, I hope you feel more at home in your humanity, less lonely in what you believe, and fresh courage to love others beyond boundaries. Thanks for reading!

Now Available for Purchase

Flourishing on the Edge of Faith

This book is a passionate meditation on the profound significance of Jesus’s prayer. With years of study, teaching, and peacemaking around the world, Dr. Andrew DeCort uncovers Jesus’s radical vision for human flourishing in the face of suffering and violence.

View Book

Seeds of Contemplation and Revolution Amid War

Essays

Dear friends,

How might the prayer that Jesus taught us both energize and also challenge our vision of social change?

I explore this question in my essay “Seeds of Contemplation and Revolution amid War,” which was recently published in Comment Magazine. The essay begins by reflecting on the spiritual vision of Thomas Merton and shares some of the story of the Neighbor-Love Movement. It then looks at Jesus’s prayer as a practice of peaceful presence.

I hope you enjoy my essay below and also explore the other rich articles on Comment‘s website. Special thanks to Anne Snyder, editor-in-chief of Comment, for so warmly welcoming and so thoughtfully engaging my essay.

May you flourish,

Andrew

 

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Seeds of Contemplation and Revolution amid War

Andrew DeCort article in Comment Magazine

“I believe that the true revolution must come slowly and painfully, not merely from the peasant, etc., but from the true artist and intellectual . . . from the thinker and the [person] of prayer.” —Thomas Merton, A Life in Letters

Questioning Change and Being There

 

In 1967, Pope Paul VI asked the Catholic monk Thomas Merton to write a letter from contemplatives to the world.

.. Read More
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Donation = Appreciation

Do you enjoy Stop & Think? Become a Sustaining Patron with a monthly donation and invest in my work around the world. Gifts are tax-deductible through the Institute for Faith and Flourishing. Yours with gratitude, Andrew

Sign Up for the Newsletter


My deepest passion is encouraging others in love. As you stop and think with me, I hope you feel more at home in your humanity, less lonely in what you believe, and fresh courage to love others beyond boundaries. Thanks for reading!

Now Available for Purchase

Flourishing on the Edge of Faith

This book is a passionate meditation on the profound significance of Jesus’s prayer. With years of study, teaching, and peacemaking around the world, Dr. Andrew DeCort uncovers Jesus’s radical vision for human flourishing in the face of suffering and violence.

View Book
Chapter art for Flourishing on the Edge of Faith "Give us this day our daily bread"

How Much Is Enough? | An Invitation to Flourishing

Essays

Dear friends,

How much is enough? What do you need to feel secure and content?

In the fourth practice of his prayer, Jesus teaches us to ask God, “Give us today our daily bread.” This is a spiritual practice of subversive simplicity. It fully affirms that God cares about our physical needs (“our bread“). But it also challenges our consumeristic desire for surplus and reminds us that our needs are shared with others (“our bread”). It’s a counter-cultural vision of enough, of what we need to flourish as God’s beloved children.

I find Jesus’s fourth practice one of the most unsettling and liberating of the seven in his prayer. I hope you enjoy reading the excerpt below from Flourishing on the Edge of Faith and join me in practicing with Jesus daily.

A brief testimony first… 

When I started writing Flourishing on the Edge of Faith, I didn’t have a publisher lined up. I knew that I was called to write this book, and I devoted myself to working on it daily... Read More

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Donation = Appreciation

Do you enjoy Stop & Think? Become a Sustaining Patron with a monthly donation and invest in my work around the world. Gifts are tax-deductible through the Institute for Faith and Flourishing. Yours with gratitude, Andrew

Sign Up for the Newsletter


My deepest passion is encouraging others in love. As you stop and think with me, I hope you feel more at home in your humanity, less lonely in what you believe, and fresh courage to love others beyond boundaries. Thanks for reading!

Now Available for Purchase

Flourishing on the Edge of Faith

This book is a passionate meditation on the profound significance of Jesus’s prayer. With years of study, teaching, and peacemaking around the world, Dr. Andrew DeCort uncovers Jesus’s radical vision for human flourishing in the face of suffering and violence.

View Book
Chapter art for Flourishing on the Edge of Faith representing how the kingdom of God grows like a tiny seed and flourishes into fruitfulness

Prophetic Imagination | An Invitation to Flourishing on the Edge of Faith

Essays

Dear friends,

What did the kingdom of God mean to Jesus? And what are we desiring when we make our lives a prayer for it to come on earth?

These questions probe to the heart of Jesus’s third spiritual practice: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” In the excerpt below from Flourishing on the Edge of Faith, I unpack the first and most important sign of God’s kingdom according to Jesus: countercultural love.

Pullout quote on the kingdom of God from Flourishing on the Edge of Faith: Seven Practices for a New We

Jesus’s vision of the kingdom is so beautiful, so surprising, and so hopeful. This week, I hope you’ll join me in practicing Jesus’s prayer every day and let the kingdom of God infiltrate your desire.

A quick update first…

Last week, the United Arab Emirates Embassy in Ethiopia invited me to speak at their Human Fraternity Webinar. The topic was how faith can foster a culture of tolerance, solidarity, and cooperation in Ethiopia and around the world. Human Fraternity webinar with Andrew DeCort hosted by the United Arab Emirates Embassy in Ethiopia

This was a very timely conversation... Read More

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Donation = Appreciation

Do you enjoy Stop & Think? Become a Sustaining Patron with a monthly donation and invest in my work around the world. Gifts are tax-deductible through the Institute for Faith and Flourishing. Yours with gratitude, Andrew

Sign Up for the Newsletter


My deepest passion is encouraging others in love. As you stop and think with me, I hope you feel more at home in your humanity, less lonely in what you believe, and fresh courage to love others beyond boundaries. Thanks for reading!

Now Available for Purchase

Flourishing on the Edge of Faith

This book is a passionate meditation on the profound significance of Jesus’s prayer. With years of study, teaching, and peacemaking around the world, Dr. Andrew DeCort uncovers Jesus’s radical vision for human flourishing in the face of suffering and violence.

View Book
Chapter art for Andrew DeCort's book Flourishing on the Edge of Faith

Hallowed | Radical Reverence De-weaponizes God

Essays

Dear friends,

This week I’m delighted to share an excerpt from chapter two of Flourishing on the Edge of Faith.

This section faces head-on what’s at stake in the second line of Jesus’s prayer: the human tendency to weaponize God. In response, Jesus teaches us to pray “Hallowed be your name.” I call this a practice of radical reverence, and here’s the heart of it:

Quotation from Andrew DeCort's book Flourishing on the Edge of Faith

I warmly invite you to practice Jesus’s prayer every day in 2023, and I’d be thrilled if Flourishing could accompany your journey. It’s available at BitterSweetBooks, Audible, Kindle, Barnes & Noble, and all major booksellers.

Two quick updates before the excerpt below:

First, warm thanks to Lynn Dugan and her book club for starting 2023 with Flourishing. Their feedback was so encouraging, and I’m delighted the book’s study guide (Appendix 3) is making it so easy to discuss. If you’re part of a small group, consider reading Flourishing together in 2023... Read More

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Donation = Appreciation

Do you enjoy Stop & Think? Become a Sustaining Patron with a monthly donation and invest in my work around the world. Gifts are tax-deductible through the Institute for Faith and Flourishing. Yours with gratitude, Andrew

Sign Up for the Newsletter


My deepest passion is encouraging others in love. As you stop and think with me, I hope you feel more at home in your humanity, less lonely in what you believe, and fresh courage to love others beyond boundaries. Thanks for reading!

Now Available for Purchase

Flourishing on the Edge of Faith

This book is a passionate meditation on the profound significance of Jesus’s prayer. With years of study, teaching, and peacemaking around the world, Dr. Andrew DeCort uncovers Jesus’s radical vision for human flourishing in the face of suffering and violence.

View Book