I now have found peace. Richard has been exactly what I needed when I needed it. I have been saved from myself and in the process gained what I never thought possible. Thank God for Richard and thank Richard for God.

It has taken me so long to find God. The person most responsible in helping me with my journey is Richard Rohr. Without his sharing I would have still been trying to climb the ladder - but now I'm stepping down and loving it. For the first time in my 36 years I can say that I have experienced God in my life, and I jumped for joy when I knew it. I have read and listened to many books and tapes by Richard over and over again. Each time I learn more. I have never experienced the peace, joy and love that I feel when hearing Richard's message - It is Good News. I am so glad I can leave behind now the Bad News of a God who did'nt love me because I was not good enough; I can leave behind a punishing God who was going to send me to Hell. How could I love a God like that? Who could? It has help me more than I can ever express to know that I am OK- that the transformation of me in all of this is my journey with God always by my side. Thank You Richard for saving me from me.

Reading this book has changed my life, it changed the way I am looking at our world and my role in it. Richard Rohr beautifully combines eastern and western wisdom, bringing us closer to the universal truth. The book is highly recommended to anybody seeking deeper meaning of life.

Not coming from a Roman Catholic tradition, I've been intrigued by the debate surrounding the celebacy of the priesthood and the male exclusivity of the clergy. After all, other denominations have moved ahead, not without struggle to be sure, but moved nonetheless, to model what it means for all of God's people to have a place at table, and to officiate in the offerings that the table provides.

Richard Schoenherr's "Goodbye Father" provides powerful insights to those of us laypeople who struggle with one's appropriate role in the church, and who are looking for a deeper analysis of this religious tradition.

In his discussion of why dropping celebacy will happen prior to changing the patriarchy of the ministry, Schoenherr defines how the embeddedness of patriarchy, the decline of that partriarchy in other denominations, and the depth of the debate about marital-status exclusivity contributes to his thesis. That discussion provides clues into the struggle the church faces, but also gives hope that the stance on celebacy can change.

That today's issues are now indicative of Schoenherr's predictions demonstrate the wisdom with which the author presents a significant contribution to the role of men and women in the church. This book deserves a read by anyone concerned about those roles, regardless of the denominational background of the reader.

Goodbye Father attends to the heart of the crisis facing the U.S. Catholic Church-the quality of pastoral care for the people. Schoenherr understands that the religious care of the people revolves around an ordained priesthood and the Mass so the quantity and quality of priests truly matter.

For Schoenherr, life is a paschal mystery in that people are involved at every moment in linking their lives to the death and resurrection of Christ. The liturgy makes that connection more powerfully present in people's lives. The limitation of the Catholic priesthood to celibate males denies people who are thirsty for spiritual life an adequate level of religious care. The ordination of married people and women promises a greater number and deeper quality of priests.

Goodbye Father is informative of my thinking and formative of my aspirations. It humbly invites us to think more deeply and act more courageously in regard to what may well be the will of God.

Goodbye Father attends to the heart of the crisis facing the U.S. Catholic Church-the quality of pastoral care for the people. Schoenherr understands that the religious care of the people revolves around an ordained priesthood and the Mass, so the quantity and quality of priests truly matter. For Schoenherr, life is a paschal mystery in that people are involved at every moment in linking their lives to the life, death, and ressurection of Christ. The liturgy makes that connection more powerfully present in people's lives. The limitation of the Catholic priesthood to celibate males denies people who are thirsty for spiritual life an adequate level of religious care. The ordination of married people and women promises a greater number and deeper quality of priests. Goodbye Father is informative of my thinking and formative of my aspirations. It humbly invites us to think more deeply and act more courageously in regard to what may well be the will of God.

If you want to read an excellent book about stalwart soldiers for Christ, written by a principled (no pun intended), committed, and passionate Christian, and if you want to be "spurred on toward love and good deeds" by the examples of these amazing and courageous believers, read Trial and Triumph! In his writing, Mr. Hannula makes Augustine, Ambrose, Polycarp, and all the others come alive--just as he makes history exciting and real for the students he teaches in his history classes. Do yourself a favor and read his book.

I would recommend this for adults and older children. Most Protestants put so much focus on the Bible that they don't learn much about anything that happened in the Church after the book of Acts. This book will help fill in the gaps.

This is a great way to learn church history through fascinating biographical sketches. It's a children's book, and I have read it aloud to my six- and eight-year-olds, but I enjoyed it for my own reading first. It will make you appreciate your religious freedom in a new way, and inspire you to live a courageous Christian life.

Concise, easy to read, easy to understand. A good read for any pastor or church leader who wants to get some clarity on the strengths and uniqueness of his or her congregation. The REALLY good news is that this is NOT another "How I Did It" book. To be sure, "How I Did It" books are inspiring, and you can pick up a lot of good tips and tricks. The trouble is that most of them probably won't work in YOUR situation! What Southern & Norton have done is given us a method which will help us understand and analyze our own unique settings - to discover our own congregation's values and unique giftedness - so that we can focus on doing the things that are right for us, not for somebody else! Share this one with key leaders in your congregation!

My congregation worked with Southern and Norton over the course of several months. We found their strategy for church growth and renewal to be easy to follow, highly participatory, and full of wisdom. It has totally transformed our congregation and organizational systems!

"Cracking Your Congregation's Code" is a great contribution to the church growth movement! It not only offers a theoretical framework for congregational health and vitality, but provides easy to use surveys and inventories. Their recommendations for church growth and renewal are not "one size fits all" but are easily tailored for each congregation's unique "DNA". The end result is the development of a "strategic map" that will guide one's congregation to a new place of enthusiasm and growth!

I've been implementing some of the procedures in Cracking Your Congregation's Code, and I've found it answers many basic needs of busy pastors and lay leaders. I know it helps answer mine. It's a practical book, that's easy to read, and easy to use. It describes how a church can transform itself. The surveys the authors provide for the four congregational systems give a church a way to quickly evaluate and strengthen their work. From my standpoint, as someone looking for how-to's, I'd say the information in chapter seven on how to create a strategic map is worth the price of the book alone.

Heitzenrater's book is the best single-volume work on Wesley. He has, in an accessible prose, documented Wesley's life and the foundations of the Methodist Movement better than anyone before him. It utilizes the sources that are the foundation of the older biographies, such as Wesley's journal. More importantly, however, it effectively utilizes nontraditional sources for understanding his life. He creatively and effectively uses Wesley's theological writings, the writings of contemporaries, and conference minutes to more fully tell Wesley's story.

Heitzenrater is the Albert C. Outler Chair of Wesleyan Studies at Duke Divinity School. He is widely recognized as the foremost expert on Wesley's life. He is also the current editor of the Works of Wesley; he has taken that role since Outler's death.

This is a superb book by Richard P. Heitzenrater. The narrative moves us through the many seasons of John Wesley's ministry, noting significant events and conflicts along the way. But this is a book that is very much limited to a focus on Wesley. It is as though a spotlight is on our protagonist and everyone else is given only minor occasions for sharing in his light...or being heard in the darkened background.

The strongest criticism of this book is that it defies its own title -- there are no PEOPLE called Methodists in this book. For one of the most profound and popular religious movements since the Reformation, it is amazing that Heitzenrater has neglected to include a portrayal of the people themselves. Who were these people? I am not talking about Wesley's aids here. I am talking about the common folk who made up the lion's share of the movement. There is no mention in this book of women's spirituality (in a movement made up of approximately 60 percent women!). There is no discussion of the social factors surrounding the rise of Methodism. So much of the story is missed.

Nevertheless! This is an excellent introduction to the topic of Wesley and Methodism...it is only that it could have been so much more.

Richard Heitzenrater's book, although at times extremely heavy reading and subject matter sometimes difficult to appreciate at first blush is an excellent example of drawing the "historical" into the same sphere as "contemporary" subjects.

This is an excellent book for those seeking to gain a greater and more informed understanding of the sometimes difficult relationship betwen Wesley and the early Methodists - they were not always on the friendliest of terms.

A book highly reccomened for those wishing and willing to read a heavy but non-the-less readable book.

Congraulations to Richard Heitzenrater.

"One must live in a state of permanent dissatisfaction with the Church." Wow! (a quote Rohr uses in the book by Italian Monsignor, Richard Guardini, early 20th century) "And one cannot separate Christ from His cross. And one cannot separate Christ from His bloody painful Church." Rohr teaches (to me at least) that we should live Christlike behavior instead of our pompous duality, always joining hands to be against some other "thing/persons/religion/denominations/etc. He set fire to my weakened human condition that I seem to whine about all time to myself. We must suffer to get to the light at the end of the tunnel, but we "must" go through the darkness of the tunnel to get to the light. I loved the book.

I have recently begun exploring Christianity after many years away from the church. Christianity is laden with language that is misunderstood and dog tired. I've been really seeking what all of that language and symbolism is pointing toward. And does any of it dovetail with my own spiritual experience. There were points reading this book where I was truly elated because aspects of the deep heart of Christianity just glowed at me with the lustre of something true.

Rohr's exploration of victimhood and scapegoating seemed so deeply appropriate in the post September 11th world. The notion of transferring our pain, vanquishing it and making ourselves mighty as we assign it to someone else. The challenge is, of course, to be aware of and hold your pain, allowing it to transform you. I'm no Richard Rohr so suffice it that my paraphrase is profoundly anemic.

The book is dense and I'm sure I didn't really "get it" all because truthfully I have no idea how any of the contents relate to the title of the book or the chapter titles for that matter. None of that detracts from the truly profound insights he shares.

Rohr strikes me as someone who has a certain clarity and a desire to convey it, share it, spread it about. I had a moment of suspicion at one point, thinking he was telling me "it's like this". But it passed. While I wouldn't say the book is chock full of humility it leaves plenty of room for a reader to think it through. I really appreciated all of the biblical references and looked them all up. He uses the New Jerusalem Bible. Mine is the New American Standard Bible. It was interesting how far apart some of the translations were.

It amazes me that a person who writes as much as Father Rohr can be as fresh and insightful as he is in each new book. Hope Against Darkness is nothing short of brilliant. As I understand him, Rohr argues that the spiritual searcher of today is caught between the modern and the post-modern worldviews. Both are no longer acceptable, but both contain strengths we ought to retain as best we can. The anxiety that arises from this ambiguous state of homelessness is the dis-ease he treats in this book, and his remedy is a richly creative appeal to Franciscan spirituality. Simply wonderful! A book to read, re-read, and give to others.

Whether your small group is a beginning group or one that wishes to review or re-evaluate it's purpose, this book gives you the recipe. It is both gentle and straightforward, using the "one another" statements of Jesus as it's step by step directions for a healthy small group. It will assist any group to look at it's purpose, the relationship between it's members, it's nuts and bolts and in the process bring the members of the group closer to God and to each other. Each chapter adds new ingrediants to the mix which enriches the flavor of the Christian Small Group experience. It allows each group to find their own flavor, realizing that each person in the group is put there for a purpose. I think that one of the most appealing things aobut this book is that like the Bible, it is a tried and true recipe that can be used again and again and it is great to pass on to others as a sure fire recipe for a healthy small group.

Small groups have served as the keystone to renewal and growth of our church & a source of enrichment to the lives of countless church members. "One Anothering" has been the launching point for most of the small groups within our congregation. This study provides building block instructions for the creation of healthy and vibrant small groups ... and lays a path for future growth and enrichment.

The Bible clearly demonstrates that the strength of the body of Christ comes from the community of believers. The center of each local community of believers is a church. Close relationships within the church provide strength for the church and bring individuals into a closer relationship with Christ. The mechanism that helps truly Christ-like relationships to develop is small group ministry. The foundation for healthy small groups is "One Anothering".

"One Anothering" is a terrific opening study for all new small groups and small groups undergoing change. This book closely follows examples modeled by Christ. The book does an excellent job of building a Biblical case for the importance of small groups within all congregations. However, rather than concluding with an interesting New Testament study, "One Anothering" provides practical tools for strengthening relationships among group members, thereby bringing them into a more personal relationship with Christ.

Through my use of this text as a small group leader, the power of prayer has come alive in my life. Group members have become aware of the most significant issues affecting the group, and share in the discovery and understanding of God's answers. This book teaches the power of confidential-loving-accountability.

As a leader and participant in many small groups - both within and outside my church congregation, I strongly recommend the use of "One Anothering" for all small groups. New groups will benefit from its structure and framework, while older groups will strengthen existing bonds - thus improving overall group effectiveness and functionality. I have used this book in men's groups, couples groups, parent groups and groups with no particular focus.

No matter the focus or age of your small group - "One Anothering" is an essential study. This is truly an inspired work that will help your small group reach its full potential, thus strengthening the body of Christ within your congregation and community.

One Anothering is a superb resource for a great small group experience. I have found it works well for small group beginners and for old timers too. I can hardly wait for volume II to arrive. --E. Stanley Ott, pastor, Pleasant Hills Community Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh.

The practical exercises in the Christian traditions are useful, and cause growth. (Romans 12:2) This book is useful for any spiritual formation group and increases awareness of need to grow in Discipleship. Have used exercises in my Walk to Emmaus(spiritual formation/accountability) reunion group--leads to Christian action.

This book will help you discover where you need more balance in your Christian walk. As you learn to practice the 6 different traditions; social, contemplative, holiness, charismatic, evangelical, and incarnational, your walk with the Lord will become more balanced. This has been a life-changing study for me!

This is a very good book for starting a Bible study that is labor intensive versus study intensive. I do recommended this for all people to lead after they have to a personal study with Celebration of Discipline materials. To my knowledge, this version is out of print because it has been revised and replaces by ISBN 0062516264. This new book includes the sixth tradition of incarnationalism. Also recommended.

I just finished this one and loved it. It's not for beginners, but if you want to move beyond "a one is this and a two is that" this book is good. There are many shared stories from the different numbers in this book. In fact I read one to my husband and he laughed because it was just like me. One needs some background in the enneagram before delving into it, but it's a refreshing approach to those who have been studying it a while.

Richard Rohr's earlier work,Discovering the Enneagram, was my introduction years ago to the wondeful potential that "the sleeping giant", the enneagram, has for personal, community and spiritual growth.That work has had a profound effect on my life, work,teaching. This new work,focusing as it does on discernment,is a much needed work ,given the manner in which Christian critique of the enneagram is accurately or inaccurately leveled depending on the context and compassion present in its use,Pacqua's work being perhaps the case in point. To trope a phrase,"Where new age magic and narcissism are present, Love is not, but perhaps power is." Any reader open to the process will feel the presence of compassion,genuineness and humility present in Rohr's writing as he renders to Grace what is of Grace,and to archetypic energies and encapsulations what is of them. This work goes very far in not throwing out at least some work with the enneagram with the bathwater of new age magical misinterpretations. thereof. A rich touch is the allowing the type to speak for themselves.A potentially wonderful tool for building healing communities in the churches and temples.

Very good book. It presents what are each type gifts, and how to use them to go towards more consciouness, towards enlightenment.

The book contains a panel of people of each types answering two questions, it has helped me deepening my understanding of each type.

This book will make you think

Reading "Life Injections" is like reading a book of short stories each with its small cast of characters facing life's dilemmas which somehow don't seem as complicated under the glow of Fr. Zajac's insight. "Life Injections" is a collage of fables a modern Aesop might write revealing that though life is indeed difficult, it is not necessarily complicated. If Paul were writing his epistles in 1996 instead of 0056 he would be hard pressed to convey more insight than flows from Fr Zajac's entrancing "stories" of gentle truths that bring simple answers to our human condition. -- Thomas T. Frantz, Chair, Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology, SUNY at Buffalo

An excellent resource for reflection on the meaning of life as we confront it in the decisions of everyday life. A resource for preachers and for the "person in the pew," especially good for hospital and health care situations. Warning: it may bring tears to the eyes, both for humor, and for touching the heartstrings in the difficult moments of life. --Rev. Allen Bryan, Hospice Chaplain