The Wisdom of Stability: Rooting Faith in a Mobile Culture - Softcover

Wilson-Hartgrove, Jonathan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1557256233 ISBN 13: 9781557256232

Publisher: Paraclete Press, 2010

Synopsis

Discussion around the bestseller The Benedict Option by Rod Dreher has led many people to want to know more about Benedictine principles.

In an age where we might email a friend in Africa, Skype a co-worker in Brazil, and teleconference with people in different time zones–all in one day–the sheer speed of life can be dizzying. Like children stumbling off a merry-go-round, says Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, we are grasping for something to anchor our lives in a sea of constant change.

In The Wisdom of Stability, Wilson-Hartgrove illuminates the biblical and monastic understanding of why staying in one place is both a virtue and good for you. “For the Christian tradition,” he writes, “the heart’s true home is a life rooted in the love of God.” When we cultivate an inner stability of heart – by rooting ourselves in the places where we live, engaging the people we are with, and by the simple rhythms of tending to body and soul – true growth can happen. The Wisdom of Stability is a must-read for pastors, leaders, and anyone seeking an authentic path of Christian transformation.

​​“In whatever place you live, do not easily leave it.” –Abba Anthony

About this title

About the Author

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove is a leader of the new monastic movement and co-founded the Rutba House community in Durham, North Carolina. An associate minister at St. John’s Baptist Church in Durham, he also directs the School for Conversion, a partnership among new monastic communities for alternative theological education. His other books include Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers, New Monasticism, and God’s Economy. www.jonathanwilsonhartgrove.com

From the Back Cover

A work of startling authenticity, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove's new book speaks to each of us who seek an authentic path of Christian transformation. He shows you how you can:

•cultivate stability by rooting yourself more deliberately in the place where you live. •Truly engage with the people you are with •Slow down and participate in simpler rhythms of life. •Live in ways that speak to the deeper yearnings of the human heart.

Reviews

Although commitment to the traditional Christian virtue of stability isn't easy, it is the best way to encounter both the God who invites humans into community -- and, for the faithful, to do battle with the personal and societal demons that keep them from deeper faith. Cofounder of the "new monastic" community Rutba House in Durham, N.C., and author of God's Economy, Wilson-Hartgrove argues candidly that his aim is to persuade readers to "reprogram your default settings" from mobility to stability. Drawing deeply upon the work and witness of Benedictines both ancient and modern, the writer also roots his argument in Scripture and snapshots taken from the economically poor community where he and his family have chosen to live. In a fortunate coincidence, this slim volume advocating the virtue of "growing where you are planted" appears at a time when more are inclined to challenge the necessity and advantage of multitasking. Wilson-Hartgrove tends to repeat his main point, but he does it in such an engaging and passionate way that readers will go away well-informed, if not converted.
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In contemporary culture, staying put—actively maintaining stability—is often looked down upon. Stability is the antithesis, according to this viewpoint, of progress and innovation. Wilson-Hartgrove disagrees and sets out to persuade his readers to reconsider their busy lifestyles. He suggests that by paying attention, we can recover the “wisdom of stability.” Thus, he refers back to the wisdom literature of various cultures, from Lao-tzu and the Bible to the desert monastics and Thomas Merton. He refers to specific traditions, such as Benedictine spirituality, while at the same time insisting that stability can be looked on as a craft, as a rhythm to fall into—and something that can be learned by anyone. “To practice stability,” he writes, “is to learn to love both a place and its people.” He comments on lessons he has learned from the Bible as well as stories shared by family members, friends, and colleagues and concludes with a series of quotations on stability from famous saints and scholars, including Augustine of Hippo, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and Sister Joan Chittister. An appealing combination of personal experience and reflection. --June Sawyers

Edition details

• Publisher: Paraclete Press
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1557256233
• ISBN 13: 9781557256232
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 164