Definitely feel like this book would be a great high-school graduation gift. But as a woman in her mid-30s it missed the mark and felt like a watered down checklist of irrelevant common knowledge things to do to “better” myself.

We have often heard of pleas to walk the talk; to put ideas into action; and to put theories into practice. Whatever the expressions, the common theme is that people are sincerely wanting to live out their faith authentically and tangibly. Practice is also about change: Not more but deeper; not bigger but stronger; not better but integrated. For faith is not a static belief but active practice. For author and pastor Kathy Escobar, it is not just one but ten practices that we can do to change the world beginning with ourselves. In a powerful introduction, she gives several reasons why all Christians need this book. Generally, in a world where people talk more than they walk, we need to do the reverse, to declare faith as a verb to be practiced instead to be passively talked about. That does not mean that we do not talk. It simply means that whatever we talk, be ready to apply. So the word "practice" is the active verb throughout the book. She explores the nature of practicing via several dimensions. It is about being "tangible" to make our faith visible. It is about walking with people, to mourn with those who mourn, and to rejoice with those who rejoice. It is about becoming like Christ before others. It is about "improvement," where we move from popular words like "more, bigger, or better" toward "deeper, stronger, and more integrated." This improvement begins from the inside out. While emphasizing the practicing more than the talking, she admits that conversations are still necessary. She even gives us six broad sets of ground rules to begin the conversation process. In summary, we are called to be Christ's physical ministry to others. The ten practices are:

1) Healing: We need to be honest with ourselves that we all have various needs for healing. This is essential if we want to participate in such ministry to others.
2) Listening: We need more ears and less mouth, to increase our understanding of others.
3) Loving: Following Richard Rohr's words to put into action; "The best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better."
4) Including: Avoid the addiction of preferring the known and the comfortable. Remember that there is no "us vs them" but we.
5) Equalizing: From power differences to giving all individuals an equal sense of worth.
6) Advocating: To help those who cannot help themselves by "magnifying" their voices.
7) Mourning: Grief should not be avoided. Instead, we should make space for one another to lament and mourn any loss. Mourning with those who mourn also means letting one another express themselves without any other forms of interference.
8) Failing: Making mistakes is part of being human. We ought to cultivate resilience to rise up each time we fall, in order to learn and grow as real people.
9) Resting: We need intentional space to rest on a regular basis. It keeps us sane.
10) Celebrating: Helping people see and celebrate the good they have done, that sometimes they cannot see themselves.

Each chapter begins with a dictionary-like definition of the participle, or a continuous form of the verb. With the definitions, Escobar gives us a popular understanding of the word. Following that, she shares a thought from a practitioner about the direction of the chapter. There is a personal story, where Escobar shares not only from her past but her present struggles from family, ministry, and relationships. She then invites us into the practice by showing us how we are not alone in suffering the short end of the stick. Interestingly, she applies what were discussed to each succeeding chapter. What I like about Escobar's approach is the way she asks questions while teaching the meaning of the practice. One does not feel being talked to, but more like being invited to a learning conversation. This is something very beautiful in this approach because the author has been so open which in turn encourages us to be open. On top of that, she lists a few different examples to help us notice the many different ways in which the practice could be relevant to us. The discussion questions at the end of each chapter make for very good small group interactions. There is a prayer to ask the Lord for help to be open, to be honest, and to be willing to share constructively with one another. Escobar concludes each chapter with what to do next and how to "dig deeper" into the topic.

Three Thoughts
First, this book puts into practice the flesh needed to bring theology to life. It is a much needed book especially in a climate of suspicions and skepticism about the Christian faith. It reminds me of the importance of letting our faith do the walking as what letter of James 1:22 had taught us: "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." The author hits us at the jugular by pointing out Richard Rohr's observation, that "Christians are usually sincere and well-intentioned people until you get to any real issues of ego, control, power, money, pleasure, and security. Then they tend to be pretty much like everybody else." Theologically, it is about sin. Escobar is clearly one who have had enough with hypocrisy in Christian circles. On the one hand, we are all guilty, both believers and non-believers. On the other hand, as Christians, we are expected to be people of faith demonstrated in good works. Put in this light, this book gives us ways to go about doing that. In particular, I appreciate the constructive ideas at the end of each chapter that puts forth about how to go about putting the virtue into practice.

Second, we need to be cautious not to depend on human strength and wisdom to go about doing things. Spiritual things must not only be spiritually discerned, they need to be spiritually led toward Christlike living. It is tempting to jump into the practice without praying or seeking God. When that happens, things might work for a while, but it will not be sustainable. When Jesus tells us the need to abide in Him and He in us, He is reminding us that apart from Christ, we can do nothing. Any rush to do things, even the good things in the Name of God, would be folly. Proverbs also warn us against hasty living. Seeking God, seeking counsel, and seeking godly wisdom must come before the actual work itself. In fact, prayer and discernment are not limited to the beginning. They are meant to be practiced through the entire process. Kudos to Escobar for including a prayer at the end of each chapter to do just that. If there's anything to critique, I would say the prayers are way too brief.

Finally, this book should be a kick-start for more practices to follow. It should trigger the beginning rather than the end of any conversation. The ten practices Escobar had listed could easily spawn other topics. For example, listening could progress toward different levels of understanding for different situations. Both the personal and group reflection questions ought to inspire us to creatively formulate other acts and practices. The lists are probably worth the price of this book.

Great book to start a conversation as well as a movement.

Kathy Escobar is co-pastor at the Refuge, a Christian community and mission center in North Denver. She is a trained spiritual director, speaker, writer, group facilitator, and advocate for safe spaces for healing.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Westminster John Knox Press and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

We often hear the quote about being the change we wish to see in the world, in her book Practicing, Kathy Escobar shows us how to do that.

From the very first page, you will feel like you are having a conversation with a dear friend who is a wise sage. Kathy has organized and crafted this book in such an intentional way that it will without a doubt, help you live out your faith in a better more meaningful way.

Her chapters are organized around 10 topics that we all can grow in; Healing, Listening, Loving, Including, Equalizing, Advocating, Mourning, Failing, Resting, and Celebrating. Wouldn't the world be a better place if we all practiced our faith in these areas? The stories Kathy includes are from her and her friends. Each narrative, teaches us so much and was included in such an intentional way.

For each of these 10 areas, Kathy gives us practical ways we can live this out in our faith, she also includes discussion questions and prayers. This book is so engaging and well written that it is an easy read-- however I highly recommend taking your time and give room to put her wisdom into practice.

The publisher provided an ARC through Netgalley. I have voluntarily read this book and these thoughts and opinions are my own honest review.

I wasn't really sure what to expect going into this. But, let me tell you, this book was fantastic! I typically read a lot of fiction. But this year I challenged myself to read more non-fiction and I am so glad that I did.

This book is exactly what I needed for the season of life that I am currently in. This book is life-giving, beautiful, hopeful and motivating. Through this book Kathy Escobar pushes you to look within yourself and to be honest and more intentional with yourself. This is a book that you can come back to and continue to learn from year after year. I highly recommend it.

Helpful and Insightful
From page one it's like talking to a close friend. It gives words to the raw realities of life. It's like a hug letting you know your not alone and it's ok to be broken. It gives you the tools , guidance, and encouragement to begin to heal your self and your commentary through faith in action. It is a book for deep contemplation and soul searching retrospect. Giving you the courage.to be honest with yourself and others.

I'm one of those that are "done" with church and organized religion. That doesn't mean that I don't still want to practice my faith and help make things better. I'm an older reader but I still found things that I can do and ways to help others that I really hadn't thought about. I am enjoying the book as it's not just a book to read but to absorb and use to practice. I love the interactive aspects and am looking forward to reading more from Ms. Escobar.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher and voluntarily chose to review it.

While I haven't read any of Escobar's writing before now, I often read authors that I might not have found if I hadn't seen an ad for their books. Such is the case with "Practicing."

Escobar is a pastor who, during the course of the book publishing process, lost her son. This experience has wound its way through the manuscript, adjusting and fitting along with what was already there. She is a self described "pot-stirrer," so don't expect to read her work and still feel like the status quo is the answer to everything.

There's room for lots of self-reflection and the encouragement to reach across the aisle to those who aren't like you, creating community that lives in the tension of imperfect people serving an amazing God. There are tools, ideas and encouragement in the book that will allow the reader to evaluate their current role in God's Kingdom and the ways we build barriers to true community.

While we may not agree on everything, we should continue to seek to understand those around us who might not share the same ideas on faith and how Jesus asks us to live. "Practicing" is a book that will challenge and encourage growth, regardless of your faith views. Worth a read!

I was an early reader, thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher, Westminster John Knox. All opinions are my own and I chose to leave a review.

The description for the new book, Practicing: Changing Yourself to Change the World by Kathy Escobar, caught my attention right away. In particular the tag lines that Christians want to "live a life of love, mercy, and justice," but "it's easy to feel overwhelmed" was a siren song that enticed me to pick up the book. Escobar details a variety of practices that are a blend of spiritual disciplines and actions in ten chapters. The practices include a variety of items that also focus focus on bringing people together across differences and divides in order to promote healing, reconciliation, and change the world by empowering those who have been denied or stripped of power due to sex, color, economic status, or gender.

Each chapter contains numerous stories and examples of how Escobar has lived out these practices in her own life and through the church she co-pastors. Escobar draws upon other writers for several spiritual traditions to demonstrate the practices. Many suggestions are provided which give hands-on, specific ways to incorporate the practices described. Each chapter also includes questions for personal reflection, group discussion, practice, and suggested readings titled "Dig Deeper" which include a variety of titles from both a faith-based and secular point of view.

I found Escobar's writing thought-provoking. Several practices, particularly statements about "with" rather than "to" or "for" regarding the practice of including, really resonated with me. Some other statements I'm still chewing on and I'm not quite sure I agree with. Regardless whether agree with the entire book, anyone will come away from reading Practicing with new ideas and new practices to consider and will be stretched in their thinking. The discussion questions and other additional resources make this a perfect book to read and discuss with others.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received Practicing from Westminster John Knox via NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Received this from Net Gallery! This lady has lost a child but her faith in God will see her though this with the help of her family,I don't even want to think of something like this happening to me! I admire her faith and her book shows that you can't change the world but you can help change a persons,one by one! Very inspiring book you should read and share with your friends! Made me look at this world a little different and going to try and follow some of her advice! Thank you and God Bless you and your family that God eases your burden your are carrying!

Practicing
Changing Yourself to Change the World
by Kathy Escobar
Westminster John Knox Press
Christian , Religion & Spirituality


Great book which will lead to life changes!! I love books like this. I have not read Kathy Escobar before but it will not be my last read of hers.

It was a good book to read personally but I couldn't recommend this for my class because of the religion aspect. I enjoyed the book and the ease of reading it helped me focus on the content.

This is the first book I have read by Kathy Escobar and I can already say it will not be the last! I finished the book late last night/early this morning and then went and followed her Instagram and signed up for her newsletter. Her writing is passionate, timely, and full of a spirit of learning and God. It is lovely and I felt on fire reading it. I'm mixed race like her kids, Latina and White, and it can be hard in these times to feel connections and wonder what to do. This felt like a guidebook for just that and I hope it gets the word around to everyone who feels this calling in life too.