This is a book I will certainly read again. Rich Villodas has presented us with quite a treat: the opportunity to see what it might be like to turn an average life into one that makes a habit of putting oneself in the hands of God. With honest and personal stories of his own failures, Villodas allows us to be part of his own transformation and get a glimpse of what our own might resemble. He introduces some critical topics -- sexual wholeness being one of the primary examples -- that are enfolded into the bigger picture of communion with God and the fulfillment of deep longing. Both an easy read and potentially life-changing challenge, this is a paperbound opportunity for personal revelation.

Streams of Living Water by Richard J. Foster has been one of the more formative books as I’ve sought to find language for the many and varied traditions that have shaped my life. In it, Foster seeks to bring to the fore exemplars from six traditions of the Christian faith that are more often than not placed in opposing corners. Beautiful pictures of the contemplative, holiness, charismatic, social justice, evangelical, and incarnational traditions are drawn in their subsequent chapters issuing out a strong call that we need the best of them all.

With all due respect to one of my personal heroes of the faith, it lacks one thing: integration.

Foster shows us that we should integrate the various traditions of the Christian faith, Villodas shows us we must if we are ever going to fight the tide that seek to form us in shallow ways. He gives us a beautiful and embodied picture of what that looks like. That is, we must if we ever hope to be the deeply formed people necessary to carry the Presence of God into his beautiful and broken world.

To put it plainly, The Deeply Formed Life, carries the weight of an encyclopaedia of holistic spiritual formation. Its task of integration for the sake of a deeply formed spirituality in the face of a world that is working overtime to keep us in the shallow end of the pool is met with nuance, humour, penetrating depth, and a prophetic force that has the potential to inflict serious violence on our apathy.

Contemplative Rhythms.

Racial Reconciliation.

Interior Examination.

Sexual Wholeness.

Missional Presence.

Where else will you find silent prayer juxtaposed with a strong call to renounce white normativity? Sacaramental theology with missional presence? Faithfully stewarding our bodies up against (and with) exploring your genogram?

This is a beautiful mosaic that seeks to bring all of who we are to a place of deep formation as we live in God for the world.

In one sense this book is a book for this moment. It is incredibly timely. It’s what the church needs, now. In another very important sense it is also timeless in the way that Rich provides for us a way to do theology and integrate various strands of political, psychological, and sociological truths for the flourishing of the church, the glory of God, and the good of the world. This will age well. And the only thing that pulled me away from reading this book is the Spirit asking me to go and put some of it into practice right then and there.

Reading The Deeply Formed Life will not change your life; it never makes that promise.

But as you begin to integrate these five transformative values into your life and practice, I can’t imagine anything ever being the same.

Tolle lege.