Description:
In the contemporary church, the word 'mission' has become synonymous with pace, expansion and results. Yet such an approach can often leave those with responsibilities in mission or ministry feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. Not only that, but mission which focuses on the rapid and the growing fails to recognise the rich resources the more contemplative Christian traditions can offer our post-secular society, and especially those who would call themselves 'spiritual but not religious'. In 'The Seeking Heart', Ian Mobsby calls for an approach to mission which takes a deeper, slower spirituality more seriously. Drawing on the work of a wide range of figures within the Christian tradition, from John of the Cross and Hildegard of Bingham to John Taylor, he boldly calls the church to a new kind of mission which takes spirituality more seriously, and offers a model to demonstrate what such an approach might look like in practice.
Brief description: Ian Mobsby has worked as a lay pioneer/missioner and as an ordained pioneer practitioner particularly with missional forms of new monastic communities and the experimental alongside the traditional. Ian has written a number of books on aspects of contemporary mission and spirituality, recently completing a research PhD part exploration of the 'Spiritual But Not Religious'. He is currently working in Canada as the Diocesan Community Missioner to the Bishop of Niagara and remains a member of the Church of England's College of Bishop's Advisory Council for the relations of Diocesan Bishops and Religious Communities.
Review Quotes:
"Ian Mobsby's writing here emerges as a crucial Anglican voice in a time of crisis and decline requiring a re-examination of our Christian identity. Mobsby calls us back to the heart of faith implying that unless the church regains its ability to help people truly encounter God then it has little to offer the world. This book is a powerful reminder that what's at stake isn't institutional survival - it's the real conversion of the heart and the world changing potential that the Christian contemplative path offers."
Adam Bucko, Director of the Center for Spiritual Imagination New York and Episcopal Priest, USA,"For many years, I have had great respect for Ian Mobsby, not only for the good work he does, but for the good spirit in which he does it. Now, seeing his newest book, my respect grows even deeper. He is integrating missiology with contemplative spirituality, and I think it's a match made in heaven. He's a writer worth taking to heart, and this is a book deserving your attention."
Brian D. McLaren, international speaker, teacher, author and Dean of the Core Faculty of the Center for Action and Contemplation, USA,