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As I read this collection, I tried to imagine the authors of the various reflections in conversation. What would Leo Tolstoy say to Karl Barth, or Francis of Assisi to Wendell Berry? The more I read, though, the more I started to imagine all of them in one place—listening to Jesus give the Sermon on the Mount. And, before long, I found myself blending into the crowd with them, hearing these strange, arresting, upending words of life. This book will prompt you to surprise, to delight, to melancholy, to argument, and, at every turn, will lead you back to Jesus.
Russell Moore, Christianity Today
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Moore has brought together compelling selections from more than a hundred writers to call for the formation of a fellowship of disciples who will simply live as Jesus taught us to live. I strongly recommend this book for study, reflection, and prayerful living.
Richard J. Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline
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A magnificent collection of reflections on Jesus's most familiar, and most radical, teaching.
James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage
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This book is both informative and practical – written with a short chapter for each week of the year. Designed to spark conversation within a group devotion setting, readers can dive deep into community together.… This book delves into the nitty-gritty details of Christian community living and encourages readers to confront the dissatisfaction stirred up by its challenging pages. Though not a light text by any means, this book is ideal for those seeking to approach Christian community more intentionally and comprehensively.
Evangelical Church Library Association
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…Drawn from the full sweep of church history and an impressive range of ecumenical voices.
Mennonite Quarterly Review
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A 2016 Englewood Honor Book – one of the thirty best books of the year for the life and flourishing of the church.
Englewood Review for Books
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This is a stellar contribution to our understanding of the whys and wherefores of Christian community. The 52 selections seem perfect for a year of weekly group study and the detailed discussion guide in the appendix is particularly useful for this purpose. Called to Community: The Life Jesus Wants for His People is a thoughtfully compiled and well edited guide to the subject.
Nancy Roberts, Catholic Sentinel
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To listen to those who have lived community across the centuries is to drink at a deep well of wisdom. The call to community is challenging, and yet the recognition of the real challenges of community both tempers naive enthusiasm and offers wise counsel to those who pursue intentional communities out of faithfulness to Christ.
InterVarsity Emerging Scholars Network
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Called to Community is an extraordinary and welcome addition to personal reading lists, as well as church, seminary, community, and academic library Christian Studies collections
Midwest Book Review
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As with the Bible, this book is not to be read alone, or lived alone, but embodied in community. Will we take up and read – and live?
Paul Louis Metzger, Patheos
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This book functions as a guide to community: to understanding the true nature of community, to cultivating a spirit and heart that is prepared to live in community, to learning how to desire the right kind of community, in the first place.
Kyle Roberts, Patheos
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This is one meaty, yet very accessible, book for those who love the Church enough to give it some serious thought, knowing that serious thought can lead to serious action. Whether in small groups or individually, as we read Called to Community, we will be hearing voices from the road, people with trail dust on their faith. They know what they’re talking about. And this invitation to come alongside them is a great place to start finding some new roads in an old faith of our own.
David Swartz, Patheos
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I can only hope that it will be widely read, because I am certain that contained in this book is the future of being Christian.
Stanley Hauerwas
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Has there ever been a more hard-hitting, beautifully written, theologically inclusive anthology of writings for Lent and Easter? It’s doubtful. Many readers may well find that this collection – a sequel to the highly successful 'Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas' – is the one book they return to year after year, forgoing their usual custom of buying a new Lenten devotional each spring.
Caveat lector: no one should have this much pleasure during Lent!
Publisher's Weekly starred review
