Status
Available
Call number
Collections
Publication
Wallingford, PA : Pendle Hill Publications, 2019.
ISBN
9780875744599
Description
George Fox and the first Quakers named ways that the Spirit of God (Christ) worked within them. Fox called these "the offices of Christ." Becoming more sensitized ourselves to these workings can open us, so that Spirit can move more easily and more comprehensively to instill life and power, both within us individually and within our communities. David Johnson has spoken to various Quaker gatherings about the concepts he lays out in this pamphlet. Discussion questions and selected bibliography included. -- Publisher's description.
User reviews
LibraryThing member QuakerReviews
This pamphlet addresses the nature of the spiritual journey, both what happens and how. Johnson explains what the transformation is, and how the Spirit of God changes us into a new person. He quotes extensively from George Fox in this explanation, as well as from a few other Quakers, early and
In explaining how the Spirit of God both guides and enables us in this journey, he identifies what Fox called the offices of Christ, or the several ways that the Spirit works on us. He uses Fox's terms, which come from Biblical and church sources: bishop, shepherd, prophet, ruler, priest, healer, redeemer and savior. With his explanation, these terms and processes come alive into profound meaning. They prompt an illuminating assessment of one's own journey and process of transformation. As he asserts, understanding these offices opens us into a greater sensitivity to and thus awareness of and trust in God's workings in ourselves. Gratitude is only one of the fruits of this spiritual process, along with trust, hope, peace, courage, compassion, humility, and unity.
As we progress on the spiritual journey, we are led ourselves to take up some of these offices of the Spirit. In this pamphlet, Johnson has done the work of the shepherd, in providing spiritual understanding and sustenance to the reader, in a modern and understandable form.
By the way, he opens the essay with his 4-point essence of the spiritual teachings of the first Quakers, derived from William Penn. For those looking for a good "elevator talk" on Quakerism, an adaptation of this could serve effectively.
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modern. In explaining how the Spirit of God both guides and enables us in this journey, he identifies what Fox called the offices of Christ, or the several ways that the Spirit works on us. He uses Fox's terms, which come from Biblical and church sources: bishop, shepherd, prophet, ruler, priest, healer, redeemer and savior. With his explanation, these terms and processes come alive into profound meaning. They prompt an illuminating assessment of one's own journey and process of transformation. As he asserts, understanding these offices opens us into a greater sensitivity to and thus awareness of and trust in God's workings in ourselves. Gratitude is only one of the fruits of this spiritual process, along with trust, hope, peace, courage, compassion, humility, and unity.
As we progress on the spiritual journey, we are led ourselves to take up some of these offices of the Spirit. In this pamphlet, Johnson has done the work of the shepherd, in providing spiritual understanding and sustenance to the reader, in a modern and understandable form.
By the way, he opens the essay with his 4-point essence of the spiritual teachings of the first Quakers, derived from William Penn. For those looking for a good "elevator talk" on Quakerism, an adaptation of this could serve effectively.
Show Less
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Call number
CP 459