The Invitation Is Participation – A Review of The Eternal Current by Aaron Niequist

(Disclaimer#1: Any mention of  “church” in this post refers to the Big “C” church from Maine to Southern California, to Florida to Alaska…and Hawaii too. It includes all denominations and not just the Presbyterian and Dutch Reformed.)

Aaron Niequist book The Eternal Current; How a Practice-Based Faith Can Save Us from Drowning is the latest book in my collection to fall victim to my pen, highlighter, and sticky notes.

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Are you tired and weary when it comes to your faith? Feeling like something is missing but you do not know what? You just know that 3 or 4 contemporary songs and the occasional hymn leave you empty. Do you leave church on Sundays and Wednesday nights wondering “Is That All There Is?”

Well, then The Eternal Current; How a Practice-Based Faith Can Save Us From Drowning by Aaron Niequist is the book you need to read.

Now I know a lot of people will say that you can not work out your salvation by doing practices. That is true and Aaron makes it clear practices such as The Examine, Breath Prayer, and Centering Prayer are not how we get salvation, however, they are practices we can do to strengthen our faith and deepen our relationship with Jesus by doing what

Aaron shares his spiritual journey and the journey of implementing a weekly service called The Practice. His writing challenges the church to take a look at the way they are doing things and equips and empowers individuals with practices to implement that will enrich their faith and lives.

The Examen

I’ve implemented the practice of the Examen into my daily routine. At the end of the day, before bed, I reflect on God’s activity in my life that day.

The Examen involves the following steps:

1. Invite the Holy Spirit’s Guidance
2. Review the Day in Thanksgiving
3. Notice the Feelings That Surface
4. Pray from These Feelings
5. Look Forward to Tomorrow in Hope

Doing the Examen is slowly opening my eyes to the good God does in my day. It is the perfect practice for anyone but especially those of us working in customer service call centers.

Best Description

The one-sentence description on Amazon sums up this book best:

A call for Christians to move past the shallows of idealized beliefs and into a deeper, more vibrant, beatitude-like faith rooted in sacred practices and intimate experiences with God.

So if you are seeking more then I invite you to open this book and participate in practices that will help you swim in The Eternal Current.

Thank you, Aaron for sharing your journey and providing practices to help the world swim in The Eternal Current.

Musical Soundtrack: 

Besides Peggy Lee’s Is That All There Is? The following songs ran through my head as I was reading the book.

Let The River Run – Carly Simon

The River – Jordan Feliz

Proud Mary (Rolling on the River) –  Tina Turner

 

(DISCLAIMER#2: I am part of the launch team for The Eternal Current and received a free Kindle and hardcopy of the book. However, the thoughts and opinions in this post are my own.)