12 Miracles of Spiritual Growth: Introduction

(E. Kent Rogers, 12 Miracles of Spiritual Growth: A Path of Healing from the Gospels, Swedenborg Foundation Press, 2012, 210 pages.)

First off, an apology. I was asked to participate in the Book Club Roundtable discussion of Kent Rogers’s new book, “12 Miracles of Spiritual Growth,” which was a featured selection of the Patheos Book Club from May 1-15. Unfortunately, due to my remote location in the wilds of northwestern Canada my review copy of the book did not arrive until the 15^th, and I wasn’t able to read and review the entirety of the book in one afternoon.

On the upside, now that I’m working without a deadline, I’ll be able to read the book a little more in the way the author intended, slowly and reflectively, giving each chapter some time. I’ll still probably blog through it faster than it’s intended to be read – Rogers suggests spending a week with each chapter – but at least I’ll be able to spread my thoughts out over several posts. Also, the book is geared more toward a small group setting than an individual reading (although it works for an individual as well), so again, I won’t be getting (or conveying) the full experience.

So, what is this book? Its subtitle is “A Path of Healing from the Gospels,” and the book is an exploration of the healing miracles of Christ and their significance for spiritual healing today. Each of the twelve chapters deals with one of the Lord’s healing miracles and applies it to healing some specific part of a person’s life; e.g., the first three chapters are “Healing from Feelings of Unworthiness,” based on Jesus’s healing of a gentile woman in Matthew 15; “Healing from Lack of Forgiveness,” based on Jesus’s healing of the paralytic whose friends lowered him through the roof to reach the Lord (Mark 2); and “Healing from Spiritual Slavery,” based on Jesus casting out the legion of demons from a possessed man into a herd of swine (Mark 5). Each chapter ends with a meditation, “leaves” (key thoughts from the chapter), “fruit” (actions to take based on the chapter), and questions for group discussion.

I’ve read the introduction and the first few chapters, and I have a few thoughts already, but I think the way I’d like to approach the book is to give each chapter its own blog post. Chapter 1 should be up tomorrow.

This book review is a sponsored post that is part of the Roundtable at the Patheos Book Club. Visit the Book Club website for more free resources related to this book.