Ruth Haley Barton has been teaching us how to live the Christian life for many years, and we trust her to do a good job doing it. She is a spiritual director and teacher trained at the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation, and the Pathways Center for Spiritual Leadership. She has degrees from Wheaten and Northern Baptist Theological Seminary. She has served on the pastoral staff at several different churches and is author of many books.
Barton deserves high praise for the book called Sacred Rhythms: Arranging our Lives for Spiritual Transformation (IVP Books, 2006). It is part of IVP’s formation line of books called Formatio which follow “the rich tradition of the church in the journey of spiritual formation”. IVP’s goal in publishing this line of spiritual formation books is to not only inform, but to also transform the reader into the image of Christ.
Barton’s Sacred Rhythms is a wonderful addition to IVP’s Formatio collection. It is a book for any who desire a deeper, more intimate relationship with the Lord. Barton shares out of her own heart and experience, and as I said, she has a stellar reputation as an outstanding teacher and role model in the Christian church of today.
In the book Barton teaches about the classical disciplines that can help us find the close and personal relationship with Christ that we all long for. Some of the chapters are on the subjects of: solitude, scriptures, prayer, Sabbath, and a Rule of Life.
The book is inspiring as well as practical. At the end of each chapter Barton gives us the benefit of her spiritual direction training by giving us some spiritual exercises that will lead us deeper into the topic discussed in the chapter. I found the exercises to be insightful and quite helpful. As I read the book I felt as if I had been to visit my own spiritual director.
I can recommend Barton’s book to anyone who is on a journey to find a deeper relationship with God. The book is able to speak to anyone from beginner to those who have been on the journey a much longer time. Her insights will encourage and help any and all.
I would like to use this book in a small group of other pilgrims on life’s journey.
Reviewed by Joan Tyvoll
