Eugene Peterson

A Long Obedience in the Same Direction
Discipleship in an Instant Society

In an age of thirty-second commercials, thirty-page abridgements and instant banking, it is not difficult to get a person interested in the gospel. It is terrifically difficult to sustain that interest. What we need is not another prescription for quick success, but encouragement to persevere as disciples and pilgrims. Above all, we need to learn to pursue a long obedience in the same direction. Tucked away in the Hebrew Psalter, Eugene Peterson has discovered "an old dog-eared songbook" which challenges and encourages modern pilgrims: Psalms 120-134, the Song of Ascents. Peterson shares with fellow travelers his warm, mature reflections on these psalms of faith. 

20th anniversary edition, using Peterson's The Message translation of the Psalms. (Study guide available.)

Leap over a Wall
Earthy Spirituality for Everyday Christians

Bestselling theologian Eugene Peterson uses vividly told stories from the life of the biblical David to illustrate the everyday truths that bring us closer to God. Friendship, grief, love, sin, and suffering, as well as sanctuary, beauty, and wilderness, are all examined in the context of David's lifelong journey. 

The Message
New Testament With Psalms and Proverbs in Contemporary Language

Answering God
The Psalms As Tools for Prayer

Eugene Peterson speaks to Christians who realize the necessity for prayer and yearn for it but who find their prayer unconvincing and unsatisfying. Addressing the causes of this dissatisfaction, Answering God offers guidelines using the Psalms. 

Where Your Treasure Is
Psalms That Summon You from Self to Community

Concerned with the "unselfing" of our self-preoccupied, self-bound society, Peterson offers insightful, thought-provoking reflections on eleven select psalm-centered prayers that can help us to overcome such things as self-centeredness, self-assertiveness, self-righteousness, self-sufficiency, self-pity, self-service, and self-love. 

Run With the Horses
The Quest for Life at Its Best

Eugene Peterson explores the heart of what it means to be fully and genuinely human. His writing is filled with humor and self-revelation, insight and wisdom, helping to set a course for others in the quest for life at its best.

The Wisdom of Each Other
A Conversation Between Spiritual Friends

A book that provides practical spiritual counsel for everyday life. Eugene Peterson offers insights into the priceless value of friendships as a source of practical spiritual counsel for everyday life. A wonderful gift for both new Christians and seekers. 

Reversed Thunder
The Revelation of John and the Praying Imagination

Peterson's eloquent meditation on the Revelation of St. John engages the imagination and awakens the intellect to the vitality and relevance of the last words on scripture, Christ, church, worship, evil, prayer, witness, politics, judgment, salvation, and heaven. 


 

Traveling Light
Modern Meditations on St. Paul's Letter of Freedom

A study in Galatians.

Epiphanies: Stories for the Christian Year
by Eugene H. Peterson (Editor), Emilie Griffin (Editor), Chrysostom Society

One of the most powerful and lasting ways of keeping time in the ancient world was with stories and traditions. The first Christians were influenced by both the Jewish and Roman calendars. But they soon found that neither could meet their unique needs as the first followers of Christ. So Christians developed their own stories. These narratives, eventually replacing those on the Roman calendar, became the basis of the familiar Christian calendar of today.

But just as Roman observances gave way to Christian stories and celebrations, American culture today is replacing the ancient Christian rhythms of the year with secular ones. Instead of meditating on the birth of Christ during Advent, we count the shopping days left until Christmas. Instead of remembering sacrifice during Lent, we are filled with anxiety over tax forms.

Thankfully, the Chrysostom Society has preserved in these pages original stories of the Christian seasons. Told with a fierce reverence, the stories help us keep track of redeemed time—fixed on "the still point of the turning world." Eugene H. Peterson is professor emeritus of spiritual theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. Author of more than twenty-five books, his most recent work is The Message. Emilie Griffin is the author of Turning: Reflections on the Experience of Conversion and Clinging: The Experience of Prayer. She writes from her home in Louisiana.

"These stories . . . lead the reader from the ordinary to the extraordinary. —Library Journal

Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work
A Return to Basic, Biblical Resources for Pastoral Work

Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work shows how five Old Testament books provide a solid foundation for much of what a pastor does: prayer-directing, story-making, pain-sharing, nay-saying and community-building. This book opens up to pastors a wealth of valuable practical-theological insights. 

Working the Angles
The Shape of Pastoral Integrity

Peterson issues a provocative call for pastors to abandon their preoccupation with image and standing, administration, success, and economic viability, and to return to the three basic acts critical to the pastoral ministry: praying, reading Scripture, and giving spiritual direction. 

Under the Unpredictable Plant
An Exploration in Vocational Holiness

In this book Peterson clarifies the pastoral vocation by turning to the book of Jonah, in which he finds a captivating, subversive story that can help pastors recover their "vocational holiness". Peterson probes the spiritual dimensions of the pastoral calling and seeks to reclaim the ground taken over by those who are trying to enlist pastors in religious careers. 

The Contemplative Pastor
Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction

Pastor-teacher Eugene Peterson has written a book of wisdom and refreshment for busy pastors illustrated with engaging personal anecdotes and including poetic reflections on the Beatitudes and discussions of such themes as curing souls, the language of prayer, the ministry of small talk, and sabbatical.