Recapturing the Wonder: Transcendent Faith in a Disenchanted World

by Mike Cosper

Overview

When we're young, it's easy to believe in the supernatural, the mysterious, the enchanted. But as we grow older, we learn to be more "rational" and more confident that reality is merely what we can see. Even as Christians who believe in the resurrection, we live as if miracles and magic have been drained from the world.

As Mike Cosper wrestled with his own disillusionment, he found writers, thinkers, and artists like Hannah Arendt, Charles Taylor, James K. A. Smith, and David Foster Wallace whose words and ideas reassured him that he was not alone. And he discovered ancient and modern disciplines that shape a Christian way of life and awaken the possibility of living again in an enchanted world.

Exquisitely written with thoughtful practices woven throughout, this book will feed your soul and help you recapture the wonder of your Christian walk.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780830845064
Publisher:	InterVarsity Press
Publication date:	08/14/2017
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	347,089
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Mike Cosper is the executive director of Harbor Media, a non-profit media company serving Christians in a post-Christian world. Prior to that, he served for sixteen years as a pastor at Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the author of The Stories We Tell: How TV and Movies Long for and Echo the Truth and Rhythms of Grace: How the Church's Worship Tells the Story of the Gospel. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with his wife, Sarah, and their two daughters.

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Discovering Our Disenchantment
Pathway One: Re-Enchanting Our World
2. Modern Displays and the God Who Ends Religion
Pathway Two: Experiencing Grace
3. Selfie Sticks, Spectacles, and Sepulchers
Pathway Three: Bringing Scripture to Life
4. Seeking a "Hidden Ground"
Pathway Four: Withdrawing With God
5. Abundance and Scarcity
Pathway Five: Practicing Abundance
6. Feasts of Attention
Pathway Six: Throwing a Feast
7. The Monastery and the Road
Pathway Seven: Writing a Rule of Life
Epilogue: One Final Wonder
Acknowledgments
Notes

Editorial Reviews

08/14/2017
Cosper (The Stories We Tell), former pastor and executive director of nonprofit media company Harbor Media, maps out seven pathways to rediscovering faith for Christian readers in this breezy guide. After struggling for years with a sense of disenchantment in the world, Cosper found a diverse set of practices that allowed him to see the world “as a child” and take in experiences with curiosity and exuberance. The author begins by showing Christians ways to re-enchant their worlds, experience true grace by reconceiving their relationships to affirmation (particularly in regard to social media), bring scripture to life, withdraw from the world with God, intentionally practice abundance by throwing a feast, and write one’s rule of life. Perhaps the most enjoyable information Cosper includes is his explanation of putting on a feast for loved ones; he shows how this act of service can buoy wearisome hearts and bodies. Cosper’s creative work will help readers struggling with a frenetic pace who want to reconnect with the quieter practices of faith. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"The word wonderful is a cliché these days, meaning simply 'very good.' This book, though, reclaims what it means to be wonder-full. Mike Cosper, one of the keenest gospel Christian analysts of culture alive today, shows us in this book why our world has become so disenchanted and charts us back to the joy of awe. This is an awe-full and wonder-full book, in the right meaning of both of those words."

Russell Moore

"The sieve of modern skepticism has drained some of the richest substance from belief; we and the world are all the poorer because of it. Recapturing the Wonder guides us toward a reenchanted Christian faith in a way that is compelling, convicting, and, well, enchanting. This is a book for our age."

Karen Swallow Prior

"Recapturing the Wonder is a winsome wake-up call, calling us back to ourselves and back to God. It's conversational and straightforward, full of heart and authenticity. Through simple spiritual practices freshly applied, Cosper invites us to practice the integration of grace against the disconnect of this modern life."

Sandra McCracken

"Recapturing the Wonder pulls you in from the first story of a tomcat catching a raccoon and keeps you reading until the final challenge to live the good life. You will love it. Mike Cosper has a way of expressing what we are all feeling and experiencing, and he makes sense of it all. He knows our deepest questions and innermost yearnings and creatively points to Jesus for all the answers."

Kyle Idleman

"Do we need another book on classical disciplines of the Christian life? I have read many, but Recapturing the Wonder reads differently. It is a deeply spiritual, easily accessible, and creatively written book that encouraged my heart and exposed some disenchantment in the crevices of my own soul. I'll be handing this book out quite a bit. If you feel a little dry and disillusioned or need a refresher on God's invitation to know him more deeply through the practice of the disciplines, this book will serve you well."

Matt Chandler

"Am I ever simply where I am or is my mind constantly somewhere else? Am I able to sit in silence and enjoy the ambient noise or must I always be looking at my phone? These were some of the convicting questions I found myself asking as I read Mike Cosper's book Recapturing the Wonder. Reading his book caused my heart to long for more of Jesus, more rest in him, and more time with him, not to earn his favor but because of who he is. Find time to sit and read Cosper's rich and practical book. You'll be glad you did."

Trillia Newbell

"Disenchantment, cynicism, and skepticism are ubiquitous in our present time. We still long for wonder, but we seek it apart from the Wonderful One. In Recapturing the Wonder, Mike Cosper takes us by the hand, inviting us to relinquish our jadedness by receiving the wonder found in the gospel of Jesus Christ."

Ekemini Uwan

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