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A New Book is Born, April 24, 2018

We want to announce  Gord’s new book, Mapping the Future: arenas of discipleship and spiritual formation, now live on Amazon as an e-book. We hope that it will prove an inspiration for creative thinking and ministry. The tools and resources in this volume should help to build confidence as Christians take every thought captive to the Lordship of Christ, and challenge opposing narratives. Much work has gone into this geography of spirituality and we are very grateful to all contributors. We would love to have your feedback, or perhaps you would like to review it on Amazon.

No one doubts that we exist in challenging times. Mapping the Future is a robust, pro-active vision, a legacy document of what we might become, and how we might build out from where we are. It involves the energy of youthful entrepreneurs and creatives, as well as the deep wisdom of elder statespersons, and the voices of ancient saints. On display is a wealth and breadth of material available in contemplation, spiritual formation and personal transformation, enough to profoundly inspire and encourage any Christian leader or genuine seeker. Drawing on a variety of traditions, this document charts a progressive spiritual adventure, articulating broader horizons for exploration, leading to undiscovered spiritual paths. Reif Larson writes: “A map does not just chart, it unlocks and formulates meaning; it forms bridges between here and there, between disparate ideas that we did not know were previously connected.” The reader will enjoy how this fresh discussion puts fire in the belly and offers practical resources.

Key Words: Spiritual Imagination, Contemplation, Divine Conspiracy, Meaningful Suffering, The Eternal Paths, Incarnational Humanism, Engaging Faith, Social Impact Spirituality, Re-enchantment of Reality, Personal Transformation, Markings for the Journey, Call to Depth and Christ-consciousness, New Horizons of Meaning, Carrying the Name of Christ, The Transcendent Turn.

Take Every Thought Prisoner, and Rethink it (II Corinthians 10: 5)

Christians rightly approach the world with faith, hope and confidence, rather than anxiety, alienation and emptiness. The reason is that, as we experience deeper alignment with God and his higher purposes, we will be honoring the truth, and speaking more sincerely into reality. This grounds us emotionally, morally, spiritually, socially, and empowers our articulate voice to speak prophetically, winsomely, constructively, to map a better future. Our fruitful words will be more genuine and powerful, fine-tuned by the divine logos. There is no room for cynicism or despair amidst the uncertainty, fragmentation and confusion of geo-politics. Paul writes in II Corinthians 10 and Ephesians 6 that we are fully equipped with just the right weapons containing special power, so that we can demolish fantasy-driven narratives. These false alternatives (obfuscations) keep many from seeing and experiencing the good, the beautiful, the pure and the true. They rob people of their joy and wellbeing. Indeed, a kind of spiritual blindness, deficit consciousness, or sleepiness emerges. The multidimensional wisdom of God gives us a special capacity to expose and demolish such pretensions in the light of Christ and the gospel of the kingdom.

The new covenant, sealed in Christ, provides a healing stream of fresh water for our friends, neighbors and colleagues. Once we get our head around this gospel, it can transform our entire outlook. We are immersed in a new paradigm, we become captivated by the fullness/robustness of our calling and mission within our sphere of service and influence. We are freed to move towards our best self, reconnect with the other, bring peace to society. We can make good plans, promote the good, model integrity of life as the higher definition of the ‘good life’.

From this vantage point, we can have the transcendence we require to manage the chaos and promote order, shalomand agapelove. It is no small thing to put on the mind of Christ. In fact, it can be painful when we rid ourselves of fantasy and dead wood, die to the old self and put on the new self. But we must pursue it with every fibre of our being. This will bring a deep coherence to our fragmented lives, we will discover ourselves to be fruitfully engaged with the world. No longer do we need play the role of victim or live a lie, we can play the hero and build capacity in others. This is the path beyond our dysfunctional addictions to wholeness, and onward to mission effectiveness.

Gordon E. Carkner PhD

^{How to Use Mapping the Future Project: Dr. Gordon E. Carkner gcarkner@outreach.ca}

• ^{Pastors Conferences}
• ^{Build Confidence in Christian Identity and Witness}
• ^{Themes for Think Tank Sessions for Christian Leaders}
• ^{Developing a Long-term Strategy for a Community like Richmond, Ladner, Abbotsford or Mission: explore how churches could work together on developing some arena}
• ^{Denominational Meetings—Pick a Theme for Future Emphasis}
• ^{Personal Stimulation for any Christian Leader—Imagination Builder}
• ^{Long-term Reading Schedule for any Christian}
• ^{Transitional Leadership Conferences}
• ^{Courses on Spiritual Formation—help students build bibliography}
• ^{PhD or DMin Research Ideas. Help give direction to building bibliography.}
• ^{Long-term Thinking for Christian Educational Institutions: Universities, Bible Colleges and Seminaries. Some of the ideas could spark course curriculum development.}
• ^{Spark Development of New Parachurch Ministries; Encourage Connections between Organizations of Common Cause—Networking}
• ^{Reading Suggestions for Christian Faculty}
• ^{Spark the Imagination for Parachurch workers on campus and elsewhere—ideas for apologetics, Christian awareness week, Teaching and Equipping in Student Gatherings, Mission Awareness, Long-term Vocation Tracks}
• Reading for Seekers interested in exploring the Christian faith for all it’s worth