"Practicing" (Kathy Escobar)

TITLE: Practicing: Changing Yourself to Change the World
AUTHOR: Kathy Escobar
PUBLISHER: Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2020, (247 pages).

We have often heard of pleas to walk the talk; to put ideas into action; and to put theories into practice. Whatever the expressions, the common theme is that people are sincerely wanting to live out their faith authentically and tangibly. Practice is also about change: Not more but deeper; not bigger but stronger; not better but integrated. For faith is not a static belief but active practice. For author and pastor Kathy Escobar, it is not just one but ten practices that we can do to change the world beginning with ourselves. In a powerful introduction, she gives several reasons why all Christians need this book. Generally, in a world where people talk more than they walk, we need to do the reverse, to declare faith as a verb to be practiced instead to be passively talked about. That does not mean that we do not talk. It simply means that whatever we talk, be ready to apply. So the word "practice" is the active verb throughout the book. She explores the nature of practicing via several dimensions. It is about being "tangible" to make our faith visible. It is about walking with people, to mourn with those who mourn, and to rejoice with those who rejoice. It is about becoming like Christ before others. It is about "improvement," where we move from popular words like "more, bigger, or better" toward "deeper, stronger, and more integrated." This improvement begins from the inside out. While emphasizing the practicing more than the talking, she admits that conversations are still necessary. She even gives us six broad sets of ground rules to begin the conversation process. In summary, we are called to be Christ's physical ministry to others. The ten practices are:

1. Healing: We need to be honest with ourselves that we all have various needs for healing. This is essential if we want to participate in such ministry to others. 
2. Listening: We need more ears and less mouth, to increase our understanding of others.
3. Loving: Following Richard Rohr's words to put into action; "The best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better."
4. Including: Avoid the addiction of preferring the known and the comfortable. Remember that there is no "us vs them" but we.
5. Equalizing: From power differences to giving all individuals an equal sense of worth.
6. Advocating: To help those who cannot help themselves by "magnifying" their voices.
7. Mourning: Grief should not be avoided. Instead, we should make space for one another to lament and mourn any loss. Mourning with those who mourn also means letting one another express themselves without any other forms of interference.
8. Failing: Making mistakes is part of being human. We ought to cultivate resilience to rise up each time we fall, in order to learn and grow as real people.
9. Resting: We need intentional space to rest on a regular basis. It keeps us sane. 
10. Celebrating: Helping people see and celebrate the good they have done, that sometimes they cannot see themselves.

Each chapter begins with a dictionary-like definition of the participle, or a continuous form of the verb. With the definitions, Escobar gives us a popular understanding of the word. Following that, she shares a thought from a practitioner about the direction of the chapter. There is a personal story, where Escobar shares not only from her past but her present struggles from family, ministry, and relationships. She then invites us into the practice by showing us how we are not alone in suffering the short end of the stick. Interestingly, she applies what were discussed to each succeeding chapter. What I like about Escobar's approach is the way she asks questions while teaching the meaning of the practice. One does not feel being talked to, but more like being invited to a learning conversation. This is something very beautiful in this approach because the author has been so open which in turn encourages us to be open. On top of that, she lists a few different examples to help us notice the many different ways in which the practice could be relevant to us. The discussion questions at the end of each chapter make for very good small group interactions. There is a prayer to ask the Lord for help to be open, to be honest, and to be willing to share constructively with one another. Escobar concludes each chapter with what to do next and how to "dig deeper" into the topic. 

Three Thoughts
First, this book puts into practice the flesh needed to bring theology to life. It is a much needed book especially in a climate of suspicions and skepticism about the Christian faith. It reminds me of the importance of letting our faith do the walking as what letter of James 1:22 had taught us: "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." The author hits us at the jugular by pointing out Richard Rohr's observation, that "Christians are usually sincere and well-intentioned people until you get to any real issues of ego, control, power, money, pleasure, and security. Then they tend to be pretty much like everybody else." Theologically, it is about sin. Escobar is clearly one who have had enough with hypocrisy in Christian circles. On the one hand, we are all guilty, both believers and non-believers. On the other hand, as Christians, we are expected to be people of faith demonstrated in good works. Put in this light, this book gives us ways to go about doing that. In particular, I appreciate the constructive ideas at the end of each chapter that puts forth about how to go about putting the virtue into practice.

Second, we need to be cautious not to depend on human strength and wisdom to go about doing things. Spiritual things must not only be spiritually discerned, they need to be spiritually led toward Christlike living. It is tempting to jump into the practice without praying or seeking God. When that happens, things might work for a while, but it will not be sustainable. When Jesus tells us the need to abide in Him and He in us, He is reminding us that apart from Christ, we can do nothing. Any rush to do things, even the good things in the Name of God, would be folly. Proverbs also warn us against hasty living. Seeking God, seeking counsel, and seeking godly wisdom must come before the actual work itself. In fact, prayer and discernment are not limited to the beginning. They are meant to be practiced through the entire process. Kudos to Escobar for including a prayer at the end of each chapter to do just that. If there's anything to critique, I would say the prayers are way too brief.

Finally, this book should be a kick-start for more practices to follow. It should trigger the beginning rather than the end of any conversation. The ten practices Escobar had listed could easily spawn other topics. For example, listening could progress toward different levels of understanding for different situations. Both the personal and group reflection questions ought to inspire us to creatively formulate other acts and practices. The lists are probably worth the price of this book.

Great book to start a conversation as well as a movement.

Kathy Escobar is co-pastor at the Refuge, a Christian community and mission center in North Denver. She is a trained spiritual director, speaker, writer, group facilitator, and advocate for safe spaces for healing.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of Westminster John Knox Press and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.