Twelve Keys for Living : Possibilities for a Whole, Healthy Life

Rating:
Summary: Join in the feast of heaven and earth in joy and compassion
Review: I've had the opportunity to meet Dr Callahan at his workshops. This book tells some of his best stories and reflects on them to the deeper issues troubling Christians today. Dr Callahan is gentle with our human human weaknesses and yet provides us with a cloud of witnesses for getting the ministry well done. He insists that we focus on the things we have fun doing well. A wonderfully Catholic and Jesuitical notion from a Protestant writer.

His selection of the 12 keys is a familiar format for those familiar with his writing, but he takes an entirely new tack with this book. He invites the Christian (though certainly his invitation is not exclusive) to a self-diagnosis of life and service. Having identified one's strengths, Dr Callahan provides 4 helpful ways to continue building that strength. Of course, all of the keys are interlocked, and one will rarely make progress in one area without making progress on at least some of the others. But Dr Callahan's focus on simply choosing 1 or 2 keys keeps us from most Christians' tendencies to perfectionism. All in all, an excellent and stimulating read. Easily done in a night or two, but food for plenty more after that.

Rating:
Summary: Join in the feast of heaven and earth in joy and compassion
Review: I've had the opportunity to meet Dr Callahan at his workshops. This book tells some of his best stories and reflects on them to the deeper issues troubling Christians today. Dr Callahan is gentle with our human human weaknesses and yet provides us with a cloud of witnesses for getting the ministry well done. He insists that we focus on the things we have fun doing well. A wonderfully Catholic and Jesuitical notion from a Protestant writer.

His selection of the 12 keys is a familiar format for those familiar with his writing, but he takes an entirely new tack with this book. He invites the Christian (though certainly his invitation is not exclusive) to a self-diagnosis of life and service. Having identified one's strengths, Dr Callahan provides 4 helpful ways to continue building that strength. Of course, all of the keys are interlocked, and one will rarely make progress in one area without making progress on at least some of the others. But Dr Callahan's focus on simply choosing 1 or 2 keys keeps us from most Christians' tendencies to perfectionism. All in all, an excellent and stimulating read. Easily done in a night or two, but food for plenty more after that.