Books

Relentless Pursuit

Mark Buchanan examines the fruit of spiritual disciplines.

Mark Buchanan, pastor of New Life Community Baptist Church in Duncan, British Columbia, has written five books on Christian spirituality. Buchanan’s latest is Hidden in Plain Sight (W Publishing Group, 2007). Stan Guthrie, CT’s senior associate editor, interviewed him.

Why this new book? Plain Sight is based on that passage in 2 Peter, chapter 1, where Peter says if you add to your faith goodness and knowledge and self-control—he lists seven virtues—you will have this amazing Christian life. If you possess the seven virtues in increasing measure, it “will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive.” Being ineffective means you’re making no difference, having no impact, leaving nothing behind. Being unproductive means you’re bearing no fruit, producing no results. So the opposite is true: If I am growing in these seven virtues, I will also grow in the reach and depth of my impact, and the abundance of my fruit.

How does this affect your life? Most books on spiritual disciplines are an amalgam of “best practices,” garnered variously from ancient and modern monastic communities, the Amish, medieval Catholics, the pietistic movement, and the like. The disciplines I explore in Plain Sight are lifted straight from Scripture. I’m unaware of any biblical text quite like it: Add these seven things, Peter says, and you will live the life God intends for you. He names the qualities and gives the sequence. The simplicity of that is breathtaking. Most books on spiritual disciplines talk about the practices—prayer, fasting, Scripture reading—that cultivate our spiritual life. This book explores the virtues that are the fruit of that life. In other words, it identifies the goal of spiritual exercises.

Is this about following a series of steps to have a deeper Christian life? No. One thing I have seriously tried to avoid in all my writings and my preaching is a sort of formulaic approach to spiritual formation, the paint by numbers way of doing life with God. But at the same time, the ancients have always understood that if you are not pursuing some things in terms of character formation, heart formation, that are rooted in some specific disciplines in terms of Scripture, prayer, and so on, you’re not going to get very far.

So why are we Christians so weak? All the books I have ever read on spiritual discipline assumed I wanted more of God. And I’ve had to realize I have a Jonah heart.

I want to run. I want less of God in many ways. I don’t want God intruding and supervising and breathing down my neck.

What’s next for you? I’ve been working off and on for the last couple of years on a fairly ambitious novel that will probably be a weighty tome when I’m done. It takes place in the ’60s in Vietnam.

Does your church make allowances for your writing? Increasingly. It’s been an adjustment. Being in a smaller community, they’re not used to having a minor celebrity as a pastor. But increasingly there’s been a real openness [to the idea] that I’m bivocational. I’ve always had the discipline for writing, so that hasn’t intruded on my pastoral work.

But with the extra-curricular activities that come with writing, basically they tithe me, so I get five weeks a year to have a free hand just going places to speak or attend conferences.

Do you consider yourself more of an introvert or an extrovert? I walk the line. I probably gravitate more toward introversion. So after a day of meeting people, I will want to climb into a little hole and hibernate.

Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

Hidden in Plain Sight is available from ChristianBook.com and other retailers.

W Publishing has an excerpt from the book.

Buchanan talks more about his books, including Hidden in Plain Sight, in his blog.

He is pastor of New Life Community Baptist Church.

His articles for Christianity Today include:

Schedule, Interrupted | Discovering God’s time-management. (February 1, 2006)

Dance of the God-Struck | There’s something about worship that can drive even a king to strip down and leap up. (October 7, 2002)

Life Is Unfair (and That’s Okay) | When we are battered or baffled by personal injustices, God whispers, If you do what is right, it will go well with you. An excerpt from Your God Is Too Safe (April 23, 2001)

Jesus Wept | God’s love, mercy, passion, compassion, grief, and anger are chiseled down to two words. (March 5, 2001)

The Benefit of the Doubt | The disciple Thomas reveals an important truth about faith. (April 3, 2000)

Running with Jonah | Do we really want to be closer to God? (November 15, 1999)

Trapped in the Cult of the Next Thing | If ever there was a cult that gave us stones when we asked for bread, this is it. (September 6, 1999)

Stuck on the Road to Emmaus | The secret to why we are not fulfilled. (July 12, 1999)

We’re All Syncretists Now | Not religious, just spiritual. (Books & Culture, January 1, 2000)

Sex & the City of God | How do we respond to a corrupted culture? Two faulty examples and a better one. (Christian Vision Project, Leadership Journal)

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

Cover Story

Passion Takes It Higher

The Joy of Policy Manuals

News

Cleaning Up La Oroya

The Road to Healing

An End to the Creation/Evolution Wars?

Picture Christ

Declaration of Interdependence

Window into the Bible's Land

Islam's Silent Majority

A Manifold Resurrection

Resurrected Life

Henry Ward Beecher's Life and Times

News

Living with Islamists

Football Family Values

Desire Happens

Throwing Rocks at Israel

Review

Surfing for Spirituality

Bizzare-istan

News

Quotation Marks

Editorial

'Safe Sex' for the Whole Nation

News

Go Figure

Life, Liberty, and Terrorism

News

News Briefs: April 01, 2007

News

Nigeria's Touchy Transition

Learning to Cry for the Culture

News

Global Ultimatum

News

Love Your Muslim as Yourself

Ready to Implode?

News

'Destroy the Christian Religion'

CTI's Modest Dynamic Duo

News

Ireland's Evangelical Moment

News

Passages

Q&A: Albert Mohler

No Exceptions

Religion Sections Deleted

Church Divorce Done Right

View issue

Our Latest

News

Died: Jack Iker, Anglican Who Drew the Line at Womenโ€™s Ordination

The Texas bishop fought a bitter legal battle with the Episcopal Church and won.

Why Canโ€™t We Talk to Each Other Anymore?

Online interactions are draining us of energy to have hard conversations in person.

Church Disappointment Is Multilayered

Jude 3 Project founder Lisa Fields speaks about navigating frustrations with God and fellow believers.

The Robot Will Lie Down With the Gosling

In โ€œThe Wild Robot,โ€ hospitality reprograms relationships.

How Priscilla Shirer Surrenders All

The best-selling Bible teacher writes about putting God first in her life and how healthy Christian discipleship requires sacrifice

The Bulletin

Second Hand News

The Bulletin talks presidential podcasts, hurricane rumors, and the spiritual histories of Israel and Iran.

Which Church in Revelation Is Yours Like?

From the lukewarm Laodicea to the overachieving Ephesus, these seven ancient congregations struggled with relatable problems.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube