Dreaming of Home
Homecoming as a model for renewal and mission
Michael Mitton
£7.99 Add to basket Buy nowI couldn't recommend this book more highly. It contains a critical message for the church today in how to engage with culture, and particularly those who are spiritually searching for 'home'.
From the foreword by Pete Hughes
Content
Finding a sense of 'home', a special place of acceptance and belonging, is a fundamental human longing. In this powerful and profound book, Michael Mitton shows how it is in fact an essential part of both personal development and spiritual renewal. Drawing on his own experience of the 'homecoming' journey, he considers how we can go about finding our true home within God's eternal kingdom, how to identify the forces within us that may hinder this search, and the importance of churches offering a welcoming home to all.
Each chapter concludes with questions for personal reflection or group discussion and the book also features an imaginative retelling of the parable of the Prodigal Son, addressing some of the issues raised through a story-based approach.
There is within us a homing instinct for something more than a house or a land where we live or have lived. It is a longing for, a hankering after, this ideal home, this place of utter safety and belonging where, more than anything else, we can be ourselves without fear or shame. This is a longing that we do well to attend to.
Using an adaptation of the story of the prodigal son, Michael Mitton explores the need within human beings for deep intimacy, a love that accepts us as we are. A place in life we can truly belong and feel at home.
At heart, the journey is about a commitment to love ourselves as we are. How often have we heard preachers exhort us to do this; how often have we read books explaining why we have to do this; how often has a kindly friend told us that God loves us as we are so we must do the same. The fact is that loving ourselves is not as easy as they make it out to be! It's not about overlooking my faults and shortcomings and excusing bad behaviour and attitudes. It is daring to journey to that place where I begin to see that I am a life that has been formed by the hand of God and that he made this... Loving ourselves in this kind of way inevitably leads to loving our neighbours.
Turning to the Church for help is not an option for many seeking this elusive state of home, as for them the Church has lost its role of guide. Michael exhorts all within churches to reflect:
If church is to be a true home, it has to provide a sense of sanctuary for all of us even when we have failed in one way or another. I sense a new longing for authenticity not just in the expectations of the unchurched but among church members themselves. It is just too exhausting trying to pretend to be very holy and constantly overflowing with confident and radiant faith. If church is to be home in the sense of being a place where I know I am beloved for who I am, a place where I can be free of fear and shame, where I will always belong, then I have to be able to have my bad days, share my struggles of faith and my battles with my shortcomings.
If you are searching for that elusive state of home, you will find real help here. If your church is seriously reflecting on how it can reach out to those seeking spiritual guidance, Michael provides a carefully reasoned pathway forward, illustrated with story.
View items in similar categoriesEndorsements
I couldn't recommend this book more highly. It contains a critical message for the church today in how to engage with culture, and particularly those who are spiritually searching for 'home'.
From the foreword by Pete Hughes
Reviews
Book details
- ISBN: 9781841018775
- Published: 18 May 2012
- Status:
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 160
