Brian McLaren's DC book talk: "Spiritual Practices for the 'Not Religious'"

Join us for Brian McLarenhttp://photos4.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/5/0/c/e/event_19160686.jpeg's DC talk on “Spiritual Practices for Today's ‘Not Religious'" based his new book Naked Spirituality: A Life with God in 12 Simple Words!

More than 20 percent of Americans define themselves as “spiritual but not religious,” a growing segment of people who are looking for new spiritual pathways. Author and speaker Brian McLaren suggests in his new book that a transparent encounter with God is what most spiritual people are seeking – and that this encounter is too often missing from organized religion.

McLaren has penned Naked Spirituality (HarperOne, March 15, 2011) to outline a dozen durable, doable spiritual practices that can lead to a truly spiritual life – and even to true religion as it was intended (click here to order the book from Barnes & Noble). (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Naked-Spirituality/Brian-D-Mclaren/e/9780061854019/?itm=3&USRI=brian+mclaren)

McLaren has described why he wrote his new book: “This is a book about getting naked—not physically, but spiritually. It’s about stripping away the symbols and status of public religion—the Sunday-dress version people often call ‘organized religion.’ We are after a lost treasure as old as the story of the Garden of Eden: the possibility of being naked and not ashamed, naked before God and naked before one another, too, where we have no need to cover up, to protect, to posture, to dress to impress, just the freedom to be who we are, what we are, as we are. I hope this book will help you strip away distractions and discover that precious hidden treasure underneath.”

http://photos3.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/8/2/f/3/event_22833523.jpegNaked Spirituality offers twelve words, or practices, to anchor the reader in God and free him or her to do the holistic work the gospel calls for – to pray as well as save the planet; to worship as well as lift up the poor and needy. McLaren shares practical wisdom for living a truly spiritual life as he presents a dozen exercises for beginning and sustaining a meaningful relationship with God. Rooted in four seasons, these practices are represented by simple words which are easy to remember but rich in transformative power.

McLaren invites readers to leave behind negative experiences of religion so they can become truly spiritual people and reclaim the promise of religion. He writes: “Religion, by its etymology, is about connecting us together again. In this light true religion and naked spirituality are two names for the same thing: seeking vital connection. So if religion is experienced as promoting selfishness rather than otherliness, as prioritizing one’s own personal salvation and religiosity over the well-being of others, then religion becomes anti—religious. Maybe if we name this kind of unspiritual phenomenon “de-ligion” instead of “religion,” we can save the latter word for the traditions that enhance and support naked spirituality.”