Presence and Process: A Path Toward
Transformative Faith and Inclusive Community
By Daniel P. Coleman
The North American Christian church of the early twenty-first century finds itself in a period of decline. A growing percentage of young adults are not entering the front doors of churches while at the same time older and previously dedicated Christians are leaving. Coinciding with the deflation of the Western church is the explosion in popular culture of the mindfulness movement, which emphasizes meditation practices derived from Buddhism. These concurrent phenomena—the decline of Christendom in North America and the rise of a Westernized form of Buddhism and various secularized applications of Buddhist meditative practice—form an interesting juxtaposition that warrants exploration.
“In Presence and Process, Daniel Coleman has created a unique and useful synthesis—showing how a convergence of perennialism, process theology, and mysticism (Christian, Buddhist, and Quaker) could have a profound role in fostering spiritual formation in this postmodern, post-Christendom age. This is a pioneering work of practical theology.”
—Richard Rohr, author of Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life“While some long for fruitful dialogue between Christianity and Buddhism, Daniel is bringing in the first fruits of the harvest! In Presence and Process, you get a clear and insightful invitation to a place where the boundaries we have inherited between the East and West, contemplation and justice, and theory and practice are dissolved. I loved so much of this book, but can’t wait for church leaders to take the ecclesiological vision to heart.”
—Tripp Fuller, host of Homebrewed Christianity“Presence and Process is an amazing book. It provides the best, most compact introduction I’ve come across to key concepts like mysticism, contemplation, and process theology. It explores the productive ferment that is taking place at the intersection of Christianity and Buddhism. And it invites practitioners to imagine a new kind of church for the journey before us. I highly recommend Presence and Process.”
—Brian D. McLaren, author of The Great Spiritual Migration, We Make the Road by Walking and A New Kind of Christianity
More information at Barclaypressbookstore.com. Available for purchase on Amazon.com.