Monk Habits for Everyday People: Benedictine Spirituality for Protestants »

Dennis L. Okholm (PhD, Princeton Theological Seminary) is professor of theology at Azusa Pacific University and copastor of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach, California. He is coauthor of A Family of Faith: An Introduction to Evangelical Christianity.

In their zeal for reform, early Protestant leaders tended to throw out Saint Benedict with the holy water. That is a mistake, writes Dennis Okholm, in Monk Habits for Everyday People. While on retreat in a Benedictine abbey, the author, a professor who was raised as a Pentecostal and a Baptist, observed how the meditative and ordered life of a monk lifted Jesus' teachings off the printed page and put them into daily practice. Vital aspects of devotion, humility, obedience, hospitality, and evangelism took on new clarity and meaning. Paralleling that experience, Okholm guides the reader on a focused and instructive journey that can revitalize the devotional life of any Christian who wants to slow down and dig deeper.

Publishers Weekly

Readers might not think that poverty, chastity and obedience would be attractive to the common Protestant, but Okholm, a theology professor at Azusa Pacific University, will make them think twice. Although he is a Presbyterian, Okholm is comfortable with Catholicism and realistic about the benefits and burdens of both denominations. He finds in Benedictine monasticism a helpful path to holiness, and he avoids idealizing or romanticizing the monastic life. This is why his work succeeds as a guide for the common Christian. Okholm is wise to point out that St. Benedict's Rule, the text upon which his vision of monastic life is built, is both challenging and down-to-earth. The author invites readers to integrate some monastic practices into their daily lives and stresses that this does not involve cloistering themselves-these practices are both ordinary and sacred. He also provides an excellent example for Catholics and Protestants alike to dig deeply into the Christian tradition and find how both can spiritually benefit from the other. Okholm provides a "Historical Afterword" to address why Protestants initially rejected the monastic life. This is a fascinating and, considering its brevity, surprisingly detailed overview that readers should not pass up. (Dec.)

1. What's a Good (Protestant Evangelical) Boy Doin' in a Monastery?

2. Why Benedictine Spirituality for Protestants?

3. Learning to Listen

4. Poverty: Sharing the Goods

5. Obedience: Objectifying Providence

6. Humility: Letting Go of the Mask

7. Hospitality: The Guest as Christ

8. Stability: Staying Put to Get Somewhere

9. Balance: God in Everything

10. To Change the World!

Afterword: Why the Protestant Reformers Opposed Monasticism

Suggested Reading

Suggestions for Practicing Benedictine Spirituality

Notes