Richard J. Foster

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Richard James Foster (* 1942 in New Mexico ) is a Christian theologian, university professor and author who comes from the Quaker tradition . In 1978 he wrote Celebration of Discipline (German: Succession celebrate ), an influential book about important spiritual disciplines that has sold more than one million copies in the US. In 1988 he co-founded the organization Renovaré , a Christian association for the renewal of people and churches by rediscovering and practicing old Christian forms of spirituality .

Life

Foster grew up in New Mexico , Nebraska , Wyoming , Colorado, and California . As a teenager, he met and became a Christian. In 1964 he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in religion and philosophy from George Fox University near Portland , Oregon . He then worked as a youth pastor at Alamitos Friends Church in Garden Grove in Los Angeles . In 1970 he received a PhD in Pastoral Theology , New Testament, and Social Ethics from Fuller Theological Seminary . He later received an honorary doctorate from Houghton College . He has worked as a pastor and family counselor, for example at Newberg Friends Church in Newberg , Oregon, along with other pastors, including Ron Woodward.

In 1978 he wrote Celebration of Discipline. The Path to Spiritual Growth (German: Succession celebrate Spiritual Exercises rediscovered. ), A book on spiritual disciplines such as prayer , meditation , confession , fasting and solitude with which he became known worldwide. It has been translated into 25 languages ​​and sold more than two million copies, making it one of the most influential Christian books in America of the 20th century. In 1981 he published a work on the freedom of simplicity . Another book followed in 1985 with the title Money, Sex and Power .

In 1988 Foster, together with other spiritual leaders, founded Renovaré , a Christian organization for the renewal of people and churches by rediscovering and practicing various, especially old Christian forms of piety . Their objectives can be summarized as follows: grace is the invitation, habit is integration, love is the manifestation and life is the goal ( "Grace is the invitation. Habit is the integration. Love is the manifestation. Life is the destination" ). He was also a co-founder of the Academy of Christian Editors and the Chrysostom Society , a group of Christian authors. At the end of 2018, he gave up his public activities for reasons of age.

Teaching

Foster attaches great importance to spiritual formation in order to come and be before God, to maintain an interactive relationship with him, to become a friend of Jesus and to experience joy and transformation. It is God's business to justify me and to heal me, to give me affection, transformation and growth. Superficiality, distraction, distraction and multitasking in everyday life, on the other hand, are often misunderstood stimulations and satisfactions that oppose God's deeper intentions for people.

Private

Foster has been married to Carolynn since 1967, they live on the edge of the Rocky Mountains near Denver and have two grown sons.

Publications

  • Celebrate succession. Spiritual exercises rediscovered. R. Brockhaus and Oncken , Wuppertal, 1985, ISBN 978-3-7893-2294-5 (many editions)
  • Money, sex and power. The realities of our life under the lordship of Christ. Oncken, Wuppertal, 1987. ISBN 978-3-417-26321-3 (new edition under the title: Tabu. Money, Sex and Power in the Lives of Christians. R. Brockhaus, Wuppertal, 2002. ISBN 978-3-417-20605 -0 )
  • Life light. R. Brockhaus, Wuppertal, 1987. ISBN 978-3-7893-2353-9
  • The gift of simplicity. R. Brockhaus, Wuppertal, 1998. ISBN 978-3-417-24408-3
  • God's heart is open to everyone: an invitation to prayer. R. Brockhaus, Wuppertal, 1999. ISBN 978-3-417-24403-8 (2001 edition. ISBN 978-3-7893-1033-1 )
  • Electricity has many sources: Draw from the wealth of the history of faith. R. Brockhaus, Wuppertal, 2000. ISBN 978-3-417-24420-5 (English: Streams of Living Water: Celebrating the Great Traditions of Christian Faith. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco 1998, ISBN 0-06-062822-7 )
  • Simplify life. R. Brockhaus, Wuppertal, 2001. ISBN 978-3-417-24440-3
  • That God really loves me. Believe with your heart. With James Smith. R. Brockhaus, Wuppertal, 1995. (2001. ISBN 978-3-417-24402-1 )
  • The power of devotion. A spiritual reader for passionate discipleship. With James Smith. R. Brockhaus and Oncken, Wuppertal, 2001. ISBN 978-3-417-24446-5
  • Life with god. How the power of the Bible changes us. SCM R. Brockhaus, Wuppertal, 2010. ISBN 978-3-417-26327-5
  • The way to God leads inwards . An introduction to meditative prayer. Neukirchener Aussaat, Neukirchen-Vluyn 2012, ISBN 978-3-7615-5897-3 (American English: Sanctuary of the soul . Downers Grove (Illinois) 2011. Translated by Barbara M. Trebing).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Information about the Quakers. Retrieved November 17, 2014 .
  2. ^ Celebration of Discipline. Retrieved September 26, 2016 .
  3. ↑ homepage Renovaré. Retrieved November 17, 2014 .
  4. ↑ Richard J. Foster as an author in the SCM Brockhaus. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on November 29, 2014 ; Retrieved November 17, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.scm-brockhaus.de
  5. ↑ Richard J. Foster: Changing hearts is God's business , interview in the magazine AufAtmen, Bundes-Verlag Witten 2/2019, pp. 20-23
personal data
SURNAME Foster, Richard J.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Foster, Richard James
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American Christian Quaker theologian, pastor, author, and speaker
DATE OF BIRTH 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH New Mexico