Tod, I'm very glad to see this. Having worked with churches as a leadership consultant for two decades, I've seen the absence of spiritual formation as a core dimension of a church. I've been addressing it in a couple of ways. The first is to talk about the disconnect between what people believe and how they live. This isn't new, but it is still an urgent need. The gap is not bridged by better tactics at "applying" intellectual concepts. It is rather in addressing the lack of understanding of who we are as human persons. I take a more phenomenological approach to bridging this gap by asking what would it taste, smell, feel, hear and see for Christ to be present at all times? It isn't the theology that is the problem, but rather the anthropology. The second way that I get at this with people is to address the "story they tell themselves". Not the story they tell others, but the story they tell themselves as they are engaged in various situations. I've found that many people do not have a story about how God is present with them, as a result, that turn to someone else's story, their pastor or an inspiring writer, or the story embedded in the music of the church. Over time that story of someone else's functions as the idol of faith. The key to having one's own story that is quietly reminding us who we are and who we are call to be in our lives. I've been using this with a group of young women who are in an addiction recovery program. It has been amazingly effective in helping them gain a clearer understanding of their own perspective on who they are and God's place in their lives. I'm finding that these two strategies helping open up people to the idea of the importance of formation. I look forward to hearing how this change at Fuller progresses.

Bernd, is there a digital version of the comfort food cookbook? If so, would you post a link? Thanks.

Great story, Bernd. I got to know Matt through his book on elegance. The new follows a similar theme. Very helpful.