The Seasons of Hope

Life contains a rhythm when we see it from beginning to end. Our personal existence is not a series of individual episodes taking place as 'points in time.' Rather, life itself bears us along in a common pilgrimage. At any given time, we are part of a community where birth and death, joy and sorrow, pain and pleasure, as well as sowing and harvesting are taking place. This communal sharing of life replicates all the 'seasons of life.' For each time in our lives there is a corresponding season in the life of the human family. We empower faith by practicing hope every day of our lives.In this book, Ray Anderson reinvigorates hope with its dynamic relationship to faith, and in turn puts meat on the bones of faith as 'the assurance of things hoped for.' Drawing on his personal experience of being raised with the seasons of life on the farm, Anderson explores the grace of God in the midst of a life lived in the rhythm of spring, summer, fall, and winter, and finds God in the midst of such experiences as 'preparing,' 'weeding,' 'waiting,' and 'visualizing.' Here is Anderson at his best and wisest: connecting the grace of God to real lives that experience the newness of spring, the promise of summer, the harvest of fall, and the vision of winter. Hope lives! Christian D. Kettler Professor of Theology and Philosophy, Friends University, Wichita, KSFor decades Ray Anderson has been one of the most imaginative and engaging theological writers, and he does not disappoint in The Seasons of Hope as he unpacks the virtue of hope through his own story of life on a South Dakota farm. Through rich metaphor and imaginative prose Anderson provides another significant thesis that is welcoming to both academic and lay theologians. This book portrays a beautiful theological vista through the eyes of a theologian who has been brave enough to plant himself in the soil of human existence, and seek God through the seasons and rhythms of life.Andrew Root Assistant Professor of Youth and Family Ministry, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MNRay Anderson's grasp of the human psyche is as lucid as his theological expertise. With characteristic insight and imagination Anderson demonstrates the inseparability of our souls from the soil. In addressing such themes as the mystery of faith, the virtue of patience, the distinction between longing and desire, the importance of timing as we participate in God's work, the tragic dimension of hope, and the power of visualization, Anderson draws from his early years of working on the land--through spring, summer, fall, and winter--in order to illuminate our understanding of the hope that summons faith into action. Read this book . . . but read it slowly. Savor it so that the harvest of hope may, by the grace of God, work its presence and power in your life, as it assuredly has in Anderson's own life. Graham Buxton Director of Postgraduate Studies in Ministry and Theology, Tabor College, Adelaide, South AustraliaRAY S. ANDERSON (1925-2009) was Senior Professor of Theology and Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary where he has taught for more than thirty years. He is the author of more than twenty-five books, including, The Seasons of Hope, Marriage and Family Ministry in a Postmodern Culture, The Soul of Ministry, Ministry on the Fireline, and The Shape of Practical Theology.