02/26/2006

New Book Challenges Christians to Move From Following the Rules to Following the Ruler
"If you’re following the rules," she explains, "then you can finally learn them all. But if you’re following the Ruler, there is no end to the learning."

BLUE SPRINGS, Missouri, Feb. 26 /Christian Newswire/ -- Author Jennifer Kennedy Dean is a significant voice in the worldwide dialogue on prayer and spiritual formation. Known to her readers for producing biblically based, theologically sound, impeccably researched material, Dean’s newest release has been eagerly anticipated.

Fueled by Faith: Living Vibrantly in the Power of Prayer, published by New Hope Publishers, delivers the quality of thought and clarity of writing that readers have come to expect. It provides a comprehensive look at faith and prayer with an unusual depth that testifies to the author’s lifelong search, yet it is remarkably accessible in form and content.

"At the age of 20," says Dean, "I made an unreserved commitment of my life to Jesus Christ. I had made a genuine profession of faith many years before that, but I reached a juncture at which I had to decide the trajectory of my life. Would I be satisfied to follow the rules of my religion and mouth its doctrines correctly? Or would I respond to this nagging sense of dissatisfaction that hinted at the possibility of something more? A steady drumbeat deep inside seemed to lure me to another path. I was being wooed by the Spirit’s invitation: ‘Why do you seek the living among the dead?’ And I could not resist Him."

Dean challenges readers to follow the Ruler, not the rules. "If you’re following the rules," she explains, "then you can finally learn them all. But if you’re following the Ruler, there is no end to the learning." Dean says that faith is more than believing something. Faith is believing Someone. Faith, she insists, is obedience to the present-tense voice of the Lord. She emphasizes the difference between having faith in God and believing in an outcome.

According to Dean, "The point of a faith-fueled walk is that it is not academic and sterile, but it is daily and gritty and raucous. And fun. So I want you to dive in, not just tiptoe around the edges." She challenges her readers to "leave behind tame, timid, play-it-safe, follow-the-rules faith. Learn to exercise an outrageous, get-out-of-the-boat, resurrection faith."

Jennifer Kennedy Dean is the Executive Director of The Praying Life Foundation and author of numerous books and Bible studies. She is a well-known speaker and conference leader. Find out more about Fueled by Faith at www.prayinglife.org.