Jonathan R. Bailey

I write about spiritual formation in the Christian tradition. @dwellbible co-founder @renovare team member • Author of Dwelling in Christ: Pre-Order now 👇

[Jonathan R. Bailey @jonathanrbailey]

Sometimes I look at the flame of a candle and marvel at its energetic stillness. To burn wildly with love while remaining inwardly still feels like a mystery worth longing for.

https://t.co/Muv0GZiGWw

[Jonathan R. Bailey @jonathanrbailey]

Some moments, my emotions can feel stronger than me.

I’m learning the grace of distance before returning to hard situations with love.

On Distance, a Prayer from John Baillie, and Responding with Love Later
https://t.co/SOP0YMia3N

[Jonathan R. Bailey @jonathanrbailey]

I began to think of grace as a guaranteed return – a simple matter of managing inputs and outputs. But over time I saw the danger in that kind of control, and how easily it crowds out trust...

On Spiritual Practice, a Word from Dallas Willard, and Farming the Soul
https://t.co/evtDoCs1mi

[Jonathan R. Bailey @jonathanrbailey]

A note about why I wrote Dwelling in Christ...
https://t.co/ENX9EQM63I
@ivpress

[Jonathan R. Bailey @jonathanrbailey]

Behind my chair sits a ficus tree I bought four years ago. I imagined by now it would be taller. Instead, it stayed small...

From Three Weekly Lights:

On Patience, Wisdom from Saint Isaac, and What Cannot Be Rushed
https://t.co/AXJnL71qiE

[Dwell @dwellbible]

We’re excited to share that Dwell co-founder Jon Bailey is releasing his first book on spiritual formation this September with @ivpress. 🎉

The audiobook (narrated by Jon) & companion devotional will be available in Dwell on Sept 1. 🎧

You can pre-order the physical book now.

[Jonathan R. Bailey @jonathanrbailey]

Maybe the slowness I long for isn’t something that arrives later. Maybe it has to be learned now, little by little, as I let stillness shape me.

On Illusions, a Journal Entry from Henri Nouwen, and Naming Distortions

https://t.co/St7mRM9O6m

[Jonathan R. Bailey @jonathanrbailey]

Just as a bruise differs from a break, affliction comes in different depths, each revealing something different and asking something unique of us.

On Degrees of Affliction, a Reflection from C.S. Lewis, and an Invitation to Grace

https://t.co/lYId22ycgC

[Jonathan R. Bailey @jonathanrbailey]

Beauty has a way of slowing us down and reminding us the world is more than errands and responsibilities.

On Beauty, a Reminder from John Muir, and Seeing God in Nature

https://t.co/OjJINEYsEc

[Jonathan R. Bailey @jonathanrbailey]

For the last couple of weeks, during my downtime, I’ve been working on something new I’ll be sharing later this year. Sneak peek below:👇🏼

[Jonathan R. Bailey @jonathanrbailey]

The question is not whether growth is happening. It’s whether I can trust the slow, almost hidden pace of God’s work in me.

On Transformation’s Pace, Wisdom from Frederick Buechner, and Staying in the Waiting

https://t.co/d0x84fs9Ff

[Jonathan R. Bailey @jonathanrbailey]

Jesus doesn’t just ask us to thank him for what he went through. He asks us to join him, to learn his way of self-giving love.

Three Weekly Lights: On Dying Before We Die, a Teaching from John Behr, and Small Crosses We Carry

https://t.co/QzYMtTW7Qo

[Jonathan R. Bailey @jonathanrbailey]

@kaelinveyne Thank you so much! Appreciate it.

[Jonathan R. Bailey @jonathanrbailey]

After ten years in the making, my book finally has a cover!

I'm so grateful for the cover and the way it conveys its contents! I wrote more about this here: https://t.co/c6aM1gvhBY

You can find the pre-order link in my bio!

[InterVarsity Press @ivpress]

What does our imagination and poetry have to do with our spiritual formation?

🎙️ In this episode of The Digital Examen, Jay Y. Kim welcomes author, poet, priest, and musician Dr. Malcolm Guite to explore how our imagination is not a creative extra, but a truth-telling faculty that helps us apprehend meaning in a world saturated with data and yet hungry for substance.

Listen now on your favorite podcast platform!

[Jonathan R. Bailey @jonathanrbailey]

There’s a danger when theology comes before spirituality. Right ideas can end up hurting people when they’re cut off from the living Christ.

On Living Before Learning, an Insight from Rowan Williams, and What Practice Teaches
https://t.co/HtpDD9LxXa

[Jonathan R. Bailey @jonathanrbailey]

Feelings rise and fall, but they don’t define the depth of our life with Jesus. What matters more is the return.

On Inner Waves, Wisdom from Sergius Bulgakov, and Trust Beyond Feelings

https://t.co/g16NhiY2ut

[Jonathan R. Bailey @jonathanrbailey]

In the early days of my spiritual transformation, I was grasping for growth faster than I could keep up. What surprised me most was not the rushing, but the quiet grace of finally recognizing it.

On Premature Grasping, a Counsel from Francis de Sales, and the Grace of Noticing

https://t.co/tz5TUulHhf

[Jonathan R. Bailey @jonathanrbailey]

There’s a practice I’ve returned to for twenty years. It isn’t dramatic, but it has helped me so much.

The practice is simple: getting up early.

On Early Rising, a Counsel from Fénelon, and Unhurried Time

https://t.co/LSAJ1FixzB