Here are some resources based on Graham Standish's workshop, "Becoming a Holy and Healing Church," offered through the May 2007 conference, "Church for the 21st Century." Additional books by Dr. Standish are also listed.

For more information or to obtain a resource, click on the resource title. If you prefer to obtain a book from Amazon.com, click on "Amazon" at the end of the resource description.

This resource list is also available, along with the workshop report, in a print-ready version. (You will need to have installed the free download, Adobe Acrobat.)
 

A Guide to Healing Prayer (Downloadable Flyer)

This guide to healing prayer tells us that God's healing begins with faith and surrender. It encourages us to put aside doubts (or, if that is too difficult, to ask God to have faith for us) and to give God "everything, including the power to choose what kind of healing to give you." The most important thing, says author Graham Standish, is trust—trust that God is healing us, even when it may not feel as if anything is happening. Also included are a sample prayer and suggestions for setting up a prayer discipline. You may view, print, and share this gift from Calvin Presbyterian Church.
 

Discovering the Narrow Path: A Guide to Spiritual Balance (Book)
N. Graham Standish, Author. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002.

Challenging our over-stimulated Western lifestyles, Graham Standish encourages us to follow the "narrow path"—a path "rooted in God and God's will for us." This book explores "the kind of life that leads to a commitment to Christ, compassion for others and ourselves, and communion with God." The chapter on healing suggests ways we can become conduits of God's grace: by expecting that God can and will heal; by seeking God's guidance in discerning what and for whom to pray; by living prayerful lives; by praying for specific needs; by persevering; by thanking God; and by accepting the ways God heals.
Amazon
 

Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church Is Transforming the Faith (Book)
Diana Butler Bass, Author. San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco, 2006.

Christianity for the Rest of Us explores Diana Butler Bass' three-year study of mainline Protestant congregations that are discovering spiritual vitality. Such vitality comes through a willingness to be formed in a faith that deepens our trust in God's abundant love and strengthens our capacity to love others. The signposts of faith formation are practices from the Christian tradition that people do in community. One of these practices, healing, is highlighted in a chapter that focuses on Calvin Presbyterian Church and its ministries. Bass discovered that Calvin and other churches are places where those who receive God's healing grace are transformed, and in turn offer healing to the world.
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"From Edge to Center: Overcoming Fear to Accept God's Call" (Article)
Diane McClusky, Author. Congregations. Spring 2006. Vol. 32, No. 2, pp. 24-6. Herndon, VA: Alban Institute.

Diane McClusky, a prayer minister and healing ministry coordinator at Calvin Presbyterian Church, writes about her response to God's call. After being trained to pray with and anoint those who are sick, she began to experience God's love flowing through her—"a love that is so much more than I am capable of by myself." At Calvin, an email prayer concern ministry arose, as well as a "prayer shawl" ministry and an evening service of centering and healing prayer. Central to Diane's involvement in these ministries is gratitude: for the ways that God through Christ stands with her, holds her up, forgives her, and allows her to serve others.
 

Practicing Our Faith: A Way of Life for a Searching People (Book)
Dorothy C. Bass, Editor. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1997.

Practicing Our Faith explores twelve central Christian practices—shared activities addressing fundamental human needs that, woven together, form a faithful way of life. These practices are grounded in ancient traditions, yet are informed by present needs and realities. John Koenig’s essay on the practice of healing asserts that transformation happens when our illnesses are experienced in the context of "Christian paradox"—particularly the paradox that in the mystery of death symbolized by the cross we find the hope of new and resurrected life. Koenig outlines the history of Christian healing, describes congregational healing ministries, and suggests forms that healing ministries may take in the future.
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Practicing Our Faith (Web Resource)

The "Practicing Our Faith" Web site, sponsored by the Valparaiso Project on the Education and Formation of People in Faith, helps people engage in practices that connect eternal truths to present times. The twelve practices featured on the site include honoring the body, dying well, and healing. Each practice is further explored—through relevant quotes and scriptures, reflective discussion questions, sermons, worship materials, resource lists, and suggestions for ways to apply a practice in everyday life. Visitors to the site will especially appreciate reading about what different faith communities are doing to promote healing and wholeness. Activities from prayer to health screenings to spiritual support are described in detail.
 

Knitting into the Mystery: A Guide to the Shawl-Knitting Ministry (Book)
Susan S. Jorgensen, Susan S. Izard, Authors. Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing, 2003.

Roman Catholic spiritual director Susan Jorgensen and United Church of Christ minister Susan Izard combine prayerful reflection with knitting skills to present a guide to "contemplative knitting." In the process of learning this mindful, meditative practice, one creates shawls—and prays—for those who are sick or bereaved. The authors contend that both the givers and the receivers of these shawls are blessed as a result. Well illustrated, Knitting into the Mystery provides knitting instructions, suggestions for starting a prayer shawl ministry, and stories of shawls given and received in love. Also included are prayers, from various religious traditions, which can be offered with the shawls.
Amazon
 

The Healing Light (Revised Edition) (Book)
Agnes Sanford, Author. New York, NY: Ballantine Books, 1972.

Agnes Sanford begins this classic on healing by observing that if an electric iron doesn't work, we don't dispute the existence of electricity. Nor do we plead with electricity to come into the iron and make it work. Instead, we correct the wiring so that electricity flows into the iron. Sanford believes that the power of God's healing energy similarly can flow into us and through us if we allow ourselves to become conduits of such energy—by relaxing, meditating upon God's presence, asking God's Spirit to dwell within us, and giving thanks for God's healing work. Numerous stories of healing illustrate the author's concepts.
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The Faith Factor: Proof of the Healing Power of Prayer (Book)
Dale A. Matthews, Author. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1998.

Dale Matthews, professor of medicine at Georgetown University, emphasizes the importance of a "faith factor" in one's own and others' health and well-being. This "faith factor" can enhance the immune system, help prevent and fight disease, and lead to greater emotional and spiritual resourcefulness. Matthews discusses the twelve elements that contribute to the healing efficacy of faith: equanimity; temperance; beauty; adoration; renewal; community; unity; ritual; meaning; trust; transcendence; and love. He then shows how these elements are cultivated through prayer, scriptural reading, and involvement in a faith community. The book concludes with an annotated list of resources on healing prayer, prayer ministries, spiritual direction, and Bible study.
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Healing and Christianity: A Classic Study (Third Edition) (Book)
Morton Kelsey, Author. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 1995.

Noting John Polkinghorne's observation that freedom exists on not only the human level, but smaller (even subatomic) levels, Morton Kelsey asks: "Why then should we not grant to the Creator of freedom, freedom to act in specifically providential ways? The Divine is free to move into creation." From this premise, Kelsey examines biblical texts on healing and their relevance to today's churches. He also explores the impact of emotions on our bodies as well as the Christian worldview that calls us to carry forward Jesus' ministry of preaching, teaching, and healing. He concludes with practical suggestions for churches seeking to participate in a faithful and life-giving healing ministry.
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The Handbook of Religion and Health (Book)
Harold G. Koenig, Michael E. McCullough, David B. Larson, Authors. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2001.

The Handbook of Religion and Health summarizes and interprets the results of numerous studies on the intersection of religion and health. Psychiatrists Harold Koenig and David Larson join psychologist Michael McCullough to explore the historical contexts of this topic. They assess religion's positive and negative effects and present research on how religion affects mental health, physical health, and the use of health services. Implications of this research for professionals in both health and religion are presented as well. The authors conclude that overall, beliefs and practices "rooted within established religious traditions were found to be consistently associated with better health and predicted better health over time."
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Becoming a Blessed Church: Forming a Church of Spiritual Purpose, Presence, and Power (Book)
N. Graham Standish, Author. Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2004.

Graham Standish believes that a blessed church is one where people experience God, rather than simply experience church. Yes, the congregation will talk about God and serve God, but its overarching desire will be to know and experience God. Standish describes the biggest obstacle to such experience as "rational functionalism"—thinking that keeps a congregation rooted in restrictive and logic-bound theology. In contrast, the blessed church has a vibrant sense of faith, hope, and love; embraces the sacred; sees itself as the body of Christ; is filled with God’s purpose, presence, and power; and is unafraid to serve God in its own unique way.
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Forming Faith in a Hurricane: A Spiritual Primer for Daily Living (Book)
N. Graham Standish, Author. Nashville, TN: Upper Room Books, 1998.

True to its title, Forming Faith in a Hurricane encourages us to strengthen and deepen our faith by exploring what it means to grow spiritually amid life's sometimes stormy contingencies. Graham Standish puts forth four central ideas about faith: that faith is always a process—an ongoing journey requiring nurture and care; that faith always entails balance—between passivity and responsibility, prayer and action, the individual and the community; that faith is always relational—rooted in a loving relationship with God and neighbor; and that faith requires us to anchor ourselves in God—choosing spiritual disciplines not as ends in themselves but as activities that help us seek God.
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Humble Leadership: Being Radically Open to God's Guidance and Grace (Book)
N. Graham Standish, Author. Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2007.

This book discusses humble leadership and compares it with other leadership approaches. While not dismissing the styles employed in corporations, Graham Standish explains how and why a pastor or other congregational leader should lead differently. For Standish, humble leadership is self-aware, prayerful, unifying, and Spirit-led; he devotes a chapter to each of these qualities. The final chapter examines ways to put theory into practice. Five essential skills are named: (1) lifting up other good leaders; (2) eliciting ideas, seeking God's guidance, and setting a direction; (3) giving guidance and then letting go; (4) accepting criticism, resisting offense, and providing support; and (5) becoming thankful.
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Paradoxes for Living: Cultivating Faith in Confusing Times (Book)
N. Graham Standish, Author. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001.

Noting that "paradox" comes from para (meaning "beyond") and dox (meaning "a belief"), Graham Standish asserts that a paradox appears contradictory but reveals truth beyond the apparent contradiction. This book explores such Christian paradoxes as these: to be strong, we must be weak; to save our lives, we must lose them; to know God, we must know ourselves; in trivial things lies greatness; to become mature, we must become children; to receive, we must give. The author devotes a chapter to each paradox—offering stories, insights, scriptural references, reflective exercises, and questions for reflection. Appendices supply an introduction to spiritual reading and a guide for group reflection.
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Return to the report from "Becoming a Holy and Healing Church: A Workshop with Graham Standish."