Are you tired of feeling stuck in your faith? Do you long for real, lasting spiritual transformation that feels relational rather than formulaic?
Like many Christians, you may feel as if you’re living in a cycle of fits and starts, seeking to grow closer to God but feeling disillusioned in your faith. In a culture of hustle and hurry, maybe you long to trade a transactional faith for a transformational relationship with God.
In Dwelling in Christ, Jonathan R. Bailey reintroduces the Threefold Way — an ancient, time-tested path of Christian spirituality. Moving beyond quick fixes and performance-based faith, this well-worn path offers a practical movement through three stages for growing in Christlikeness over a lifetime.
Discover anew how to walk the Threefold Way:
- Purgation: Learn to release the harmful and unloving things that pull you away from God.
- Illumination: Dwell more deeply in God’s presence as you intentionally and gradually align your heart more and more with his.
- Union: Experience an ever-deepening friendship with God that increasingly transforms you into Christlikeness from the inside out.
Aided by the wisdom of ancient monastics, contemporary theologians, and thoughtful reflections on his own spiritual journey, Bailey invites you to trade the illusion of control for the reality of love. In continuity with spiritual voices such as Dallas Willard and Richard Foster, this book offers a hopeful and practical way of life through retrieving a framework reaching back into theearliest centuries of the church. With Dwelling in Christ, be free from chasing quick fixes and enter the steady, lifelong journey of becoming like Christ.
Endorsements
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“Not many can walk the tightrope of faithfully bringing forward ancient Christian wisdom about growing closer to God while keeping it accessible for everyday people. Jonathan R. Bailey sticks the landing.”
Ted Harro, President of Renovaré
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Jonathan R. Bailey’s Dwelling in Christ is a rare, outstanding debut — beautiful, wise, and precise. He seamlessly translates ancient Christian wisdom regarding purgation, illumination, and transformation for the contemporary reader. It is clear Jonathan has written this from a place of deep communion with God, having practiced what he preaches and having walked through suffering. In a culture of anemic Christianity, this book is a breath of fresh air. Energizing. It is robust and solid food, not a formula but a practical field guide. Jonathan offers both recollections of the pathway trodden by saints in the past and a direct and gracious invitation for us to follow in their footsteps. It is what Dallas Willard called a curriculum for Christlikeness. This book is a gold mine of practical wisdom for anyone depending on God’s grace to become like Jesus. It’s phenomenal.
Marlena Graves, author of The Way Up Is Down and Bearing God
Jonathan R. Bailey
Jonathan R. Bailey is the co-founder of Dwell, an audio Bible app helping people rediscover the ancient practice of listening to scripture. He is the author of Dwelling in Christ: Discover the Threefold Path of Spiritual Transformation, a forthcoming book with IVP. He writes Three Weekly Lights, a Substack newsletter that helps readers participate more deeply in their transformation. He also serves on the Board and Ministry Team at Renovaré. Jonathan lives in Frisco, Texas, with his wife, Kori, and their three children.