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Richard J. Foster

Richard J. Foster

Renovaré Founder

Richard J. Foster

Articles & Essays by Richard J. Foster

Article

A Decision Never Regretted

Published March, 1994 • Featured May 2, 2016
Richard Foster writes of the attraction of the ​“deep joy” of Christ-followers and his conversion as a teenager.
Article

326 Years of Successful Marriage

Published September, 1979 • Featured May 2, 2016
When looking for the secrets of a long, happy, and holy marriage, Richard Foster went right to the source — 6 couples with 326 years of marriage between them.
Article

The Agony and the Ecstasy

Published April, 1979 • Featured May 1, 2016
Richard Foster digs into the cycles of hurting and forgiving that come into every community situation, especially into a body of believers.
Article

Will Your Child Respect Simplicity?

Published April, 1981 • Featured May 1, 2016
Advice from Richard Foster, specifically for dads, on how to cultivate and culture of simplicity in the home.
Article

The Cultural Captivity of the Church

Featured May 1, 2016
Using the pen-name ​“Robert J. Catalyst,” Richard Foster answers the fictitious Martin’s contemporary queries in his Quaker Life column
Article

Of Don Quixote, Watergate, and Us

Published March, 1974 • Featured May 1, 2016
Richard Foster marries the tale of Don Quixote and the scandal of Watergate to the state of many Christians, writing, ​“To always be a seeker and never a finder does not enhance the search for truth, it destroys it.” Enjoy this journey to the past that holds much relevance for us today.
Article

How Liberating are the Liberal Arts

Published December, 1987 • Featured May 1, 2016
Richard Foster describes in detail the benefits one receives in obtaining a liberal arts education in this visionary and expansive piece.
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Journal/Magazine Article

Hurting and Forgiveness

Published September, 1974 • Featured May 1, 2016
Richard Foster writes compassionately of the hurting and being hurt that make up a part of any community and offers counsel and hope for Christian forgiveness.
Article

Jesus and "The Exorcist"

Published April, 1974 • Featured May 1, 2016
Richard Foster looks into ​“The Exorcist” movie and criticizes its portrayal of both an ​“evil that is not bad enough” and a ​“victory that is not great enough” and concludes with a powerful reminder of Jesus’s power regarding demon possession.
Article

The Law of Love and the God of the Old Testament

Published March, 1973 • Featured May 1, 2016
Richard Foster (cleverly disguised here as Robert J. Catalyst) tackles the subject of God’s law of love and the bloody history revealed in the Old Testament.
Article

Lectio Divina

Featured February 3, 2016
“We should not think of ​“spiritual reading” as reading in the normal sense in the same way we should not think that allowing a mint to dissolve in our mouth is eating.” As always, Richard Foster offers practical ways to work an ancient discipline into our life rhythms.
Lamb Peaceful War
Journal/Magazine Article

The Peaceable War of the Lamb

Published February, 1989 • Featured December 31, 2015
In the essay from the archives, Richard Foster explains how Jesus, our commander and our chief, calls us into a spiritual warfare that will profoundly impact the social order on every conceivable level.
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Letter

Money and the Spiritual Life

Published February, 2007 • Featured February 1, 2007
It is never a bad time to revisit some foundational ideas about money and its uses for good or ill in our lives and world. Richard Foster joins us to share some thoughts about money’s proper place in our lives, its insidious spiritual power, and its power to bless.
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Letter

Living Well

Published October, 2006 • Featured October 1, 2006
In this vintage letter, Richard Foster writes that those who have learned to live well ​“easily and freely ​‘esteem others better than themselves’ (Phil. 2:3)… They have learned the life-giving power of building one another up, and they do so without hesitation.”
Letter

Leadership Transition

Published July, 2006 • Featured July 1, 2006
Church sprouting
Letter

Heart to Heart May 2006

Published May, 2006 • Featured May 1, 2006
In this May 2006 pastoral letter to the Renovaré community, Richard Foster lays out the characteristics and principles of spiritual formation based congregations, and puts practical skin on them with personal stories.
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Letter

Embracing Suffering

Published February, 2006 • Featured February 1, 2006
Richard Foster writes about our culture’s ​“suffering avoidance” and Christ’s call to identify with those who suffer.
Letter

Heart to Heart November 2005

Published November, 2005 • Featured November 1, 2005
A November 2005 Heart to Heart newsletter where Richard Foster talks about the Vision and Mission of Renovaré, A Movement Afoot, and Our Geographic Strategy of Penetration (Renovaré USA, Britain and Ireland, Korea).
Open Hands
Letter

God is Still Speaking

Published October, 2005 • Featured October 1, 2005
Scripture as the Word of God written anchors us by giving a blueprint for how God has spoken to his people throughout biblical history. And the Bible itself uses the Word of God in two additional ways. There is the Word of God living, the debar Yahweh, and the Word of God incarnate, Jesus.
Letter

The Word of God Living

Featured October 1, 2005