Hello Friends,

Some of the richest, most enduring spiritual writing has come in the form of letters.

It’s worth pondering that the letter is the primary form of writing in the New Testament — out of its 27 books, 21 are epistles.

Perhaps it’s because letters aren’t theoretical. They address real people and real situations.

I think of François Fénelon’s The Seeking Heart, a collection of responses to people who looked to him for advice. Or Frank Laubach’s Letters by a Modern Mystic, where Laubach writes to his father about experiments with staying in conscious contact with God. Even when fictional — Lewis’s Screwtape Letters, for instance — the personalized style of a letter has unique power.

Shortly after Renovaré began, Richard Foster began writing a semi-annual letter to the Renovaré community called Heart to Heart. While some of the content is dated, speaking to particular cultural moments or referencing Renovaré work in that season, much of it still speaks to our day.

We’ve collected all those original Heart to Heart letters, along with some that Nathan Foster, following in the tradition, wrote several years later. You can read them on the website or download the original PDFs (which contain wonderful nostalgic artifacts like cut-off book order forms). Access them here.

Perhaps you’ll be surprised, as I am reading them again, at how direct they are. There’s no hemming or hawing or second-guessing. They are straightforward and honest, at times tender and at other times a kick in the pants.

And perhaps this week you’ll consider writing your own ​“heart to heart” letter to someone. Odds are they’ll treasure it for years to come.