Author, teacher, and NINE BEATS Collective collaborator Mark Scandrette has released a new book. “The Ninefold Path of Jesus – hidden wisdom of the beatitudes” is out now.
Published by IVP, it brings together Mark’s experiences gained in developing resources and leading Ninefold Path ‘learning labs’ online and in-person as part of NINE BEATS Collective – plus his own adventures and teaching with the project.
The book draws on the material already published in the Ninefold Path resources, and readers will find links and background to many of the original resources’ themes. But there is an added twist – Mark draws back the curtain to reveal some of the deeper stories and impact that exploring the beatitudes has opened around the world.
“The release of this new book is a major milestone in the 5+ years that I have been leaning into and inviting others to explore the revolutionary message of the beatitudes,” says Mark; “I’ve been able to travel to five continents and engage these words with so many dear souls: it has been a joy to see firsthand the way these sayings of Jesus reach deep into the heart of our longing for something better, something more, a better way to be human.”
Mark was invited to collaborate with NINE BEATS Collective right at the project’s early stages. Captivated by the focus on living out the beatitudes in today’s cultures, Mark helped to shape the core curriculum strand, the Ninefold Path, as an interactive, spiritual formation tool. Using his vast experience of spiritual formation pathways and teaching, Mark wrote the central resources, the Ninefold Path Notebook and the Learning Lab Leaders Guide – both co-written with Danielle Welch. As such, the new book stands alone whilst also being a great companion to NINE BEATS resources.
In the beatitudes, Jesus offers nine sayings that move us beyond our first instincts and instead embrace the deeper reality of the kingdom of God. They name the illusions and false beliefs that have kept us chained and imprisoned. We’ve learned to live from a mentality of anxiety and greed, but what if a world of abundance with solace and comfort is actually near? We’ve learned to live by striving, competition, and comparison, but what if we all have equal dignity and worth?
Mark Scandrette shows how the beatitudes invite us into nine new postures for life. Instead of living in fear, we can choose radical love. It’s often assumed that the good life is only for the most wealthy, attractive, and powerful. Poor, sad, and suffering people are left out. But the Ninefold Path of the beatitudes is for everyone. Whatever your story, whatever your struggle, wherever you find yourself, this way is available to you.
“Mark has distilled for us a practical, accessible, and joy-filled new way of showing up in our lives that restores harmony in the systems we are a part of through Jesus’ beatitudes. If you, like me, are wearing a weighted weariness brought on by old ways of thinking and being, The Ninefold Path of Jesus is the book for you.”
Eric Leroy Wilson, poet, and pastor of University Church of Christ, Malibu; member of NINE BEATS Collective
Get your copy of The Ninefold Path of Jesus – hidden wisdom of the beatitudes at: www.ivpress.com/the-ninefold-path-of-jesus and all major booksellers.
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About Mark Scandrette
Mark is a speaker, teacher, activist and coach, and author of several books including Soul Graffiti, and Practicing the Way of Jesus. He is the founding director of Re:Imagine: A Center for Integral Christian Practice based in San Francisco (reimagine.org) where he leads an annual series of retreats and practice-based ‘Learning Labs’ for leaders and teams who want to create a better world from the inside out. He and his wife Lisa and their three children live in the Mission District of San Francisco. Working with NINE BEATS, Mark has helped to shape a core curriculum resource, the Ninefold Path, exploring the beatitudes.