Baker Books seemed to be one of the few larger Christian publishing houses that had not jumped with both feet on the contemplative/emerging bandwagon. That all may be changing however. With their new release of James Wakefield’s book on lectio divina and the Fall 2006 release of emerging leader Robert Webber’s new book, The Divine Embrace, Baker Books is joining the ranks of Christian publishers who are capitalizing on the popularity of mysticism in Christendom. On Baker’s website sits an endorsement for Webber’s new book:
Robert Webber’s new book places him in the good company of Dallas Willard, Richard Foster, and Eugene Peterson as one of our most important thinkers about spiritual formation for authentic Christian living. It provides fresh, wise, and challenging guidance that is rooted in a career of Christian leadership development. It draws from decades of research in church history and spirituality, and flows from the mind of a scholar and the heart of a practitioner. I am a fan of all his work, but I think this is his best and most important book to date.”–Brian McLaren, author/speaker (brianmclaren.net)
Another Summer 2006 release by Baker Books is contemplative Calvin Miller’s book, Preaching. Miller is the author of Into the Depths of God.
In taking a closer look at Baker Books, we see that they have been dabbling in the contemplative path for some time now. In 1998, Baker published contemplative author David Benner’s book, Care of Souls.
But nothing in their past can compare to their plans for the future. What may be the most alarming of all though is Baker Books upcoming Spring 2007 release, An Emergent Manifesto of Hope by Doug Pagitt, Tony Jones, Brian McLaren and Dan Kimball!
