Dancing in the Darkness: Spiritual Lessons for Thriving in Turbulent Times

Dancing in the Darkness: Spiritual Lessons for Thriving in Turbulent Times

  • Downloads:1704
  • Type:Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date:2023-01-02 05:20:06
  • Update Date:2025-09-06
  • Status:finish
  • Author:Reverend Otis Moss III
  • ISBN:1501177699
  • Environment:PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Summary

A guide to uplift our spirits as we work for justice in these politically turbulent times—from Reverend Otis Moss, III, Senior Pastor at Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ and one of the country’s most renowned and beloved spiritual and civil rights leaders。

Once again, as Dr。 Martin Luther King, Jr。 first observed in the 1960s, it is midnight in America—a dark time of division and anxiety, with threats of violence looming in the shadows。 In 2008, the Trinity United Church in Chicago received threats when one of its parishioners, Senator Barack Obama, ran for president。 “We’re going to kill you” rang in Reverend Otis Moss’s ears when he suddenly heard a noise in the middle of the night。 He grabbed a baseball bat to confront the intruder in his home。 When he opened the door to his daughter’s room, he found that the source of the noise was his own little girl, dancing。 She was simply practicing for her ballet recital。

In that moment, Pastor Moss saw that the real intruder was within him。 Caught in a cycle of worry and anger, he had allowed the darkness inside。 But seeing his daughter evoked Psalm 30: “You have turned my mourning into dancing。” He set out to write the sermon that became this inspiring and transformative book。

Dancing in the Darkness is a life-affirming guide to the practical, political, and spiritual challenges of our day。 Drawing on the teachings of Dr。 King, Howard Thurman, sacred scripture, southern wisdom, global spiritual traditions, Black culture, and his own personal experiences, Dr。 Moss instructs you on how to practice spiritual resistance by combining justice and love。 This collection helps us tap the spiritual reserves we all possess but too often overlook, so we can slay our personal demon, confront our civic challenges, and reach our highest goals。

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Reviews

Tammy Hansen

Justice with love。 This concept resonated with me as a parent, and as a member of a society sorely in need of it。 We too often get the justice part, but forget about the love。 Using stories from Dr。 Martin Luther King, Jr。, Scriptures, and his own life, Moss presents a practical and timely guide to the challenges we face in this world。 Whether you're religious, spiritual, atheist, or none-of-the-above, the wisdom contained in Dancing in the Darkness should not be missed。#DancingInTheDarkness #Ne Justice with love。 This concept resonated with me as a parent, and as a member of a society sorely in need of it。 We too often get the justice part, but forget about the love。 Using stories from Dr。 Martin Luther King, Jr。, Scriptures, and his own life, Moss presents a practical and timely guide to the challenges we face in this world。 Whether you're religious, spiritual, atheist, or none-of-the-above, the wisdom contained in Dancing in the Darkness should not be missed。#DancingInTheDarkness #NetGalley 。。。more

Cheri

’To my daughter, Makayla, who taught her father how to Dance in the Dark’The author, Otis Moss, III, is a Senior Pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago。 In addition to being a spiritual leader, he is a civil right leader, as well。 While there are messages, scriptures, included in this beautifully composed book, at its heart is a message of overcoming injustice with love。 Despite repeated threats to the church where he serves as Senior Pastor, this is not a condemnation of the incre ’To my daughter, Makayla, who taught her father how to Dance in the Dark’The author, Otis Moss, III, is a Senior Pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago。 In addition to being a spiritual leader, he is a civil right leader, as well。 While there are messages, scriptures, included in this beautifully composed book, at its heart is a message of overcoming injustice with love。 Despite repeated threats to the church where he serves as Senior Pastor, this is not a condemnation of the increasing threats of violence against this church, the community it serves, and the targeted communities throughout our country。 It is an invitation to learn what it means to confront and combat the violence through extending love, compassion and grace。 Included in these pages are examples of when he, along with members of his congregation extended these offerings of grace to those who most would consider ‘unworthy’ of being offered any grace。 While the author is a pastor, and there are moments based on his religious beliefs, this is less a book about religion itself, it is based more on the basic things we were taught。 Be kind to others。 Do unto others as you would have them do unto you。 To love your enemies, and do good, to lend a hand to those in need, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great。 This is a ‘religion’ that doesn’t really require much, except being kind, and offering compassion。 Extending an offering of forgiveness, of love, a powerful antidote to hate and injustice, or - to borrow from Huey Lewis, love is a “curious thing” that can “change a hawk to a little white dove。”There’s a moment in this that really moved me, when he wakes at three in the morning to find his daughter awake in her room, dancing。 Irritated at and exhausted, he tells her to go to bed。 But then, another voice inside him tells him to listen to her, to look at her。 Her joy, so free from all of his dark thoughts that night, her joy so apparent despite the apparent darkness from both the night sky and those who would mean harm。 And it changes him。 The way he saw how his concerns, his worrying over legitimate issues caused him to focus only on those issues, and to lose sight of those moments of joy, of good, of love。This is a treatise to “'Love your neighbor as yourself'" even for those who are not religiously inclined, these are wise words on how to live a life that you can look back on without being haunted by regret。 Be kind to others…it all boils down to just those simple words。 Pub Date: Jan 3 2023 Many thanks for the ARC provided by Simon & Schuster 。。。more