CartInterVarsity Press Publishes Immediate Classic by Richard Foster
For Immediate Release (January 2009)
Thirty years have passed since Celebration of Discipline reintroduced Protestant Christians to spiritual formation. Now Richard Foster returns to look at the lives of those who have formed Christian thought and practice in his new book, Longing for God: Seven Paths of Christian Devotion.
Cowritten with his former student Gayle Beebe, currently Westmont University's president, the book-including large print and audio editions-will be in stores April 2009. In Longing for God, Beebe and Renovaré founder Foster look at key figures from Christian history and, through their example, examine the many forms of Christian devotion and expression. This unique work will enhance InterVarsity Press's already strong Formatio line of spiritual formation books, intended to take readers on a journey of transformation rooted in a deep desire to live in the presence of God. Senior editor Cindy Bunch comments, "This material will not only inform the mind about spirituality; it is designed to shape our spiritual practice. In the introduction the authors state that they want to 'orient us to God so that we may satisfy [our] unquenchable longing.' And that is my greatest desire for the readers of our Formatio line."
Foster and Beebe will join notable Formatio authors such as Dallas Willard (Hearing God) and Ruth Haley Barton (Invitation to Solitude and Silence). InterVarsity Press publisher Bob Fryling acknowledges that Foster and Beebe "are a team that embodies and articulates the riches of spiritual formation for the contemporary church. I am grateful for the privilege IVP has to publish this significant new Formatio book. I believe it will be an immediate classic."
According to Jeff Crosby, associate publisher and director of sales and marketing, InterVarsity Press is planning a major national media campaign for this title, including advance reader copies, a $100,000 ad and promotional budget, a kick-off party at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, on April 3, and a premiere at the Renovaré conference that will take place in San Antonio, Texas, from June 21 to 24. Crosby remarks, "Richard Foster's books on prayer, spiritual disciplines and the challenges of living a disciplined life have been formative in my own journey of Christian spirituality. I look forward to working with him and Gayle Beebe on the release of this important new title and, together, realizing a significant impact in the lives of believers throughout the world."
In order to better minister to believers across the globe, InterVarsity Press will attempt a large-scale, simultaneous international release. There currently are contracts for thirteen subsidiary editions, nine of which are scheduled to release in April 2009: Chinese, Croatian, Dutch, English-U.K., English-Unabridged Audio Book, Korean, Portuguese, Romanian and Spanish. The following editions will release later in 2009 or in 2010: Afrikaans, English-South Africa, French and Swedish. When combined, these editions represent the primary languages for 79.8 million people.