Evolutionary Christian Spirituality
Welcome to my website. I’m a minister in the United Church of Canada - at Canadian Memorial United Church in Vancouver, British Columbia. I’ve been an ordained minister for 22 years and have served Canadian Memorial for 12 years. I’m passionate about raising public awareness that there is a form of Christianity beyond the belief-based, biblical literalism that is associated with traditional “church”.
I call it Evolutionary Christian Spirituality. The framework for it is Integral Spirituality (Ken Wilber). Dr. Don Beck’s Spiral Dynamics provides a very helpful model for evolutionary development. I regard Andrew Cohen as the world’s leading teacher in evolutionary spirituality.
Essentially, this model recognizes that the universe evolves, at both the interior and exterior levels of reality. This includes religion and spirituality. Therefore, how we understand “God”, “Spirit”, “the Christ” also evolve along with our own consciousness, culture, and social systems.
This evolutionary dynamic is a movement of Spirit in the manifest realm.
I’m an author of three books, all listed below. You can also check out my sermons, along with the podcast version and upcoming speaking engagements.
New Study Guide
I’m delighted to announce that Woodlake Books are offering a new study guide for my book Darwin, Divinity and the Dance of the Cosmos, Experiencing Ecological Christianity, written by Tim Scorer. It’s a nine week experiential study guide, with a DVD introduction to each session by myself. Tim Scorer wrote a similar guide for Marcus Borg’s book, The Heart of Christianity.
The Emerging Church
I’m excited about my latest book, The Emerging Church: A Model for Change and a Map for Renewal. Listen to a podcast of a recent interview related to a chapter called What Colour Is Your Christ?
Darwin, Divinity, and the Dance of the Cosmos
Darwin, Divinity and the Dance of the Cosmos: An Ecological Christianity, has become a best seller, and is being used across North America as the basis for book studies.
Summoning the Whirlwind
Summoning the Whirlwind: Unconventional Sermons for a Relevant Christian Faith continues to speak to those who want the gospel to be grounded in their own experience of life, to celebrate diversity, and to be relevant in the 21st century.
As well, I want to introduce you to an exciting citizen engagement program, Be the Change, aimed at helping us to live more socially just, environmentally sustainable and more spiritually fulfilled lives. Check out my bio for more personal information and my blog if you’re interested in what I’m currently thinking about.
Contact: bsanguin@telus.net
