Paul J. Pastor - The Face of the Deep: Exploring the Mysterious Person of the Holy Spirit

What people are saying about

Often while reading The Face of the Deep , I had to pause, think, and re-read a passage too rich and too insightful for a single consideration. Moreover, what hooked me first to that passage were its sharp images and its stout language. I have no doubt that anyone who does not skim but attends closely to Pastors book will experience the same inspiring jolts.

Walter Wangerin Jr., winner of the National Book Award

The Face of the Deep is grounded in Scripture and steeped in awe and wonder. Paul Pastors exploration of the Person and work of the Holy Spirit is creative, thorough, and profoundand as much-needed as it is refreshing.

Karen Swallow Prior, PhD, author of Booked and Fierce Convictions

Finally, somebody is writing about the Holy Spirit! Out of the recent desert of writings on the empowering presence of God comes this new book by Paul J. Pastor. Creative, thoughtful, rooted, mysteriousit pairs well for a conversation about Gods activity in the world. On the first page of the Bible, we read that the ruach hovered over the waters. I cant help but wonder if hes doing the same over this book.

John Mark Comer, pastor for teaching and vision at Bridgetown: A Jesus Church and author of Garden City

A theologically rich, soul-stirring vision of what the life of the Spirit among the people of God looks like. This book is a great step forward in helping us have ministries that not only preach the gospel but do so with power, deep conviction, and the Holy Spirit.

Jon Tyson, founding pastor of Trinity Grace Church and author of Sacred Roots

The best way to grasp mystery is not to dissect it but to behold it. So it is especially with the mystery of the Holy Spiritthe most misunderstood person of the Trinityand Paul J. Pastor is the perfect writer and thinker to take us closer to, and savor, that mystery.

Katelyn Beaty, managing editor of Christianity Today magazine

My friend Paul J. Pastor is himself a stunning mural unto the creativity and grace of the Creator God. His theological reflections arent inerrant, but, boy, are they close. The Face of the Deep is a beautiful and brilliant book that will restore the churchs heart to the Creator Spirit for ages to come. I have been turned toward the Fire.

Dr. A. J. Swoboda, pastor, professor, and author of A Glorious Dark

Paul J. Pastors portrait of the presence, power, and work of the Holy Spirit pulsates with awe, wonder, and worship befitting the topic. Its an insightful theological work that feels more like devotional poetry! Full of organic imagery, lively metaphor, and lyrical description, The Face of the Deep is a great read and one I recommend for anyone desiring a deeper awareness of the mysterious and beautiful Spirit.

Brett McCracken, author of Gray Matters and Hipster Christianity

Too often we reduce the Holy Spirit to a stale doctrine or a mechanical force, and thats assuming we acknowledge him at all. What Paul J. Pastor has done with this book is remarkable. He not only opens our eyes to the many facets of the Spirit we have overlooked, but he does it with a beauty that is evidence of the Spirits presence. He is a craftsman of words and a gift to the church in its contemporary wilderness.

Skye Jethani, author of With and the With God daily devotional at WithGodDaily.com

Many Christians only sort of believe in the Trinity. They believe in an all-powerful Father and Jesus, Gods charming Son. But the Holy Spirit has become something like this duos pet dove. In The Face of the Deep , Paul J. Pastor lets the Dove loose. He carefully casts the Spirit as fire and wind and artist who shows up in deserts, churches, and newness. Consume this book in a quiet place and listen for the Spirits voice as you do.

Jonathan Merritt, author of Jesus Is Better Than You Imagined

At last heres a book where the elegance of the prose befits its strange and beautiful subject. The Face of the Deep is a collection of personal essays that masterfully mine theology, history, nature, and art for fresh insights into the Spirits character and work in the world. This book provides something few others on the topic do: glimpses of the Dark Bird of the Trinity that will leave readers enlightened and strangely warmed. A radiant debut!

Drew Dyck, senior editor of Leadership Journal and author of Yawning at Tigers

Paul J. Pastor has given us an icon in prose. Words spark from the pages to display with brilliant color the vitality and beauty of the Spirit. Not content to let the Holy Spirit be merely a theological confession or a experiential aberration, Pastor calls us beyond the face of the deep and into the mystery of life in the Spirit.

Glenn Packiam, pastor of New Life Church Downtown, author of Discover the Mystery of Faith and Lucky

Paul J. Pastor writes with clarity, insight, and an inspiring lyrical quality that is impossible to resist. Its hard to imagine a more original, intelligent, and poignant exploration of this surprisingly underexplored area of theological inquirythe Holy Spirit and its crucial role in believers faith lives. Paul J. Pastors new book is sure to move his readers as much as it enlightens them.

Tom Krattenmaker, member of the USA Today Board of Contributors and author of The Evangelicals You Dont Know

This breathtaking work is poetic, rich, and deep with the things of God, inviting us to see the world afresh through new eyes. Thank you, Paul J. Pastor, for writing the book I didnt know I needed about the God I expect many of us will be surprised to discover has been there all along.

Joshua Ryan Butler, pastor at Imago Dei Community and author of The Skeletons in Gods Closet

With imagination and prose, Paul J. Pastor helps us discover the limits of ourselves quickly and profoundly, so we may move with him to discover deep and accessible mystery in God. The Face of the Deep opens us to the certainty of uncertainty, which is sure to change mundane binaries and trivial conversations about the Spirit, directing us to new conversations full of life and beauty.

Randy Woodley, distinguished professor of faith and culture, George Fox Evangelical Seminary, and author of Shalom and the Community of Creation

Having tuned his eyes and ears to the presence of the Holy Spirit in everyday life, Paul J. Pastors vivid writing breathes life into the mysterious third person of the Trinity. Few books make knowing God more energizing, and more enticing, than The Face of the Deep .

C. Christopher Smith, editor of The Englewood Review of Books and coauthor of Slow Church

What happens when a mathematician writes sonnets? I dont know but I now know what it looks like for a poet to write theology. So much of theology is sterile precision like an arithmetic table. Such analysis has purpose to be sure, but is of little nourishment to a soul such as mine. Paul J. Pastor has sprung on me a book that I needed, both in subject and in spirit. Through The Face of the Deep , Pastors poetic heart has given each of us a surprising spiritual gift.

Tony Kriz, author of Aloof: Figuring Out Life with a God Who Hides

In The Face of the Deep , Paul J. Pastor brings lively wisdom to bear on the often-neglected subject of the Holy Spirit. Artfully and keenly written, these explorations penetrate the surface and bring theological clarity without attempting to extinguish the mystery. A spiritual breath of fresh air.

Paul Louis Metzger, PhD, professor of Christian theology and theology of culture, Multnomah Biblical Seminary, editor of Trinitarian Soundings in Systematic Theology

This book reveals and questions our perceptions of the Holy Spirit. Paul is perhaps the perfect guide on this journey of mysteryhe has been both wounded and healed as he has discovered the Spirit at work all around us. For those of us like myself who have a hard time articulating with words how the Great Fire has burned us to the core, this book comes as close to it as any I have ever read.