What can I read or listen to about spiritual innovation?

Through books, blogs, essays, and reports, you can find inspiration on all the various types of spiritual innovation happening around you. Whether you’re interested in how religious congregations are finding new ways to flourish, or curious about how secular healthcare organizations are integrating spiritual practices, there are great reads to inspire you!

Check out the links below, and if you have suggestions for more inspirational material, please let us know here.

To start, pick one resource from each category below. Then make a date with a friend or mentor to talk through what you learned! 

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Background Reading

• Sacred Design Lab has written extensively about spiritual innovation. Start with their global report Illuminating Spiritual Innovation or read these shorter reports exploring similar themes in the United States: How We Gather, Something More, Faithful, and Care of Souls.
• The Spiritual Infrastructure of the Future by Sue Phillips in the Harvard Divinity Bulletin is thought-provoking about the needs spiritual innovators have and how leaders might meet them.
• And this white paper, Rethinking Church from New Wine Collective, explores the potential future organization of Christian denominations and churches.

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Activating Spiritual Imagination

• For enriching conversations with a host of religious leaders, poets, scientists, and artists, check out On Being’s archive.
• For a more mystical experience, listen to an episode from The Emerald, a podcast exploring the human experience through the lens of myth, story, and imagination.
• For conversations on embodiment, boundaries, harm, and creativity, check out Finding Our Way.
• Curious about the Christian landscape? Igniting Imagination features rich conversations with a variety of church leaders that invite you into new possibilities.‍
• Judaism Unbound analyzes the pressing issues for 21st century American Judaism with a mix of leading thinkers and practitioners while Reboot reimagines Jewish thought and traditions through arts and culture.

Scholarly Insights 

• Mapping Spiritual Innovation shares initial findings from a research study led by the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab and Glean Network in partnership with innoFaith and Faith Matters Network
• Academics and practitioners explore Lived Religion and Spirituality in this panel discussion at Harvard Divinity School. 
• For a historical deep-dive, David Hempton’s Gifford Lectures offer a theory of transnational religious change.
• Or, for something shorter, pick an essay from The Imminent Frame–a digital publication about secularism, religion, and the public square. 

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Outreach

Want to connect with someone who’s exploring similar questions? Look through the directory and find a spiritual innovator whose work resonates. Reach out to them for a learning conversation and be sure to add your own profile, too!

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Want more resources? Check out the resource library for more than 350 tools for spiritual innovation!