Kenneth Leech – författare

"We do not create prayer,” writes Kenneth Leech, “but merely prepare the ground and clear away obstacles. Prayer is always a gift, a grace, the flame which ignites wood; the Holy Spirit gives prayer.”

A classic on the Christian practice of spiritual direction.Leech''s scholarly, yet accessible, exploration examines the climate in which spiritual direction takes place today-the influence of the drug culture of the 1960''s, Eastern influences on prayer and spiritual practice, the Pentecostal movement, and others. He provides background on the history of spiritual direction, both Protestant and Catholic, from the earliest Church through the twentieth century. Leech also explores other questions of interest to directors and those seeking out direction: the relationship between counseling and direction; the practice of prayer in Christian spiritual tradition; and the prophetic role of the spiritual director, not just for the individual but for the larger society. An excellent course book, and a fascinating book for those contemplating direction, Soul Friend will continue to be a classic for years to come.

A Christian social thinker writing on the relationship between race and power in Britain and the United States. Kenneth Leech combines history, politics, and theology to portray the dynamics of racism here and abroad, and points a way forward for the church.

"Race does not exist. Yet in this extraordinary book Ken Leech exposes how racism grips the imaginations of Christian and non-Christian alike, shaping our relations with one another and having disastrous results not only in neighborhoods but in foreign policies. Pauline-like, Leech helps us see that race is a power all the more perverse because it is not acknowledged as such. In conversation with the best work in science, social theory, and theology, Leech challenges the presumption that we have somehow gotten beyond racialized thinking. Moreover, drawing on his extraordinary pastoral experience, he helps us see a way beyond race. This book should be read in both England and America as both countries, in quite different ways continue to be dominated by racialized practice. And finally, and perhaps most important, Leech draws on Christian convictions to challenge Christians, not only how to think differently about race but hopefully how to practice our faith in a manner that we may be an alternative for the world." --Stanley M. Hauerwas, Gilbert T. Rowe professor of Theological Ethics, Duke Divinity School; named "America''s Best Theologian" by Time Magazine in 2001

Through hymns, poems, and the lens of personal experience, a leading spiritual director and author takes a thoughtful, in-depth look at the Cross as a focal point for theology, spirituality, Christian symbolism, and discipleship, providing a probing and disturbing resource for group study during Lent.