Spiritual Maturity: Stories and Reflections for the Ongoing Journey of the Spirit

Once in a while, a spiritual teacher comes along who avoids seminar-style language and simply writes an excellent book that reminds us how to live with integrity, humility, and soul-honoring truth. Joseph Sharp (Living Our Dying) is just such a teacher. As a former hospital chaplain and someone who's been HIV positive for almost half of his life, Sharp has the wisdom to know that spiritual maturity is not a destination but a lifelong journey. "If you are looking for a promise of finality--say, a list of quick, easy recipes to forever transform your life into a miraculous slice of sweet spiritual pie--you should know that this book is not for you," he writes. "For me finality is not the point. Learning is. As is being true to your innate calling, to what I like to call a person's 'sacred individuality.'"

Through storytelling and personal anecdotes, Sharp encourages readers to be "spiritually incorrect," even irreverent and outrageous in order to foster sacred individuality. He suggests we stop trying to simplify our spirituality and simply accept its complications. There's nothing amazingly new here, yet Spiritual Maturity makes for an excellent refresher course as we travel the never-ending journey. --Gail Hudson