The Practice of Remembering

Christianity Today Award of Merit What if our memories are like shells we gather on a beach? According to pastor and spiritual director Casey Tygrett, 'We-and all those who have come before us-pick up the experience and we sense it: we feel its edges, notice its color, we smell the distinctive character (for shells it is the sickly seafood salt smell) of the experience, and we try to make sense of what it is. Is it beautiful? How would you describe the color-the tones, the shades, wrapped around the ridges and swirls? Has it been damaged? Does the hard edge scrape our hand, leaving a blemish or a mark?' How we hold and carry these memories-good and bad-is a part of what forms us spiritually. In this way we have a common bond with the people of Scripture who also had a sensory life, gathering shells and trying to make sense of them. Previously titled As I Recall, Casey Tygrett's writing in The Practice of Remembering explores the power of memory and offers biblical texts and practices to guide us in bringing our memories to God for spiritual transformation.

Casey Tygrett (DMin, Lincoln Christian Seminary) is a pastor, blogger, adjunct seminary professor, and spiritual director who serves as the teaching pastor at Heartland Community Church in Rockford, Illinois. He was previously pastor of spiritual formation at Parkview Christian Church in Orland Park, Illinois, and has taught at Lincoln Christian University and Seminary and Emmanuel Christian Seminary. He is the author of The Jesus Rhythm, and has written for The Christian Standard, TheOoze.com, and the Apprentice Institute blog.