We are made by and for relationship with God and others, even discovering and developing our God-given identity through relational connection. Bringing together the study of psychology and spiritual formation, The Relational Soul highlights how a conscious relationship with the Trinity can transform our self-awareness and our connection with other people.
What does loneliness tell us?"Be it chronic or acute, slight or significant, loneliness is proof of our relational design. At the core of our being is this truth—we are designed for and defined by our relationships," former pastors Plass and Cofield write. "We were born with a relentless longing to participate in the lives of others. Fundamentally, we are relational souls."Our ability to make deep and emotionally satisfying connections rests on the capacity to trust, and we all know trust can be difficult. Early-life relational "programming" and patterns of attachment can serve as blueprints for relationships later in life, whether good or bad. But no matter our conditioning, God is out to reclaim and restructure the deepest terrain of the human soul by helping us shed our reactive "False Self" and put on our receptive "True Self." Through spiritual disciplines and a conscious participation in the love of the Father, Son and Spirit, we transform our self-awareness and our connection with other people.Authored by counselor Dr. Richard Plass and spiritual director James Cofield, The Relational Soul brings together concepts from psychology and spiritual formation. Each chapter includes introductory stories and practical "If this is true, what about you?" questions to help readers engage in relationships in more life-giving ways. When the presence of Christ and community connects with a soul that is open, we witness the miracle of transformation.
“"You are holding in your hands more than a book. Richard Plass and James Cofield have given us a roadmap to help us find the way to each other and to the heart of God. Beautifully written, masterfully developed and applicable for those who want true community but have not tasted it yet, this book helps us find our way to each other in an age of isolation, loneliness and existence in silos where we survive but we do not thrive. Here's to thriving!"”
-- Stephen W. Smith, Potter's Inn Ministry, author of The Lazarus Life"What a joy to read this distillation of the union of two lifetimes of journeying with Christ into greater communion with God and others. Whether we are aware of it or not, we spend the early phase of our adulthood seeking to conform our worlds to the template of our earliest attachments and the self we became in those relationships. Rich and Jim have engagingly described how relational renewal in Christ can change that template, as we learn how to trust him to make us the kind of people who can receive it."
-- Eric L. Johnson, Professor of Pastoral Care, The Southern Baptist Theological SeminaryDr. Richard Plass is president of CrossPoint Ministry in Jeffersonville, Indiana, a ministry designed to cultivate spiritual formation in the lives of leaders. After serving in pastoral ministry for twenty-five years, he obtained a PhD from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in counseling.
James Cofield is codirector of CrossPoint Ministry. He holds a ThM from Dallas Theological Seminary and taught communications at Tennessee Temple University and Greek at Dallas Theological Seminary. Jim served as a church planter and pastor for over fifteen years before joining CrossPoint, where he offers spiritual direction and retreat leadership.
What does loneliness tell us?"Be it chronic or acute, slight or significant, loneliness is proof of our relational design. At the core of our being is this truth--we are designed for and defined by our relationships," former pastors Plass and Cofield write. "We were born with a relentless longing to participate in the lives of others. Fundamentally, we are relational souls."Our ability to make deep and emotionally satisfying connections rests on the capacity to trust, and we all know trust can be difficult. Early-life relational "programming" and patterns of attachment can serve as blueprints for relationships later in life, whether good or bad. But no matter our conditioning, God is out to reclaim and restructure the deepest terrain of the human soul by helping us shed our reactive "False Self" and put on our receptive "True Self." Through spiritual disciplines and a conscious participation in the love of the Father, Son and Spirit, we transform our self-awareness and our connection with other people.Authored by counselor Dr. Richard Plass and spiritual director James Cofield, The Relational Soul brings together concepts from psychology and spiritual formation. Each chapter includes introductory stories and practical "If this is true, what about you?" questions to help readers engage in relationships in more life-giving ways. When the presence of Christ and community connects with a soul that is open, we witness the miracle of transformation.
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