Inwardly Digest: The Prayer Book as Guide to a Spiritual Life Paperback – September 1, 2016

I highly recommend this book for all Episcopalians (and anyone else who is interested in using the Book of Common Prayer as a resource for prayer). INWARDLY DIGEST not only guides one through the intricacies of the Book of Common Prayer, but it does so in a deeply spiritual manner. There are so many insights that will enhance the way you approach your prayer life. The author has a clear and practical understanding of not only the purpose of the BCP, but of the state of the soul and how to utilize deeply grounded spiritual practices in a way that enhances the use of the BCP. INWARDLY DIGEST is a valuable book you will want to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest, not only for yourself, but even more so in a study group where you can discuss and implement the content by sharing your thoughts with one another without rushing. You will learn a lot about the Book of Common Prayer from this book, but even more important, It will deepen your prayer life! I know I used some form of the word "deep" at least 3 times. That simply means "very enriching." But deep expresses it best! I have been an Episcopal priest for over 3 decades and this is the best resource for the BCP I've come across because it provides for the state of the soul as well as the mind.

I recommend this book highly! It is accessible and so informative. The author is a good teacher, helping me learn about parts of episcopal worship and tradition that I just didn’t know about before. But again, it’s written in a very approachable way. I have recommended it to others and they have enjoyed it as well. It would make a great book group text for a church.

Good explanation of the basic liturgies of the Episcopal church. Enriches one’s worship. Can be used as a study guide for a lecture series.

As an early reader of Derek's blog, I thoroughly enjoyed _Inwardly Digest_ and am pleased to see him becoming one of the preeminent voices for liturgical renewal in our church. Most importantly, he argues for the Prayer Book as a doctrinal center and tool for spiritual discipline, NOT as a hook on which to hang his preferred aesthetic for worship. Parishes and individuals centering on the Prayer Book can look as different as humanly possible -- but in Derek's telling, they will be accomplishing incredible things from the perspective of catechesis, spirituality, and community no matter the aesthetic choices, Rite I vs Rite II, high church or low, etc.I would particularly love to see a further revival of the Daily Office along the lines Derek lays out here. His treatment of the Office is admirable in its flexibility and sensitivity to real-world concerns. He is not arguing that all Episcopalians should pray like monastics. Instead, he offers a deep discussion of what each element of the Prayer Book Office can provide, with frequent asides about where our liturgies fit beside other Christian traditions.Highly recommended, for liturgy nerds and the newly initiated alike!

Derek Olsen's beautifully written, wonderfully accessible, and theologically astute guide to the Book of Common Prayer takes its rightful place on my bookshelf next to Hatchett's "A Commentary on the American Prayer Book," and Mitchell's "Praying Shapes Believing." I've been an Episcopalian all my life, and even as a priest, I fall victim to the trap of thinking the Prayer Book is a book of services primarily used on Sunday. Where Olsen leads us, however, is into the somewhat embassassingly obvious waters of looking at the Prayer Book as a tool, a program, a guide for spiritual growth and spiritual development. His writing is witty, smart, clear, and fun to read. Episcopalians and non-Episcopalians alike will get a lot out of this book. If you know someone looking for more in their life, someone who has expressed an interest or desire to know God and be known by God, get them a copy of the Book of Common Prayer and this book.

The 1979 Episcopal Book of Common Prayer is a powerful tool for rooting and grounding individuals and communities in the Body of Christ but is rarely recognized as such. Here, Derek Olsen provides a detailed introduction to the 1979 BCP as a personal training guide for our souls. There is a great deal of theological depth to this book, but I suspect that a non-theologically astute reader will get great benefit from it.Marion Hatchett's Commentary on the 1979 BCP tells you where the book comes from. Olsen's book is its logical companion. It tells you how and why to use it.The audience I most recommend this book to is those who are in charge of confirmation classes, catechizing teenagers, or parenting children. Kids want to know why we do what we do. Teenagers want to know that Christianity is something of depth and interest with real impact on their everyday lives. This book will help parents, teachers, and catechists explain why. (But don't give it to them as homework. Read it with them or to them.)

This is the best book about a book I have ever read. Olsen offers a fresh perspective on the Prayer Book that I found enlightening and surprising upon every turn of the page. Honestly, I was hesitant to read this book, because I've studied the prayer book on an academic level (MAR in Liturgics/Anglican Theology) and have used it in a very wide variety of settings as a priest for years. I'm glad i took the plunge, or, to follow the book's recurrent analogy, I'm glad I went on this run. Side note: this book is also a great primer for how endurance sports (running and cycling) can inform our spirituality and visa-versa. I plan to revisit this book whenever I sense my prayer book based worship growing dull.

I was nodding along with Olsen as he went through the structure of the BCP, the church year, the offices. But when he broke down the structure of a collect, it was pretty much world-shifting. I'm starting to look at prayers I've heard my entire life in an entirely new way.Rarely do I read a book and think how nice it would be to read it with other people. This book just begs to be used as a study guide by every Episcopalian that can get his/her hands on it.