Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
EVERY BOOK IS A COMMUNITY EFFORT. We are especially grateful to our students over the years who were the original recipients of this material. Their interaction with key figures and core ideas helped clarify our own thinking.
We are also indebted to many who helped in the preparation of the manuscript. Brad Sydow served for twelve years as Gayle’s assistant at two different institutions and has played a key role in this entire work. He has read the manuscript multiple times and offered many helpful suggestions and insights. He also played a central role in the preparation of the “Christian Women and Spirituality” and “Contribution of the Eastern Orthodox Church” appendixes as he has spent the past several years exploring this latter trajectory of the Christian faith.
Andrew Winckles and Jeremy Norwood served two different periods as research assistants, tracking down obscure articles and finding key texts. Jeremy is now a professor in his own right and Andrew is preparing to become one. Thanks, guys.
Damon Seacott of Spring Arbor University and Nancy Town of Westmont College have provided able assistance throughout this entire project. The encouragement of Carolynn Foster throughout has been exceedingly helpful. Special thanks to Chris Simpson, who read the entire manuscript and made valuable comments. Cindy Bunch, senior editor at InterVarsity Press, has supported this effort throughout. We thank her.
Finally, there is no better supportive critic than Gayle’s wife, Pam. She carries a long-running interest in the practice of the disciplines and especially our life of prayer, and she has read every chapter as we have prepared it. She is the educated layperson who has often said, “Help me know why I should care about these individuals; make me want to read them for myself.” We trust her prodding will bear fruit in your reading habits . . . and your life.