Also by this author: Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools: An Invitation to the Wonder and Mystery of Prayer
Published by Thomas Nelson on January 28, 2025
Genres: Non-Fiction, Christian Life, Theology
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Do you really know the Holy Spirit? And what does the answer mean for your faith?
In The Familiar Stranger, Tyler Staton draws on Scripture, tradition, and spiritual practices to help you step into a genuine relationship with the Holy Spirit and discover a fully alive spirituality.
For a generation searching desperately for an experiential spirituality, there's good the Holy Spirit's indwelling presence to empower and transform is freely available. Yet, confusion and unfamiliarity surround the Holy Spirit, leading too many Christians either to sideline him or misunderstand what he means for their spiritual lives.
In The Familiar Stranger, Staton reintroduces this oft-neglected person of the Trinity, tracing the story of the Holy Spirit as it unfolds throughout the Bible, and inviting believers to close the gap between what Scripture reveals about the Holy Spirit and their lived experience. Along the way, readers will
- dig into key biblical images and metaphors that reveal the Holy Spirit's nature, roles, and personality;
- learn about common misperceptions that keep believers and churches from experiencing the fullness of the Holy Spirit's power and presence;
- discover how the Spirit brings discernment and access to miraculous power to partner with God in the work he's doing in the world;
- reckon with the indispensable role of spiritual experience for walking with God; and
- understand how both Word and Spirit (too often separated in some church traditions) work together to draw people into a vibrant, intimate knowledge of God.The Familiar Stranger will challenge, inform, and encourage believers from every background to become more deeply acquainted with the Person and work of the Holy Spirit - and experience his transformative, life-giving power in their lives.
Tyler Staton explores who the Holy Spirit is, what the Bible teaches about this member of the Trinity, and how ordinary Christians can more fully experience the Spirit’s power and presence in their lives. Staton writes in a down-to-earth style that is clear and easy to understand, and the book’s organizational flow is easy to follow. This book centers on biblical teaching, and also includes personal stories from the author’s life, and from people he knows. These stories illustrate important concepts, and show readers what it can look like to seek the Spirit in all areas of life. In addition to this, each chapter concludes with practical action steps.
The first part of The Familiar Stranger: (Re)Introducing the Holy Spirit to Those in Search of an Experiential Spirituality explains who the Holy Spirit is, delving into the metaphors used in Scripture to represent the Spirit, and showing the Spirit’s role in creation, the Old Testament, Jesus’s life, the New Testament church, and the present. The second part of the book uses biblical stories to illustrate the pitfalls of treating spiritual experiences as “everything or nothing,” and the third part of the book explores the gifts of the Spirit that are less acknowledged or more controversial in many contemporary Christian churches.
Staton acknowledges that gifts such as discernment and prophecy carry risk, since people may abuse them, but he argues that we don’t suppress the gift of teaching just because some people misuse that gift. Staton encourages people to see beyond common denominational debates, and to engage with the Scriptural support for pursuing all forms of spiritual growth and gifts, instead of pitting the gifts of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit against each other.
All throughout the book, Staton also shows sensitivity to people who have baggage from unhealthy churches that have abused biblical teachings about signs and wonders. The chapter about the gift of healing is especially nuanced and careful, and it carries extra weight because of the author’s current battle with cancer. His vulnerable reflections about fighting cancer enrich the chapter about healing, and the one about the Spirit’s presence with us in the midst of suffering.
This book will be helpful for Christians who are new to learning about the Holy Spirit, and it can be clarifying and healing for people who are familiar with the concepts in this book, but who have baggage from bad church experiences or other lingering questions that make them feel uncertain about what to believe, or what those beliefs should look like in practice. The Familiar Stranger is a helpful guide to an often-neglected topic, and I appreciate the author’s sensitivity and clarity throughout.