Clairvaux Manifesto: a personal odyssey of spirituality at work invites readers to discover the pioneering spirit of old-world abbeys of prayer and work. 

Through accounts of spirituality at work in his life, Kirk Bartha highlights the extraordinary things of God amidst the routine. This brings fresh perspective to history and provides insight for followers of Jesus today.  Clairvaux Manifesto can be translated “Clear Valley Clear Word.” This book is a clarion call to prayer and action.

A thousand years ago, war, heresy, overbearing poverty, and lack of basic education stunted spiritual, political, and economic development in Europe. Harsh weather, famines, and plagues crippled the continent even further. It was into such times that the Cistercian monk, Bernard of Clairvaux, was born.

Under Bernard`s leadership, the Cistercians provided circles of quiet within the clamor of evil. They didn’t just hide in their abbeys. They developed skilled trades and agriculture, provided education, opened hospices, maintained diplomacy, and participated in international banking. Entirely new systems grew and thrived around abbey granges—systems which helped Europe pull out of its darkest age

Bernard was one of the most influential voices in Christendom during his lifetime, shining a consistent quality of light into very dark times.  A millennium later, Bernard’s call is being raised again.

Through this book, you will:
-see God at work through serendipitous everyday events
-learn to listen more closely to God
-catch a global missional and marketplace perspective
-be moved to establish circles of quiet and abbeys of prayer & work