 Has Led Many to Use and Celebrate the Spiritual Disciplines
Richard Foster has served the Church and Christians well by writing this book, "Celebration of Discipline." Modern Christians have so separated their head knowledge from their heart knowledge and behavior that our faith is weak. It's no wonder that many people are leaving the faith or that the behavior of Christians doesn't match what they say they believe. One of the things missing from the contemporary church is discipline, the will to follow God, and also the disciplines, the particular spiritual practices that help lead us to Christ and stay connected to Him.
"Celebration of Discipline" is largely responsible for Christians knowing about and taking the spiritual disciplines more seriously. The title itself is aptly named, for practicing the spiritual disciplines leads ultimately not to oppression but to joy. Foster presents 12 key spiritual disciplines which are grouped into 3 sections:
The Inward Disciplines - meditation, prayer, fasting, study
The Outward Disciplines - simplicity, solitude, submission, service
The Corporate Disciplines - confession, worship, guidance, celebration
In each chapter, Foster explains the nature of each of the disciplines, as well as giving some good advice about how to profitably practice each. He draws upon writers from many Christian traditions, and usually his advice is very good. If this book did nothing but introduce Christians to the spiritual disciplines and help them begin to practice them, then it is a work well worth reading and calling a classic.
It's not a book without its problems, however. Some of the negative reviews are wildly off the mark (Foster is not a Roman Catholic), and yet some of the negative criticism is justified. It seems contrary to the Incarnation and rather Gnostic to advise Christians, when preparing for meditation, to "allow your spiritual body, shining with light, to rise out of your physical body." While Foster does include "the corporate disciplines," it's too easy to get the idea from this book that Christianity is primarily an individual religion and relationship to God. He's separated the spiritual disciplines out of the only context in which they make sense: the Church, and not the solitary individual. Even in the chapter on "Celebration," which Foster includes as a corporate discipline, he fails to put celebration in the context of the Eucharist or "thanksgiving" of corporate worship.
In spite of these and other important limitations, this work has been of such value to the church that I give it 4 stars.
 Better than described
The book arrived in almost mint condition... better than the description in the ad.
Arrived in a very short time... excellent speed and excellent condition!!
Worth reading more than once
I'm not going to lie, it took me a little while to really get into this book. I was going to read it cover to cover, front to back. But I got bored, so I put it down. I took a new approach, reading the chapters that interested me most, first. And by doing that, the book went along much faster. There are topics and subjects covered in this book that many Christians don't talk about or completely ignore. It's definitely worth the read to go deeper into your Christian walk. Challenging and simple.
Celebrating the basics of the Christian walk
There are plenty of reviews about Richard Foster's book, The Celebration of Discipline. I thought I would just add my ten cents worth as I have taught a course using his book as our text for the last 15 years. I am always amazed by the response of the students. Most have grown up in the church or been involved in para church groups, but they say they have never considered the seriousness of the walk.
Foster's book challenges us to seriously face up to our Spiritual Walk. Are we going to get serious and practice the basic tenants of the faith? Or are we going to just become mediocre in our walk like so many Americans are doing?
If you are serious about growing in your faith this is a must read. If you are a very conservative Protestant as myself I do have one challenge for you, please don't ignore the section on Meditation. You might think Foster is off base, but I believe that many Christians today suffer from a great lack of Meditation in their lives. We as Americans have become so busy with going going going all the time that we fail to stop, relax, cleanse our minds of the tedium of the day and ask God to fill our thoughts with His thoughts. Please don't think this is become an Eastern Mysticism religion, it is not. Being a Christian Mystic is something that we in the Western Church have lost. Meditation is simply allowing God to sink the truths of the scripture you have read deeply into your life.
Enough said, if you aren't convinced that this book can help you just take a look at the Table of Contents and you will see that it is a great primer for the Christian walk.
God bless
Life Changing Book for a Christian
**FOR MATURE CHRISTIANS ONLY***
Wonderful book. Not for those still on milk. This is a meaty book. Not for the faint of heart or the those weak in faith. The first 3 chapters will revolutionize your walk with Christ. If you are ready to GROW GROW GROW. Read this book!
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