Dynamics of Spiritual Life [Paperback]

Richard F. Lovelace (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 13, 1979

Richard Lovelace gives a history of spiritual renewals in light of biblical models. Isolating the elements of live orthodoxy, he proposes a comprehensive approach to renewal. Lovelace looks at such practical issues as renewal of the local congregation, the ways revivals go wrong, the evangelical thrust toward church unity, and Christian approaches to the arts and to social concern. A book for all concerned to revitalize the church.

Product Details

• Paperback: 455 pages
• Publisher: IVP Academic (July 13, 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087784626X
• ISBN-13: 978-0877846260
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #86,912 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you, Richard Lovelace, February 8, 2002

By 

Wayland Wong (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dynamics of Spiritual Life (Paperback)

In Dynamics of Spiritual Life, Lovelace gives a scholarly, yet non-technical, analysis of the elements of revival (which Lovelace correctly dubs normal "spiritual life"). The book looks at scriptural principles, examines past revivals, and establishes a theologically sound model for implementing the lessons learned from the scriptures & the wisdom of the past. Drawing much upon Jonathan Edwards, Lovelace proposes that the elements of revival are: conviction of sin, deep understanding of justification, movement of the Spirit, prayer, community, missions, & social compassion.

Richard Lovelace is an under-recognized great Christian thinker. This volume is scholarly, insightful, and surprisingly devotional. The principles are applied and oft quoted by Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian in New York. Redeemer has grown and planted about a dozen churches over the last decade. I consider this a must read for anyone who wants to understand how God works radically in normal "spiritual life."

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A spiritually rejuvenating book, July 25, 2006

By 

Donner C. S. Tan (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dynamics of Spiritual Life (Paperback)

This book has a riveting spell on me since I first read it a decade ago and has continued to shape the fundamental landscape of my understanding of theology and spirituality ever since. He traces his conversion from atheism to his reading of Thomas Merton's Seven Storey Mountain, that led him to a journey of spiritual inquiry, where he met Christians of different shades and backgrounds. It was however the Reformed tradition/Puritans that had the most profound impact on him and opened him up to the transforming power of the gospel.

He sees a missing link between justification and sanctification among many believers which he dubs the 'sanctification gap'. He sees how it is possible to have confessed Christ, continue a life of religiosity and remain spiritually dead. In fact, either an encounter with the grace of God without an ensuing commitment to sanctification or an exposure to the righteous demands of God's law without a concomitant experience of his grace can lead to aberrant forms of the Christian life. He offers a way forward by explicating how justification and sanctification are brought together conceptually and in practice.

Presenting his understanding from the Reformed perspective, he outlines the fundamental core of the gospel message that can truly set us on a vibrant course of growth and renewal. This includes depth conception of sin, and encounter with the life-transforming grace of God, justification as well as sanctification by faith, an experience of God's complete acceptance of us through the righteous achievements of Christ, claiming our authority through Christ's defeat over the diabolic, prayer and complete reliance on the Spirit, disenculturation (freedom from cultural binds)of our faith and theological integration.

He includes some additional musings on music, eschatology, live orthodoxy and Christian social concern, each of which is inspiring and thought provoking. I have found the book to be beautiful and succint in its expression and spiritually and theologically challenging. He has written a simpler version of this book with discussion questions more recently for the benefit of some who found this original work less accessible but I have found that it is nothing like reading and drinking in again and again Lovelace's very fine book 'Dynamics of Spiritual Renewal' in all its depth and beauty.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Chip's Top Ten (wordsntone.com), September 10, 2005

By 

Stephen M. Anderson (Bridgeport, CT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dynamics of Spiritual Life (Paperback)

This book was one of the first to reveal that my sanctification is part of a larger, grander scheme than my private, personal spirituality. Dynamics reaches back into Church history and outlines the spirit's work through men and events, culminating in a premise for renewal that is bigger than "I." This book is both history and spiritual journey, with a framework of theological reflection similar to the book of Acts mixed in. A book like this needs to be re-read in this generation of church-growth gurus and mega-church ideology.