From Publishers Weekly
Bridges, author of such classics as The Pursuit of Holiness and The Practice of Godliness, explains in the preface here, "The editorial team at NavPress thought I had addressed key principles of spiritual growth in previous writings, but that they were scattered among eight different books." Bridges revises and blends these strands into what he aptly describes as "Christian Growth 101." Everything here is quite familiar to those schooled in an evangelical understanding of Christian experience and theology. He strongly emphasizes the subtle but crucial difference between disciplined Christian growth and trying to work one's way into heaven, as well as the difference between being saved by grace and being free to eschew holiness. Interwoven in these explanations are accessibly articulated bits of conservative evangelical theology and Bible exposition, as well as practical ideas for the believer who wants to grow. Except for a brief discussion of controversy among evangelicals about what Paul means when he says Christians have "died to sin," Bridges steers clear of contention. He writes that his book "assumes that those who read it want to grow. There are some people who for one reason or another don't seem to want to grow, and that's a different story." These are perhaps the harshest words in this gentle book; while those who do not subscribe to Bridges's notion of Christian growth won't find much of use here, new evangelicals, as well as believers who want a refresher course, will not be disappointed.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Bible teacher Bridges is the author of numerous evangelical best-sellers, which is important to know up front, for unless one is a staunch evangelical Christian, this book, largely adapted from Bridges' earlier work (two chapters are new), may not be of much interest. Bridges himself makes no bones about that, accurately characterizing the book as "Christian Growth 101"--in essence, a basic instruction manual of spiritual growth for Christian believers. It doesn't try to convert anyone but does preach to the choir. The biggest chunk of the book is devoted to the means of spiritual growth, and here Bridges discusses the spiritual disciplines necessary to achieve this admittedly difficult goal. At the same time, he admits there will always be continual tension between one's desires to do good and one's actual performance. Bridges is a formidable taskmaster, and if you are a believing Christian, serious about your faith, and wish to learn how to best apply the Bible to all aspects of daily living, then
Growing Your Faith will be a most helpful guide.
June SawyersCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
