A Man's Guide to the Spiritual Disciplines: 12 Habits to Strengthen Your Walk With Christ [Hardcover]

Patrick Morley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2007

For every ten men in church, nine will

have children who leave the church.

Eight will fi nd their jobs unsatisfying.

Six will pay only the monthly minimum

on their credit cards. Five will have a

major problem with pornography. Four

will get divorced (affecting one million

children per year). Only one will have a

biblical worldview. All ten will wrestle

to balance work and family. The issues

facing men today require solutions

beyond just regular church attendance.

It takes discipline and determination to

keep faith strong. This book will give

men the tools they need to refl ect Christ

in all aspects of their lives.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Spiritual disciplines are to the believer what medical school is to the doctor.

 

A man came up to me at a conference where I was speaking and said, “Pat, do me a favor. Tell me how to be good. I already know how bad I am.”

 

That statement captures the intent of this book – and the purpose of the spiritual disciplines. Spiritual strength, like surgical skill or athletic excellence, requires training and practice. To become the kind of man who walks with God and wields Christ’s influence in your world, you’ll want to begin a consistent regimen of spiritual exercises.

 

In A Man’s Guide to the Spiritual Disciplines, Patrick Morley highlights twelve habits that will strengthen your walk with Christ, including:

 

-- Experiencing God in creation

-- Letting the Bible change your life

-- Learning the power of prayer

-- Grasping God’s greatness through worship

-- Gaining strength through Sabbath

-- Thriving because of fellowship

-- Succeeding through wise counsel

-- And more . . .

 

By presenting each discipline with a concise overview, several examples, and application ideas to get you going, this powerful guidebook will help you develop the maturity every man of God was designed to reflect.

About the Author

PATRICK MORLEY’s bestselling The Man in the Mirror was selected as one of the 100 Christian books that changed the twentieth century. After building one of Florida’s 100 largest privately held companies, in 1991 he founded Man in the Mirror, a non-profit organization to help men find meaning and purpose in life. He is the author of eleven books. Pat and his wife Patsy have two grown children.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Moody Publishers (February 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802475515
• ISBN-13: 978-0802475510
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #68,125 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

"Dr. Patrick Morley is arguably the world's expert on what makes men tick," Leary Gates, President of the National Coalition of Ministries to Men.
*****
Hi, this is Pat. I invite you to read my devotional posts at www.facebook.com/PatrickMorleyAuthor & follow me @patrickmorley. Here's a little of my background:

I started my career in the highly competitive world of real estate development. In 1986, I started teaching The Man in the Mirror Bible Study which, for the most part, was me sharing my struggles and what the Bible said about them. It resonated with the men. Today we have 5,000 men in the Bible study.

The book The Man in the Mirror was born there. After a VERY slow start, the book went on to help over 3,300,000 men take a deeper look at their lives. It has won some awards and was selected as one of the 100 Christian books that changed the twentieth century. To God be the glory.

Since then I've written a total of 18 books. Frankly, I'm a one trick pony, and men's discipleship is my trick. Even the books I've written for couples have the men in mind. I'm a pretty tireless advocate for men.

You can read the "official bio" at http://www.maninthemirror.org/personalities/patrick-morley-ceo-chairman (or www.tinyurl.com/Morleybio), but I wanted to do a handshake and thank you for considering how my books can help you and the men around you lead a deeper, richer life of meaning and purpose in Christ.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For normal guys - If you've ever been overwhelmed by the spiritual disciplines, or just don't know where to start, April 23, 2008

By 

Brett Clemmer "a Proverbial iron-man" (Orlando,FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Man's Guide to the Spiritual Disciplines: 12 Habits to Strengthen Your Walk With Christ (Hardcover)

One of the hardest things a man faces when he walks in the church for the first time, or the first time in a long time, is the way everyone walks around using vocabulary he doesn't get, using words that mean different things outside the church than inside the church, and acting like everyone knows what they're talking about. No topic is perhaps more discussed but less understood by the average guy - not Joe SuperChristian, but a regular guy - than the area of spiritual disciplines.

This book is quite simply the best introduction to the spiritual disciplines I've read. My initial reaction was that it was a little broad and not too deep. But then I realized that's the genius of it! It's not so deep that you can never finish it. I've talked to plenty of guys that have started books on spiritual disciplines and never finished them. You will finish this book. It will give you a great "first step" towards deepening your relationship with God.

In addition, it's written specifically to men. It's not all touchy and feely, nor is it overly academic. It talks about areas of a man's life that he might not have ever thought of having to do with spiritual disciplines.

After you've read this and the regular practice of paying attention to God becomes a part of your life, you might very well want to read Bridges or Whitney.

So who should read this book? Anyone who is:
- mystified by all the "spiritual disciplines" vocabulary
- tried and failed to to "do" spiritual disciplines
- frustrated that they don't "get" spiritual disciplines
- a disciplemaker interested in helping other guys begin to build a life that is centered on God and what His will is
- a regular guy who wants to give more of his life over to God's direction

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Good Start, but not Deep Enough, October 31, 2008

By 

Scandalous Sanity (Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A Man's Guide to the Spiritual Disciplines: 12 Habits to Strengthen Your Walk With Christ (Hardcover)

A Man's Guide to the Spiritual Disciplines is Patrick Morley's discourse on the spiritual disciplines for men. Morley is most famous for The Man in the Mirror, and other titles of similar names. He is the CEO of his own business, and helps men reach their full potential. At least that's what the dust jacket says.

The book is surprisingly shallow, and is more like a list of the spiritual disciplines. Morley doesn't really get deep into a relationship with God. He merely gives some practices that men should adhere to just because they're good things to do.

I also got the feeling that some of the disciplines he described were made up just to stretch the book to 12 chapters. This book doesn't really do anything wrong; it just doesn't do much right, either. It would probably be a great book for any new Christian who's trying to get a handle on what their faith should look like. But anyone interested in deeper reading should look elsewhere.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book for personal reading or small group studies, October 19, 2009

By 

tapdogg17 (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Man's Guide to the Spiritual Disciplines: 12 Habits to Strengthen Your Walk With Christ (Hardcover)

This book is fantastic! I read it on my own, and then as part of a mens small group Bible study. Both times it was incredibly helpful and enjoyable. This book just makes sense, and gets you to think about these disciplines as necessary steps without talking down or getting preachy. Reading a new chapter each week helped give me a new focus for the week, and before moving on to the new week, I had already established a new habit. Would recommend or gift this book to any man!