Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth [Hardcover]

Richard J. Foster (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When Richard Foster began writing Celebration of Discipline more than 20 years ago, an older writer gave him a bit of advice: "Be sure that every chapter forces the reader into the next chapter." Foster took the advice to heart; as a result, his book presents one of the most compelling and readable visions of Christian spirituality published in the past few decades. After beginning with a simple observation--"Superficiality is the curse of our age.... The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people"--Foster's book moves to explain the disciplines people must cultivate in order to achieve spiritual depth. In succinct, urgent, and sometimes humorous chapters, Foster defines a broad range of classic spiritual disciplines in terms that are lucid without being too limiting and offers advice that's practical without being overly prescriptive. For instance, after describing meditation as a combination of "intense intimacy and awful reverence," he settles into such down-to-earth topics as how to choose a place and a posture in which to meditate.

Perhaps most interesting and useful is Foster's chapter on the controversial Christian discipline of submission. According to Foster, submission does not demand self-hatred or loss of identity. Instead, it simply means growing secure in the conviction that "our happiness is not dependent on getting what we want" but on the fulfillment that naturally flows from love of one's neighbors. Such wise and encouraging suggestions have helped many readers to discard the idea that discipline is an onerous duty and to move toward a liberating and simpler idea of discipline--whose defining character, as Foster never forgets, is joy. --Michael Joseph Gross

Review

"Celebration of Discipline has quietly asserted itself in the lives of multitudes around the globe, and has taken its place as a guide to the uplands of the spiritual life for the late twentieth century. Everywhere I go I meet those whose lives have been changed by encountering it. It places us on the path of life with those who have succeeded in walking with Jesus in every circumstance and shows us accessible patterns of action through which interaction with his Kingdom is assured to us. This is the secret of its power. If you wish to know in your self the reality of the gracious life of God seen in the Bible, you may find no better counselor than Richard Foster." -- Dallas Willard, author of The Spirit of the Disciplines and The Divine Conspiracy

"Celebration of Discipline won me when it was first published. If everybody in this country could read--and heed--this book, what a difference it would make to the planet; nay, to the cosmos." -- Madeleine L'Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time and The Crosswicks Journals

"Foster has challenged us to see Christian faith … as a life of spiritual transformation." -- Brian D. McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christian

"Foster has taught me more about prayer and living faithfully than just about any other living author." -- Lauren Winner, author of Girl Meets God

"If everybody in the country could read—and heed—this book, what a difference it would make to the planet." -- Madeleine L'Engle

"Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all his brothers and sisters to share the find, Richard J. Foster has 'found' the spiritual disciplines that the modern world stored away and forgot, and has excitedly called us to celebrate them. For they are, as he shows us, the instruments of joy, the way into mature Christian spirituality and abundant life." -- Eugene H. Peterson, author of Leap Over a Wall

"Richard Foster has given us a rare gift. . . The celebration of each discipline in this book hands us a tool that can be useful in helping us to integrate our inner and outer lives." -- Macrina Wiederkehr, O.S.B., author of A Tree Full of Angels

"The best modern book on Christian spirituality. . . No other book apart from the Bible has been so helpful to me in the nurturing of my inward journey of prayer and spiritual growth." -- Ronald J. Sider, executive director, Evangelicals for Social Action

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 228 pages
• Publisher: HarperSanFrancisco; 3rd edition (October 5, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060628391
• ISBN-13: 978-0060628390
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (157 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #881 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

  #23 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Christian Living
  #4 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Spirituality > Inspirational

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

234 of 255 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Let's recognize the danger here..., August 1, 2003

By	H. David Peirce "Zossima" (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth (Hardcover)

This is a Christian classic. Foster has written a comprehensive guide to spiritual disciplines. It is deep, yet accessible. Most of the reviews here agree with that.

I've read this book 5 times in 8 years. I've been in churches where multiple people were reading it at the same time. I've been in small groups where everyone read it together. I've seen mature Christians read it. I've seen new Christians read it. And I've concluded that THIS BOOK CAN BE DANGEROUS.

The reason I say that is that even in the most non-legalistic churches I've ever seen, I've seen immature Christians stumble in part because they are overwhelmed by everything in this book. And when I say "stumble", I'm talking about people going back into severely addictive lifestyles. And the pressure they felt from feeling like they have to do all these disciplines contributed to that.

Unfortunately, it's easy for any of us to filter even the most well-intentioned, well-written book through our false self, that part of us that is performance- and fear-oriented. Spiritual disciplines do not change us; they open our hearts to the change that the Spirit of God wants to bring.

Again, I think this is a phenomenal book. But lest we feed our heads instead of our hearts and lest we frustrate ourselves with a standard of righteousness that Foster never intended, I'd like to humbly, humbly suggest some things:
* I personally recommend that people start with Henri Nouwen's "Way of the Heart" for a primer on spiritual discipline. It is just much simpler. The big stuff can come later. (Other books by Merton, Nouwen, Keating, etc., will work just as well.)

* Get a spiritual director--I'm not talking about a pastoral counselor, though it may be a pastor; I'm talking about a spiritually mature guide who is only interested in your spiritual development, not your money or your time.

* Read this book with other people who can provide feedback to you on how they see you responding.

* Keep it simple: Pray, pray, pray; trust the Lord to guide your heart into other disciplines. Attempt other disciplines when your motivation is to honor God and mortify your flesh, not when it is to "get something", even if that "something" is spiritual maturity.

64 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Scriptural Keys to Living a Devout and Holy Life, January 23, 2001

By	Cameron B. Clark (Bristow, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)

This review is from: Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth (Hardcover)

I first discovered "Celebration of Discipline" through Terry Glaspey's "Great Books of the Christian Tradition." Glaspey listed Foster's book as one of the top ten (cream-of-the-crop) books that every Christian ought to read and know. His opinion is obviously shared by many others as shown in Christianity Today's listing of "Celebration of Discipline" as one of the top twenty most influential books of the 20th century. Why is the book so influential? Because it gives Christians important and practical details regarding the scriptural key (self-discipline) to living a holy life which is the door to true liberty in all its facets. The 12 spiritual disciplines he expounds on, if faithfully practiced, will lead to inward and outward harmony (wholeness; holiness) with oneself as well as social harmony with others both within and without (as an evangelistic light) the corporate body of Christ. Four disciplines are allotted to each one of the spheres (inward, outward, and corporate) and valuable insights from the spiritual masters within Christian history are provided as supplements to the biblical foundation that grounds the book.

Another book that makes a nice companion to this one is Dallas Willard's "The Spirit of the Disciplines." Willard's book is highly recommended by Foster who considered it the book of the decade (1980s) and now considers Willard's new book "The Divine Conspiracy" as the one he has been searching for all his life because of its biblically comprehensive, holistic and practical nature. Both Foster and Willard value the deep, spiritual insights of the older Christian classics (including those penned by so-called Christian "mystics") as seen by their many references and quotes. Also, both authors have seen that the deep spirituality that underlies those classics flowed from a self-disciplined life. Those who think that God will progressively sanctify them apart from their obedient and disciplined life are sorely mistaken and, if they don't change their thinking and practices, are in for a rude awakening.

A few words regarding the spiritual discipline of meditation are in order. Meditation in general involves learning through practice to control one's thoughts and redirect one's attention for the purpose of sustained concentration on a given object (whether physical via the eyes or mental via the imagination or spirit). This is NOT always easy, especially at first, because our thoughts tend to be wild and bounce disjointedly from thought to thought in a stream of consciousness. This is one reason why vocal prayer (which IS easy) is important during private prayer times to aid in concentration. This is also important to understand in order to appreciate the purpose of repetition in, for example, Eastern Orthodox practice (read "The Way of a Pilgrim" and notice the anonymous author's use of the Jesus Prayer and its corresponding fruit in his life). This is NOT "vain" repetition, but repetition with an important, sacred goal! Having made this point, I appreciate Foster's emphasis on obedience. He stated that "Christian meditation, very simply, is the ability to hear God's voice and obey his word." Obedience is indeed integral to Christian meditation and holy living because the Christian purpose of such a discipline is to sensitize us to the Holy Spirit's "still, small" voice. I also appreciated Foster's balanced understanding of detachment and attachment. He stated: "The detachment from the confusion all around us is in order to have a richer attachment to God." Amen! I am glad to find myself in a growing company of Christians of various denominations who appreciate the importance of Foster's book and the greater importance of practicing the disciplines in order to live a "devout and holy life" (*) that is pleasing and acceptable to God. (* Also recommended: William Law's "A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life")

39 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A True Celebration, April 12, 2001

By	Mark Jones (Watkinsville, GA United States) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)

This review is from: Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth (Hardcover)

_Celebration of Discipline_ is one of the finest Christian books of our time. I read it as an "assignment" with a men's study group, and at first, was a bit ambivalent about this ethereal-sounding spiritual book from a Quaker. I began it reluctantly, but shortly realized that what I was reading was solid, no-holds barred steps towards maturity in Christ, through discipleship and productive living.

Foster speaks of the "inward disciplines" the "outward disciplines" and the "corporate disciplines" of the Christian life. As I flip through the book, I find myself in need of a tune-up.

It's that kind of book. It's one that you'll never master, but the joy is in the journey, and in following the Savior with the full passion of your heart. He's calling us to the life of Discipline and discipleship, not to a willy-nilly external Christianity. _Celebration_ is a breath of fresh air in an era of "easy believism" and cheap grace.

Foster has touched a generation of believers with this timeless classic.