The Spirit of the Disciplines
Understanding How God Changes Lives
Believers
long for personal purity and power to live as our hearts
tell us we should. But how does God change us?
To perform appropriately in the moment when you're "on
the spot" you must be preparing when you're "off
the spot." We understand this principle when we think
of great athletes or musicians, but rarely see it's application
in our own efforts to be a "good Christian." The
Spirit of the Disciplines presents a way of living that
enables ordinary men and women to join with God and realize
their highest aspirations of well-being and -doing. The
key to this self-transformation resides in the practice
of the spiritual disciplines. Readers will learn why the
disciplines work and how their practice affirms human life
to the fullest.
The
Spirit of the Disciplines places solitude and silence,
prayer, simple and sacrificial living, meditation upon God's
word and ways, and service to others at the heart of the
gospel. "We can increasingly resemble Christ in character
and in power by following him in his overall style of
life ... This was the method of his earliest disciples,
and it is as valid today as it was then." After all,
if Jesus regularly engaged in these activities, how
is it that we simple humans expect to get by without them?
To enter into the spirit and practice of the disciplines
is to move toward the authentic life of faith in Christ
and active participation in the Kingdom of God around us.
If it's your desire to become the kind of person who can
live in the fulness of the life God has for you, the observation
of the disciplines is your first step. It sounds challenging
and, besides, where will you find the time? But take note
of the word "easy" in the title of chapter one:
It really will be easy — once you get the hang of it.
The Spirit of the Disciplines is a thoughtful guide
to an enriched spiritual life, a book about how to live
as Christ lived, directed to those who hope to be his disciples
in deed as well as intention. It details why the disciplines
are essential to our deliverance from the concrete power
of sin, and outlines the ways that they can help each of
us achieve the blessings of the companionship of Christ.
275 pages, softcover from HarperCollins.
Table of Contents
Preface
Chapter 1: The Secret of the
Easy Yoke
Chapter 2: Making Theology of the Disciplines Practical
Chapter 3: Salvation Is a Life
Chapter 4: "Little Less Than a God"
Chapter 5: The Nature of Life
Chapter 6: Spiritual Life: The Body's Fulfillment
Chapter 7: St. Paul's Psychology of Redemption-The Example
Chapter 8: History and the Meaning of the Disciplines
Chapter 9: Some Main Disciplines for the Spiritual Life
Chapter 10: Is Poverty Spiritual?
Chapter 11: The Disciplines and the Power Structures of
This World
Epilogue
Appendix I: Jeremy Taylor's
Counsel on the Application of Rules for Holy Living
Appendix II: Discipleship: For
Super-Christians Only?
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