Celebration of Discipline

A year or two ago I heard that two or three people in our church were reading through a book called Celebration of Discipline. I did a bit of research and found many comments that spurred me on buy this book and study it myself. It is interesting that a book written in the 70s by someone from a Quaker background should resonate so well will so many different groups of Christians today. Some might be critical of what is sometimes referred to as his ‘mystical’ approach. However, I would say that Richard Foster appears to have a grasp of hearing God and being in tune with the Holy Spirit that Christians whatever their background can find beneficial. Recently I have been reading through this classic discussion of spiritual disciplines again and each time I do so I feel uplifted.

Richard Foster takes twelve different practices and outlines how putting effort into them can help us grow spiritually. He classifies them as the inward disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting and study, the outward disciples of simplicity, solitude, submission and service, the corporate disciplines of confession, worship, guidance and celebration.

I find this book stimulating, inspiring and encouraging. At first the title made me fear that it would make me feel undisciplined and lacking in these areas. But as I began to read I didn’t find that at all. Richard Foster has such a gracious way of expressing even the most challenging ideas. If anything it was encouraging to see that so many things that I do already such as study and solitude can be seen as spiritual disciplines. It also articulates some of the things that I feel strongly about very clearly. I’ve never been someone to spend frivolously so I found that I resonated a lot with what Foster calls simplicity. In no way does this book make me feel that I should to be excelling at all of the disciplines. Instead I feel that what Richard Foster does is outline ideas for each one these that sometimes affirm my experiences and other times make me want to try to develop some of these further.

I love the way each discipline is elaborated giving interesting insights into its other possible aspects. For instance in meditation he talks about meditating on current affairs seeking God for insight, as well as giving practical exercises. I love his ideas for study that include the study of nature and the study of people. There is a good range of ideas on each discipline some much easier to do than others, for instance, he talks about partial fasts from different things as well as prolonged total fasts.

Richard Foster is also careful to point out pitfalls and cautions with the disciplines such as falling into legalism and is very practical about how to do them. He has some good physical advice on how to fast for instance and is clear that corporate disciplines such submission are very open to abuse but he still feels that they are important to explore. He gives very practical stories that show how the disciplines have been used and developed.

I found the structure of the book really helpful. The questions at the end of each chapter helped me in reading in the book. Although some of them are simply factual he also enabled me to think about his points by asking for reaction and even disagreement with his points. The way he clearly enumerates his points also adds to clarity and quick reading of the book. He is perhaps a little more formal and stilted than we are used to in Christian writing today but I could easily cope with that.

There are many copies of this book around that can be picked up very cheaply. So even if you’re not sure about it I would really recommend anyone having a look at this book.

Three Favourite Spring Harvest Talks

Talks from this year’s Spring Harvest and are available on CD from Essential Christian. This year we went there as a family. Of the talks that I heard these are my three favourites.

Paul in Athens - Russ Parker
Russ Parker author of Healing Dreams and Healing Wounded History talks about the importance of contextualising the Gospel. He shows from Paul’s awareness of the culture in Athens that evangelism does not begin with proclamation but with listening. Russ also tells stories of how God has spoken to him and how he has been prompted by the Holy Spirit to make public apologies both to Muslims for the Crusades and to Catholics in Northern Ireland. Interesting stuff.

Growing - Mark Knight and Russell Rook
Practicing spiritual disciplines is what enables us to grow in God. These are not just Bible reading and prayer – there is a long list. But resolving to improve all of them by next week is impractical. Mark Knight and Russell Rook point out that different churches have different emphases and there is a tendency to judge others, and ourselves, on progress in the disciplines that are popular in our own church. Instead we are encouraged to find out about other disciplines from different Christian traditions. We can then, starting with what suits us best, take one discipline, work on it until it becomes part of our life’s rhythm and then move on to the next. They make it sound so simple.

Go - Phil Wall
Just before Jesus gives the Great Commission in Matthew 28 we read that some doubted. Phil Wall points out the difference between this doubt and what James talks about as 'being pushed around with every idea'. Phil talks about how we can still have plenty to discuss about our faith even we are unsure about some things. In evangelism we should not pretend that we have it all sorted. We need to be able admit that we have not quite got some things yet. People will respect these honest authentic questions. So even with our doubts let us go and talk to people about Jesus.

Spiritual Formation and Mission – Part 3

At last here is the long awaited third part of my treatise on evangelism.

I think a very important aspect of my spiritual formation is reading and meditating on the scriptures and sharing my thoughts on these with others. The Bible is my spiritual food so why do I starve myself by avoiding reading it or thinking about it's implications on my life? It is not just reading and re-reading the Bible that is important but understanding what it means to me so that I can apply it to my life. Over the past year once a month in the small groups we have been discussing how what we are learning as a church can be applied to our lives. One theme that keeps coming out in our group is that it is important to take the next step and discuss these issues with those who do not share our experience. A scary thought. Yet passages such as Luke 10 remind us that God sends us out into the world on a mission and though we sometimes feel he is distant actually he is always present. Our security stems from God’s parental care for us. He gives us a secure base from which to venture into the world and initiate such discussions. Often we are afraid to make these true two way discussions. The world has plenty to learn from us and God’s presence with us means that we can learn what is good from anyone as God will lead us into all truth.

But of course sometimes it can be difficult to have meaningful discussions with people unless we have some form of relationship with them. It is very easy to be an inward looking group and just relate with other Christians. In my teaching on the psychology of relationships I point out that there are two important factors in who we tend to relate to. We tend to form relationships with those that are similar to us and think the same as us. And we tend to form relationships with those who we perceive to have desirable characteristics. I think that this is very relevant to Christians. Our teaching often implies that those outside the faith are different and offer nothing except to fulfil our need for evangelism and could even lead us astray. So it is no wonder that we tend not to develop genuine relationships with them. And that we don't see them as equals with whom we can have an honest two way discussion when it comes to talking about spiritual matters. If we cannot even cross this divide how are we ever going to reach those that differ from us in other ways such as in culture, sexuality and class? Perhaps it is time that Christians learn the true meaning of agape, caring for, having fellowship with, facing up to and having spiritual discussions with people that are outside the church just as we do with people in the church.

Any thoughts?

Spiritual Formation and Mission – Part 2

I am struck by the verse where Jesus pointed out that we are to love the LORD with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). I am to love God with everything I’ve got: my emotions, my thought life, my behaviour, my body, everything. Spiritual formation touches every part of me including those parts of my life that are on display to others. This is a normal response to such an amazing God that will appear abnormal to those who do not perceive him. God transforms me from someone who is controlled by his appetites and by guilt. He rewards me. He disciplines me. He shapes my behaviour and my thinking to be more like his own. He heals my body and my emotions. He encourages me when I am discouraged. He gives me the confidence to take risks again when I fail. He restores my sanity. He enables me to overcome my anxiety. I sometimes wonder what people who do not have this experience of God make of all this?

I cannot say that I have endured the trials and tribulations of suffering or persecution that some have. But sometimes in the pressures of everyday life as a teacher and a parent I have felt crushed. Yet somehow I have managed to cope. It is these uncertain situations that God often uses to develop me spiritually. And he does this in my workplace and neighbourhood in front of other people. One thing that I am learning is the way of shalom – the way of peace – the way of non-aggression. I still shout at people sometimes but God is showing me how to live at peace with all people slowly I think I am learning how to overcome my own natural tendencies to assert myself aggressively. God has had to teach me to unlearn some lessons I have learnt in life, to be different from the crowd and not to give in to the pressures around me. I hope that I am getting there. I hope that I am beginning to see how to be the man that he has intended me to be with my friends.

Yes, of course talking to our friends about God is vital too. I’ll discuss that next week.

Spiritual Formation and Mission – Part 1

'Spiritual Formation' and 'Mission' are a couple of terms that I have been thinking about recently and I am beginning to see how they are related. Spiritual formation is a term that is becoming increasingly popular in Christian circles and has always been an important aspect of Christian discipleship. It refers to how we develop spiritually whether for good or for bad. God wants us to develop for good and for Christ to be formed within us (Galatians 4:19). But influences from the world around us may be forming our spirits in different ways. Romans 12:2 says that we can overcome being conformed in this way by the renewing of our mind and so be transformed into God’s image. This refers to the whole of our life and behaviour. Worship, prayer, meditation, Bible study and fellowship all help this process yet ultimately spiritual formation is the work of the Holy Spirit.

Spiritual formation is not just an individual process but also as a corporate one. I am fortunate to be part of a church that is really a simple organic group of believers attempting to organise ourselves on New Testament principles. I have to remind myself that what we have as a church is very precious. Today groups like ours are flourishing even though the traditional church in the West appears to be waning. But there is still ground for us to take. For too long we have lacked an emphasis of interacting with our world and our culture. As Christians this is our mission on the earth today. I think that during the twentieth century the Western Church in an attempt to ‘not be conformed’ has withdrawn from the world and so we have neglected our mandate to transform those around us. This is a trend that needs to be reversed. The conclusion that I am coming to is that discussing spiritual issues with those who do not necessarily agree with our world view is a much neglected aspect of our spiritual growth as Christians.

To be continued…