Rating: 
Summary: An essential book for the modern Christian
Review: The premise of this book is simple. A lack of discipline and spiritual training is a source of weakness and malaise in the church. We seek to act like Christ in a moment, but fail to build a lifestyle that supports such moments. Willard uses a simple example to explain this to us.We all see the hall of fame type baseball players (Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, etc) and how well they play the game. And we want to emulate them. So when we pray, we copy their rituals and techniques but without the same results they get. Why is that? It is because we don't see all the training that led to the great moments in the game! The diets, exercise, practice after practice, the playbooks, discussions, regimens, and years of playing beforehand. So we Christians want to act like the true Superstar without first bending our life to look more like his when he wasn't healing and ministering to the public. We want the glory of Christ to shine when we pray, but the rest of our lives tell a different story. And if we want to see the life of Christ manifest in us, as all Christians do, then we must build discipline into our lives of the same nature and character as Jesus did. This book helps us understand what those disciplines are (there the private disciplines and the public ones) and how to integrate them into our lives. Willard corrects the incorrect theology of how to understand the body of a Christian and its role in discipline. He shows very clearly the need for specific disciplines, but also the understanding that there needs to be flexibility in how it is approached in our lives. This book is an essential one for the modern Christian who wants to get beyond first base in their walk with God.
Rating:
Summary: An intelligent, thorough overview of spiritual disciplines
Review: This book has had a profound influence on my life, and I don't suggest that you read it unless you are ready to change the way you think about the disciplines, the things we make ourselves to to get closer to God, such as prayer, fasting, worship and reading the Bible. Williard plots the history of the disciplines, and explains psycologically and physiologically why they have such an effect on people. It is a slow read in a few parts, but never impossible. After reading this account of why the disciplines are important, read Richard Foster's Celebration of Disciplines to learn more about the practice of the disciplines. And then do them!
Rating:
Summary: Survival guide to living our Christian life
Review: This book is for those who have just started the faith or for those who feel really burned out and have no idea where the direction of their relationship with God is headed. Willard calls us to reclaim what is lost and missing from our Christian lives, the basic disciplines. He likens today's Christians to the typical baseball fan who mimics the star player by wearing his uniform, his batting stance and is astonished to find that when we take the field to play softball with our friends, our play doesn't match the level of the star player that we admire. The problem, Willard, points out is that we've never committed to the life required to play professional baseball. He uses this powerful analogy to show us that the vibrant relationship that we desire in God eludes us because of our failure to commit to the mundane disciplines of fasting, praying, bible reading, etc. Read this book and take the lessons to heart and you'll begin to experience God in ways never imagined.
Rating:
Summary: Provides a Practical Theology of the Spiritual Disciplines
Review: This book, "The Spirit of the Disciplines," is part of a trilogy which includes "In Search of Guidance" (later revised and retitled "Hearing God") and culminates in "The Divine Conspiracy." Do not make the mistake of thinking that the latter book, as good as it is, surpasses and makes obsolete the other two. All three are great books in their own right and supplement each other and should be read together as the author intended. Also, Willard's books are good complimentary companions to those by Richard Foster, especially his "Celebration of Discipline" and "Prayer: Finding The Heart's True Home." In fact, in "The Spirit of the Disciplines," Willard refers readers to "Celebration of Discipline" for more practical application of the disciplines since his book's main thrust is to provide a practical theology of the spiritual disciplines which he felt was lacking in contemporary Christian literature. Another good book on the spiritual disciplines is "Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life" by Donald S. Whitney which takes into consideration Willard's and Foster's insights and adds a few of its own, including the important one that "meditation is the missing link between Bible intake and prayer." I also consider spiritual mentoring to be important and I've found the book by Randy Reese and Keith Anderson entitled "Spiritual Mentoring: A Guide for Seeking and Giving Direction" to be very useful in this regard. Reese and Anderson also value the wisdom of the Christian spiritual masters of old, as do Foster and Willard, and saturate their book with their insights. Willard's thrust in this book is to emphasize and expound the vital importance of the spiritual disciplines to the Christian life and to clear away popular misconceptions of them. In the preface, he says: "My central claim is that we CAN become like Christ by doing one thing - by following him in the overall style of life he chose for himself. If we have faith in Christ, we must believe that he knew how to live. We can, through faith and grace, become like Christ by practicing the types of activities he engaged in, by arranging our whole lives around the activities he himself practiced in order to remain constantly at home in the fellowship of his Father." He continues: "What activities did Jesus practice? Such things as solitude and silence, prayer, simple and sacrificial living, intense study and meditation upon God's Word and God's ways, and service to others. Some of these will certainly be even more necessary to us than they were to him, because of our greater or different need. But in a balanced life of such activities, we will be constantly enlivened by 'The Kingdom Not of This World' - the Kingdom of Truth as seen in John 18:36 - 37." We must go beyond asking "What would Jesus do?" to practicing what Jesus practiced. "Following 'in his steps' cannot be equated with behaving as he did when he was 'on the spot.' To live as Christ lived is to live as he did all his life." Some of the misconceptions he exposes, as they relate to practicing the spiritual disciplines, include the denigration of the physical body and confusing it with the fallen human nature, and the elevation of poverty as a virtue and denigration of wealth as a vice. He takes exception to some of the ascetic practices of some of the early Christian monks who went so far as to abuse their bodies. He also states: "to withhold our bodies from religion is to exclude religion from our lives" (pg. 30). Spiritual life is the body's fulfillment. He also respectfully disagrees with such notables as John Wesley and Alastair MacIntyre who more or less see the rich as destined for Hell. Additionally, he argues that salvation is not JUST forgiveness, as popularly taught today, but a new order of life (which includes forgiveness). He expounds more on this disagreement in his book "The Divine Conspiracy" and there takes exception to theologians such as Charles Ryrie. This disagreement is one of the contemporary controversial issues (not only among Arminians and Calvinists but even among those who believe in "eternal security" or "once-saved, always-saved") and involves the relationship of faith and obedience in a true (not just professing) Christian's life. Willard's position seems to be that discipleship and/or obedience to Christ is NOT optional but integral to what it means to be a Christian. But this implies that a lack of discipleship to Christ (which includes a lack of some sort of spiritual discipline in one's life) means a lack of salvation. This is what provokes debate since some see this as promoting the idea that we maintain our salvation by works, an idea that surely Willard would reject because it misunderstands his point about the relational aspect of salvation inherent in discipleship. He sees two great omissions from Christ's great commission in the contemporary Church (that is, among those who profess to be Christians): 1) the omission of making disciples, and 2) the omission of the step of taking our converts through training that will bring them ever increasingly to do what Jesus directed (see Appendix II). This book is intended as a biblical corrective to those omissions and I think it contributes admirably to that purpose. This is essential reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't let the title fool you...
Review: This is not a book that bashes you over the head with a disheartening, "no pain, no gain" approach to spiritual growth. Willard does challenge followers of Jesus, whether young in the faith or old, to build more spiritual muscle and "pump it up"; but you might be surprised by his major, underlying, empowering premise. The book handles well the--it's easy, but it's not--paradox of the process of becoming more Christlike. If you suspect that you have some spiritual weakness or flab to deal with, and want to get better at training to run the Christian race with power and endurance, I recommend reading this book.
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Summary: Balanced Philosophy of Faith
Review: Though I have never met either man, Dallas Willard and AW Tozer are my spiritual role models. Both men have an acute grasp of the philosphical and practical implications of true heart beliefs for walking with Jesus Christ. Whereas Tozer models classic prophet gifting through a blunt, sometimes abrasive, proclamation of truth, Willard tempers his gift with an unusual balance. Many academic writers of spiritual material tend to be much too erudite. They seem to be more interested in categorizing God than in knowing him. They also seem to be more interested in identifying and pigeon-holing people than in loving them. Willard cuts against the grain of professiorial arrogance and demonstrates instead an excellent balance of love of God, love for people in community and well-thought out philosophy of Christian faith.
Spirit of the Disciplines discusses the role of the body in the development of spiritual maturity. Willard addresses Christianity's fear of the flesh by walking the user through an intellectually challenging discussion on his perception of the importance of bringing the body into relationship with Christ.
If I could reduce Willard's argument to a single concept (at the risk of too much reduction that might offend brother Willard), I would say this: 'No matter where you are, there your body is. For this reason, your body is key to all that you do as a disciple of Jesus.'
Think about it: the essence of faith is love and love is not expressed through abstract ideas or expressions. Love is done in action for someone else. Love can be spoken or it can be acted out but the body is the source of all expressions of love. Love is not merely thinking how nice it would be if I raked my neighbor's yard. Instead, love is expressed when I move my body to grab a rake and step into my neighbor's yard to complete the job.
Likewise, the body is the source of all expressions of sin. It is for this reason that disciplines are required to bring the body into progressive submission to obedience to Christ. I believe Willard to be saying that the degree to which we express love and sin through our bodies is a measure of our maturity in the faith and the depth of our vital love for God and others.
This book, along with Willard's, "In Search of Guidance," has been one of the most formative books for my walk with Christ. I strongly recommend this rigorous book for excellent brain and heart food.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best "Christian Disciplines" books
Review: What is behind Willard's book is a desire to look at the psychological, philosophical, and historical development of the modern-day view of the Christian disciplines. This information is eye-opening and challenging, especially the information on asceticism. He then moves out of the theoretical into the practical and looks at the 7 disciplines of abstinence and the 8 disciplines of engagment. The section on each of these is extremely short, but the instruction is concise. I would highly recommend this book, but do not let it be the only book you read on this subject. Donald Whitney's Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life is well-done, and Jerry Bridges Discipline of Grace offers some balance from the Reformed perspective without going to bat for the Reformed faith per se.
Rating:
Summary: Learn why the disciplines are not works, but active grace.
Review: Willard presents a helpful introduction to the theology behind the spiritual disciplines. This book is a perfect compliment to Richard Foster's the Spirit of the Disciplines. The ancient spiritual disciplines are normal Christianity and reveal why so many experience a faith so far below what is revealed in Scripture.
Rating:
Summary: Thank you for speed!
Review: Wow! I got this book almost a week earlier than I expected - now that's just good service!!! -Mike G.
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