Rating: 
Summary: Richard Foster's Spiritual Formation is not Biblical
Review: Millions of Christians and Christian leaders do,in fact,promote and believe that Richard Foster's teaching is Biblically solid. Well other than the fact that Richard Foster endorses Carl Jung who drew his theology from a demon-spirit guide named Philemon via divination and was an enemy of Christ, believes in astral projection, summoning down a spirit and calling him Jesus, praying and meditating with vain repetitions which Jesus said not to do, supports Roman Catholicism which is responsible for the slaughter of millions of martrys (the Pope kissing the Koran..the religion of peace), promotes Buddhist sympathizers Thomas Merton and Henry Nouwen, and a host of other Eastern Meditation and New Age teachers...other than that Richard Foster is a good sound Biblical teacher! Still not convinced that Richard Foster is a clear and present danger to the Church? Then visit these websites: http://www.lighthousetrails.com http://withchrist.org/MJS/renovare.htm and http://www.seekgod.ca/renovare.htm and http://www.cephasministry.com/new_age_richard_foster.html Still not convinced that Richard Foster is a false teacher, then email me and I will send you my complete dialogue with Lynda Graybeal, Administrator for Richard Foster and RENOVARE....and for anyone who thinks I am unfairly attacking a good brother in Christ, you will get to read their side of the story too! Kindest regards in Christ,
James Sundquist
President
Rock Salt Publishing
Rating: 
Summary: not for the faint of heart
Review: What can I say, if you are a luke warm Christian interested in only maintaining a minimal relationship with God, don't get this book. One the other hand, if you are on fire for the Lord and want to learn a few basic disciplines to help you draw near to the heart of God, the by all means, BUY THIS BOOK! The book is wonderfully written and outlines the different spiritual disciplines that came naturally to Christ and early Christians, but do not come so easily in our fast paced materialistic world. It explains how these disciplines are not an end, but a means to an end, the end of course is drawing close to the heart of God. The book also explains how each of these disciplines have a corresponding freedom. If you want to grow in your relationship with Christ and learn to walk as He did, first read your Bible, and second, read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Pleasure to read but without biblical foundation
Review: This is a well written book, easy to read and engaging.
The problems I found are that the author often uses thoughts by human beings but few from the bible. And the few he uses are without context.
Hi struggled specially with the chapter about meditation because I can't find biblical foundation to many ideas presented.
You can (and should) read Dave Hunt's Occult Invasion where he criticises (with biblical foundation) Foster's thinking.
Rating:
Summary: Hope for those of us who stumble.
Review: Let's face it. Spiritual discipline is difficult. We see it as unattainable; the mountain we cannot scale. That's why I'm so thankful for this book. Foster does not deny that it's difficult, but by laying out the disciplines in a concise, systematic layout, he has most certainly made it clear what we are shooting for, and that is a close intimate walk with God. Foster starts with what he calls the 'inward disciplines'; what most Christians mean when they say 'spiritual disciplines', but Foster moves on. He talks of the 'outward disciplines', those that are our outward actions, but not necessarily those that affect our relationships with others. Then he moves towards the 'corporate disciplines', disciplines that we use with other believers. Throughout the whole book Foster stresses the point that all 'mystics' on the road to discipline fail and are never perfect. This is particularly helpful for those of us who are discouraged and wish to give up. One point that should be clarified, though: when Foster speaks of meditation, he doesn't mean eastern meditation which seeks to empty one's self of all thought AND personality. The goal of meditation, according to Foster, is to fill the mind with one thought and continually think on it. (It CAN be done, surprisingly.) Foster does clear it up in the book, but some stigma is attached to the word 'meditation' itself and that could drive some believers away without a second glance. I wish someone had given this book to me five years ago. So much toil in getting to a disciplined life would have been unnecessary. I do not recommend this to new believers (puts too much on your plate) but to semi-mature believers everywhere who are striving to get close to God.
Rating: 
Summary: Let's recognize the danger here...
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Great insights, but there's a trick...
Review:
God is so vast and undefinable that by even assigning a word to him (or it) we are in danger of venturing down a misguided path that leads to a limited understanding of God and our understanding of his nature and our relation to him. This is what so frustrated Jesus - trying to explain the nature of something unexplainable to people, who by their nature, cling desperately to legalism because true spiritual freedom is too scary. Foster outlines a variety of practices (meditation, prayer, fasting, study, simplicity, solitude, submission, service, confession, worship, guidance, and celebration) which will serve as valuable tools to bring us closer to God if we invoke them faithfully and with the leading of the Holy Spirit. He has done a wonderful job in presenting these disciplines, and yet I was left with the distinct impression that, as with any exhortation to spiritual growth, it is too easy to read them, nod our heads and to walk away and not put the advice into action. Or worse yet, to subjugate our newfound techniques to our already misguided understanding of God or to a pastor, church, spouse, or peer group that is geared toward making sure we do not break out of the spiritual status quo. I am convinced that these disciplines will work wonders, if pursued passionately and with the leading of the Holy Spirit for the purpose of bringing about the radical internal transformation that Jesus compelled us to. However I am equally convinced that 99 out of 100 readers of this book will benefit only marginally from what they read, and will not incorporate these practices very fully. Maybe I've just read too many books telling me how to be a good Christian, but if there is one thing I've learned, and that this book (although excellent) re-confirmed for me, it's that reading and hearing are the easy parts. Continually striving to incorporate spiritual disciplines into our lives, however, is something entirely different. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that this book, and many others, will point the way but if you're like me you've already (on some level) been pointed there before (in fact the Holy Spirit is pulling us all in that direction if we'd just relent and submit ourselves to it's guidance). : )
Rating:
Summary: Contemporary classic: a must read!!
Review: I never thought that reading this book would change my life so deeply. Foster helped me to understand every discipline in a simple way and inspired me to put them in practice in my every day life.
The book is divided into chapters that explore one of the spiritual disciplines in a deep, insightful, and yet simple way. The disciplines described are: meditation, prayer, fasting, study, simplicity, solitude, submission, service, confession, worship, guidance and celebration.
After reading every discipline, as Mark Buchanan says, you'll know what it is, learn how to do it and most of all, you'll want to do it! I have read it more than once, and every time it fans into flame the desire to seek for God's will in my life and learn how to grow in my spiritual journey.
This is a "must read" for every Christian and one of the best books available. I guarantee that you will never regret reading it.
Rating:
Summary: All been said before.
Review: If the book follows the exerpts then the author is just restating things I've heard many times before. A new Christian may find it insightful but I though it boring. A new story, a different person but these books all appear the same to me.
Rating:
Summary: Worthwhile, life-changing reading
Review: Foster's Celebration of Discipline, is a mature, intelligent look at the loss of discipline in our daily lives. American culture is rapidly reaping the seeds of sloth, moodiness, selfishness & self-indulgence. A return to the basic ways of Christian living is outlined with zeal. Additionally, Foster shares his own experiences- one who has suffered as we are...yet with developing victory and a light to guide our new path. This book has brought greater focus, strenghtened assurance & intensified commitment to my life & my life-work of raising six children who will contribute to our Lord & His world. Few modern books have the power to change lives, as this one can...Very, very worthwhile. A-plus.
Rating:
Summary: Tools for the journey
Review: I first came in contact with Richard Foster's writing my first year at seminary-- and was struck by how he moves us to a greater depth than much of the "Christian Living"/ "Inspirational" writing that is popular today. In Celebration of Discipline he calls us back to some of the historical "disciplines" of the faith-- things that have become all too easy to skip over and relegate to a level of second importance in our consumer/ microwave/ instant fix/ cell phone culture. Things like fasting-- a practice we here of (some) and read about in Scripture... But how many sermons have you heard on it? Let alone and explanation as to its theological importance and the practical applications of how... Or the discipline of solitide... and how it's different than loneliness. Or a defintion of worship... of giving... of mediation (who in our day and age has actually done that before-- on purpose?). This is an important work for the Church-- not only because it recaptures and places into discussion some important practices of our faith, but it does so in a way that celebrates our freedom to do these in order to experience God (as opposed to legalistically doing them to appease Him). And, Foster shows you how to get there... or, at least, get going... Don't buy it if you want an inspirational read. Do buy it if you want to find tools for the journey to know and experience communion with God in Christ.
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