Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives
Written by Dallas Willard
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
Dallas Willard
Dallas Willard (1935–2013) was a professor at the University of Southern California’s School of Philosophy from 1965 until his retirement in 2012. His groundbreaking books The Divine Conspiracy, The Great Omission, Knowing Christ Today, The Spirit of the Disciplines, Renovation of the Heart, and Hearing God forever changed the way thousands of Christians experience their faith.
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Reviews for Spirit of the Disciplines
39 ratings12 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Willard provides us with an overview of Christian discipleship, coming at it from various angles. The reason we practice spiritual disciplines is no different than the reason an athlete trains and practices. We use disciplines to train ourselves so that our connection with God is established and maintained and so that living in the way of Christ comes naturally (automatically?) as we go about our lives.Willard's view of discipleship is wise in that he emphasizes the need to address the whole person -- mind, body and spirit -- in the path of discipleship. He avoids the tendencies of some to reduce Christian discipleship to mere training of the mind. This has been a tendency of mine anyhow and I found his more broad emphasis to be helpful.There is a discussion regarding various specific disciplines. They are divided up between disciplines of abstinence and disciplines of engagement. Each gets a brief description with recommendations regarding their use.Willard is known for his sometimes dry writing style and it certainly comes through in this work. I say this because the chapter titled "Is Poverty Spiritual?" near the end of the book is easily worth the price of the book on it's own. If you find yourself getting bogged down in the middle of the book, skip ahead to this chapter.Overall this is a helpful work for those looking for an overview of spiritual disciplines and how they are helpful and even necessary in the maintenance and growth of Christian faith and discipleship.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In his preface, Willard says that "this book is a plea for the Christian community to place the disciplines for the spiritual life at the heart of the gospel." That is, to be a Christian is more than merely believing and confessing a set of propositions about God, Jesus, and salvation; it is to be like Jesus and to practice the righteousness he requires. Willard indicts the church in America for failing to help believers actually become like Jesus in thought, word, and deed. Christians need explicit training in how to express in their bodies the essence of Christlikeness in the moment-by-moment of each day through the practice of spiritual disciplines. Willard provides clear definitions of several of the classic disciplines, benefits they can bring to a church and individual believers, and practical ways of doing them. He devotes a substantial chapter to the question of poverty as a spiritual discipline, asking the question, "Is Poverty Spiritual?" One thing Willard does well in all his writing is provoke critical self-examination without laying on a guilt trip. The result is often (at least for me) either repentance, spiritual enlightenment or both. The book contains chapter endnotes, a full bibliography, and name, subject, and scripture indices.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The second book I've read now by Dallas Willard, the first being The Divine Conspiracy. He continues to bring fresh perspective, this time in dealing with the spiritual disciplines.Key quote = “We have one realistic hope for dealing with the world’s problems. And that is the person and gospel of Jesus Christ, living here and now, in people who are his by total identification found through the spiritual disciplines. Why? This faith and discipline yields a new humanity.”
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5There wasn’t anything particularly revealing in this work: no ah-ha moments. A few reminders and some areas of disagreement. I’m not sure what the rave was about for this book. The Bible is still the best source for the spiritual disciplines. Not that I suggest that this was intended to replace the scripture but his explanations did not contribute to any deeper understanding. We must die to ourselves and live to Christ!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I enjoyed this book, and some of my favorites quotes include:
"Christianity has not so much been tried and found wanting, as it has been found difficult and left untried." G. K. Chesterton
"to think that following Jesus consists of loving our enemies...while living the rest of our lives just as everyone around us" DallasWillard
"'teaching them to do all things whatsoever I have commanded you' the Great Omission from the Great Commission" Dallas Willard - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Excellent for in-depth discussion. Not "easy reading" but meaningful and foundational to serious study of spiritual disciplines.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book has opened up a world of Spiritual Formation I never thought possible. I highly recommend interacting with these concepts and giving all you are to the direction Willard points for the duration of your time on earth.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5If Dallas wrote it you should read it. Some say Chapter 2 is worth the price of the book.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5After probably 2 years, I finally finished. Thought provoking and encouraging dissertation about how to live more like Christ. I've got a long way to go.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is a good introductio to Christian Spiritual disciplines; amazingly alliterated and all beginning with "D"!
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I need to give this book a second shot. I gave up half way through last time and I'm not sure if it's because I'm a bad Christian or if it was just bad timing. I just found it dry and uninspiring. Maybe I was just expecting something else.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5While I certainly believe that there was much good in this book and it deserved the renown that it got at the time, I believe there are much better books that are done on these sorts of topics. Although it may have been a precursor to the aforementioned books, I believe that it was less focused. Overall, though, I think there's much wisdom in it and I probably just should have read a different book of his first.