Spiritual Disciplines Resources

This guide will continue to be updated throughout the series. Resource suggestions are welcome! Click here to send Josh an email.

Principles

From the introductory sermon:

1. Practicing the disciplines does not make God love us
2. We are not adding guilt.
3. We are not all trying to become mystics or contemplatives.
4. The disciplines are not an end; they are a means to an end: bearing fruit.
5. You do not have to feel like it.
6. People practice differently.
7. Christian formation is counter–formation.
8. The disciplined life is evangelistic.

General Resources

Introductory

• John Mark Comer, Practicing the Way: Be With Jesus, Become Like Him, Do As He Did
• Mason King, A Short Guide to Spiritual Disciplines: How to Become a Healthy Christian
• Brian McLaren, Finding Our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices (The Ancient Practices Series)
• Margaret Silf, Inner Compass: An Invitation to Ignatian Spirituality
• Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives

Classics

These resources are considered foundational to the area of Christian spiritual formation, and many are available as free PDFs (click titles below) because of their age and public domain status.

• Saint John of the Cross, Dark Night of the Soul
• Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ
• Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God
• Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love
• Saint Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle
• A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy

Overviews/Handbooks

These resources have sections or chapters on multiple disciplines.

• Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices that Transform Us
• Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth
• Richard J. Foster and Emilie Griffin, eds., Spiritual Classics: Selected Readings on the Twelve Spiritual Disciplines
• Tony Jones, The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life
• Gretchen Ronnevik, Ragged: Spiritual Disciplines for the Spiritually Exhausted

Individual Disciplines

The following resources are devoted to one discipline each.

Prayer

• Robert Benson, In Constant Prayer (Ancient Practices Series)
• Tyler Staton, Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools: An Invitation to the Wonder and Mystery of Prayer
• Phyllis Tickle, The Divine Hours (Multi-volume fixed-hour prayers)
  • Online version at Ann Arbor Church
• Prayetic (a prayer and meditation app)

Fasting

• Scot McKnight, Fasting (The Ancient Practices Series)

Simplicity

• Richard J. Foster, Freedom of Simplicity: Finding Harmony in a Complex World
• Richard Rohr, Simplicity: The Freedom of Letting Go

Silence & Solitude

• Ruth Haley Barton, Invitation to Solitude and Silence: Experiencing God’s Transforming Presence
• Thomas Á Kempis, Solitude and Silence: The Cloister of the Heart

Service

Study/Scripture Reading

• Eugene Peterson, Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading