  |
 |
 |
|
|
|||
|
|||
Mens Health Home
Mens Health and Fitness Book Store > Books beginning with M
Products Store Home
|
A Man's Guide to the Spiritual Disciplines: 12 Habits to Strengthen Your Walk With Christ |
|
| Author: Patrick Morley Published: 2007-02-01 |
||
|
List price: $18.99 Our price: $12.91 |
Usually ships in 24 hours As of: December 01st, 2008 12:13:39 PM |
|
Customer comments on this selection. A Good Start, but not Deep EnoughA Man's Guide to the Spiritual Disciplines is Patrick Morley's discourse on the spiritual disciplines for men. Morley is most famous for The Man in the Mirror, and other titles of similar names. He is the CEO of his own business, and helps men reach their full potential. At least that's what the dust jacket says. The book is surprisingly shallow, and is more like a list of the spiritual disciplines. Morley doesn't really get deep into a relationship with God. He merely gives some practices that men should adhere to just because they're good things to do. I also got the feeling that some of the disciplines he described were made up just to stretch the book to 12 chapters. This book doesn't really do anything wrong; it just doesn't do much right, either. It would probably be a great book for any new Christian who's trying to get a handle on what their faith should look like. But anyone interested in deeper reading should look elsewhere.  For normal guys - If you've ever been overwhelmed by the spiritual disciplines, or just don't know where to startOne of the hardest things a man faces when he walks in the church for the first time, or the first time in a long time, is the way everyone walks around using vocabulary he doesn't get, using words that mean different things outside the church than inside the church, and acting like everyone knows what they're talking about. No topic is perhaps more discussed but less understood by the average guy - not Joe SuperChristian, but a regular guy - than the area of spiritual disciplines. This book is quite simply the best introduction to the spiritual disciplines I've read. My initial reaction was that it was a little broad and not too deep. But then I realized that's the genius of it! It's not so deep that you can never finish it. I've talked to plenty of guys that have started books on spiritual disciplines and never finished them. You will finish this book. It will give you a great "first step" towards deepening your relationship with God. In addition, it's written specifically to men. It's not all touchy and feely, nor is it overly academic. It talks about areas of a man's life that he might not have ever thought of having to do with spiritual disciplines. After you've read this and the regular practice of paying attention to God becomes a part of your life, you might very well want to read Bridges or Whitney. So who should read this book? Anyone who is: - mystified by all the "spiritual disciplines" vocabulary - tried and failed to to "do" spiritual disciplines - frustrated that they don't "get" spiritual disciplines - a disciplemaker interested in helping other guys begin to build a life that is centered on God and what His will is - a regular guy who wants to give more of his life over to God's direction Just another list...If you are looking for milk, this book is for you. The Christian world (especially that of the fledgling men's ministry) needs less superficial lists, and much more depth. Morley's book fits into the first group. His "Man in the Mirror" stuff is half way decent...I'm left wondering where this book came from??? Is this what we get when publishers deadlines and contractual agreements need to be fulfilled? Real substance can be found in "The Life of a God-Made Man" by Dan Doriani [ISBN 1-58134-308-6] Just look at his preface: ... This book is a proposal and a protest. It protests all the books that reduce the life of a Christian man to a string of techniques and how-to lists. It proposes instead that the course of the Christian man is the course of his God. It protests all the lists of four steps for building lasting friendships, five techniques for building obedient children, and seven methods for loving your wife. To avoid man-made lists, we will spend more time exploring Bible text than typical men's books do. It also proposes that we focus on character over technique and law. God has renewed His sons and is remaking us in His image. Therefore, it is our heritage, our destiny, to become more like the Father and the Son. Men are most true to themselves when most like Christ." That conviction shapes this book. Instead of starting with laws and guidelines for godly living, we will consider the nature of God first. ... Morley's book has a nice preface also. But Doriani's book delivers. Bottom-line...don't waist your time, your money, or your effort on this book. If you really want to be a man of God's own heart, find depth. Find Passion. Find substance. Godspeed. "WE BECOME LIKE THAT WHICH WE BEHOLD." |
||
| Our mens health book picks: | ||
