I’ve posted a few excerpts in the last week from this book that really struck me so you’ve gotten a feel for some of the book by now. Here’s a couple thoughts so you can get a feel for whether this would be a motivating book for you to add to your reading list soon.First, I recommend not reading this whole book in one sitting during an 11-hour unplanned layover just before taking a red-eye flight cross-country. It didn’t work for me and it probably won’t work well for you. This book will be best taken in during shorter segments spread out over time.Part of what that is is because this book is a compilation of lectures and presentations Willard has done pertaining to the arena of spiritual formation and discipleship. As such, there are times where there is repetition of themes and anecdotes. The chapters cover a lot of ground from discipleship to spiritual formation to spiritual disciplines to how Jesus taught. My favorite chapter in the whole book is entitled “Jesus the Logician” and Willard describes well Jesus’ incredible skill in out thinking his opposition. It fits well within Willard’s thesis that Jesus was in fact the smartest man in the world – a thought that often doesn’t occur to many of us in how we perceive the person of Jesus.This book is a great book for some of my evangelical friends who might develop tight sphincter syndrome when they hear the word “spiritual formation.” Willard provides a great apologetic for what spiritual formation is and it’s role in discipleship to Christ. I’m not going to summarize it because that’s what the book does.There’s good stuff as always pertaining to the spiritual disciplines. It can’t help but motivate you to consider what kind of steps you need to take to actively create the space in your life for God to bring transformation in the areas we need it. I was surprised to see how much Willard emphasized memorization of the Scriptures and this is his #1 prioritized discipline. I’m thinking about that a lot in terms of what disciplines I often emphasize and what ones I might want to consider making more a part of my life.I like Willard’s thinking. I wasn’t has enthralled by this book as The Divine Conspiracy, but it was very thought provoking on the above issues and the questions of what discipleship to Christ really is and what the Church might want to consider to avoid oversimplified or imbalanced presentations of what life in God’s Kingdom truly means.
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