Issue 41 Small churchesBlog | Classic Book Review Richard Foster
Classic Book Review Richard Foster
Author: Andy PeckPost Date: 13.12.24
What book, apart from the Bible, have you found yourself returning to again and again, in your preaching ministry? That is the question we ask our reviewers to consider in this section, and Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline is the latest choice.
This book has survived on my bookshelves for forty years. I came across it when I was looking for material for confirmation classes that would help to develop Christian discipleship as a lifestyle, helping to grow our relationship with God. In his chapter on prayer, Foster says this, ‘Those “giants of the faith” are so far beyond anything that we have experienced that we are tempted to despair.’ I was immediately encouraged on reading this because it spoke to my experience: my prayer life seemed to be more about frustration and failure rather than the glory of the saints. Here was someone who understood my journey rather than someone who made me feel a failure because I didn’t reach their standards of prayer or spiritual life.
