5 Books On Spiritual Disciplines I Own

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I find it funny as much as I write and study the spiritual disciplines, I come back time and again to only a few texts on the subject.  These are the books that are on my shelf now, four of which have been there for over ten years.  If you are longing to learn and deepen your walk with Christ, I believe any of these books will be a great guide along the way.

Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun.  I put this book first because it is a comprehensive guide to over sixty different aspects of spiritual disciplines.  I consider this the best book for giving an overview of each spiritual discipline.  This book also has appendices to help you with your journey into spiritual disciplines.

Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation By M. Robert Mulholland.  This book lays out a clear practical path to guide you on your walk of spiritual disciplines.    This book is not just a how to manual to get you from one point to another.  It is a guide to be used and referred back to time and again.

Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life by Marjorie J. Thompson.  I like this book because it is not typical.  Soul Feast draws me in and helps me get inside the practices. Aside from Celebration of Discipline this is probably the book that has had the most impact on how I practice spiritual disciplines.

Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald S. Whitney.  This is by far the most conservative of any book I have ever read on spiritual disciplines.  That being said having both views of a subject is the only real way to study it. Dr. Whitney bases the book off of 1 Timothy 4:7, “Discipline yourself for the purpose of Godliness.”  I think if we would use that verse for our lives we could change the world.

Finally,Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster.  The book that started the movement.  I credit this book only less than the bible for the growth in Christ I saw in the early years as a Christian.  Richard Foster has given us the corner stone text on spiritual disciplines in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.  All these books owe their  pages to this book.