by Jill Pearson
My word of intention for 2024 is Discipline, so I decided to kick off my new year of reading with two books on spiritual disciplines. One is a modern classic and one is a contemporary work. Both have been transformative.
I took my time reading just a portion of a chapter each day, determined to digest the thoughts and consider their implications for my life. My simple goal is to become more like Christ and less like the world. Where I fail, I have the discipline of confession. Where I struggle, I have the disciplines of submission and fasting. When I crave more learning and sacred connection, I have meditation, prayer, and study. When I have an overflowing heart, I have worship, service, and celebration, and when I’m tired, I have rest and solitude.
Most of us experience an inner cringe when we hear the word discipline. It either sounds punitive or it sounds like too much work. But, as Richard Foster writes, “Our aim is the freedom, not the discipline.” Each discipline offers a beautiful type of freedom because we are trading the yoke of the world for the yoke of Christ.
Here are my thoughts on these two excellent books…
Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster, pub. 1978
This was my second reading of this classic, subtitled “The Path to Spiritual Growth.” Foster, a contemplative Quaker and author of many books, writes in an inspiring and accessible style. I highlighted sentences on almost every page because of his profound and gentle wisdom. He covers 13 disciplines, but never made me feel I have a heavy burden. Quite the opposite, actually. He says in a nutshell, “You know all that guilt and angst you lug around? God has a lifestyle that helps you handle all of that. Some of the disciplines are personal and some are communal. All are for your good and God’s glory.”
His chapters are full of scripture, quotes from Christian thought leaders through the centuries, and his own winsome and kind encouragement. He divides the disciplines into three categories: inward, outward, and communal. His quote in the opening chapter beautifully sets the tone for the entire book:
“We must not be led to believe that the Disciplines are only for spiritual giants…or contemplatives who devote all their time to prayer and mediation. Far from it. God intends the Disciplines of the spiritual life to be for ordinary human beings: people who have jobs, care for children, wash dishes and mow lawns…Joy is the keynote of all the Disciplines. The purpose of the Disciplines is liberation from the stifling slavery to self-interest and fear.”
Ragged by Gretchen Ronnevik, pub. 2021
Ronnevik is a Minnesota farmer’s wife, mother of six kids still at home, and a writer who has a way of communicating truth with honesty and compassion. Hers is the voice of a busy, often tired mom managing a household, enduring chronic pain from a serious car accident, and mentoring young women from her church and community. She also has a thought-provoking podcast called Freely Given and a free training course on mentorship that you can access on her website, www.gretchenronnevik.com.
The first half of Ragged establishes that nothing about the spiritual disciplines will earn favor with God. “You have nothing to prove. You are secure in Christ,” she writes. She underscores that our goal is dependence, not achievement. She masterfully weaves in stories from her daily life to illuminate her points, creating the sense that you are sitting at her table sharing intimate moments with a wise friend over a cup of coffee as her children bop around the kitchen.
Ronnevik addresses nine disciplines. While Celebration of Discipline begins with the discipline of Meditation, Ragged begins with the discipline of Rest. She writes, ‘You may be tempted to approach this section of the book with pen, paper, and a drive to master each new discipline…Well, let’s start with nothing. It’s harder than it sounds.” It’s clear that Ronnevik has a bent toward achievement and productivity, and that she is preaching to herself as much as the reader. That’s what makes her writing so endearing.
I enjoyed reading the books back to back, noting similar messages emerging from different angles, life experiences, and times in history. Ronnevik covers five of the disciplines that Foster covers in his book, but from a more contemporary, feminine voice. Both spoke deeply to the place in me that desires a deeper relationship with Christ while wisely navigating a broken and confusing world.
If you read both books, you will learn about the disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting, study, simplicity, solitude, submission, service, confession, worship, guidance, celebration, rest, generosity, lament, and discipleship. Whew! It sounds like a lot, but I predict you will feel inspired and covered with grace and hope. I don’t pretend to have mastered any of them, but that’s not the point. The point is that God laid out a framework for building up our faith, and we have the privilege of spending our lives growing in each area.
Jill Pearson is co-editor of The Stir, wife to Dave, and mom to three young adults who have flown the nest but are easily lured back with an offer of dinner. She owns and operates Riverwood Studio, an art education business, and finds creative ways to serve at Calvary.