Reddit mentions of Celebration of Discipline: The path to Spiritual Growth

Celebration of Discipline is kind of a landmark classic.

I was in youth ministry for 25 years, and take it from me: there is no other book that will serve you in greater stead than the Word of God. Psalm 119 says, How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your Word. Your Word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against You.

SO... set up a consistent systematic habit of reading, study, and memorization of Scripture. Hide it away in your heart, and you will find that the Spirit will bring the Word to your mind as you need it. And you'll need it a lot!

OTHER Books I'd recommend for ministry:
Celebration of Discipline - teaches the spiritual practices that will keep you from burning out, and enable you to make DISCIPLES of Jesus, and not just talk about Him.
(http://www.amazon.com/Celebration-Discipline-Path-Spiritual-Growth/dp/0060628391/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1408074973&sr=8-1)

Becoming a Dynamic Youth Leader - teaches a lot of the nuts and bolts of how to actually run a youth ministry in a church setting. Written from a conservative perspective, these practices will translate well into many different church contexts.
(http://www.churchgrowth.org/product/becoming-a-dynamic-youth-leader/)

Planning Youth Ministry From Boot Up to Exit -this is a very practical resource if you can find it. (It's out of print; you'll have to find someone with a used copy. Check the Southern Baptists in your area, since that's the author's ministry background.)

I'd also recommend reading theology instead of current best-selling Christian books, as you'll get more use out of building a solid foundation than you will reading about the latest techniques for what happens to be popular.

God bless you as you serve Him!

The Disciplined Life by Richard S Taylor

Celebration of Discipline by Richard J Foster

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Covey

I'm trying to do Lent for realz this year and letting it carry me through the liturgical year, based primarily on the work being done at BCC but also using this site to craft my private worship. I'm hoping school and class allow me enough flexibility to attend services at SLC's mother cathedral. I plan on attending a six PM service tonight.

I'm giving up meat, as well as fast food in general, during Lent, as well as a moratorium on buying new apps for my iPhone. Besides the readings from the scriptures and the above sites, I'm reading Celebration of Discipline to deepen my thinking about what things I do as a part of my spiritual practice.

I'm really looking forward to this.

>Which means that whether you are a person who leans toward discipline or a person who leans toward spontaneity, you are just as liable to trust in your own righteousness—your righteousness of discipline, or your righteousness of spontaneity—rather than Christ’s righteousness.

This is an excellent point. I'm also reminded of Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. Many Christians turn their noses up at discipline to avoid being legalistic, but certainly, there is freedom in discipline as long as we're depending on the righteousness of Christ to get us through.

We used Celebration of Discipline in my Spiritual Formation class. This book provides a foundation for spiritual growth based wholly on scripture. It isn't necessarily a light read but it can be extremely helpful in growing closer to Christ.

www.amazon.com/Celebration-Discipline-Path-Spiritual-Growth/dp/0060628391

Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster.

>My prayer is constant, throughout the entire day, as I walk and talk and eat and move through my day.

Sounds like the sort of stuff that I did. I practically had this book memorized I read it so often to trying to figure out what I was doing wrong.

This was another inspired desperate read. I was so excited by it that I gave classes on it. I expected something to break loose any day for years, kind of like Camping waiting for the end.

You mention the heart. That's what hurts when the relationship is one sided. Imagine if I pursued my wife for 38 years while she ignored me to see if I really meant it. I think I'd be considered foolish, and maybe even put in jail for stalking or something.

>he'd more appreciate you yelling your frustrations at him than learning languages or planting churches, as though that would somehow earn you a chance to sit down for 15 minutes with the founder and CEO of Heaven/Earth Ltd.

So why would he hang out with anyone? That was the point of the OP. You think you have a personal relationship, but why? What makes you special enough to hang out with "the founder of Heaven/Earth Ltd.? What was the difference between Jacob and Esau that God hated one and loved the other, especially given that Jacob was a scheming bastard?

You haven't made a biblical case for your specialness. Maybe it is because you belong to the right denomination -- something pentecostal, am I right?

It is interesting that you seem to disparage head knowledge. I had always thought that knowing the bible inside and out was a good thing. I read it devotionally twice a year for 20 years and that doesn't include studying it for school, bible study classes, sermons, and papers. The devotional reading was for giving God an opportunity to speak to me via the word. I couldn't tell if any insights I gained were from him or just from me. The only voice in my head sounded like me.

Along side the bible, why not try reading something like the celebration of discipline by Richard J. Foster.

It's a really great read and practicing spiritual disciplines can help open us more to the Holy Spirits work in our lives (making us more like Christ).