I have appreciated the ministry of Richard Foster since I read Celebration of Discipline for the first time in college. What sets him apart from others who write about spirituality is that he consistently resists reducing the Christian life to a formula or one-size-fits-all experience. He has drunk deeply from the wells of Christian heritage. But most importantly, he has sampled the waters from a diversity of Christian traditions. And he finds something of value in them all.
Longing for God: Seven Paths of Christian Devotion (IVP, 2009) illustrates Foster’s commitment to learning from the broad testimony of Christian experience. With co-author Gayle D. Beebe, Foster explores seven major approaches to spiritual formation throughout history. Since the first century, the authors explain, Christians have understood the process and goal of the life of faith as:
- The Right Ordering of Our Love for God
- The Spiritual Life as Journey
- The Recovery of Knowledge of God Lost in the Fall
- Intimacy with Jesus Christ
- The Right Ordering of Our Experiences of God
- Action and Contemplation
- Divine Ascent
To illustrate each of these paths, the authors provide short (6 to 8 pages) sketches of historical figures who exemplify each particular expression of Christian devotion. In the section on “The Recovery of Knowledge of God Lost in the Fall,” for example, are excurses on Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, and John Calvin. In other sections, the examples include a broader historical range (from ancient to modern) and examples of a few women. Each chapter concludes with a “Reflecting and Responding” section that helps make the presented material personal and practical.
It is important to have companions on the road of faith. I would recommend working through Longing for God with a handful of friends or a small group. Together you can let this “great cloud of witnesses” draw you closer to the Savior.
