Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0060628391, Hardcover)

When Richard Foster began writing Celebration of Discipline more than 20 years ago, an older writer gave him a bit of advice: "Be sure that every chapter forces the reader into the next chapter." Foster took the advice to heart; as a result, his book presents one of the most compelling and readable visions of Christian spirituality published in the past few decades. After beginning with a simple observation--"Superficiality is the curse of our age.... The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people"--Foster's book moves to explain the disciplines people must cultivate in order to achieve spiritual depth. In succinct, urgent, and sometimes humorous chapters, Foster defines a broad range of classic spiritual disciplines in terms that are lucid without being too limiting and offers advice that's practical without being overly prescriptive. For instance, after describing meditation as a combination of "intense intimacy and awful reverence," he settles into such down-to-earth topics as how to choose a place and a posture in which to meditate.

Perhaps most interesting and useful is Foster's chapter on the controversial Christian discipline of submission. According to Foster, submission does not demand self-hatred or loss of identity. Instead, it simply means growing secure in the conviction that "our happiness is not dependent on getting what we want" but on the fulfillment that naturally flows from love of one's neighbors. Such wise and encouraging suggestions have helped many readers to discard the idea that discipline is an onerous duty and to move toward a liberating and simpler idea of discipline--whose defining character, as Foster never forgets, is joy. --Michael Joseph Gross

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0060628316, Hardcover)

This study of the classic spiritual disciplines includes meditation, prayer, fasting, study, simplicity, solitude, submission, service, confession, worship, guidance and celebration. The author claims that these disciplines can infuse life with joy, promoting inner peace and fulfilment. Richard Foster, an "evangelical" Quaker, founded and chairs the Milton Center which is designed to help Christian writers achieve exellence in their work. He won the 1978 Writer of the Year (US) Award for "Celebration of Discipline", and the Gold Medallion Award in 1982 for "Freedom of Simplicity" and he also wrote "Money, Sex and Power"

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 034073521X, Paperback)

Richard Foster explains why he believes that the classical spiritual disciplines such as mediation, submission and fasting are the only true ways to promote a deep inner life and infuse it with over whelming joy. Arguably the most established contemporary spiritual classic by our most profound living religious writer.

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 006058484X, Audio Cassette)

In the twenty years since its publication, Celebration of Discipline has helped over a million seekers discover a richer spiritual life infused with joy, peace, and a deeper understanding of God. Hailed by many as the best modern work on Christian spirituality, Celebration of Discipline explores the "classic Disciplines," or central spiritual practices, of the Christian faith. Along the way, Foster shows that it is only by and through these practices that the true path to spiritual growth can be found.

Dividing the Disciplines into three movements of the Spirit, Foster shows how each of these areas contributes to a balanced spiritual life. The inward Disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting, and study offer avenues of personal examination and change. The outward Disciplines of simplicity, solitude, submission, and service help prepare us to make the world a better place. The corporate Disciplines of confession, worship, guidance, and celebration bring us nearer to one another and to God.Foster provides a wealth of examples demonstrating how these Disciplines can become part of our daily activities -- and how they can help us shed our superficial habits and "bring the abundance of God into our lives." The discussion of celebration, often the most neglected of the Disciplines, shows its critical importance -- for it stands at the heart of the way to Christ. Celebration of Discipline will help motivate Christians everywhere to embark on a journey of prayer and spiritual growth.

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0061336955, Audio CD)

Since its publication in 1978, Celebration of Discipline has helped millions of seekers discover a richer spiritual life infused with joy, peace, and a deeper understanding of God. Hailed by many as the best modern book written on Christian spirituality, Celebration of Discipline explores the classic "disciplines," or central spiritual practices, of the Christian faith.

Dividing the Spiritual Disciplines into three movements of the spirit, Foster shows how each movement contributes to a balanced spiritual life. The inward Disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting, and study offer avenues for personal examination and change. The outward Disciplines of simplicity, solitude, submission, and service prepare us to help make the world a better place. The corporate Disciplines of confession, worship, guidance, and celebration bring us nearer to one another and to God.

Foster provides a wealth of examples demonstrating how the Spiritual Disciplines can become part of our daily activities—and how they can help us shed our superficial habits and "bring the abundance of God into our lives." Celebration, often the most neglected of the disciplines, is revealed as critically important, for it stands at the heart of the way to Christ. Celebration of Discipline will help motivate people everywhere to embark on a journey of prayer and spiritual growth.

Read by Richard Rohan