A Review for "The Kingdom Life" A Practical Theology of Discipleship and Spiritual Formation

From the Back Cover:


Each of us has ties to family, friends, and strangers in our society, so our spiritual formation should touch not only ourselves but everyone we meet, including the most needy. The truest kind of transformation—the kind Jesus taught and modeled—prompts us to reach out to our neighbor instead of withdrawing into a self-absorbed, isolated, and risk-free spirituality.


For six years, a dozen spiritual formation leaders—including Dallas Willard, Bruce Demarest, and Bill Hull—have come together with their colleagues to create this collection of wisdom and honest personal revelation in the areas of discipleship and spiritual formation. The Kingdom Life aims to ground your transformation in the midst of your community through five key emphases: (1) a fresh approach to spiritual disciplines that connect you with God and His kingdom; (2) the pursuit of transformation through communities of grace; (3) exploration of the inner issues of woundedness, hiddenness, and legalism; (4) direct involvement in God’s mission in your world; and (5) practicing the broader vision of an integrated approach to transformation.


The Kingdom Life is for teachers, pastors, and lay leaders but also for every serious Christian seeking a more integrated approach to spiritual formation. This book has both a theological foundation and a “process” aspect in which the key principles are exhibited in practice.

My Review:The Kingdom Life" breaks down spiritual formation into two elements. Process and theological.


Process is covered in the first seven chapters,with theological covered in the final three chapters. Each chapter is wrapped up with some very thought provoking questions. At the end of each chapter you are also given information for further reading and studying the subjects covered.

The forward written by Rick Warren was a great addition to this book. His simplistic answers to some very basic questions were helpful for me.

Overall this isn't a book you would pick up and read in a day. I think it is meant to be digested slowly so that we can get a true understanding of what we are being taught. This is an amazing book that can show us what we must do if we truly want to live our lives for the glory of God.


Thanks to Navpress for allowing me a copy of this book for review.