Foundations of Spiritual Formation: A Community Approach to Becoming Like Christ, edited by Paul Pettit, is a volume for every seminarian and would-be ordinand. It's a corrective to the wild-eyed idealism of seminary, in that it habituated habits of spiritual formation long before bad habits of idealism in seminary set it.
The book itself breaks down into two parts. The first establishes the theological and Biblical groundwork for spiritual formation. The second tackles all the technical "know-how". But it's the second section that deals with material I found most rewarding.
I was ordained nearly eighteen years ago. When I left school, I took a certification in spiritual direction, because I had already discovered that my ministry was impoverished by a lack of training in spirituality. This book is another great tool for practitioners that deals in lots of great pastoral-theological material. Klaus Isler addresses issues of cultivating the heart, as Reid Kisling takes on character development. Bill Miller handles the priority point of love, while Andrew Seidel deals with leadership, George Hillman touches on vocation, and Gail Seidel speaks to one's life story. The final chapter, which is very fitting for those preparing to enter the pastoral ministry, has Harry Shields explaining the place of preaching in spiritual formation. These seven chapters will give the reader preparing for Christian ministry quite a bit of material to think on. And they make Foundations of Spiritual Formation essential reading for all seminary students and even seasoned ministers.
At 318 pages, and filled with copious footnotes, Pettit has given the Church an invaluable gift for its ministers. My favorite chapters -- that I found the most meaningful for me -- were Richard Averbeck's on worship, Gordon Johnston and Darrell Bock's on the centrality of community in the Old and New Testaments, and Harry Shields' piece on preaching. This will be a worthwhile read for anyone in seminary or in the Christian ministry.
And it will remain on my shelf for consultation again and again, for years to come.
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I received a free copy of this text from Kregel Publications in exchange for my honest review here.