Spiritual Disciplines Within the Church by Donald S. Whitney
Whitney, Donald S. Spiritual Disciplines Within the Church. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1996. 216 pp. $14.99. Purchase at Amazon
Introduction
Don Whitney is president of The Center for Biblical Spirituality and also serves as the Associate Professor of Biblical Spirituality at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and as Senior Associate Dean in the School of Theology. Before becoming a professor, he had pastored for more than 24 years and though he does not currently serve as a pastor, he still teaches and preaches most every Sunday in various churches across the country. He also enjoys (not too sure that is a strong enough word) repairing and using vintage fountain pens.
Summary
Whereas The Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life is concerned with personal spirituality from a biblical perspective, Spiritual Disciplines Within the Church (SDWTC) is concerned about corporate spirituality from a biblical perspective.
He writes in his introduction that he wants to invite people to enjoy the church as it declares the glory of Christ. He also wants to see the church pull away from the consumerism that has controlled her in recent decades. In twelve chapters, Whitney details twelve disciplines that should be found in the church body. Some of these are individual by necessity (researching the church) while most are meant to be done at a corporate level. The list of the disciplines found in the church include:
- going to church–obedience to Hebrews 10:15
- seeking baptism–a public display of faith is tantamount to a wedding ceremony (Eph. 5:31-32)
- joining a church–there is a measure of accountability in doing this (Mt. 18:15-17; 1 Cor. 5)
- listen to preaching–God’s chosen means to spread the gospel (Romans 10:14-17)
- worshiping with the church– Heb. 10:25 applies here
- witnessing–corporate witness is stronger than individual witness
- serving in the church–Jesus modeled a servants attitude, so should we (Mk. 10:45)
- giving to the church–Paul discusses sacrificial giving for the poor and the ministers often in his letters
- attending the ordinances–Both the Lord’s Supper and baptism were meant to be public in the church
- fellowship with the church–this is modeled in Acts 2:42
- praying with the church–corporate prayer allows for the church to join together in unity to pray
- learning with the church–1 Tim 3:15 explains that the church is the pillar of truth
- researching the church–You need to know what the church believes and does before joining
This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of Spiritual Disciplines found in a church, but each chapter details why it is important to seek these various disciplines. There is a study guide available for download as well.
Review/Recommendation
What I most appreciate about the book is that Whitney seeks to root each of these disciplines in solidly in Scripture. He writes of these disciplines with a humble heart and the mind of one who has pastored for over 24 years. While these disciplines may not be directly commanded by God in His Word, though all can be found either by command, implication or in principle in Scripture. Based on those, Whitney shows that a healthy church will be involved in all of these at some level.
When I served as an associate pastor, pastor of youth, I took my students through both of Don’s Spiritual Disciplines books to show them methods by which they could walk closer with God. Four years later, I have talked with some of those students and have been told that these disciplines have impacted their lives and have helped them find biblically sound churches as they have moved around with college and such. More importantly, using these disciplines has helped them to avoid some negative church situations while looking for a local congregation to join in worship.
I would recommend SDWTC to any minister wanting to cultivate a love for the local body of believers, Christ’s bride, in the congregation that the Lord has made him the undershepherd. Unfortunately, in this day of watered-down spirituality, the glory of God found in corporate Spiritual Disciplines has been lost on many. I pray that through Whitney’s book, this glory might be revealed once again in churches across the land.
It’s not the list above that’s bad (going to church, praying with the church…), but that the foundational understanding of ‘spiritual disciplines’ itself isn’t Biblical. Here are some good articles that address this topic. I’m afraid Whitney takes his cue on ‘spiritual disciplines’ from Richard Foster and Dallas Willard (he quotes both in his book “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life), although he attempts to make them more Biblical.
Michael,
I appreciate your comment and thank you for reading my review on Spiritual Disciplines Within the Church. I do, however, wonder if you have actually read Dr. Donald S. Whitney’s book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life or if you have only read what Pastor Bob DeWaay has written. For example, DeWaay says more than a few times that Whitney endorses both Willard and Foster but never actually quotes or cites an endorsement by Whitney. It is one thing to quote someone and recognize the fact that they have been influential in the area of Spiritual Disciplines and something completely different to actually support and approve of all of their teachings even in a specific area.
If you’ll compare the sample chapter from Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life that’s on Don’s website with the same chapter in the book, You will see that the references to Foster and Willard in the book have been removed from the website version. Whitney has told me he intends to remove all the handful of quotations from Foster and Willard in the next edition of the book. And incidentally, the book was written in 1991. Foster and Willard weren’t recognized for their errors twenty years ago as much as they are today. For instance, did DeWaay write about them then? Moreover, I believe Whitney has matured and sharpened his thinking on the subject since he was in his mid-30s. One place to see this is in an article written last year by Don entitled “Do I Have to Keep a Journal?”
Second, I would ask if you have read anything written by Whitney that addresses this exact issue? It is available on the Internet. For instance, you can read Don’s paper delivered at the Evangelical Theological Society in 2001 entitled “Defining the Boundaries of Evangelical Spirituality.” This is of note because DeWaay uses a subtitle in his blog dated March/April 2009 with the following words “Spirituality Without Boundaries.” It is also interesting that Don’s address at the ETS predates DeWaay’s blog by 8 years.
Third, Don has also addressed these issues (mysticism) at length in the book The Compromised Church edited by John Armstrong published in 1998. His chapter is entitled “Doctrine and Devotion: A Reunion Devoutly to be Desired.” He addresses both Foster and Willard’s mysticism in this article and has the same issues as DeWaay with their teachings. The difference being that Don is willing to acknowledge that where they agree with Scripture they have said a few things worth noting.
One other thing, evidently DeWaay admires John MacArthur and sees him as like-minded on these issues. I know that Whitney’s book has been held up in the pulpit of Grace Community Church and everyone was encouraged to buy it. Whitney has led a retreat for MacArthur’s church, and MacArthur wrote a foreword for the book Whitney wrote after Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. Perhaps MacArthur–who knows Whitney personally–knows something about Whitney that DeWaay does not.
I would ask that you read these articles and compare what Whitney writes to what DeWaay charges. I believe you will find that DeWaay makes some fairly sweeping and unsubstantiated charges in his review.
God bless, brother.