Good on Discipleship, Misguided on Spiritual Formation

books:

	• Choose the Life: Exploring a Faith that Embraces Discipleship Bill Hull, Dallas Willard Baker Books, 2004 - 224 pages average customer review:based on 11 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Good on Discipleship, Misguided on Spiritual Formation

The book is good on discipleship but, from my Evangelical perspective, is misguided on spiritual disciplines. Bill Hull acknowledges the spiritual disciplines he promotes are rooted in liberalism, neo-orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism (pp. 44,62,68). These spiritual disciplines are not rooted in the Bible but originate in Eastern mysticism and have been adopted by esoteric Christian movements over the centuries. It appears Mr. Hull is drifting with other Evangelicals into the growing surge of these unbiblical mystical practices. This issue is not a major theme of the book, but it should raise concerns and may move one to look elsewhere for a resource on biblical discipleship.

Roman Catholicism officially rejects the Reformed understanding of salvation by grace alone through faith alone. And liberal theology denies essential biblical doctrines such as the deity of Christ and his bodily resurrection. If the Roman Catholic mystics and liberal theologians Mr. Hull endorses were so good at the spiritual disciplines, and so close to God that they received direct special revelation from Him, how did they go so far astray on crucial doctrine? Could it be they favored revelation from a personal experience over what God has revealed in his Word? Scripture should provide our model for spiritual disciplines, not extra-biblical unorthodox teachings.

For example, "Choose the Life" promotes "Lectio Divina" (p.218). Similar to Lectio Divina is a form of divination called bibliomancy; the practice of seeking spiritual insight by selecting a random passage from a Holy Book. Seeking to acquire hidden knowledge by supernatural means is divination and is forbidden in Scripture. Lectio Divina may not be full blown bibliomancy, but it looks a lot more like bibliomancy than it does "accurately handling the word of truth" (2Tim. 2:15).

The first step in Lectio Divina is to take a word or phrase out of its context and assign meaning to it based on how one feels. This should be quickly and easily rejected without even bringing up the mystical nature of the practice. It completely disregards the most basic principles of hermeneutics and turns the Bible into a medium like a crystal ball or Ouija board. Instead of interpreting the objective written Word of God, one is encouraged interpret their own subjective feelings about isolated words, and then assume their private experience is equal to a Divine revelation. This creates confusion about what is authoritative and the results can be harmful. The Holy Spirit does not routinely take Scripture out of context, change its meaning from what the author intended and give the reader a personalized message. God has given us his revelation in the words of Scripture to convey truth about himself and our relationship to him. With God's grace, we come to know Him by understanding what is written and when we apply the truth of his Word to our lives we are transformed.

Bill Hull uses the rhetoric of false dichotomy. "The church is seriously debilitated by the belief that the test of salvation is doctrinal rather than behavioral"(p.70). "Going deep [with God] is not learning...it is returning good for evil"(p.69). "It's not about information but formation"(p.74). Similar dichotomies heard in today's liberalized evangelicalism are; "It's about deeds not creeds", "the heart not the head", "relationships not propositions", "behavior not belief". These examples separate practice and knowledge as if they were in opposition. Rather than correct an ineffectual use of `knowledge', knowledge is entirely dismissed and replaced with `practice'. In the pages cited above, Mr. Hull dismisses doctrine, learning and information. These are foundational for right behavior and healthy spiritual formation. If he were asked about this I'm sure he would affirm the importance of doctrine, but the language he is using here indicates otherwise. It seems he is slipping into the popular "deeds not creeds" ideology of liberalism.

On page 217 Bill Hull recommends a list of books that include several Roman Catholics and medieval mystics. Referring to this list he says, "One must make allowance for excessive theological beliefs". Why does he recommend these resources? Is this the best he has to offer? I have read and benefited from the writings of Catholics, mystics and liberals. However, they are not my preferred guide for discipleship because they too often reach outside of Scripture for their practices of spiritual formation. In the future I hope Mr. Hull will give greater consideration to the origin of his recommended resources and whether they are truly biblical. We should be promoting those spiritual disciplines prescribed in the Bible rather than borrowing mystical practices from the religions of the world.

"Errors in theology tend to breed errors in spirituality." -- Donald S. Whitney

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Choose the Life

I heartily recommend this book. I am studying this book with a group of men from my church. Bill Hull challenges us to put into action the teachings of the Bible. Intellectual accent to the truths taught in the Bible is not the faith taught in the Bible. Bill is refreshingly direct. He provides a method to help us grow in Christ. He identifies the bearers to moving forward in discipleship both within the church and each of us individually. He shares his experience of dealing with his church environment as well as his own bearers. His honesty and humility resulted in him be broken before God and allowed God's Spirit to use him to help others embrace the life of discipleship. The accompanying study guide and video help reinforce the principle's discussed in the book.

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Great Work on Discipleship

I think what I liked best about this book is that is far from a "how to" manual on discipleship or church leadership full of "tips and tricks" on how to implement programs or get people to do things. Hull is honest about his own journey, and is compelling when he encourages the reader to choose a life of genuine discipleship. Hull identifies one of the primary problems in our churches as a lack of genuine discipleship, or Christ-likeness in the lives of average believers. The solution, he argues, is to become "intolerant of fringe Christianity." He then uses a five-fold rubric to structure his vision of discipleship: transformed mind, character, relationships, service, and influence.

One of Hull's more gripping arguments is that evangelism begins with a deepening church. Disciples given over to Christ and who have a God-like love for the world will make the best evangelists. In order to extend the branches of the church, it first must strengthen its roots. In addition, Hull argues, evangelism must be a call to a whole life. We should no longer get away with momentary decisions. We must model, encourage, and produce a structure where believers at all maturity levels can find their lives aimed toward Christ.

I am convinced of Hull's basic argument that the Church needs to recapture a robust notion of discipleship. His argument that, "discipleship...is the primary and exclusive work of the church" is right on the money (pg. 29). If you want to be motivated to find out what that means as an individual or even as a leader, this is a tremendous work.

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Choose This Book

Bill Hull has written an insightful book about the failings of the church. His thesis is summed up on page 31, "The awful truth is that we are making very little impact on culture because we are shallow. And we are shallow because we have separated salvation from discipleship." Hull defines discipleship as a five step process wherein one submits to a mentor, learns of the words, ministry and life of Jesus and then finds others and makes disciples of Jesus. Hull says that the first and last steps are often neglected with the result that genuine discipleship is rare.

The last half of the book, where the life of discipleship is discussed in the context of the mind, relationships, submission and leadership is outstanding. I could quote in this review dozens of sentences I highlighted in these chapters. Choose the Life is a book I will be revisiting often as I seek to follow Christ.

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Raising the Bar

Bill Hull raises the bar for those who claim to be Christians. This book clearly supports his thesis that discipleship is not optional, and is not reserved for some elite segment of the church. He presents discipleship for what it should be - a lifelong multifaceted transformation of our character, our mind, our heart, our service and our leadership - instead of the all-too typical depiction of discipleship as a limited duration study of biblical facts leading to some type of "certificate of discipleship." One strength of the book is the degree to which Hull is willing to be transparent about his own life struggles, and the degree to which he himself is willing to model vulnerability. Fans of Richard Foster, Dallas Willard and Dietrich Bonhoeffer will enjoy, be enlightened, and experience tremendous challenge in their faith by reading and re-reading this book. I have bought and distributed no less than 30 copies.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

Many churches harbor harried congregations merely going through the motions--sleepwalking saints who fail to experience transformed living. Many are unable and unwilling to share the gospel, convinced that it's not their "gift." True disciples do more than the minimum, explains Hull. They choose the life and commit to bringing Jesus to the lost. They live out their beliefs and walk the walk. Submission shows the doubting world that Christ is embedded in their character. Choose the Life is a practical tool as accessible to laypeople as ministry leaders. Any church seeking life-changing significance will be challenged by this cutting-edge resource. No hand-holding here, Choose the Life shows church members how to take individual responsibility for both being discipled and discipling others.

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