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If you run Richard Foster\u2019s name through a search engine, nearly every bio you surface will include some variation of the phrase, \u201cbest known for Celebration of Discipline<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 Published in 1978, the book was not an instant bestseller. Through organic word-of-mouth, it crept onto bestseller lists and into the awareness of nearly every Christian then and now. Today, it\u2019s considered a classic, and Christianity Today even included it as one of the top ten books of the century. It\u2019s sold in the millions of copies. Something to be proud of, right?<\/p>\n Richard Foster, a Quaker pastor and founder of Renovar\u00e9, a spiritual formation ministry, was 36 when Celebration of Discipline<\/em> was published. He\u2019s written a few more books since, his most recent being Learning Humility: A Year of Searching for a Vanishing Virtue<\/em> (IVP, 2022). He\u2019s now 80.<\/p>\n His new book is a meandering journal sharing Foster\u2019s thoughts and impressions as he considers what humility is in the context of the Christian life. In an interview, he shares that this was actually a three-year mulling process that has been distilled down for the book.<\/p>\n The motivation to create this study in humility came from seeing \u201cnarcissism and greed and selfishness dominating the mood of our culture. It just seemed that people everywhere were at each other\u2019s throats,\u201d he writes.<\/p>\n Foster explains that humility is a primary characteristic of the life of Christ that we should emulate, and it is born from sacrificial service to others. It should be noted that service is one of the key disciplines he addressed in his first book.<\/p>\n Foster explains that \u201chumility comes from the Latin humilitas<\/em>, meaning \u2018grounded\u2019 or \u2018from the earth.\u2019 Think of our word humus<\/em> (earth, soil).\u201d He continues, \u201cHence with humility we are brought back to earth. We don\u2019t think of ourselves higher than we should.\u201d This idea of being grounded as a key element of humility recurs throughout the book.<\/p>\n We can achieve humility, in part, he says, \u201cby cooperating with the grace of God.\u201d We can discern if we are progressing in humility by reflecting on these four questions:<\/p>\n He concludes his book with encouragement, ensuring us that growing in humility is a worthy endeavor, and that God is \u201ceager to grow the grace of humility\u201d in us.<\/p>\n Foster is clear that \u201cHumility as a virtue is a grace that is given by God.\u201d He explains, \u201cWe do not come by humility on our own.\u201d Rather, God initiates the process in us, yet \u201cwe can prepare for the grace of humility by orienting our will toward God.\u201d And we must do this, he says, \u201csmack in the middle of appointments and phone calls and the multiplied demands of daily life.\u201d<\/p>\n Those familiar with Foster\u2019s books may be a little startled by the structure and tone of this one. While there are parts and chapters as usual, the chapters do not embrace in a linear way specific topics. Rather, they weave in and out of the general topic as Foster shares what\u2019s happening in his world as he\u2019s writing. It is a journal. He shares his hiking experiences, encounters with friends, the weather, thoughts on what he\u2019s reading, some history of the Lakotas (a Native American tribe), his skill for building fires, and more, as well as how these influence his meditations on humility.<\/p>\n At 80, instead of writing a \u201chow-to\u201d on humility, Foster has given us a \u201clook-see\u201d example of wrestling with the idea of humility and doing one\u2019s best to live it out in the mundane nitty grittiness of routine existence. This is a book that\u2019s best read slowly, perhaps over the course of a year, to allow the insights shared time to soak in and develop roots.<\/p>\n tephen R. Clark is a writer who lives in Lansdale, PA with his wife, BethAnn, where they attend Immanuel Church. His website is www.StephenRayClark.com<\/a>. He is a member of the Evangelical Press Association and managing editor of the Christian Freelance Writers Network blog<\/a>.<\/u> He is also a news writer for The Baptist Paper<\/a> and his writing has appeared in several publications. A longer version of this review appeared in the Englewood Review of Books<\/a> and is used with permission.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n