The Christian publishing industry produces enough self-help books to choke a whale. The sheer volume suggests that they all can’t be good. In fact, there are few that stand the test of time much less the test of relevance after a single year. The best writers aren’t always the best sellers and the best sellers are often out of date.

After several years of ministry I find it is easy to be skeptical about the latest book designed to help people grow in their relationship with God. Typically, these materials land in one of two camps. They either resemble the modern inheritors of Norman Vincent Peale or they are soul grinding rehashes of fundamentalist theologies reminding us that salvation may be by grace alone but the kind of life one lives afterward is fueled by anything but grace. Landing between these two poles is James Bryan Smith’s new Apprentice Series. The first book in the series, The Good and Beautiful God, sets the stage for a theology of and a design for spiritual growth that is neither milquetoast nor legalistic.

As protégé of both Richard Foster and Dallas Willard, Jim Smith has an impressive platform from which to speak. He reveals in his introduction that much of his work is translating Dallas Willard for the common woman or man. While he relies heavily upon his mentors this material draws also upon Smith’s own experience and his broad, serious theological reflection. He not only translates but enfleshes Willard’s work by providing “soul training exercises."  Essentially spiritual disciplines, these exercises are presented in a way that allows the reader to avoid the trap of performance-based spirituality.

Smith’s combination of basic theology and doable “soul training” sets the stage for something significant. For example, take three of his exercises: sleep, margin and slowing down. Clearly, what Smith is advocating here is not another “program” of dos and don’ts but an actual overhaul of life; an overhaul producing nothing of itself. Instead, his “soul training exercises” create space for growth. They create space for the Spirit of God to do the work of re-creation, renovating the heart, the soul and one’s entire life.

Smith emphasizes the rejection of our old, false narratives. The stories that guide our life but hurt us in the process. Narratives such as “God is an angry judge. If you do well, you will be blessed; if you sin, you will be punished.”  Instead he challenges the reader to get to know the God that Jesus knows. Replacing false narratives with Jesus’ core narratives that come from his relationship with his Father. He puts it this way:

“All of us have to face pain and difficulty, sometimes even tragedy. As we come to know and draw close to the God Jesus knows, we find a new kind of strength to deal with our struggles. If we do not know God as our Abba Father, then we will never have the courage to face our problems. But as we come to know the good and beautiful God that Jesus knows, our struggles take on a whole new meaning. If God is truly good and is looking out for our good, then we can come to him with complete honesty. We can practice honesty when we pray—baring our souls and confronting those hurts that make us doubt God’s goodness by handing them over to him for healing.” (pg. 64)

The first in a series, The Good and Beautiful God is essentially a theology of the spiritual life based upon what Smith understands to be the essential attributes of God. Seven of the nine chapters highlight qualities of God’s character such as his goodness, love, trustworthiness, and ability to transform the human life. Each chapter, while clarifying important theological concepts, such as the fatherhood of God and what we are to make of his wrath, includes at  chapter’s end a soul training exercise which fits hand in glove with that theological concept. If the book only contained Smith’s theology without the soul training it would still be good. If it only contained the soul training but not the theology it remains worth the read. But the combination of the two empowers the reader to create space in their life for the work of the Spirit. It also leaves the reader sufficiently engaged to continue the process of spiritual growth. The Good and Beautiful God whets the appetite.

Lucky for us, there is more to come.  

The Good and Beautiful God is the first of three volumes. It will be followed up with The Good and Beautiful Life a guide to living in and participating with God’s Kingdom. The third volume, due out in the fall of next year, The Good and Beautiful Community describes the kind of life that is to be experienced within the church, God’s communities of prayerful love.

Much is made of balance. Without falling into the twin traps of legalism and self-absorption James Bryan Smith makes his case that it is God himself who does the work of spiritual transformation. He doesn’t leave it there however. Through his spiritual theology, coupled with practices for real life, he graciously and effectively, guides the reader into the experience of “working out their own salvation.”

Paul Hill writes at the Wheatland Mission.