Disciplines of a Godly Man by R. Kent Hughes Review
"Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong" (1 Corinthians 16:13). That verse was constantly on my mind as I read Disciplines of a Godly Man by R. Kent Hughes.
The book and the author
I read the updated edition with a study guide, which retails around $20; the edition without the study guide is significantly cheaper. It's 284 pages, 335 with the appendices and indexes, a typical glued paperback from Crossway, printed in the USA.
R. Kent Hughes was born on March 1, 1942, and was 81 when I recorded this. He studied at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Biola University and has written dozens of books on biblical exposition, worship, ministry and godly living. He pastored College Church in Wheaton, Illinois, for 27 years until retiring in 2006, is well known as editor of the Preaching the Word commentary series, and taught at Westminster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2019. He's husband to Barbara, father of four, grandfather of 26, and (get this) great-grandfather of 14! That's the first exclamation mark I've ever put in my review notes.
What it's about
As men struggling to be men, I found this book extremely appropriate for our time. The whole book points to the one true Man, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If we're ever to understand what a man truly is, we must look to Him, and this book is all about being conformed to His image.
Each chapter ends with a study section: Food for Thought (questions pushing you on the chapter's subject, like "What's your prayer life like?"), Application/Response (every time, a call to take what the Spirit convicted you of to God in prayer; I forget that I'm communing with God as I study, so I loved that), Think About It (a chance to write things down and dwell on them), and Resources for Further Growth (five to seven books on the topic).
Hughes recommends hundreds of books, in each chapter and in a resource section in the back with recommendations from prominent Christian leaders. I wouldn't recommend all of them. One thing I don't like about many modern books is that they take an idea already written about by a Puritan or another writer who's stood the test of time and just paraphrase it. I'd rather read the original. But those books aren't necessarily bad, and it's a good starting place for what to buy next, or what not to.
What's in it
- Part 1, Introduction: discipline for godliness.
- Part 2, Relationships: the disciplines of purity, marriage, fatherhood and friendship.
- Part 3, Soul: mind, devotion, prayer and worship.
- Part 4, Character: integrity, tongue, work and perseverance.
- Part 5, Ministry: church, leadership, giving, witness and ministry.
- Part 6, Discipline: the grace of discipline.
Then appendices A through G: resources for spiritual growth, a personal reading survey, selected Proverbs on the tongue, hymns and choruses for personal adoration and praise, and praise Psalms for personal worship. The general and Scripture indexes are very in-depth. A book without an index is pretty much worthless for study, unless you want to reread the whole book to find one quote.
Would I buy it?
Yes. It's a challenging read, and if you're a man I highly recommend it. Wives, it's a great gift for your husband. Husbands, it's a great gift for your wife: buy it for yourself and become a better man! I read most of it in one day, and it was painful. It cut me to the heart.
A few things I marked
- Hughes names the culprits in neutralizing men. First feminism, which I think is the leading culprit for the lack of manhood in our culture, and second the addiction to entertainment (p. 22). Painful but true.
- He makes clear from the start that he isn't arguing for legalism (p. 23). The difference is motivation: legalism is self-centered and tries to earn merit with God; discipline is God-centered and acts out of love for God. Paul fought the legalists bare-knuckled, yet he still calls us to discipline ourselves for godliness. I've been accused of legalism myself, so I was so glad he made that distinction in the first chapter.
- "The church can have no power apart from purity" (p. 40).
- On friendship (p. 76), he's willing to say that men and women are different: men's friendships tend to center on activities and women's on sharing, men don't reveal weaknesses as readily, and some men believe the myth of the heroic loner who doesn't need anyone. Even evangelical churches are afraid to distinguish the two today.
- On the mind (p. 97), he grants that social media has good uses (like this ministry), but warns that it shapes our minds and worldviews. Then he says, knowing he's risking an absolute, that no Christian who spends the bulk of his time consuming such media can have a Christian mind. He and his wife raised their children without a television. I was raised without one too, I'm thankful for it, and I intend to raise my children the same way.
- He says that to deny ourselves the accumulated wisdom of the saints of the centuries is to consciously embrace "spiritual anorexia" (p. 101). Men, read old books!
- On prayer posture (p. 131), much like Isaac Watts in A Guide to Prayer: Scripture mentions many postures but prescribes none. What matters is that your posture helps reverent attention. The heart attitude is the key.
- Work as we did as boys when we knew our fathers were watching, because our heavenly Father is always watching (p. 191).
- No one attains true spiritual leadership who thinks his power is his own (p. 227).
- And finally: cultivate a small heart and life may be smooth sailing, but you'll never feel the wind of the Spirit in your sails.
Soli Deo Gloria!
