Book Review: Disciplines of a Godly Man by R. Kent Hughes

Disciplines of a Godly Man by R. Kent Hughes is a book that I have been wanting to pick for a long time. The book has been around for over a decade and highly recommended among many church leaders. Crossway has now an updated version of the book available along with study questions for those who are doing a group study or your own personal growth.

In this book, Hughes addresses the issue that men in our day are not disciplined. There are a number of reason for what he does go into great detail. He also expresses that men are on a spiritual decline where women are growing more spiritually then they are. While we can rejoice that women in the church are growing spiritually, we also must be concerned that the men in the church are not. The church in America, as Hughes puts it, needs real men and I agree. The church needs men who will lead, grow spiritually, love their families, and stand for truth. Contrary to what Feminism says, women in the church desire to see men stand up for Christ and take charge.

The rest of the book deals with the discipline of a man in every area of their lives. The first is in relationships. We must have discipline to be husbands and fathers. We also must be disciplined in purity where we seek to be holy in our words and actions in our relationships. Next, we must be disciplined in our spiritual growth. We need to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ as 2 Corinthians 10 tells us. We also desire prayer and worship in our spiritual growth.

Hughes goes on to address our character that we must be men of integrity and men who do their jobs well. We also must be disciplined in ministry where we are ready to serve in our churches. Not every Christian is called to vocational ministry, by we are all called to be involved in ministry. We are also called to be a witness as well. Christ commands the church to make disciples. The church need men who are disciplined who will be able to make disciples.

There is so much in this book that it might take a few posts to address them. I am grateful that I had the chance to read this book and hope to read it again with a small group of men as we seek to be the men that the church needs.

Thanks Crossway for letting me review this book.