Review of From Cloisters to Cubicles: Spiritual Disciplines for the Not-So-Monastic Life by David Srygley

My friend David Srygley has a new book out on spiritual disciplines. As one committed to the importance of these practices, I was excited to read it, and I'd like to review it here.

Srygley, David. From Cloisters to Cubicles: Spiritual Disciplines for the No-So-Monastic Life. Bloomington, Indiana: Westbow Press, 2014. 161 pages.



Dr. David Srygley is the pulpit minister for the Arlington Heights Church of Christ in Corpus Christi, Texas. His book, From Cloisters to Cubicles (hereafter CtoC) developed as a result of his doctoral research for his Doctor of Educational Ministry at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Some doctoral dissertations, when developed into books, can be too technical for an average reader to be able to read with much benefit. I was pleased that Srygley avoided this pitfall. He has included two appendices at the end of the book that contain more of the theological and pedagogical paradigms he is trying to underscore in his project. So for leaders and thinkers, the brainier stuff is still there, but he made a good decision by putting these resources in the back, rather than making them the introduction.

CtoC contains a helpful introduction to the study, and is followed by thirteen chapters that describe different spiritual disciplines. With each chapter, his goal is to bring a practice from merely an activity in isolation--as if within a monastic cloister--to the regular, daily activities of the person implementing the practice--more like a workplace cubicle. The disciplines he covers are: prayer, study, meditation, fasting, simplicity, solitude and silence, submission, service, confession, worship, guidance, and celebration.

What makes Srygley's approach unique is that he takes a decidedly missional slant on the role and purpose of the spiritual disciplines. He states in his first chapter, "Spiritual disciplines are not for escaping the world; they are for engaging it!" (emphasis his.) I was pleased that Srygley never steps outside of this framework from chapter to chapter, consistently urging the practice of the disciplines in ways that can be integrated into one's daily routines, balancing internal and external focuses.

Srygley's material draws from a series of classes he presented at Arlington Heights as part of his research, and is written in a way that is intended to be used by the average church member. All chapters end with both discussion questions and journaling suggestions, which is an interesting way to integrate the ideas. Srygley acknowledges his indebtedness to Foster and Willard in particular for the "toolbox" and "textbook" on spiritual disciplines from which he draws. He engages their ideas, but CtoC is not merely a regurgitation of what Foster, Willard, and others have already done. Srygley makes a valuable contribution by encouraging a holistic use of the disciplines that, while interested in helping Christians connect with the divine, does not lose sight of our engagement with the world around us.

The book has few shortcomings, but there are a couple of areas I would humbly suggest. The chapters are all well-written, but fairly brief, and some leave the reader wishing for a bit more. Having said that, because his goal is to engage people who are new to the disciplines, it was important to keep things simple and digestible, even if a bit too brief at points. The book will make a fine starting point, but someone wanting to go further will need to continue seeking more resources. Also, one small point on style: Srygley is an enthusiastic public presenter. Sometimes for energetic speakers, in their effort to write enthusiastically they overuse exclamation points, which I felt occurred a few times. (My own tendency to do this makes me aware of it.) Happily, neither of these things is significant enough to diminish the book's usefulness.

In the future, I would like to see Srygley share more about his experiences in trying to help his congregation implement these practices. He has a passion for the importance of living an intentionally Christ-centered life, with a heart both for bringing the lost into the fold, and helping Christians to mature. I'm excited about what he's already done, and I believe he will continue contributing to this valuable conversation.

In summary, From Cloisters to Cubicles is a great first step for someone who (1) is completely new to spiritual disciplines and wants to have them explained in simple terms, (2) has some working knowledge of the disciplines and is looking for ways to integrate spiritual disciplines into daily routines, or (3) is looking for material to use about spiritual disciplines in a church class setting. I'm grateful to David both for his friendship, and for the good resource he has created in writing this book.

Inspiring Passion and Action Through Communcation

Origami In the Pursuit of Perfection from MABONA ORIGAMI on Vimeo.

I loved this video. I love the idea of starting with the things available to you, and combining them in new and wonderful ways. I believe that God has give each of us the ability to bloom where we're planted, and it's up to us to seek out the best ways to bloom.

I've been working on some ideas for what we'll be doing at church over the next year. We're trying to emphasize outreach and evangelism. While we have what I think are some great ways to move forward in this direction, one of the areas that Don and I have seen most challenging is the preaching. Sure, you can get up and fuss at people and say, "We all need to be more evangelistic!" As a preacher, you can always just blurt out what needs to be said, pat yourself on the back for speaking "the truth in love", and saying, "If they don't do it, it's their problem." I think we can--and must--do better than that in teaching and equipping our members.

Fred Craddock's approach to communicating is the best I've seen. "Inductive preaching", he calls it. Rather than state the major point you're making, you walk them through the thoughts and emotions that built up to your point, allowing them to reach the conclusion through their own thought processes. Inductive preaching is much more difficult to do than deductive preaching, but when it connects, it's very powerful. I feel like we've got to find some ways to talk about reaching the lost that will evoke feelings of compassion for the lost souls of the world, but it is so difficult to help people develop passion unless there is some already there.

I'm curious about what you think: How can you communicate with people about evangelism in a way that makes them feel motivated to be more evangelistic?

How do you inspire passion in people?

What has your minister/church leader done that has caused passion about God's work to well up from within you?

Balancing Evangelism and Spiritual Growth with Teens

Teenagers are at a very bizarre stage in life. On the one hand you can talk to them about mature concepts, to which they can make intelligent--even brilliant--responses. Then 15 minutes later, they're wrestling on the floor, destroying furniture, throwing food at each other, or laughing hysterically at fart noises.

Above all, teens are impressionable. I'm convinced that campus ministries are some of the most important things happening for the future of Christianity. If people aren't reached while they're young, they'll probably be too busy and consumed with their lives later to think about following Christ. This all leads to a dilemma for me.

I see how vital it is that our teens be reaching out to their friends who are lost. We need to train our kids early to be missions-minded, believing that without Christ there is no hope for anyone. There are many lost teens whose parents might allow them to come and participate in church activities, providing us with an opportunity to share the gospel with them and hopefully to convert them. But there is a problem.

Monday we had our teen olympics at church, which were a lot of fun. We did all sorts of relays and games, and eventually drank a lot of Gatorade. But there was a boy riding his skateboard around, looking at us, though pretending not to be looking at us. I thought, "We need to be reaching out, even if he is slightly younger than the youth group aged kids." So I went over and told him to join us. I patted myself on the back for being evangelistically-minded, and hoped I'd just earned an extra star in my crown. The kid participated well and seemed to have fun. But the more comfortable he got, the more uncomfortable he started making everyone else. He started telling us lots of random things about his family, his hobbies, school stuff, etc. We managed to be friendly and to placate him.

Then we went inside for a meal, and some of the older teens made their way back outside to play some football. In the absence of the adult chaperones, this little guy proceeded to start using some very unsavory expressions and attitudes. One teen told me that when this boy started using foul language, an older teen of ours told him to quit, after which he started using more. Someone said, "Did he just drop the F-bomb?" To quote Corn Bread's response (a nicknamed teen of ours): "He didn't just drop the F-bomb; he threw it down." At that point, one of our older ones told him he'd have to leave if he was going to act that way, so he did.

When you invite in people from the world, you get people from the world. People who don't share our values, our teaching, or our personal accountability to God. This young guy is a very mild example of what can be found in the lives of those who don't know God. As someone responsible for guarding my teens' souls, I want to keep bad influences away from them. On the other hand, the worst thing I could do would be to teach them to avoid all people in the world because they have sin in their lives. If that were the case, the Church could never grow. Rabbit-hole Christians accomplish very little in helping to spread the Gospel.

I'm struggling with how to balance giving our teens the nourishment which they need for proper spiritual growth with the practical training they need to be missions-minded. When is a child ready to start reaching others with the gospel? What if I start pushing them to bring all their friends and we get so many problem kids that our youth group is unable to properly function? If I spend more time dealing with discipline than in teaching them, the whole thing becomes self-defeating. Yes, mission trips with focussed activities (door knocking) are good for them to do, but they need to be reaching out to the people they deal with in normal settings, too. They have so much to learn, and I don't want their growth stunted by a competing voice of darkness, but if they don't learn to rescue people from darkness, what good will they be? Not to mention, they're all in different stages of growth. Some can't handle what others can.

This is a tension I've been feeling lately, and I'm not quite sure what the solution is. I know for sure they need to be learning at home and not just from me. If the parents aren't setting the pace for their Christian development, I'll be much less effective. I guess it's all in God's hands. He's managed to keep his church alive and thriving for 20 centuries now despite similar--and even worse--problems. He can keep it going through these things as well. I would just like to know sometimes that I'm helping in the way that I ought to.