A couple of nights ago I received the second endorsement for The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment. As I mentioned the first time an endorsement came in, I will continue to share these because, in many ways, I feel that this book was a community effort as readers of the site prayed for me, encouraged me, proofread the book (in a few cases), and generally made it all possible. This second endorsement was courtesy of Dr. Donald Whitney (who, as you know, is Associate Professor of Biblical Spirituality at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, president of the Center for Biblical Spirituality and the author of several books you really need to read).

The path to most biblical graces is bordered with hazards on both sides of the way. With love, for example, one must avoid the temptation toward indulgence on one side and varying degrees of apathy on the other. With the subject of this book—discernment—one can fall into the ditch of careless naivete on the left or wander into the dark woods of a critical spirit on the right. Tim Challies carefully guides his reader between these dangers and on toward Christlike discernment. I’ve simply never read a more thorough, practical, and biblically sound treatment of this subject. Anyone wanting to study biblical discernment should not miss this book.

Needless to say, I’m grateful to Dr. Whitney for reading the review and providing this blurb and am much encouraged by it.

I mentioned last week that I had received the first endorsement for The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment, or TDoSD if you were trying to decipher the headline, (which, to remind you, should be available on January 7 of next year). A few weeks ago the manuscript was sent to a handful of authors, teachers and other people I much admire who indicated they would be willing to read through it with a view to providing an endorsement. Now under normal circumstances I would simply wait with these and let these appear first on the back of the book. But since the community at this site has really been involved in the book at every stage, I thought it only fair to post them as they come in. And allow me to pause here for a brief moment. Once again I’d like to thank you for your prayers and support while I wrote the book. They truly were invaluable.

I am a bit concerned that this post will seem self-serving, but do hear my heart here. I’m excited and encouraged to see endorsements begin to arrive and trust you will be too. So here it is: the first endorsement (and do note: this is an excerpt of a larger piece of text).

Tim Challies is uniquely qualified to write on the subject. I don't know of a more reliable or more prolific commentator on the contemporary evangelical scene. His weblog is a favorite stop for thousands of Christian readers every day. His book reviews and his comments on evangelical trends are consistently even-handed, thorough yet succinct, and full of perceptive insights… The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment is a truly important work—one that should be required reading not only for church leaders, but for all sober-minded laypeople as well.

Dr. John MacArthur
Pastor-Teacher, Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, CA

I’ll be sure to let you know when and if other endorsements arrive.

Yesterday afternoon I put the finishing touches on my book and sent it off to the publisher, one day ahead of my April 1 deadline. I had assumed that I would feel a great sense of relief after doing this but was surprised to find that my reaction was one of fear, wondering whether what I sent was in any way good enough or worthy of being published. This is probably pride rearing its ugly head. Thankfully I had little time for such worries as Aileen had asked a bunch of our friends over to celebrate. We had a good evening together before going our separate ways in order to watch the hockey game (it was, after all, a Saturday night near the end of the season).

This book has been the fruit of many years of study followed by nearly a year of writing. The book comes at a time that spiritual discernment is rarely emphasized in the church but also at a time that there seems to be a revival of interest in the subject matter. Unfortunately, very few books on this topic have been written and most of the ones that have are no longer in print. It has been a thrill to work with Crossway to attempt to fill this void.

I also sent the manuscript to potential endorsers, many of whom are among my modern day heroes of the faith. I am honored that these people would consider reading the manuscript and hope they prove willing and able to provide endorsements for it. There is something both humbling and terrifying about sending the unedited manuscript to these people!

Here is a short summary of the book:

The Discipline of Discernment turns to the Bible to seek what God teaches on the subject of spiritual discernment, a term I define as the skill of understanding and applying God’s Word with the purpose of separating truth from error and right from wrong. Written for the general reader and in a way that is suitable for a wide audience, the book teaches people to think biblically so they might act biblically. It provides a call for discernment, teaching the importance of this discipline in guarding the deposit God has entrusted to us. It leads the reader from the challenges they will face as discerning Christians to the Bible’s pattern for discernment, focusing on 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 which reads “Test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” It teaches what the Bible says about discernment in the context of the truth of God and the will of God, warns of the potential dangers that befall those who emphasize discernment and discusses discernment in the context of spiritual gifts. It is thorough, while not exhaustive, and seeks always to focus on the Word of God.

The ten chapters fall in this order:

1. A Call to Discernment
2. The Challenge of Discernment
3. Defining Discernment
4. The Heart of Discernment
5. Truth and Discernment
6. The Will and Discernment
7. The Gift of Discernment
8. The Dangers of Discernment
9. Developing Discernment
10. The Practice of Discernment

While I have been working on the book under the title of The Discipline of Discernment, I expect that it will soon have a new and better title. While this one does summarize the book’s contents, I’m not sure that it is the best choice from a marketing and thematic perspective.

I expect to receive the manuscript from my editor in seven or eight weeks. It will no doubt be covered in copious amounts of red ink. I will have a short period of time to make the necessary changes and corrections and, as I understand it, the publisher will then have the book typeset and I will then receive the proofs and make any final adjustments. After that we work out final details and it gets prepared for printing. At some point the publisher will work on cover art and page design. In the meantime, I will work on preparing a study guide. To this point I have written study questions but will attempt to write a more thorough expository-style guide that will be suitable for individual or group use.

The book is tentatively scheduled for release in January of 2008.

I’d like to thank those of you who read this site as in some ways it almost feels that this has been a community project. Without the interest in that web site this book would not have come about. I have enjoyed getting to know many of you either face-to-face or through email. I am indebted to you for your support, your input and your prayers. As you no doubt realized, there were several occasions that I used you as a testing ground for my ideas. I know this book is better because of your feedback. I hope it serves you and the wider church very well. I’d ask that you continue to pray for the book as the writing and editing process continues.

As I reach the end of the assigned writing period for my book (my official deadline is April 1) I am increasingly aware that writing a book, though in many ways a private pursuit, is also a pursuit that depends on an increasingly wide group of others. I have had to open the book to more and more people, seeking feedback, suggestions and so on. I’ve even turned to the readers of this site a few times and intend to do that again today.

First off, I have to begin thinking about finding people who might be willing to endorse the book. The process works something like this:

• I am now ready to begin asking people if they would be willing to consider endorsing the book.
• After I have finished writing the book but before it has been edited I will actually send the manuscript to those who are willing to read it.
• Those people will read it and, if they feel so inclined, will write an endorsement.

It’s that simple. Now I know that people are busy and am aware that some who say they will endorse it will no doubt have it fall off their list of priorities. As per my publisher’s wishes, I need to find at least five people who will endorse it.

Endorsements serve to give a book credibility on at least two levels. First, there are the words of the endorsement. These provide a quick word of praise for the book so that a person who pulls the book from the shelf can get some idea of what others think of it. Second, there are the names of the people who provide the endorsement. A potential reader will be more likely to read a book endorsed by a person he respects than a book that is endorsed by someone he does not respect or that is not endorsed at all. Or so the thinking goes.

The general strategy with endorsements is to determine what type of person would benefit from reading the book and then to gain an endorsement from someone who will appeal to that audience. So if I wanted to get my book in the hands of middle-aged Southern Baptist women, I would ask Beth Moore for an endorsement. If I wanted to put it in the hands of atheists, I’d ask Richard Dawkins and for cyclists I’d ask Lance Armstrong. And so on.

I have been attempting to identify the most natural audience for this book and have then been attempting to think of people who would best reach that audience and who has the highest profile within that audience.

So here I appeal to you. If you can think of an audience that would or should read the book and a person whose endorsement may be useful in promoting the book’s usefulness to that audience, I would love to hear your suggestions.

Additionally, as I wrap the book up, I would be interested in hearing any questions you may have about discernment that you think the book should answer. I do believe I have covered many different angles and also know that I cannot answer every possible answer and address every possible issue. Still, if you do have questions or concerns about discernment, feel free to post them and I’ll see if they would fit the flow of the book.

Thanks in advance!