“I am so grateful this edition of a rich spiritual resource will become available. I hope it is widely and wisely read.”

John Ortberg, senior pastor of Menlo Church, author of Eternity Is Now in Session

“The best practice I have seen in Christian spiritual formation.”

Dallas Willard, author of The Divine Conspiracy

“This first book in The Apprentice Series, The Good and Beautiful God, is a treasure. Dr. Smith has thought long and hard about the process of human transformation into the likeness of Jesus. I urge you to buy this book immediately! Read it and apply it. Then live it out in the context of a loving community. You will not regret doing so.”

Richard J. Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline and coauthor of Longing for God

“Most of us want to change, whether it is changing some bad habit to changing a deeply ingrained character defect, and Smith reminds us that change does not result from willpower. The will has no power. Spiritual change begins with God—what we think about God shapes what we think about ourselves and those around us and our world. Spiritual change begins with a narrative where God is the center: What is our ‘narrative’ of God? What are the narratives that hinder our perception and life in God? A major feature of this series is the power of false narratives in our lives and the power of good narratives that can effect change. The false narrative is that effort and willpower leads to change. The true narrative is about God—about Christ—about the Spirit—and about your place in the God Narrative.”

Scot McKnight, Julius R. Mantey Professor of New Testament, Northern Seminary

“I don’t seem to be able to think of my friend Jim Smith and his book The Good and Beautiful God without breaking into a cheerful, warm, and friendly smile! Jim is a delight as a friend, a teacher, and a wise counselor. Over the last ten years as I have traveled widely, I have run into countless people who testify to the grace-filled and powerful insights in Jim’s writing for discipleship, for spiritual formation, and for apprenticeship to Jesus. As Dallas Willard taught both Jim and me, ‘There is nothing more important to Jesus than our view of apprenticeship and its relationship to what we think about God.’ This is why The Good and Beautiful God is such an important book, deserves a special tenth-year edition, and is destined to become a classic in the years to come.”

Todd Hunter, bishop of the diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others

“James Bryan Smith has written a great and beautiful book. Deep, inspiring, and highly accessible, this is the best book I’ve read on spiritual practices. I recommend it to everyone.”

Ken Shigematsu, pastor of Tenth Church, Vancouver, BC, author of Survival Guide for the Soul

“‘What do you want?’ This question, which Jesus often asked, is central to this book. If you want a life of growing connection to Jesus and a reliable plan for advancing that goal, this is a book to read and return to again and again. James Bryan Smith holds to the compelling paradox of God’s good news: that while spiritual formation is not accidental, we only learn to love him because he, in his kindness, has first loved us.”

Jen Pollock Michel, author of Surprised by Paradox, Keeping Place, and Teach Us to Want

“Other authors have written extensively on spiritual disciplines and the spiritual life, but few have created a curriculum that is as accessible to the common believer seeking spiritual growth. I exuberantly recommend this book to anyone interested in a practical model of spiritual growth.”

Steve Gioielli, Journal of Spiritual Formation Soul Care, Fall 2009