In Practicing the Monastic Disciplines, authors Sam Hamstra Jr. and Samuel Cocar recover the wisdom of the Christian desert and make it more available and accessible to modern Christians, especially those in the evangelical circle they inhabit. Believing that moderns like themselves often flail in their Christian lives, the authors discover in the desert Christians of late antiquity a clear map for growing in Christlikeness, as well as an effective set of tools (or weapons) for combating temptation. This set of insights sees its completion in the spiritual theology of Evagrius Ponticus, a monastic theologian who expertly assessed the maladies and corresponding remedies of Christian discipleship. Evagrius and his comrades offer modern Christians a coherent framework for spiritual formation and growth, one which treats seriously both the frailties of human nature and the potential for sanctification. This strand of patristic spirituality guides us toward glorifying God through both training our bodies and ordering our interior lives.

Sam Hamstra Jr. is a retired pastor and professor of church history. He is also the author of several books, including What's Love Got to Do with It? (Wipf & Stock, 2016), and editor of One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Tome 1: John Nevin's Writings on Ecclesiology (1844-1849) and One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Tome 2: John Nevin's Writings on Ecclesiology (1851-1858), both published by Wipf & Stock.
Samuel Cocar is a pastor and PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee completing his dissertation on African-American Spirituality, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Black Freedom Struggle in Milwaukee, 1954-1970.