The contemporary obsession with spirituality, among Christians and pagans alike, surely betokens something worthy of the church’s attention.

I am not convinced, however, that the current vogue for spirituality should be embraced without making important historical and theological distinctions. I contend, moreover, that these distinctions will lead us to prefer the term piety over spirituality.

Such inward piety, I argue, springs from the outward life of faith as it is lived in the church, especially through doctrinal preaching and sacramental worship. Only when it is focused and grounded and transformed, I conclude, can the church benefit from the resurgent spirituality of our time.

The term spirituality is perilously vague. It is an abstract noun that has become so devoid of theological content that it can be attached to almost any modifying phrase.

from “Outward Faith, Inward Piety: The Dependence of Spirituality on Worship and Doctrine,” in For All the Saints: Evangelical Theology and Christian Spirituality