This is from my Discerning Reader review: http://discerningreader.com/book-reviews/luther-as-a-spiritual-advisor

Often when people hear the name Martin Luther they gravitate in their thinking to controversial aspects of his life and thought. Certainly he was a polemical theologian and often faced opponents on the theological battlefield. His engagements were just as likely to have been with the Roman Church over biblical authority and justification, as with fellow reformers such as Huldrych Zwingli over Christ’s presence in the Lord’s Supper. But how many people, when questioned about Martin Luther, first think of him as a pastor?

In his recent book Luther as a Spiritual Advisor, Dennis Ngien has offered a substantial scholarly contribution to the understanding of Martin Luther as a pastor and churchman. In the pages of this work one does not encounter the Luther of Worms resisting pressure from the Magisterium, nor does one find the Luther who cast inkwells at the devil. Instead, readers are introduced to a gentle and caring pastor who offered wisdom and grace to his flock in the midst of great trial.

Dennis Ngien is Research Professor of Theology at Tyndale University College and Seminary in Toronto, Canada. He is also the founder of the Centre for Mentorship and Theological Reflection, a ministry that focuses on the interface between theology and piety in the life of the church. Dr. Ngien is an expert on Luther, having already authored a considerable study on Luther’s theology of the cross (theologia crucis) alongside numerous scholarly articles. His other major published work is on the apologetic understanding of the filioque in medieval theology. With such credentials, it goes without saying that Dennis Ngien is uniquely qualified to write a book on Luther, theology and spirituality.

Luther as a Spiritual Advisor is divided into six chapters, each dealing with an aspect of the reformer’s spirituality as it manifested itself in the church. Chapter one explains the ground of his spirituality found in Christ, the “earnest mirror,” as he taught in Meditation on Christ’s Passion in 1519. Chapter two is interestingly titled “the art of dying” and provides a profound look into Luther’s advice on how to prepare for death. Chapter three offers Luther’s meditations on evils and blessings founded on the balance between word and Spirit, which chapter four focuses on the Lord’s Supper as “sacramental piety.” Chapter five is devoted to Luther’s teaching on prayer, and the sixth and final chapter concerns the cross as a “method of comfort.” Ngien summarizes the book well when he says that Luther “was a spiritual advisor in many important areas of the Christian life: how to meditate aright on Christ’s passion; how to prepare to face the terror of death; advice for the sick; how to approach the sacrament of the altar correctly; why and how to pray aright; the benefits to be gained from the Lord’s Prayer; and how to live out a life of discipleship under the cross.” It should be obvious to any pastor that this book will prove incredibly useful for day-to-day ministry. It is also valuable to students in its insistence that theology must be done in the church and for the church. Luther, with others like him, wrote with one eye fixed on the person in the pew. Sadly, such a perspective has been lost in our day when spirituality has been divorced from biblical teaching and the academy from the needs of the Christian life. Dennis Ngien, through the writings of Luther, has shown that all true theology must be done to the glory of God in the church.

Martin Luther was no stranger to suffering. He lived in a day of archaic medical practices that could not solve even the simplest of illnesses. His was also a day when death rates were high and it was not uncommon to find distressed and confused people looking for solace in the church. Therefore, Luther’s writings on suffering are not merely theoretical, but profoundly practical. Possibly one of the hardest experiences a minister may have is in giving counsel to the dying. According to Ngien, one of the best places to turn in Luther is his Sermon on Preparing to Die. It was written to help a wealthy landowner who was plagued with fears about death. In it, Luther “described various strategies to prepare for death which should strengthen the sufferer’s conscience against the temptation to despair in the final hour.” Because the sermon was written in Luther’s early Protestant stage, certain aspects of Roman Catholicism creep in, but the foundation is solid: “Luther sought to inculcate pastorally the benefits Christ has acquired by the cross and through the resurrection, if we only believe.” Christians are to “contemplate Christ, the ‘glowing picture’” when facing death. “Christ’s death is the chief object of meditation.” After thinking on Christ himself, Luther then advises the Christian to consider sin and hell and be reminded that Christ “objectively gained victory over the images of death.” This kind of contemplation was not meant to be experienced alone, but for Luther, struggles with death should take place within the “community of the saints.” His approach to counsel is rooted firmly in Christ and the church. This is but one example of the wisdom to be found in Luther’s spiritual writings, and Dennis Ngien has done an excellent job in distilling and interpreting all of them.

Ngien’s writing is clear and easy enough to follow that even a person with little background knowledge of Luther would not get lost. There is theological terminology to be grappled with, alongside Latin quotations, but none of this bogs down the reader or makes the book for expert eyes only. If one works thoughtfully through the book, much theological and spiritual insight will be gained. For instance, readers learn that when Luther spoke of Christ’s death as being pro nobis he meant that Christ died “for us.” What a Latin term to take to heart! It is thus always a joy to read Ngien’s work; his excellent vocabulary and theological insight add an affective power to the truths communicated.

There is so much to be said in commendation of this book that it is best to let readers discover it for themselves. As a contribution to Lutheran scholarship, Luther as a Spiritual Advisor deserves a place on the shelf with Althaus and Oberman. As a book that feeds the soul, it should be in the company of Spurgeon and Piper. I therefore highly recommended that students of Luther and students of spirituality should read this book. Even more importantly, pastors who earnestly seek to meld theology with piety and offer godly counsel to the flock need to read and heed the words of Martin Luther with Dennis Ngien as a helpful guide. ( )