Journey into Lightl

1.   How come my church does not teach Spiritual Formation?

• Many seminaries have tended to neglect connecting theology to how people are transformed.

• Many pastors have tended to not provide practical application of the Word to the daily struggles with sin that people face.

• Too many pastors have tended to make knowing the Word an end itself, instead of it being a means through the Spirit of experiencing God at the heart level.

• People are often taught by word and example that knowing the Word is more important than being godly.

• There has been the tendency to lose God among the wonders of his Word, and fail to cultivate a relationship with him.

• The focus of much teaching tends to be on doing the right things and doctrinal correctness. This can lead people to believing and doing right things, instead of being the right person through changed heart beliefs.

• Many pastors often do not teach people how to experience the presence of God in their daily lives.

• Many pastors have tended not to teach people how to cooperate with God practically in growing spiritually.

2.  How may this approach to spiritual transformation affect my church?

• There would be much more dependence on prayer, and less dependence on intellect to lead the church.

• There would be a greater emphasis on small groups, mentoring, discipleship and spiritual direction.

• The sermons would not lose their emphasis on teaching truth, but also they would be tailored to help people to engage the text at the heart level.

• There would be less busyness and ineffective programs, and more informal one or two-day retreats.

• There would also be greater transformation in the lives of the elders that leads to a more open, loving fellowship at the Board-level that God can use in a more powerful way to do his work through the church.

• Small groups would provide fellowship at a much deeper level, and be more of a living all of life together, as they relate at the heart-to-heart level.

• Many people would become “unstuck” in their growth process by being provided with spiritual disciplines that can help them to better cooperate with God.

3.   Whatever happened to just knowing and doing the biblical commands and principles in the Bible?

The doing of the biblical commands from the heart requires God’s participation in the process. Spiritual Formation trains practical disciplines and concepts that aid in receiving God’s power to live the Bible’s commands and principles.

4.   Doesn’t Spiritual Formation tend to lead people to neglect the ministry?

In the short-run, there will often be some withdrawal from church activities to provide time to practice the spiritual disciplines. However, the purpose of the disciplines is to connect to God in a deeper way, so that a person’s life becomes more supernatural. So, in the long-run, as people do the ministries of the church, they will often become more fruitful, for God will be increasingly leading and empowering their efforts.

5.      What are these spiritual disciplines that you are talking about?

The following list includes several of the most commonly practiced spiritual disciplines of Spiritual Formation:

• The Word disciplines (reading, hearing, studying, memorizing, and meditating on the Bible)
• Contemplative and Centering prayer
• Small Group
• Silence
• Solitude
• Mentoring
• Retreats
• Spiritual warfare
• Ministry
• Walking in the Spirit
• Putting off the old and putting on the new
• Journaling
• Being yoked to Jesus
• Asking God to reveal beliefs of the heart
• Spiritual Direction

These are some of the most common practices of Spiritual Formation. Some of these are widely practiced by evangelical churches today. Many are not. God will lead each of us  in which ones to practice during each day and season of our lives. These practices are not to become a form of earning spiritual growth, but as a means to position ourselves for God to transform us.

6. Is Spiritual Formation charismatic?

No, not as the term is commonly used. Spiritual Formation does emphasize an experiential love relationship with God that lives truth from the heart. It does not teach focusing on the charismatic gifts at the expense of all the other gifts. It teaches that all the gifts are important in the body today. It does emphasize relating to God through his Word as of primary importance, but also teaches the importance of prayer and other spiritual disciplines as important means that God uses to fellowship with us. It does teach the importance of feelings as an indicator of the truth about the condition of our hearts, but stresses that the truth of the Word is our guide for life. It does teach that the Christian life can only be lived in the power of the Spirit.