October 31, 2024
For the next few weeks, I want to tell you all about my recent time in Oregon for my second (of four) in-person classes as part of my Doctor of Ministry program from Portland Seminary. And let me being by thanking you all for allowing me the time away and for supporting me on this journey.
What is ‘spiritual formation’?
When I was a kid, our Southern Baptist church had someone on staff who held the title of Minister of Education. His job was to basically help equip the Sunday School classes. Then churches started to branch outside of just Sunday School and so that position was often renamed Minister of Discipleship. As more time went by, it became popular for churches to title that job Minister of Spiritual Formation. So, for me, the words “Education,” “Discipleship,” and “Spiritual Formation” have all existed almost as synonyms of one another.
Well, one of our Lead Mentor Faculty members, MaryKate Morse, spent an entire day with us unpacking what “spiritual formation” actually is. She said that many churches spend time trying to insert spiritual practices into their life together: prayer, solitude, journaling, etc. But those practices alone are not what constitute spiritual formation. And other churches place a lot of emphasis on Bible study. And while study of the scriptures is incredibly important, it too is not the same thing as spiritual formation.
The definition we are using in our program for spiritual formation comes from an essay by the theologian Jeffrey P. Greenman:
“Spiritual formation is our continuing response to the reality of God’s grace shaping us into the likeness of Jesus Christ, through the work of the Holy Spirit, in the community of faith, for the sake of the world.”
Read that definition two or three times. Notice all of the elements present: Continuing. Reality. Grace. Shaping. Jesus. Holy Spirit. Community. World.
According to Dr. Morse, churches often confuse “discipleship” and “spiritual formation.” Discipleship constitutes the practices and classes that help us experience and know what it means to follow Jesus. So, our Sunday Bible Studies or our prayer groups or any of the other opportunities we have to learn and practice faith together. But it is also easy to simply go through the motions. Showing up for Bible Study is not the same thing as being spiritually formed. Showing up is a great first step! But spiritual formation requires an intentionally to be shaped and molded.
I share this with you because I want us to do some thinking and praying together about what it would look like for us to be a church that makes a firm commitment to both discipleship and spiritual formation.
I want to hear from you: What do you think about Greenman’s definition of “spiritual formation” above? How do you understand the difference between “discipleship” and “spiritual formation”? What do you think it looks like when a church commits itself into being shaped into the likeness of Jesus Christ?
Also, if you are interested in reading more about spiritual formation, here are a few book recommendations (that I have read as part of this program):
- Life in the Spirit: Spiritual Formation in Theological Perspective by Jeffrey P. Greenman & George Kalantzis, eds.
- Ancient Paths: Discover Christian Formation the Benedictine Way by David Robinson
- Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ by Dallas Willard
