The Importance Of Spiritual Formation And Social Action

Dallas Willard wrote in the foreword of this book, “James Wilhoit has written a book of special urgency for our times.(9)” In this writer’s opinion, that was an understatement. Some books you read for school, after the first 20 to 30 pages, you can truly tell that you are not going to like the book. You proceed to speed reading it just to grab the nuggets and move on to the next book or you choose

As human beings we are naturally introduced to a natural family, every Christian is naturally introduced to God's spiritual family. God is the Father of all his children. In the church we are like a neighborhood and in our neighborhood church, we have fathers, moms, more established and more youthful kin, and new infants being conceived in our spiritual family. We get benefits as relatives, however we likewise have responsibilities.This impacts our needs and how we treat each other. We have a similar respect and responsibility and love for our heavenly families as we improve the situation our own families. We would prefer just not to get together once per week—we need to confer our lives to each other.

Another challenge concerning the Millennials is that a lot of these young adults are growing up without attending church. The Barna group calls them the unchurched segment and report that this segment has increased in the last 10 years, from 44% to 52% (5 Reasons). This is a problem because it decreases the chances for new members to join the church. The majority of people that follows a specific religion learned about that religion in early childhood. Students of human behavior believe that “The most significant borrowing occurs in early childhood. Family is thus an important factor…” (Wuthnow 106). If the number of the unchurched segment continues to grow at this pace, in the next few decades, this will continue to be a major concern for church leaders across the Americas. It is a lot harder to try to reach those people that have never attended church or don’t come from a religious background than try to reach those that belong to a church or have been brought up in the faith.

Living in Christian community is a necessity for the everyday life of a Christian. Without community, the Christian has no one else to “sharpen” them, no one else to understand the everyday struggle of living in the world, sharing the Gospel, but not partaking in the sinful ways of the world. In “Life Together”, Dietrich Bonhoeffer explores Christian community, and presents not only the benefits of Christian community, but also the toxins that can destroy the community. Living in Christian community brings incomparable joy and community in and through Jesus Christ, but can be easily lost due to humanistic ideals, or “dreams”.

The lessons I’ve received from transitioning through the church as a child, youth, and adult member have taught me a number of lessons; patience, reverence, and empathy are all traits I’ve strengthened, and they have undoubtably helped me through my high school career. Taught how to ask thoughtful questions, I’m unashamed of my curiosity. Our faith is not always one of direct answers— even our most devoted

1. Comment on the passage on page 54 that begins "Most of the craziness in this world-violence, addictions and frenetic activity comes from running away from pain." Disguising a person 's name (if you use one) and applying the value of confidentiality, discuss some of your observations at your field placement of people (or perhaps even staff or the organization as a whole) in "pain". Using a "person in environment" perspective and a bio-psycho-social-spiritual lens, discuss your findings. (Hint: use this question to get ready to informally present a case or pertinent clinical example during small group in the next few weeks.)

If a believer is surrounded with unstable fellowship, “lost in the crowd” churches and too many questions within, the seeker can

David Mains wrote this book to explain his belief that the destructive family patterns are one of the issues relating to the relational dysfunctions of the Church body. There are many types of negative behavioral patterns so he has highlighted eight that he will explain. His introduction uses a personal lecture event that changed his view of dysfunctional families and their relationship to the Church. In that hour, the speaker laid out fifteen traits of dysfunctional families. I quote Mains, “Back at the office I set my work aside and again went through the list of unhealthy family traits. Then it dawned on me that the church family can often be marked by the same dysfunctions.” (p. 11) It is David Mains desire that the exposing of these traits

God expects individuals that call themselves “Christian” to grow spiritually. The Word of God encourages personal examination as a part of the growth process, as found in Psalm 139:23-24: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.” Becoming more Christ-like focuses on how He works in us and not on our work for Him. The Cycle of Works demonstrates that regardless of work we complete, the acceptance of others, the sustainability of our works and the significance it brings, we cannot compete with God’s Cycle of Grace that show us that we are significant in His sight and that brings us sustenance and acceptance

It’s no secret that the number of weekly Churchgoers has taken a serious hit, beginning in the late 1980’s and continuing to the current date. This is a global occurrence, although the US percentage has reached a point that some mainstream Churches’ are currently looking into alternative service techniques to fulfill the needs of its’ congregation, from web based services to video streaming. The current culture has caused most Churches to make a seismic shift in how they will do ministry in the future and it is due to a variety of reasons, but they all are connected with a person's’ time to commit to attending.

Some may say that spirituality and religion are like two peas in a pond. They definitely are in the same area of study, but they are different in many aspects. Spirituality can be defined as a personal relationship with God or a higher being. Depending upon someone’s spirituality it can be described as a quality, journey, relationship or capacity (Janse van Rensburg, Poggenpoel, Myburgh, & Szabo, 2015). Whereas religion can be defined as an organized group that all members worship a higher being. Religion usually identifies in a group setting, whereas spirituality is more intimate and singular. Spirituality and religion is used as a coping mechanism in a wide variety of people’s homes (Elkonin, Brown, & Naicker, 2014). At the end of the day no matter what one believes or practices they are on a common ground of spirituality and religion.

Prayer features twice in the well-known list “The Methods of Nonviolent Protest and Persuasion”. (Sharp, 2008) There are 198 methods listed ranging from Lysistratic Non-Action (the withholding of sex) through Consumers’ boycott
to Mutiny. Prayer, along with fasting, are the two methods of nonviolent protest that are most analogues to what Christians understand as spiritual disciplines. It is method no.167, Pray-ins, that lies at the heart of LMAW.

A sense of belonging in this titanic world is imperative to every facet of our well-being. To belong is to experience an acceptance that fosters a sense of identity, value and purpose as “one of the humans”. To belong creates courage, develops social skills, relational wellness, spiritual growth, maturity, authority, and capacity to love. In the church community, belonging helps build our identity in Christ as we seek to be more like Him, leaning on others for accountability, learning, correction, love, worship, friendship, and closeness to God which produces more of the same. We are better able to manage crisis, hardships, and heartaches and allows us to be open and generous in the sharing of joy and prosperity when we have abundance, creating

Another advocate for the movement as well as a theologian and pastor of the First Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts discusses the importance of church involvement in hurting

This paper looks at how spiritual formation and growth can develop through a person’s lifetime. The goal is to show how modern day human development theories relate to Christlike living. Erikson’s developmental theory and Kohlberg’s moral development theory both give a guide to maturity in a secular worldview. By looking at Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, we can see God’s directions to living a Christlike life in a Christian worldview. It’s also important to look at the influence of the Holy Spirit in developing a person’s spiritual life. By relating a worldly view of personal development with god’s guidance through scripture and the Holy