What Is Spiritual Formation?

Always have compassion, be humble in what my assigned duties are, give respect and reverence unto God, and continue to equip myself for mission work unto God. Keep up with my prayer life, daily devotion and meditational times.

The book is divided into seven parts. The book focuses spiritual growth and it is a manual for building a Spirit-filled life in a world where perfection can only be found in God’s loving vision. Ortberg helps us gauge your spiritual health and measure the gap between where you are now and where God intends you to be. As the author emphasizes on

The book was very well put together with principal concepts, but it was not always easy to follow and some sections had to be read twice for clear comprehension. The message could have been portrayed using straightforward writing that would enable undergraduates and others that are not seeking higher levels of education to process the information. In simpler terms, this book can be essential to pastors, for personal relationships, and other professions if the language is simplified and made more user-friendly.

The counselee is asked what brought him into the office today; in which he is expected to thoroughly present his concerns. One would at this time, introduce the counselee with spiritual formation strategies, as means to spiritually challenge the maturity and intimacy the counselee has with God (131) in a manner that is gently, compassionately, and with a humble spirit presentation.

We have now come to the fourth and final book of Mere Christianity. In this book, the author takes us to the place in our Christian growth where we begin to rely more heavily on the power of God and less on ourselves to become the being that God originally intended for us to be — a son of God. He begins with an explanation of the difference between “making” and “begetting.”

Two challenges faced by counselors include training in spiritual formation, something that comes solely through deepening their own relationship with God, and establishing boundaries between their personal and professional life while still drawing upon personal experience in the counseling sessions. A third challenge presents

We have now come to the fourth and final book of Mere Christianity. In this book, the author takes us to the place in our Christian growth where we begin to rely more heavily on the power of God and less on ourselves to become the being that God originally intended for us to be — a son of God. He begins with an explanation of the difference between “making” and “begetting”.

How disciple are made? According to Disciple Shift, pastor and author Jim Putman describes diverse stages of spiritual growth with simplicity. In defining these five spiritual growth stages he informs the reader of their beliefs and how the local church and a Christian community should implement a plan to help individuals to maturity in reaching these stages: spiritually dead, spiritual infants, spiritual children, spiritual young adults, and spiritual parents.

Spiritual disciplines will prepare us for our journey in Christ. I feel if understanding correctly, the classical Christian Pilgrimage remind us that we all have issues requiring regular examination. In chapter eight, the classical Christian Pilgrimage tells us we are at different stages on the path of wholeness in Christ. However, in my thoughts some areas of our Christian journey we may be doing well, but in other areas we have not touched at all. Not to mention, these are the place we are not ready or capable of handling yet, however, as we mature in God and He knows what we can handle, then we are awakened. God awakens us to our true selves which have not been completely revealed. In reality, once we reach maturity to God, he reveals all that is hidden deep inside of us (the real us/you). By the same token, he let us see the inner behaviors, attitudes, desires, in fact how we measure up in them being Christ-like. I feel the awakening stage deals with the comfort of being set free of these issues that are holding us back also causing detours on our path to wholeness in Christ. Equally, the threat is being afraid to see who we really are; also how far from Christ-like we really are. We must first be awakened from our separation also alienation from God (Mulholland 79-82).

My model for spiritual formation in the local church would include spiritual, relational, and missional aspects such as personal devotions, spiritual friendships, participating in corporate worship, and serving God’s Kingdom.

This paper on Salvation is defining both objectively and subjectively from the two required reading text. The first text is written by Alistair McGrath’s “Theology: The Basics and the second is written by Dr. Yung Chul Han’s “Transforming Power: Dimension of the Gospel. I will describe how the both texts are in association as well as seeking observations, and other conclusions to gain a better understanding of salvation from both perspectives. According to (Mc.Grath, p.78), the word salvation is referred to as something that has already happened in the past, to something that will happen in the future. Spiritual transformation requires of us what is called dependent responsibility. All the moral commands and exhortations of scripture assume our responsibility. Salvation is deliverance from danger or suffering. The word salvation carries the idea of victory, health, or preservation (www.biblia.com). Salvation can be viewed as a spiritual transformation which the dependency of the Holy Spirit assist in the change of a believers past, self to a vessel of God in the present lives which exemplifies life, deliverance, peace, and a victory won through personal conviction. The victory is one that only Jesus Christ has authority save us which gives believers complete approval to have possession to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Spiritual formation was defined as a process of being conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others (Robert Mulholland). It is a process of being transformed by the power of the Trinity God, and the gospel. Through the centuries, Christians were converted and discipled. However, in the last 50 years, spiritual formation and discipleship was neglected in the western world for many reasons. Thankfully, the emphasis of spiritual formation has revived in recent years.

In the book of the Celebration of Discipline, Foster talks about the importance of an individual’s spiritual growth. Spiritual Discipline is very crucial to a Christian’s life. Foster divided spiritual discipline into three main categories: and twelve aspects of spiritual discipline areas within the three major disciplines. The three major disciplines are “Inward” which is an individual’s personal growth in the Lord, “Outward” which is how a person can serve the people around them, and lastly, “Corporate” is how a church can grow in the Lord as a community. The Inward disciplinary includes meditation, prayer, fasting, and study. The outward disciplinary consists of simplicity, solitude, submission, and service. Lastly, the corporate discipline

I’d like to state the most obvious observation that I’ve made about spiritual formation; that is that I will always need to be seeking for ways to nurture my personal spirituality throughout my life. I know that to most people this may sound like a “duh” statement, but for me it has truly become a reality and one that I must admit I have been struggling to embrace. I was brought up in a church that, like most traditional churches, stayed happy living in the “comfort zone” of their Christianity. They took everything that the Bible said at face value without digging in to find out why they believed what they believed. I had never been challenged to look deeper into the text. In the past few years I have felt the need to tunnel out of this

The fifth question on practices that allow one to grow spiritually, Les answers “Bible reading, prayer, and fellowship with other believers. These are the biblical examples of spiritual tools.” This is truly the model by which one can grow spiritually. In my experience, being in fellowship with fellow believers is the only way to be protected spiritually, grow spiritually, and connect with others spiritually. This small group model, or fellowshipping coupled with daily prayer and meditation of God’s word keeps us moving and stretching ourselves to develop a deeper understanding of God’s nature and this will allow us to become more secure in our