This article [originally published as “Spiritual Formation in the Church” in The Journal for Spiritual Formation and Soul Care, 2014, Vol. 7, No. 2, 292–311] asked five thought leaders within the field of spiritual formation to briefly respond to six questions regarding spiritual formation in the church. The attempt here is not to assess spiritual formation within any particular church or even the church-at-large, but rather to reflect together on the way in which local communities of Jesus-followers ought to function as the primary relational context for formation. As you read these responses, reflect on your own experience with spiritual formation within the local church context. How has your experience been similar to or different than what is presented here? What common themes do you see in these responses? What seems missing? If you have a thought or reflection that you would like to add to this conversation, please send it to us at editor.sfj@biola.edu.

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01.  What Is The Role Of The Church When It Comes To Spiritual Formation In Christ?

TenElshof: The role of the local church when it comes to spiritual formation in Christ is to become once again aware of the reason the church exists.  The church is God’s family and exists to lovingly hold, support, and grow each member in their relationship to God for fulfillment of their God-given mission.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer while in prison in 1944 said, “The church is the church only when it exists for others.”Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison (New York: Touchstone, 1971), 382–383.  The church carries the weight of responsibility of what it means to be a family that exists for others in Christ.

This concept of family denotes that when we come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, we are weak and needy like when we came into this world helpless and in need of others.  Weakness is where Christian spiritual formation begins and never leaves.  Awareness of one’s limitations in comparison to God’s limitlessness needs to be cultivated in the family of God, his church.  This is opposite of what we naturally feel and strive for; to be better, faster, and stronger than others we see around us. We need help in seeing how weak we really are and how much we need to maintain dependence on God for our strength.  The apostle Paul had this right when he was speaking to the Corinthians and said, “On my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses.”2 Cor. 12:5, NIV  We will not naturally want to talk about our weaknesses and sin without the church creating safe environments where this is acceptable and people are taught how to compassionately respond when these sins and weaknesses are shared.   In dependence on him, God’s strength is made perfect in our weaknesses. We need others to help save us from ourselves and stay dependent on the work of Christ on our behalf.2 Cor. 12:9  This is truly the role of the church in cooperation with the Holy Spirit to spiritually form the people God brings.

 

Tan: I believe that the role of the local church in spiritual formation in Christ should be the primary or major role or goal of every local church. In Ephesians 4:12-13, we read that the goal of ministry in the church is “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ,” or to be conformed to the likeness of Christ (Rom. 8:29, NIV). Maturity in Christ or becoming like Jesus or spiritual formation in Christ is therefore the ultimate goal of a local church. Dallas Willard, in Renovation of the Heart, had a chapter on spiritual formation in the local congregation in which he emphasized that spiritual formation in Christlikeness should be the exclusive primary goal of the local congregation. He also warned us against the dangers of “simple distraction” that afflicts many local churches today, for example, getting distracted with the secondary and minor details of church life such as times and numbers of church meetings, worship styles, buildings, rules for Sunday School, etc. We need to return to the simplicity of making spiritual formation in Christ the primary and exclusive goal of the local church and therefore to realize the crucial role of the local church in helping people become more like Jesus. The other goals of church life and ministry such as evangelism and outreach, missions and social concern and justice, caring and healing, worship, etc., will fall in place as we focus primarily on following Jesus and becoming more like him. Another older way of putting it is that the local church needs to focus on discipleship and disciple making as Christ has called and commanded us to do in the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20).

 

Barton: The Church (capital C) is the body of Christ on the earth now and it is the primary context in which we grow up in every way into him who is our head (Eph. 4:15). In Pauline writings, instructions about spiritual formation and transformation are never given to private individuals but are always addressed to individuals in communities of faith.  Romans 12:2, 1 Corinthians 12, and Galatians 4:19 are just a few examples of Paul’s teachings on formation and discipleship addressed to communities. My favorite illustration of the centrality of the church as it relates to Christian formation is Dwight L. Moody’s response to a man who tried to argue that it was possible for a person to be a Christian without participating in the life of the church.  As he made his argument, Moody leaned forward in his chair, picked up a poker, and pulled a burning coal from the fire that blazed near them. He placed it on the stone hearth and as the coal slowly dimmed and went out, the man said, “Mr. Moody, you have made your point!” As Robert Mulholland comments, “We can no more be conformed to the image of Christ outside of corporate spirituality than a coal can continue to burn bright outside of the fire.”Robert Mulholland, Invitation to a Journey (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 145.

Another biblical metaphor for the church is the family of God in which Christian persons grow to mature spiritual adulthood.  Just as a baby is born into a family and experiences safety and structure for growing from infancy to childhood to adolescence to adulthood, so we as Christians grow towards adulthood in our spiritual family.  Certainly children sometimes survive outside of healthy families but human growth and development is usually stunted; it is the same with growth in Christian maturity.  Perhaps a Christian can survive without a spiritual family but certainly their spiritual growth and development will be stunted and they will not flourish. The role of the church in spiritual formation is to provide wise and loving safety and structure, teaching and guidance for Christians at all stages of their growth and development as children in God’s family.

 

Chandler: If spiritual formation is the process of being conformed into the image of Jesus through relationship with him, then the local church is foundational in this process from not only a biblical and theological perspective but also a developmental, relational, and missional one. By design, the church, as the ekklésia, or called out ones, is to be the worshipping community of the triune God, reflective of the Father’s intent to establish Christ’s person, character, and mission as its foundation and where the Holy Spirit dwells individually and collectively (Eph. 2:22). The church, then, is comprised of Christ’s body, where worship of the living God causes hearts, minds, and embodied actions to come alive to the Spirit in order for believers to glorify the Lord and become Christ’s ambassadors in the world. As such, this high calling is to love and serve God and neighbor through divine grace (Luke 10:27).

The church’s role is to provide multiple opportunities for the work of the Spirit to further conform believers into the image of Jesus individually and corporately. First, the church’s role is to assist believers to draw closer to God in personal devotion through grace-infused practices such as prayer, reading/studying of the Scriptures, and engaging in intentional community. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds us in his book Life Together, “If you scorn the fellowship of the brethren, you reject the call of Jesus Christ.”Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (New York: Harper & Row, 1954), 77. Becoming a part of a community of faith develops and calls forth the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) and challenges us to see ourselves as we really are, others as they really are, and Christ as he really is. Second, the church’s role is to provide corporate experiences of worship, preaching, and teaching; sacraments such as baptism and the Lord’s Supper; other ecclesial practices; and, most importantly, community – where the Spirit’s presence contributes to grace-based transformation.

 

Wilhoit: Christian spiritual formation refers to the intentional communal process of growing in our relationship with God and becoming conformed to Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual formation takes place in community and the community in which it should take place is that of the church. I am aware that many people seek out both schools and spirituality programs to receive a formation they did not receive in the church, but the success of these specialized ministries does not undermine the fact that the context for formation, established by Jesus, is the church.

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02.  To What Degree Should The Local Church Be Focussed On The Spiritual Formation Of Its Members And Why Should It Be So Focused?

Wilhoit: I have suggested elsewhere that “Spiritual formation is the task of the church. Period.”Jim Wilhoit, Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008), 15. Spiritual formation is neither an interesting, optional, or trendy pursuit by the church nor an insignificant category in the job description of the body of Christ. Spiritual formation is at the heart of her whole purpose for existence. The church was formed to form. The church’s mandate for spiritual formation, given by Jesus himself, is to make disciples, baptize them, and teach these new disciples to obey his commands (Matt. 28:19–20). The witness, sacraments, worship, teaching, and compassion that the church is to practice has the intended outcome that Christians be spiritually formed—that is formed by the Spirit through our humble and intelligently planned efforts. To be sure that is not the only outcome or the penultimate outcome of all church activities, but all activities of the church should acknowledge a formational dimension. Although formation describes the central work of the church, and despite a plethora of resolutions, programs, and resources, the fact remains that spiritual formation has not been the priority in the North American church that it should be.

 

Barton: Spiritual formation is the process of Christ being formed in us for the glory of God, for the abundance of our own lives, and for the sake of others.  The promise that we—sin-scarred human beings that we are—can actually become like Christ is central to the message of the Gospel and therefore, central to the mission of the church.  Indeed, spiritual transformation in the lives of redeemed people is a testimony to the power of the Gospel and results in an increasing capacity to discern and do God’s will in the world (Rom. 12:2).  Resisting the process of conformity to this world and allowing ourselves to be transformed into the image of Christ is an act of worship; it is one very concrete way in which the will of God is done in our lives as it is in heaven.

It is no wonder Paul makes such a strong statement about his own ministry priorities as a leader in the church—“that we may present everyone mature in Christ…for this I toil and struggle with all the energy he so powerfully inspires within me” (Col. 1:28, 29; NRSV) Taking our cues from the apostle Paul encourages leaders of the church in our day to make this kind of spiritual maturity our own priority as well.

 

Chandler: The spiritual formation of church members should be the very impetus of the church’s vision and mission to glorify the Lord Jesus and to be the heart, hands, and feet of Christ in the world. Without members being spiritually formed, the church becomes more like a social club than the very body of Christ, wavering through various winds of change and remaining immature and impotent (Eph. 4:14). Furthermore, spiritual formation must apply to the whole person. Whereas the spiritual dimension provides the foundation for life in Christ as predicated upon salvation, other dimensions are likewise to come under Christ’s Lordship: the emotions, relationships, the mind, vocation, the physical body, and resource stewardship (i.e., the wise handling of one’s resources of money, possessions, the earth, and time).

That said, the spiritual formation process takes on many expressions based upon church tradition and culture. For example, the term “spiritual formation” may be familiar in certain church circles, while unfamiliar in others. In an evangelical context, spiritual formation may be seen in light of the discipleship process, where making strong, reproducing disciples begins with an inward transformation process, which produces outward fruit. In an African American context, however, the term spiritual formation may be less familiar, whereas vibrant worship, powerful preaching, outreach to the local community, and social justice predominate. Although the term spiritual formation may be less common in African American church contexts, spiritual formation likely occurs but at a more unconscious level.

Regardless of context, the growth of the believer into Christlikeness should be the cornerstone of every local church. The challenge for local churches relates to developing a clear theology and praxis of spiritual formation that are integrated into the church’s core vision, mission, and all ministries, such that church members are participating in the life of the Spirit through devotion that comes through personal spiritual practices, congregational involvement, and intentional outreach to the unchurched.

 

TenElshof: Who God is and created us to be encases the reason spiritual formation needs to be the focus of the local church.  The unity and plurality of God, three persons, one essence in relationship, is essential to whom God is and reveals the true character of God.  He is eternally distinct in that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit appear as all that is God by nature yet all that is personal in distinct functions.  They are equal in nature and 1 Corinthians 2:11-13 claims that each in the trinity desires to make the other known.  They are personal in their relationship to each other, giving, sharing, and receiving from each other (e.g., Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane). They also exist in the complete harmony of unselfish divine love.

God was purposeful in implanting this Trinitarian image in each person so he himself could be reflected to the world to the degree that members of the church live ever more fully in the Trinitarian model of relationship.  This brings God glory.  This distinctiveness, equality, unity, and harmony of love is to be our biggest evangelistic tool to attract the world to the doors of the church.  The responsibility of the church is to cultivate this model of unified love that in turn desires to reach out to a lost world.

 

Tan: I have already partially answered this question in my response to the first question. I believe, based on biblical teaching in Scriptures such as Ephesians 4:12, 13; Romans 8:29; Galatians 4:19; and Matthew 28:18-20, that the local church should focus primarily and mainly on the spiritual formation in Christlikeness of its members and not get distracted by other secondary and less essential things or concerns. Discipleship or disciple making should therefore be the key priority of every local church or congregation. My good friend in Singapore, Pastor Edmund Chan, amongst a growing number of pastors and local churches world wide, has been instrumental in helping and encouraging many local churches to be involved in what he has called Intentional Discipleship Training or IDT. When our church members grow to become more like Jesus, spiritual fruit will appear such as the fruit of the Spirit in Christlike character manifested in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal.5:22, 23). It will also include reaching out to others in loving evangelism and world mission as well as social concern and justice. The local church should be so clearly and primarily focused on the spiritual formation in Christ of its members because this is the calling and command of Jesus himself in the Great Commission that he has given us in Matthew 28:18-20, and in other Scriptures already mentioned, and we need to follow him in loving obedience by the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).