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 Are Some Of The Best Practices When It Comes To Implementing Spiritual Formation In The Local Church?

TenElshof: Many good practices are being implemented in churches around the country to further encourage the spiritual formation of their people.  Some have proven to be helpful and some have not.  The Apostle Paul in Philippians 3 says that once we become Christians we no longer belong to this world.  Earth is no longer our home; our citizenship is in heaven.  Living as citizens of heaven together means that the whole congregation is “in the world, but not of it.”  We are actually aliens and strangers on a mission to this ungodly planet.  As such, our relationships will begin to look different by forgiving each other and facing the consequences of our sin together and we will humbly help each other become more righteous.  I am not sure that bringing “practices” will ever have the effect for which we are praying.  Instead there is a deeper journey with God and each other that we are called to through submission to the Holy Spirit’s leading that will prepare our hearts for a deeper more intimate and integrated relationship with God and others. How these are to take place will take form within the ethos of each church depending on size, denomination, what already is taking place, etc.

Change is always difficult so unity in the leadership on several issues will be important as they pray and share together in true community to bring more and more integration to their lives through understanding and experience of a deeper knowing love of each one.  This will include:

• Cultivating a mutual understanding of spiritual formation (learning together for understanding by bringing in others who are further on the journey or have written about their experience of the deeper life could be helpful).
• Cultivating an understanding of the responsibilities of the church for spiritual formation by asking the question, what relational capacities toward God and others need to be awakened in them as leaders and then in their community? These may include, how to pray, how to love, how to listen in prayer, awareness of and grief over sin, relational skills for community in how to listen, confront, bless, encourage, respond in obedience, hearing from God, discerning the Spirit’s voice, etc.
• Practicing spiritual formation as a community on the leadership team creating an atmosphere of belonging, safety, acceptance, and mutual love as each leader shares their story and begins to feel known and gains freedom to share all aspects of their lives to receive encouragement, wisdom, blessing, correction, help in areas of need, and empowerment in areas of strength.
• Indecision on decisions to be made are brought to God in prayer until consensus is found. Value is found in the experience of waiting while worshipping God.

As these principles infiltrate the leadership, they will be caught, taught, and bought by the people who God moves to be ministers of reconciliation in the body and in the world.

Some people will have very broken lives and need support beyond the resources of their community in the church.  A support system needs to be developed including therapists, spiritual directors, psychiatrists, and mentors. One principle to remember in building a support network is that healing primarily takes place within the loving community of the church body even when added support is needed.   Wherever there is a weakness that needs support, there is also a strength that needs to be empowered.  This is the making of a tapestry of community because everyone has a gift to share and a weakness that needs to be met.  Leaders are to guide this weaving.

 

Barton: The best practice I am encouraging these days is that church leaders ask and answer the question: “Is spiritual formation an elective or is it central to the mission of our church?”  The way this question gets answered will affect every decision leaders make and it will determine how spiritual formation is viewed by the congregation. For instance, if spiritual formation is positioned as a set of elective retreats and experiences, it will eventually be seen as something that “those spiritual formation types do” rather than something that is essential to the Christian life. It might also (heaven forbid!) get reduced to being about a certain personality type—contemplative, introverted, mystical—rather than being seen as what the whole Christian life is about for all of us.  How spiritual formation gets positioned (as a central focus or an elective) will also effect whether it gets resourced financially and with the appropriate leadership, etc.

Once this question gets answered, I am encouraging the pastors we work with to think in terms of:

• vision for what is possible in the spiritual life and who casts the vision (hopefully the senior pastor),
• teaching about spiritual transformation that establishes a baseline of shared understanding and shared language regarding formation throughout the community,
• guided experiences in the practices, relationships, experiences that fosters spiritual transformation resulting in a rule of life
• an intentional approach to seeking alignment and consistency throughout the ministries of the church
• modeling at all levels of leadership so that formation is being taught and lived from the center out.

 

Chandler: Best practices for implementing spiritual formation in the local church fall under two headings: (1) personal and (2) corporate. In other words, because spiritual formation must not be relegated to church-related initiatives alone, it is incumbent upon the church to encourage, model, and teach personal and corporate rhythms and practices and clearly exemplify why they are important.

Regarding personal rhythms, the church should encourage the development of a personal devotional life where worship, prayer, Bible reading/study, and other practices serve as cornerstones. If spiritual input occurs only on Sunday morning, then believers risk becoming overly dependent on the church for spiritual nurture. Personal practices can be reinforced from the pulpit, within small groups, and through discipleship relationships, where others model these life-giving practices and share openly about their relationship with God. Small group settings, such as life groups or Bible studies, offer greater opportunity for authentic sharing and engagement. Discipling relationships where one person engages another, as he or she grows in Christ, offers even greater opportunity for more intimate life-giving exchange.

As for corporate best practices, the church needs a multi-faceted approach that first starts with establishing a welcoming atmosphere of grace so that people will be encouraged to grow in Christ without risk of judgment or shame. Second, the church needs to foster a love for God’s Word and a commitment to follow its precepts without becoming legalistic. Third, the church must establish a worshipping community by doing just that – engaging in worship – in whichever tradition it ascribes. Contemporary or liturgical praise and worship invokes the presence of the Lord, similar to the psalmody. Worship provides one of the greatest contexts for inner transformation because God’s Spirit manifests when Christ is exalted. Fourth, the church corporately can engage in practices and rhythms that foster renewal, including seasons of prayer and spiritual retreats. Fifth, clarifying the ultimate goal of spiritual formation is critical, which is to become Christ’s ambassadors in the world in order to love and serve God and others rather than self-cultivation. No “one-size-fits-all” formula will address each church’s unique situation. All best practices, however, must take into account the needs of the respective believing community.

 

Wilhoit: I think the “best practices” for implementing spiritual formation in the church will depend on one’s faith tradition, local history, and setting. It would be worth doing an appreciative inquiry into what the positive spiritual formation assets in the church are and see if one can build on the assets at hand. Otherwise, one needs to find creative ways to preach the gospel so that people see their brokenness and continual need for grace. There needs to be a pervasive humility in the church which both honors the genuine healing and restoration that should be occurring by the Spirit and a willingness to be open about the struggles and problems that exist as well. People should be introduced to doable and culturally sensitive spiritual practices.

 

Tan: Dallas Willard, in Renovation of the Heart, has suggested the “VIM” model as a practical strategy for facilitating spiritual formation in the local church or elsewhere: Vision of life in the Kingdom of God now and forever; Intention to be a Kingdom person deciding to live life in the Kingdom, depending fully on Jesus and intending to obey him; and Means of spiritual transformation into Christlikeness and maturity in Christ, including the practice of the spiritual disciplines. This usually means being involved in a small group of a few people who meet regularly to share and pray together and practice the spiritual disciplines in their lives, and doing some spiritual reading or Bible study together but with a focus on application and obedience with the help of the Hoy Spirit and God’s grace. Growing to be more like Jesus is the goal. The Intentional Discipleship Training or IDT program developed by Pastor Edmund Chan in Singapore that is now being used worldwide is also a practical strategy for facilitating spiritual formation in church members. It usually begins with a BreakThrough Weekend (BTW) retreat over a weekend or at least a full day, to help those attending to surrender their lives afresh to Jesus and to commit themselves to fully following him as his disciples. This will mean being involved in a small group of three or four people who will meet weekly or biweekly for several months to share and pray together and study the Scriptures together with Scripture memory and a focus on obedience by the power of the Holy Spirit. The actual curriculum used will vary from church to church. As the Senior Pastor of my church, First Evangelical Church Glendale in Glendale, California, we have adapted an IDT program for intentional discipleship training to facilitate deeper spiritual formation of our church members in all of our congregations, including English, Mandarin, and Cantonese congregations in our mainly Asian and Chinese church that is becoming more multiethnic. We are using Greg Ogden’s book with twenty-five modules or lessons on discipleship, entitled Discipleship Essentials. Many of our church members who have participated in this IDT program and process have testified about how much it has changed their lives in Christ and deepened their discipleship in following Jesus. I have also emphasized the importance of what Gary Thomas in Authentic Faith has called the authentic or circumstantial spiritual disciplines such as waiting, suffering, persecution, mourning, and sacrifice, which are not in our voluntary control, in facilitating our spiritual formation in Christ. Another helpful resource from Renovaré is A Spiritual Formation Workbook by James Bryan Smith and Lynda Graybeal.

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02.  If A Leader Could Do Only One Thing In Their Local Church Community, What Would You Recommend?

Tan: I would first recommend putting spiritual formation or discipleship-making as the key priority or primary goal of the local church. Then, with much prayer and dependence on the Holy Spirit who alone can transform us into deeper Christlikeness with the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5: 22, 23; Eph. 5:18), choose and implement a systematic process and program of intentional spiritual formation or discipleship training involving meeting regularly in small groups and hanging out with Jesus and his Word. It is important to realize that the work of spiritual formation in becoming more like Jesus is ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit and the grace of God, and not by our programs or self-effort, but by our surrendering to the Lord.

 

Barton: Help people get in touch with their spiritual desire and then guide them in crafting a rule of life or “sacred rhythms” that correspond with their hearts’ deepest desire.Ruth Haley Barton, Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006) is designed specifically to lead and resource people in this process.

If we believe that there are certain practices that open us to the transforming work of God (and we do!) then the one thing we need to do is teach and offer experiences with key spiritual disciplines so people can begin putting the practices together in their lives in a way that glorifies God, brings abundance to their lives, and compels them to discern God’s will for engaging the world that God loves. We need to enter into this process together, utilizing every avenue we have—preaching services, Christian Education settings, small groups, etc. Do not make it an elective but rather say, “This is what we’re all doing together. We hope you will take the journey with us.”

Offer this vision and guidance for a rule of life/sacred rhythms in a way that fits naturally into the congregation’s life and perhaps even corresponds to a desire they have been expressing corporately.   Many churches have participated in surveys that give some indication of what people are longing for; if leaders can connect what you are doing in formation with longings that have been expressed by the congregation, people will enter in more readily.  For instance, if people have expressed desire for more intimacy with God, initiate a sermon series on key spiritual disciplines that foster intimacy with God but do not just preach it.  Experience it together.  So teach or preach on solitude and silence but then introduce three to five minutes of guided silence into every service.  Provide additional, longer guided experiences during the week. Teach or preach on encountering God in Scripture and then have someone lead a lectio divina experience.  Teach or preach on experiencing intimacy with God through prayer and then have a respected “practitioner” lead in a fresh prayer practice—or two or three!  Teach or preach about the role of community in the spiritual life and then invite people to consider joining a small group for the express purpose of attending to their spiritual lives.  Do not let this be a one-time inspiration but rather, structure small groups that allow people to share their sacred rhythms together and stay on the spiritual journey together over time.

Above all, help people stay connected with their desires and invite them to participate based on those desires. In this way, we can avoid one more version of religiosity and instead enter into that which is life indeed—together!

 

Chandler: If I could suggest only one thing that leaders can do to foster spiritual formation in their local churches, I would suggest that they commit to their own personal spiritual growth and have accountability partners for encouragement. Interestingly, even spiritual dissatisfaction can serve to press church leaders into seeking God. If leaders are engaged in practices that keep them spiritually alive through solid habits of the heart, mind, soul, and physical body, then they will avoid becoming spiritually dry, non-contagious, and burned out, as my research on pastoral burnout validates. When leaders are taking time for their own personal renewal, their families, and other life-giving relationships; the renewing of their minds; reaffirming their vocational calling; and strengthening their physical bodies through good nutrition, exercise, and sufficient sleep, then they will become role models for others on the leadership team, as well as the entire church community. As we all know, however, the pastoral task entails many long hours, multiple pressures, unrealized expectations, troublesome conflicts, unrelenting stress, and unintended isolation, all of which peck at spiritual vitality. So leaders must nurture their spirits before God as their top priority and must attend to appropriate self-care, which in turn will have a multiplying effect.

 

Wilhoit: Become the change you yearn to see in your church. Begin to live a life of prayer, hidden service to others, watching your tongue, integrity in sexual matters, and build into the spiritual life of leaders in your church.

 

TenElshof: If a leader could only do one thing to encourage spiritual formation, I would encourage him/her to live an examined life to see where their soul is longing and respond in obedience to these God given desires by saying yes to a deeper journey with God and others following Christ’s example.  In being created in the image of God there are desires implanted to be loved, affirmed, to be heard, known, blessed, safe, touched, chosen and to find a home where you belong.  These desires were distorted by conscious and unconscious sins of one’s own making or the environment and people in life who caused pain, suffering, and false narratives about God making leaders strive harder instead of entering a deeper journey.  Leaders’ deep soul longings are being awakened by the Holy Spirit within, calling them to keep in step with him on the journey to the only true fulfillment of these longings, God himself.  Christ’s death and resurrection made it possible and the Holy Spirit will help them on the journey back.   John Ortberg in introducing his new book says, “Jesus calls us to a deep life, one that goes beyond our everyday interests and desires.  A rested, well-cared-for soul has the capacity to empathize and understand profoundly, to ask questions and not simply to go through the motions of faith.  It holds our connection to eternity and can help us see past the petty concerns of the present.  It has access to the kind of peace, gratitude, freedom, and blessing that comes only from a heavenly well-spring.”John Ortberg, Soul Keeping (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014), Introduction.

This kind of life will be infectious and relationship with God and his family will grow.