What is Christian Spiritual Formation? (Part 1)

⏱️ Reading Time: 5 minutes

Truman Lo

Why would I leave an evangelism and discipleship ministry I have served with for nearly 25 years to start a Christian spiritual formation soul care ministry? To answer that question, we need to first answer the question: What is Christian spiritual formation?

The term or idea of Christian spiritual formation was not something often used in the faith tradition that I grew up in. Discipleship, however, was what was stressed. As early as middle school, we were placed in discipleship groups. We were taught how to have quiet times, daily devotions, and we memorized countless verses and biblical stories.

These two passages—frequently cited in discussions about discipleship—shaped much of our church, youth group, and college ministry activities.

Matthew 28:18-20 – “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

2 Timothy 2:2 – “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others) became the basis of our activities at church, youth group, college ministry, etc.

Don’t get me wrong, following Christ and helping others to know him and follow Him as Lord and Savior is still important. Very important, in fact. But what if, in our zeal for discipleship, we’ve unintentionally twisted its fuller meaning? What if our understanding of discipleship isn’t quite the full picture God intended discipleship to mean?

In With, Skye Jethani writes about 4 postures many of us often have in relating to God: Life from God, Life over God, Life under God, Life for God. Each of these postures are probably ones we have adopted at one point or another. You might be thinking, but what’s wrong with these?

Shouldn’t life be from God? Well, yes. But the twists comes when we only see God as a dispenser of blessings (health, wealth, comfort, etc.) You find yourself praying to God mostly when you need something—healing, a job, or relief from stress. Faith becomes transactional. You find yourself in a posture of saying, “God exists to meet my needs.”

Possibly only a few of us would find ourselves adopting a posture of life over God. This is the posture of seeing God as irrelevant – relying only on logic, science, or self-sufficiency. But the twist comes when we start functionally living as if we are saying, “I believe in God, but I don’t let faith influence my decisions. I trust my plans first.” God is essentially sidelined; you have become a functional atheist.

What about living life under God? This can sneak in, especially if you grew up in a pretty religiously strict upbringing. You see God as a taskmaster—you obey to avoid punishment or earn favor. You find yourself saying, “I follow all the ‘rules’ of Christianity, but I feel guilty, never good enough.” The twist happens when religion replaces relationship; fear replaces love.

And then there’s life for God. Surely life for God is a good thing. In fact, just the other day, I saw a billboard that captured that very notion – Jesus gave His life for you, you should live for Him. But what happens here is that God becomes a cause—you pour yourself into ministry, activism, or moral agendas. You find yourself saying, “I’m so busy serving at church that I haven’t sat with Jesus in months.” The twist happens when doing for God replaces being with God.

But Skye explains that each of these at the root are ways for us to, in some way, gain control over God. Yes, even the posture of life for God.

Instead, Skye suggests that we should take on the posture of life with God. Matthew 1:23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means “God with us”).” Life with God puts God himself as the focus of our desire.

Which of these postures feels most familiar to you? Take a moment to ask God: ‘Where and how do I need to untwist my posture towards You?’

So if the gospel is not a way for people to get into heaven, but to experience life in the Kingdom with God, that begs the question, how do we live life with God?

And this is where spiritual formation comes in. We are all always being formed. Formed by what we see. Formed by what we do. Formed by what we hear. As Dallas Willard says: “…spiritual formation for the Christian basically refers to the Spirit-driven process of forming the inner world of the human self in such a way that it becomes like the inner being of Christ himself.”

In other words, spiritual formation is the process of becoming who God intended us to be in Christ. We are recovering, or untwisting, the broken and twisted image of God inside us – the fullness of who we truly are in Christ.

How are you intentionally pursuing Biblical spiritual formation?
In what kind of community are you immersing yourself?
What spiritual practices do you regularly engage with?

It is our desire and mission at Becoming Untwisted to come alongside you in your journey of spiritual formation. You can start by downloading a free resource to help you think contemplatively and reflectively about your week. Click here to download the Weekly Examen template.