What is Spiritual Formation?
The Christian community is hearing a lot about “spiritual formation” these days and the term itself can mean different things to different people. For this reason, we want to be clear about what we mean by “spiritual formation” at Vision New England. We offer the following definition:
Spiritual Formation is the process of being formed into the image of Christ by the grace of God. It is an intentional process which involves loving relationships and spiritual disciplines. As transformation occurs we will love God with all our hearts, our neighbors as ourselves, and make disciples along the way.
The goal of spiritual formation (Christlikeness)As a working definition, this describes:
- The means of spiritual formation: (relationships and disciplines)
- The evidence of spiritual formation: (loving God, loving others, making disciples)
Leaders will recognize these are the three primary questions (and answers) of a good vision/mission statement: Where are we going? How are we going to get there? And, how will we know when we’ve arrived? Of course, in spiritual formation one never fully “arrives” but these are helpful bench-marks by which to measure our progress along the way.
Spiritual Formation is the process of being formed into the image of Christ by the grace of God. In the work of ministry, it is natural for a leader to be task focused. There are so many things which need to be done, and it seems every new victory — or setback — brings with it a new challenge to initiate, respond, strategize or organize. These are important duties and the work of the church will not prosper if we neglect them. But as important as these things are, they are not the most important part of Christian life and ministry. The story of Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38, ff) stands as a stark and timeless reminder of this important truth. Work, planning and organizing are all well and good, but when the busy-work of ministry supplants worship and love we are running in the wrong direction. As much as Jesus loves the Martha’s of the world (and He loves them very much), He will never indulge our delusion that work is equal to worship or prayer. It is not, and it will never be. One thing is needful, and spiritual formation is one of the ways to describe it. Work and worship are not irreconcilable in ministry — far from it! But which is the cart and which is the horse? We believe that God will exceptionally bless the leaders — and the churches — which intentionally pursue a life of devotion to Jesus.
It is an intentional process which involves loving relationships and spiritual disciplines. Spiritual formation cannot happen by accident any more than physical fitness can happen without exercise. It is not hard to be a busy person but it is a great challenge to be a spiritual one. We need help along the way. This is where we come in. As a leader, only you can make the decision to put first things first. When you do, we will be here to help connect you to the people and the resources you will need to carry through on a commitment to a lifetime of preaching and practicing spiritual formation.
As transformation occurs we will love God with all our hearts, our neighbors as ourselves, and make disciples along the way. This is the message which drives the mission of Vision New England. Every aspect of our ministry derives from these priorities. We invite you to partner with us as we serve to help the whole church take the whole gospel to the whole New England region.
