Spirituality & Discipleship
This page is my storehouse for both my research about spirituality and discipleship AND the resources I’ve created to help leaders and seekers to grow spiritually.
Missional Spiritual Formation leaders are called to cultivate growing disciples of Jesus who are equipped to discern God’s action in the world and empowered to participate in it.
CLICK HERE for a curated list of other spiritual formation sites that I recommend
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Spiritual Formation Posts
Deep in the Burbs
I've been wrestling with the first sermon in our new series A Deep Life all day. My problem is that I have SO MUCH to say that I'm afraid a) I will overwhelm people, and b) it will go too long. I am so excited about this series, because it hits the core of my passion....
What is Your Relationship with The Deep?
What does it mean to have a Deep Life? Meditate on this image for a while. What do you see? How is each figure related to the ocean? There are five figures in this image. Each one has a relationship with the ocean. Each relationship is good and valid. Yet, each one...
Preparing for A Deep Life
We start a new worship series at Easter this week called A Deep Life. The series came out of a crisis moment. Our lead pastor resigned in the Spring, leaving the rest of the pastoral team wondering what we do next. We decided to focus this next year on one of our...
East of Eden and What I Learned from Pine Ridge
I spent last week with a group of high school students at a Youthworks site in Wanblee, SD, an Indian village on the Pine Ridge Reservation (the chief told me he prefers to be called Indian rather than Native American). This was a deep learning experience for all of...
Breakfast and Poustinia
Welcome to by break-fast post! The digital fast has ended. I spent the last three weeks on a personal vacation which included a fast from social media and most digital media in general. I say most digital media because I did create some art on my iPad (but I didn't...
Dying to Live and the Pain of Holy Saturday
It is Holy Saturday. Jesus is dead. Two rich and powerful men took his dead body, wrapped it in burial clothes soaked in spices, and laid it in a garden tomb. The disciples hid in fear that the soldiers would come for them next. The air is strangely silent. The crowds...
Recommended Reading
Journeying in the Wilderness by Terri Elton
The Universal Christ by Richard Rohr
Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster
Renovation of the Heart by Dallas Willard
Belonging by Karoline Lewis
The Corner of Fourth and Nondual by Cynthia Bourgeault
The Critical Journey by Janet O. Hagberg
Renew Your Life by Kai Nilsen
Invitation to a Journey by M. Robert Mullholland Jr.
Acts of Faith: Meditations For People of Color by Iyanla Vanzant
Earth Crammed with Heaven: A Spirituality of Everyday Life by Elizabeth Dreyer
Thirsty for God by Bradley Holt
Finding Our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices by Brian McLaren
We Make the Road by Walking by Brian McLaren
Cultivating Sent Communities edited by Dwight Zscheile
Power Surge by Michael Foss
I have two favorite metaphors to discuss spiritual formation.
The first is a journey. Jesus called to his first disciples, “Follow me!” and they traveled with him as he demonstrated what it looks like to live in fellowship with God.
The first disciples in John 1:38 asked Jesus, “Where do you dwell?”
Jesus replied, “Come and See,” so they followed him.
To be a disciple of Jesus is to move, to explore, to grow.
But what is the destination?
That leads me to my second favorite metaphor. The Vine and the Branches.
Jesus said in John 15:1-5, “I am the vine and you are the branches…remain/dwell in me and I will remain in you, and you will bear much fruit.”
The destination of this journey is not a physical time or place. The destination is the love of God.
God’s love is infinite, therefore we will never arrive. We simply keep growing.
We go and grow in two directions.
First, we grow deeper roots to be grounded in the love of God.
Second, we grow taller and wider branches to spread the fruit of God’s love wider.
Cultivating A Spiritual Formation Plan for the Local Congregation
The local church is the ideal place to grow spiritually. However, it is often difficult to do so. One of my ongoing projects is to experiment with how to cultivate spaces for people to grow spiritually. This article gives some basic outlines for how to think about this.
Check Out My Spiritual Formation Resources
Mindful Sketching
Learn how to connect your breath to your body and use the process of mark-making to become present with God.
Other Spiritual Formation Sites
Journeying in the Wilderness
