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.
Check Out My Spiritual Formation Resources
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
What is Spiritual Formation?
The term Spiritual Formation may seem deep and mystical. Perhaps it is intimidating. Truth is…it’s simple. It’s not easy, but it is simple.
In its most basic form, spiritual formation is the process of cultivating and growing in a loving relationship with God.
Let’s take an analogy from our human existence. Unless you were hatched, you have a set of parents. Even if you have never met your biological parents, they still exist, or did when you were conceived. You cannot change that relationship. You are a child and they are your parents, no matter what you do.
However, simply being born to a set of parents does not mean that the quality of your relationship is any good. What does it take to have a good, loving, growing, life-giving exchange with your parents? It takes time, effort, commitment, communication, proximity, authenticity, vulnerability, courage, etc. If you don’t work on the relationship, it will get stagnant and possibly die.
The same is true in our relationship with God. God is our Father/Mother, our creator. God’s end of the equation is constant. God loves you, longs for you, and continually pours out life-giving love to you every moment of your life. The question is how much effort do you put into your side of the relationship? Do you take it for granted and ignore it, or do you pursue it with passion?
Why is it important? Not to be too overly dramatic, but the fate of the planet depends on it. When we ignore our relationship with God, or even worse, reject it, then we turn to all that is left – ourself. Left in the isolation cell of self we inevitably stumble into the darkness of self-protection, which leads to hatred, which leads to violence, war, and murder.
If everyone on the planet was passionately seeking an authentic relationship with God, then we would be transformed by the life-giving love of God from the inside out and overflow God’s love to everyone around us. Imagine what would happen if everyone did this? There is a simple word for it — Peace. Peace on Earth, good will toward men. That’s good news, don’t you think?
A huge part of my ministry is dedicated to helping you cultivate that relationship, and overflow it to the world around you.
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.
Mindful Sketching
Learn how to connect your breath to your body and use the process of mark-making to become present with God.
Spiritual Formation Posts
Visualizing Discipleship: Exploring the Metaphor of Disciple-ship as Being an Apprentice of Jesus
In this session of Art Pastor Live I define the term discipleship and then play with the metaphor by drawing a disciple ship in procreate on my iPad. Enjoy!
Drawing the Why Jesus Images in Photoshop
In this episode of The Art Pastor Live you are invited to watch me create the images in Photoshop for the Why Jesus presentation. We geek out about the theology of discipleship and the process of creating digital paintings
Why Jesus? A Visual Guide to Why We Think God Showed Up in Human Form
Why do we make such a big deal about Jesus? Can’t we just talk about God, or be spiritual. What does a 1st century Jewish Rabbi have to do with life today?
Join Me on A Journey of Discipleship
We begin our journey in the Art of Discipleship on August 1. In this post I lay out some big opportunities for you to grow deeper in the love of God as a disciple of Jesus.
The Universe in Your Backyard
In this session of Art Pastor Live I interview photographer Ethan Thomason and am filled with awe and wonder as we view his gallery of photographs in which he captures the vast universe of the tiniest life forms that grow in our backyard. You don’t want to miss it.
Listen to the Trees | How to Draw a Tree Mandala
In this Livestream Session I do three things: 1. Explore biblical imagery of trees, 2. Show you my gallery of tree drawings and paintings, 3. Draw a Tree Mandala in Procreate on my iPad.
Artwork from My Camp House Experience
Enjoy this gallery of paintings and drawings I created during my week as the Artist-in-Residence at Camp House.
A Gallery of Plen Air Paintings and a Live Pencil Portrait
In this livestream session I do three things. 1. I walk through a gallery of the plen air paintings I made while at Camp House. 2. I show you a pochade box and how to use it. 3. I spend about 20 minutes drawing a portrait with pencil. Enjoy!
An Interview with Rev. Dr. Jules Erickson about Pottery and Spirituality in Ordinary Time
In this episode of Art Pastor Live we are on location at Camp House where I interview Rev. Dr. Jules Erickson. She is a pastor and a potter. We talk about ordinary time and how she sees pottery as a spiritual practice.
Other Spiritual Formation Sites
Journeying in the Wilderness
