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
Does This Analogy Work? James Cameron’s The Abyss and Baptism
I love James Cameron's 1989 Adventure-SciFi-Drama The Abyss. The scene when Ed Harris is willing to breath in the liquid oxygen has always served as an analogy of baptism for me. He was willing to "die" in order to go deeper. I created this video to show to our...
Own Your Faith Video Series Complete!
I did a little experiment this year and set a goal to make one video a month for the Own Your Faith students at Grace. Own Your Faith (OYF) is a process we invite our high school freshmen to...
The Overflow Prayer | Kill me. Fill me. Spill me.
https://youtu.be/Pb9Mn3Y6Kts
iPad Sketches of Stations of the Cross used in California Prayer Chapel
A few weeks ago i posted that a pastor in California printed my sketches of the stations of the Cross for a prayer chapel. She took pictures and sent them to me. This is so cool. From iPad, to WordPress, to Printer, to wall in another state, by a total stranger: this...
Ways to Engage in the Lenten Journey
Lent has begun! Here are four ways you can engage in the Lenten Journey. The first three are listed at http://www.graceandover.org/lent You can join The Overflow Class online at https://www.stevethomason.net/spiritual-formation/grace If you...
Visual Notes from the Mid-Winter Convocation at Luther Seminary #LSConvo2015
The theme of this year's convocation was "Religious, but Not Spiritual?" It was a good self-reflection for a room full of Lutheran pastors. The three plenary speakers--Lois Malcolm, Nancy Ammerman, and Nadia Bolz-Weber--each gave their own perspective on the theme....
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
