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
Justice and Worship Survey Results
I posted a survey on Monday that asked three questions about Justice, Worship, and their connection. I was please to receive 41 responses. This was an anonymous survey, so I can post the results. If you are interested to see what people said, you can download the...
Would You Be Willing to Take a Short Survey to Help Prepare for the Upcoming Sermon?
This weekend I am preaching on Amos 5:14-15, 21-24. It has some interesting things to say about worship and justice. I thought it might be a neat experiment to create an anonymous survey to see what people think about these topics. Would you be willing to take 5...
A Reflection on 1 Samuel 8:1-18 | The Trouble with Kings
Today's narrative Lectionary reading brought me to 1 Samuel 8:1-18. The people complain to Samuel and demand that they have a king to rule over them like the other nations have. Then "the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to...
Discerning the Voice of God | The Call of Samuel in 1 Samuel 3:1-21
Narrative Lectionary Text: 1 Samuel 3:1-21 This is the video that was played throughout the sermon... http://youtu.be/82Y0hJJEIzU?rel=0 If someone told you that they were hearing voices in their head, what would be your first reaction? Let’s be honest. We would...
S.W.A.T. Has Arrived
Our high high school students will be leading the 5:00 worship service tonight. We're calling it SWAT (Students Worshipping All Together). The text and theme is Discerning the Voice of God from the call of Samuel in 1 Samuel 3:1-21. We will highlight the student...
The Transformative Gospel with Richard Rohr
Thank you, Richard Rohr. You always know how to say these important things. Thanks to The Work of the People for producing this video.
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
