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
My Courses Available on Faith + Lead Academy
Spiritual Formation Posts
Book | Practicing Theology edited by Miroslav Volf and Dorothy C. Bass
Volf, Miroslav, and Dorothy C. Bass. Practicing Theology: Beliefs and Practices in Christian Life. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2002. The Authors Dorothy C. Bass Craig Dykstra Amy Plantinga Pauw Serene Jones Sarah Coakley Tammy Williams Christine D. Pohl Gilbert...
Book | Death by Suburb by David Goetz
Death by Suburb by David Goetz The Author David Goetz is president of CZ Marketing, a creative strategy agency that repositions organizations for new growth. Dave is also the founder of www.RealityRN.com, a social media community for new nurses. Dave is the author of...
Book | Faith as a Way of Life by Christian Scharen
Scharen, Christian Batalden. Faith as a Way of Life: A Vision for Pastoral Leadership. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2008. The Author Christian Scharen is assistant professor at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN., His main research and teaching interests...
Listening to God in Everything | A Response to Lamin Sanneh’s Translating the Message
I am currently reading Translating the Message by Lamin Sanneh. His thesis is that translation is the process of entering the vernacular and allowing the Gospel to find its own voice within the host culture. It is a helpful revisioning of the standard polemic against...
Book | Practicing Gospel by Edward Farley
Farley, Edward. Practicing Gospel: Unconventional Thoughts on the Church's Ministry. 1st ed. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003. The Author Edward Farley is Professor Emeritus of Theology at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, Tennessee. He has...
Book | Earth Crammed with Heaven by Elizabeth Dreyer
Dreyer, Elizabeth. Earth Crammed with Heaven: A Spirituality of Everyday Life. New York: Paulist Press, 1994. The Author Elizabeth Dreyer, professor of Religious Studies, has been a member of the Fairfield Faculty since 1999. Previous faculty appointments include the...
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
