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
Feedback from Advent Prayers
We asked people to share stories about their prayer life during this Advent Season. All year long we are focusing on each of our seven habits of Spiritual Formation. We've been looking at prayer during Advent. CLICK HERE to read their responses. These are raw and...
The Map of a Moment – What Goes into Making Choices?
This image downloaded into my head this morning on my walk. It was sparked by the combination of our conversations in the High School Dojo and my PhD course on Hermeneutics. Without any further explanation I'd love to hear people's interpretations of it.
Psalm 11 for 9/11
Many times when I feel cluttered in my mind I will grab the Bible and read the Psalm for the day. Today is the 11th, so I read Psalm 11. It is also the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Look what I read... 1 In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, "Flee like a...
A Reader’s Response to Pleroma
One of the few negative side effects of my new journey into the PhD program is that I will have to place my fiction writing on hold. I generally don't think about it, but every once in a while I get a little stabbing pain of longing when I receive a message like this:...
A Video About Going to College
What You Need to Know About Faith in College from Fuller Youth Institute on Vimeo.
A Mighty Wind
If you were a citizen of North Minneapolis or Joplin Missouri and you heard the words, "there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting," how might you react? Wind is a mysterious and powerful thing....
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
