Formational Discipleship - Bringing Spiritual Formation and Discipleship Together

So recently, I changed my title at my church where I work.  Not my job, just my title.  I went from Associate Pastor of Spiritual Formation and Congregational Care to Associate Pastor of Formational Discipleship.  When I made this change, I shared the following with my congregation, and I believe this explanation is relevant to my work here on my website.  So why the change?

So, while I believe that the process of spiritual formation is incredibly important and is in fact the engine of discipleship – as the Holy Spirit forms us and empowers us to be Jesus’ disciples – unfortunately, the phrase “spiritual formation” often suffers from a number of misunderstandings.  For some, the phrase is linked with non-Christian spiritualities.  For others, it is associated only with a small subset of people who really like to do contemplative practices together.  And still for others, its definition is truncated so that it is only about doing spiritual disciplines; it is a privatized endeavor that has nothing to do with mission, justice, peace-making, reconciliation, creation-care, vocation, and loving service.

And yet, the reality of spiritual formation is much greater.  Christian spiritual formation is about the Holy Spirit-empowered process of maturing in Christ - growing in intimacy with the Lord and growing in the Fruit of the Spirit so that we can become more and more like Jesus and become Kingdom people.  It is a life-long process for all Christians that sustains and empowers our discipleship journeys as we increasingly follow and obey the Lord, as we learn to love God and neighbor with our whole hearts.  

For sure, Christian spiritual formation does include the cultivation of spiritual practices and disciplines, but it also includes all of life, including our relationships, our habits, our work, our rest, and our care for others.  All aspects of our life are going to either help form us to be more and more like Jesus or they are going to form us to be less like Him.   And thus, we can either learn to be intentional with all of our lives, opening ourselves up to the Holy Spirit and moving forward as disciples of Christ or we can let the myriad aspects of our lives shape us so that we remain as believers in Jesus alone, a state of being that Jesus never intended.  For Jesus did not tell the apostles, “Go and make believers.”  He said, “Go and make disciples.”

And so, I think it is really important that we see spiritual formation in a more holistic manner, and we see how it is linked to and is in fact inseparable from discipleship.  It is also important to see discipleship in a more holistic manner – as something that involves more than just learning about God and serving Him (generally through our strength), but involves a way of life that is empowered by the Holy Spirit who forms us.  Thankfully, the phrase “Formational Discipleship”, which was coined by my professor Dr. Dave Currie, helps us to lean into both this linkage and this holistic understanding.

All of this is why I changed my title at my church.  It is also why you are likely to see me talking about formational discipleship here.   I am not going to stop talking about spiritual formation, but I do like how the term formational discipleship does a great job of reflecting my heart as I seek to companion people and help them grow more and more into the loving, self-giving, creative, non-anxious disciples of Jesus that God has always intended them to be.  I know this will not not be a quick, overnight process, but I am excited to continue to journey with The People of the Way, encourage them, and resource them as they seek follow, obey, and become more like Jesus.