Spiritual Formation Groups
What is spiritual formation? A kind of buzzword these days in some circles, I can assure you it is not for super spiritual people, whatever your image of that kind of person might be! Perhaps the best place to start is with a definition. First, it is important to note that whether or not we ever enter a church, as Dallas Willard observed, we all receive a spiritual formation. Please click here to read a bit more.
I would love to partner with you and your group as you explore ways to practice and grow in understanding and experiencing the way of Jesus in your lives. Drawing from the wisdom of contemporary and historical teachers such as Dallas Willard, Richard Foster, John Mark Comer, Trevor Hudson, and others, and within the context of community, whether community is friend or small group-based, church, or house church, it would be my joy to facilitate a small group. Groups are designed to meet your needs and veer away from a one-size-fits-all program, moving at your pace and rhythm.
I would love to talk with you if interested. Please click here.
God graciously meets us “where we are, not where we pretend to be” (Larry Crabb).
James Bryan Smith, The Apprentice Gathering
“Christian spiritual formation is the process of being transformed into the image of Christ, through a relationship of intimacy with God, by the power of the Spirit, in order to live a good and beautiful life of faith, hope, love, joy, peace- a life that will be a blessing to oneself and others and will glorify God now and for all eternity.”
Richard Foster: “The world is hungry for genuinely changed people.”
Dallas Willard, The Great Omission
“The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who . . . are identified as “Christians” will become disciples - students, apprentices, practitioners of Jesus Christ steadily learning from him how to live the life of the Kingdom of the Heavens into every corner of human existence.”
John Mark Comer, Practicing the Way
“Transformation is possible if we are willing to arrange our lives around the practices, rhythms, and truths that Jesus himself did, which will open our lives to God’s power to change. . . .if we are willing to apprentice ourselves to Jesus. Then and only then - can we become the people we ache to be and live the lives we were destined for.”
“For Jesus, salvation is less about getting you into heaven and more about getting heaven into you.”
Some questions to ponder:
Who am I becoming?
Who am I following? Who are you trusting?
Is the life I’m living the life I most deeply desire? Is this it?
How does it feel to hear this statement: we cannot do what God must do, and God will not do what we should do?
What does it look like for us to cooperate with God in His desire to transform us?
What role do the disciplines/practices play in my transformation, individually and in community?