Input/Output
It brings unity.
Last year I had the opportunity to hear Ruth Haley Barton speak, and that helped me take the idea of personal spiritual transformation and bring it to the ministry I lead at the EFCA—to incorporate spiritual guidance and transformation into decisions we make. We then have a sense that God is truly leading us—not just that we’re developing organizational strategies and implementing decisions.
For example, our team was not in agreement going into one meeting where we were to discuss changing our ministry’s name. We incorporated some of Ruth’s principles1 during our discussions. Ultimately the Spirit led us, but the steps in her discernment process gave us a roadmap to follow (prayer at various points, asking questions, clarifying the question to be answered, listening, times of silence, sensing where God was leading us, confirmation after several days).
At the end of our meeting, I asked everyone individually if they were comfortable with our direction, and they all said “yes” in the presence of the rest of the team. Seeing that kind of unity in just a couple of hours was powerful.
Seeking discernment as a team provides a balance between human effort and “spiritualizing” (which can result in no work being accomplished at all). Proverbs 16:9 says that “the heart [or mind] of a man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” I think these principles allow for that verse to become a reality in our midst.
1Read Ruth Haley Barton’s article.
Paul Anderson is president of Christian Investors Financial—a ministry that serves the EFCA by providing investment opportunities for individuals and churches, real-estate loans for ministry purposes, capital campaigns and consulting services. Paul is a member of Trinity EFC in Lakeville, Minn.
It’s hard work.
Throughout my years as a pastor and professor, I have sought to model and teach an involvement with a wide array of spiritual disciplines. Once I was teaching a group of college juniors and seniors when one of them asked, “And which of the spiritual disciplines are most helpful for you to stay on track and in love with Christ?”
What joy to humbly tell of the struggles and the victories. Authenticity led to sound learning, I believe, but more than that, it led to a renewed commitment from this teacher to “go hard after Jesus.”
Having been on both sides of ministry pressure, as a lay elder and as a pastor, nothing is more disheartening than spiritual erosion. Spiritual development is hard work. It doesn’t suit lazy people, either in thinking or behavior.
Gregory Carlson is chair and professor of Christian Ministries at Trinity International University, where the goal is to prompt internal and external growth.
It’s not the same as discipleship.
I went to college in the tumultuous ’60s. Discipleship, as I experienced it, was primarily reading your Bible, praying, learning how to share your faith and getting connected with a body of believers. The hope was that if you did those things, Christlikeness was a byproduct.
The benefit of spiritual formation is a more intentional, focused effort at pursuing Christlikeness.
The old discipleship processes are still important: I still read God’s Word, pray, look for ways to share my faith, belong to a body of believers. But I’m now looking at those processes through the eyes of spiritual disciplines.
The underlying philosophy at our retreat center, Cedarly, is that healthy churches are led by healthy pastors. Our work is to focus on the healthy pastor piece. We ask: “What sort of practices/habits of the heart are you engaging that are helping you to become like Jesus?”
Dallas Willard has a great follow-up question: “Does your preaching naturally lead people to become and want to become like Jesus?”
And to the person in the pew, I would ask: “Are you encouraging that ongoing development in your pastor’s soul, knowing full well that you will be the recipient of the good that will come of it?”
When I was in local church ministry, it was rare that anyone asked me about the health of my soul.
Spiritual formation and community go hand-in-hand, because the only way I know I am growing in grace and becoming like Jesus is in community. When I rub up against people, I discover if there has been any growth in my life or any fresh areas where growth is needed. This is how God intended the body of Christ to function.
Andy Hagen and his wife, Nancy, are directors of Cedarly Pastors Retreat in southern Wisconsin. Prior to this ministry, Andy graduated from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, spent 22 years as an Army chaplain and served as pastor in three churches (including Southern Gables EFC in Littleton, Colo.).
It’s relevant for everyone.
While the term spiritual formation may be new, the concept is not. It is the process of growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ—a process that involves both the mysterious and the intentional (1 Thessalonians 3:11-4:12).
One of my primary cautions about the renewed emphasis, however, is that it can sometimes be “American upper-middle-class”-focused. In fact, the focus is more precisely centralized in the educated world.
For example, some leaders of spirituality movements are arbitrarily declaring what practices must be present in one’s life for there to be true spirituality, like going on a multiple-day retreat in the mountains for “space” and solitude. There is also encouragement to have a spiritual director, which often involves payment for services.
These practices might not connect with the life of the average person, who is working at a demanding job, perhaps on a limited income, while caring for family, reaching out to neighbors and serving in the local church.
In addition, many of the practices emphasized can have little relevance for persecuted believers in Syria or starving brothers and sisters in Christ in Ethiopia or nomadic shepherds in Chad. Any understanding of spiritual formation must be comprehensive, including all cultures and social classes found in the body of Christ, and lead to worship and others-centeredness.
May we remain grounded in the biblical text as we pursue spiritual formation, all for our goal of bringing glory to the Father.
David Talley is professor of biblical and theological studies at Talbot Theological Seminary, and elder of vision and teaching at Grace EFC in La Mirada, Calif.
What Does It Look Like?
It brings unity.
BY PAUL ANDERSON
Last year I had the opportunity to hear Ruth Haley Barton speak, and that helped me take the idea of personal spiritual transformation and bring it to the ministry I lead at the EFCA—to incorporate spiritual guidance and transformation into decisions we make. We then have a sense that God is truly leading us—not just that we’re developing organizational strategies and implementing decisions.
For example, our team was not in agreement going into one meeting where we were to discuss changing our ministry’s name. We incorporated some of Ruth’s principles1 during our discussions. Ultimately the Spirit led us, but the steps in her discernment process gave us a roadmap to follow (prayer at various points, asking questions, clarifying the question to be answered, listening, times of silence, sensing where God was leading us, confirmation after several days).
At the end of our meeting, I asked everyone individually if they were comfortable with our direction, and they all said “yes” in the presence of the rest of the team. Seeing that kind of unity in just a couple of hours was powerful.
Seeking discernment as a team provides a balance between human effort and “spiritualizing” (which can result in no work being accomplished at all). Proverbs 16:9 says that “the heart [or mind] of a man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” I think these principles allow for that verse to become a reality in our midst.
(1) Read Ruth Haley Barton’s article.
Paul Anderson is president of Christian Investors Financial—a ministry that serves the EFCA by providing investment opportunities for individuals and churches, real-estate loans for ministry purposes, capital campaigns and consulting services. Paul is a member of Trinity EFC in Lakeville, Minn.
It’s hard work.
BY GREGORY CARLSON
Throughout my years as a pastor and professor, I have sought to model and teach an involvement with a wide array of spiritual disciplines. Once I was teaching a group of college juniors and seniors when one of them asked, “And which of the spiritual disciplines are most helpful for you to stay on track and in love with Christ?”
What joy to humbly tell of the struggles and the victories. Authenticity led to sound learning, I believe, but more than that, it led to a renewed commitment from this teacher to “go hard after Jesus.”
Having been on both sides of ministry pressure, as a lay elder and as a pastor, nothing is more disheartening than spiritual erosion. Spiritual development is hard work. It doesn’t suit lazy people, either in thinking or behavior.
Gregory Carlson is chair and professor of Christian Ministries at Trinity International University, where the goal is to prompt internal and external growth.
It’s not the same as discipleship.
BY ANDY HAGEN
I went to college in the tumultuous ’60s. Discipleship, as I experienced it, was primarily reading your Bible, praying, learning how to share your faith and getting connected with a body of believers. The hope was that if you did those things, Christlikeness was a byproduct.
The benefit of spiritual formation is a more intentional, focused effort at pursuing Christlikeness.
The old discipleship processes are still important: I still read God’s Word, pray, look for ways to share my faith, belong to a body of believers. But I’m now looking at those processes through the eyes of spiritual disciplines.
The underlying philosophy at our retreat center, Cedarly, is that healthy churches are led by healthy pastors. Our work is to focus on the healthy pastor piece. We ask: “What sort of practices/habits of the heart are you engaging that are helping you to become like Jesus?”
Dallas Willard has a great follow-up question: “Does your preaching naturally lead people to become and want to become like Jesus?”
And to the person in the pew, I would ask: “Are you encouraging that ongoing development in your pastor’s soul, knowing full well that you will be the recipient of the good that will come of it?”
When I was in local church ministry, it was rare that anyone asked me about the health of my soul.
Spiritual formation and community go hand-in-hand, because the only way I know I am growing in grace and becoming like Jesus is in community. When I rub up against people, I discover if there has been any growth in my life or any fresh areas where growth is needed. This is how God intended the body of Christ to function.
Andy Hagen and his wife, Nancy, are directors of Cedarly Pastors Retreat in southern Wisconsin. Prior to this ministry, Andy graduated from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, spent 22 years as an Army chaplain and served as pastor in three churches (including Southern Gables EFC in Littleton, Colo.).
It’s relevant for everyone.
BY DAVID TALLEY
While the term spiritual formation may be new, the concept is not. It is the process of growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ—a process that involves both the mysterious and the intentional (1 Thessalonians 3:11-4:12).
One of my primary cautions about the renewed emphasis, however, is that it can sometimes be “American upper-middle-class”-focused. In fact, the focus is more precisely centralized in the educated world.
For example, some leaders of spirituality movements are arbitrarily declaring what practices must be present in one’s life for there to be true spirituality, like going on a multiple-day retreat in the mountains for “space” and solitude. There is also encouragement to have a spiritual director, which often involves payment for services.
These practices might not connect with the life of the average person, who is working at a demanding job, perhaps on a limited income, while caring for family, reaching out to neighbors and serving in the local church.
In addition, many of the practices emphasized can have little relevance for persecuted believers in Syria or starving brothers and sisters in Christ in Ethiopia or nomadic shepherds in Chad. Any understanding of spiritual formation must be comprehensive, including all cultures and social classes found in the body of Christ, and lead to worship and others-centeredness.
May we remain grounded in the biblical text as we pursue spiritual formation, all for our goal of bringing glory to the Father.
David Talley is professor of biblical and theological studies at Talbot Theological Seminary, and elder of vision and teaching at Grace EFC in La Mirada, Calif.