Jeremiah Grudenberg said that any great theory on spiritual formation must hold up against evaluation of the “theory’s goal, its integrative paradigmatic concept, its theological depth, and its proposed formational activities.”[1] This approach does just that. It strives for applicability while being approachable, clear to understand, and holistic. It is established on a foundation of literature and overall effectiveness as a hallmark. These disciplines or practices of spiritual formation are chosen to empower the Holy Spirit to draw believers to Christ. Recognizing that spiritual formation only occurs through the will of God and not by man frees mankind from the pressure of trying to be something he is not. However, this does not equate to no personal agency; quite the contrary. Man is responsible for aligning himself with the Holy Spirit to allow for spiritual formation. In other words, believers can till the ground, plant the seed, and water the soil, but God grows the plant. In the same way, the disciplines of spiritual formation are ways to till the ground, plant the seed, and water the soil. These disciplines align man into a position of abiding in Christ to allow the Holy Spirit to form our lives.
There are two types of practices in spiritual formation: core and development. The core practices are the foundational aspects of spiritual formation and faith. The development practices are derived from instruction or examples found in the core practices. This approach is a suggested set of practices and a suggested pathway to challenge oneself. Each practice also has three growth statements (personal statement of knowledge, importance, and individual choice) to begin the practice and a four-stage progression. “Articulation increases plausibility” for success, so these statements help set the foundation of each practice.[2]
Core Practices
Prayer and scripture reading are the core practices of spiritual formation. These two practices guide all other practices. Prayer, as the first and most important aspect of spiritual formation, enables all other practices to thrive, including scripture. Only 200 years ago, only ten percent of the world’s population could read, and for 1800 years, believers relied on the minister to teach the word and their own prayer life to empower their spiritual formation.[3] Relationship with God is paramount to spiritual formation. St. Teresa of Avila said that prayer is a practice that will never end and that we should always strive to know God more.[4] Prayer is guided by first talking with God and progressing to being with God.
In the practice of scripture, which is a divinely inspired work that is fully inerrant and as 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.” Scripture sets the foundation of what believers understand as spiritual formation and is the guide to our lives that God reminds us to live by as an authoritative instruction. The practice of scripture begins by reading the word of God, going through an exploration time, building strategies for reading and understanding, and then completing through the reciprocating application. Although both scripture and prayer have technical endings to the structure of spiritual formation, neither ever ends and will be the core of how each of the development practices is structured.
Development Practices
Twelve development practices are suggested to aid a believer in pursuing spiritual formation. This structure allows for taking what was learned through the core practices and applying it through these. They are as follows: journaling, learning, forgiveness, community, service, obedience, solitude, generosity, evangelism, sabbath, fasting, and sanctification. Although not explicitly required, there is a suggested approach for ease of application. If starting a spiritual formation journey, fasting would not be the easiest one to begin with. It would not be unreasonable or wrong, just like recommending someone to read the book of Leviticus as their first book of the Bible. Not bad, but it would not be ideal. For this reason, the order is strategically chosen to challenge believers in the spiritual formation journey progressively.
Each development practice was found in scripture as a character trait of Christ himself or from an example established by the Apostles of Jesus Christ. These practices can be applied individually based on identified needs or established in their designated order. It is crucial in spiritual formation that things cannot just be skipped because they are hard. God gave man the tools to seek and obey Him. If things are neglected because the practice is hard, it hurts the heart of God and handicaps the believer. Dallas Willard said, “Everyone receives spiritual formation, just as everyone gets an education. The only question is whether it is a good one or a bad one.”[5] Do not allow a practice to scare you from a good spiritual formation.
[1] Jeremiah Gruenberg and Annang Asumang. “Axes of Formation: A Model for Assessing Theories of Spiritual Formation.” Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care. 12 (2019): 212–31
[2] Amanda Hontz Drury, Saying Is Believing: The Necessity of Testimony in Adolescent Spiritual Development (Westmont: InterVarsity Press, 2015), 48.
[3] Esteban Ortiz-Ospina “Two centuries ago, only 1 in 10 adults could read. Today, it’s almost 9 in 10.” Last modified, July 29, 2024. https://ourworldindata.org/data-insights/two-centuries-ago-only-1-in-10-adults-could-read-today-its-almost-9-in-10
[4] 20St Teresa, The Interior Castle: Or the Mansions (Ashland: TAN Books, 2011), 206
[5] Dallas Willard, “Spiritual Formation in Christ: A Perspective on What It Is and How It Might Be
Done,” Journal of Psychology and Theology. 28 (2000): 254.