Spiritual Formation

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Contemplative Prayer
Spiritual Disciplines

The phrase “spiritual formation” needs to be thoroughly defined by those who use it today. It is entirely possible to hear spiritual formation defined in terms of a generic spirituality with no real relation to God who is the intended focus. Spiritual formation involves the dynamics of shaping the human spirit toward maturity and wholeness. It can refer to the basic fact of life that humans are constantly formed by the world around them. This is the primary focus of Formative Spirituality (or the Science of Foundational Human Formation) as developed by Adrian van Kaam. It also refers to the more deliberate attempt to form oneself or to allow oneself to be formed within a particular spiritual tradition.

Dallas Willard defines spiritual formation as “the process by which the human spirit or will is given a definite ‘form’ or character.” Eugene Peterson elaborates on the journey of spiritual formation: “Spirituality is the attention we give to our souls, to the invisible interior of our lives that is the core of our identity, these image-of-God souls that compose our uniqueness and glory. Spirituality is the concern we have for the invisibility that inheres in every visibility, for the interior that provides content to every exterior. It necessarily deals much with innerness, with silence, with solitude. It takes all matters of soul with utmost seriousness.”
           
So spirituality has to do with the transformation of the interior part of life, what is often called the soul. The result is that the outer life is affected. This transformation through spiritual formation brings people to the place where they are able to live as Jesus commanded. This emphasis on obedience to Jesus’ commands, necessitates understanding spiritual formation as a course of action whose goal it is to take on the inward character of Christ, through a process involving the Spirit of God and the word of God. It is the transformation of the inner life, so the specific character traits that Jesus taught and demonstrated naturally proceed from an individual. This is the result of identifying and integrating these deeper issues of life.           

Even with the explosion of interest and literature in the area of spirituality, some major misunderstandings about the concept of spiritual formation remain. Possibly the most significant of these misunderstandings is the idea that spirituality is something very separated from daily life. One author has stated that spirituality is typically viewed as “exotic, esoteric, and not something that issues forth from the bread and butter of ordinary life.” Another common belief is that spiritual formation is something unique to pastors, spiritual leaders, or people in search of a contemplative lifestyle. In reality, spiritual formation is a part of every person. Hitler had a spiritual formation as did Mother Teresa. In this sense, spiritual formation is like education: everyone gets one, it is just a matter of which one or what kind. The spirituality that each person lives out is either a life-giving one or a destructive one. In the course of a lifetime it can also be both.

A widespread secularized concept of spirituality is also prevalent today. This form of “spirituality” is popularized by contemporary pop psychologists, self-help books, and television talk shows. It is characterized by spirituality as one’s relationship to whatever is most important in life, or even the process of becoming a positive, creative, and empowered person. This is not the type of spirituality or spiritual formation that is being dealt with here.

Spiritual formation has a distinct focus – the teachings of Jesus and the Bible. Therefore, this view of spiritual formation could be summarized as active and progressive involvement in focusing on Jesus, focusing on Scripture, and focusing on spiritual disciplines. These are the foci of Christian spiritual formation. Spiritual formation is a process, not an instantaneous experience, even though there may be such experiences as part of the process. It is difficult for many to accept this aspect of process since it goes against the grain of a culture which continually seeks instant gratification. People are conditioned to expect immediate returns on their investments, which is not necessarily the case with spiritual formation.

For further reading, check out the Relational Formation section in the SOULeader Bookstore.
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