Spiritual formation refers to something God does in us. By the gracious work of the Holy Spirit we are formed, shaped, re-created to God’s original design for our lives. This is a gracious work in that it is initiated by God and accomplished by God’s Spirit. God takes the first step. God makes the first movement toward us. Always, God is initiator.

We cannot make formation happen. We cannot will ourselves to be the people God created us to be. We are not big enough nor strong enough to bring that work to pass. Contrary to the way most of us order our lives, we cannot grit our teeth and set our minds to the task. Our wills are not strong enough. Our minds are not wide enough.

This puts us in an uncomfortable position. We are accustomed to living as masters of our own destinies, as lords of our own dance. To be out of control is a strange place for us to be. Yet this out-of-control sense is a huge part of the spiritual endeavor. It is the piece reminding us that God is God and that we are human persons – not God . . . a real shock to our egos!

We cannot make ourselves be formed spiritually into the image God has intended for us. God does that work. But we can subvert this action of God. We can stall it, delay it, resist it, say no to it.

So what is our responsibility in spiritual formation? If God initiates the act of forming us and if we can subvert that shaping by our resistance, what are we to do? How do we participate in this work of shaping? Our part in the dance is that of responder. God dances the lead, we follow.

In our following, it seems to me, there are two main movements that are keys for us. First is the movement of intention. Spiritual formation does not happen accidentally. We don’t just show up at church, in worship, at Bible study, for the prayer group, and find ourselves formed spiritually. You can show up regularly in all the right places, know all the Bible verses, say all the prayers, stand and sit at the appropriate times in worship, and never be transformed.

Showing up is important, but just showing up will not by itself transform us. We participate with God in spiritual formation by setting our face towards what God is doing in our lives and in our world. We set our intention toward God. We begin to engage in spiritual disciplines that for centuries have connected folks more deeply with God, the practices that God has used through the ages to shape lives in order to make a difference in the world. We explore different ways of prayer. We practice attentiveness to God, others, the world, and even our selves. We keep company with companions who have made formation their intention as well. We begin to offer ourselves in love to the least and the little, to those wounded by life, and we do so without the expectation that we’ll find any reward for our labors.

The second movement, entailed in the details of the first, is openness. When we set our intention toward formation, we have to keep our hearts, our minds, and our hands open. As God forms us, it most always looks different than we anticipated. The posture of openness signifies that we are willing to receive this gracious work of God in whatever form it takes. We are open to whatever God brings to us as a tool in this shaping endeavor. We are receptive to whatever formation looks like.

Spiritual disciplines seem scary at first, but openness invites me to stay receptive to how God uses them to shape me. Prayer may lead me into ways of being with God that I’d never considered before, but openness keeps me connected when I’d rather bail out. Periods of listening to God and to the voice of my own soul may be counter-intuitive to my frenetic lifestyle, but openness invites me to stay with it and trust in the new language of silence and solitude I’m learning.

The Center for Christian Spirituality exists to help persons participate in the forming work of God’s Spirit. In a number of different ways we offer opportunities to stay connected to God intentionally and openly. We do that in the context of a community of people who share a similar intention and openness. This intention and openness are the centerpieces of our work, of our response to God.

- Jerry