The language of spirituality is popular currency these days. Spirituality can mean most anything. It is not uncommon to hear conversations about spiritual people who find no reference point in God. Most people you will meet today consider themselves to be spiritual people, but when pressed may not be able to verbalize what that means.

Into that kind of culture we add the word formation, which obviously has to do with how something is formed. Formation raises its own set of questions. How are we formed? Who does the forming? What shape does the forming take?

The reality is that whether we know it or not, we are each being formed day by day, moment by moment. There are forces shaping us, some good and some not so good, each moment of our lives. Culture, family, school, work, neighborhood, church, social standing . . . these and others forces weave their way into our lives so quietly that we tend not to notice their deep and powerful effects on us. We believe that we are thinking on our own, making decisions for ourselves, looking at life objectively, when in reality we are each one the product of many, many influences that shape and form us inwardly.

Thus, the question is not, Will you be spiritually formed? but rather By what will you be spiritual formed? Christian spiritual formation refers to the intentional life of the Christian who seeks to allow himself/herself to be shaped by the Spirit of God so that he/she journeys to be the person that God has created him/her to be. Christian spiritual formation involves a lifelong process of growth toward wholeness in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul prayed earnestly for the Galatian Christians for whom he was concerned, until Christ is formed in you (Gal. 4:19). Robert Mulholland provides a good definition of this process: Spiritual formation is the process of being conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others.

Because this formation is spiritual, it is not something we can do. We are not able to set our minds to it, grit our teeth, and cause it to come about. Formation (and trans-formation) is the work of God, and as God’s work the end product will look much more like what God desires than what we desire it to look like. We are shaped by God and for God. God’s Spirit shapes our spirit. We simply participate with God’s work. We consent to God’s work within our hearts. We put ourselves in a position (through spiritual disciplines, holy habits, and time-honored practices of the church) to receive the work of God within us.

The Center for Christian Spirituality exists to provide resources and opportunities for God’s Spirit to form our spirits. Through classes, retreats, covenant communities, spiritual direction, and service opportunities people can avail themselves the work of the Spirit.

For information on spiritual formation opportunities through The Center for Christian Spirituality, please contact us.