My Emerging Model of Spiritual Formation
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My Emerging Model of Spiritual Formation
Introduction/Overview
Whenever an average person speaks about spiritual formation, others assume that it is a contemporary or prevalent synonym for discipleship. Throughout the history of Church and Christianity, the obedience to the Lord’s command has seen believers and followers of the Christ dedicate themselves to abide by the biblical policies (Boswell, 2016). In Matthew 28:19-20, the Lord’s command in the Great Commission ought to be obeyed, and this is what keeps Christians united while contributing to the model of spiritual formation. My spiritual formation model is influenced by the fact that people often get weary of using the same word always, and creativity contributes to the making of a biblical perspective of the word and spiritual training. In this context of spiritual formation, different creative people have opted for its synonyms. For instance, mentoring is one concept of spiritual formation, which implies a one-on-one strategy of training a less mature believer by a more mature believer (Kujawa-Holbrook, 2001). For example, “I was mentored by Paul.” However, I tend to believe that mentoring would not be the best alternative word for “making disciples” as described in the Scripture due to its implications, background, and common use. When we look at the New Testament in the Bible, we discover that making of the disciples is not obligated to individuals only, but also the entire Church. This means that disciples or followers of Christ are meant to be made by the full ministry of Christ’s body in the Church (Norton, 2008).
We all have someone that we can attribute to our spiritual formation and growth. We should also be actively involved in the same role of making disciples and also teach those who we have made disciples do the same (McMartin et al., 2013). However, potential disciples should balance the wider membership of the Church and subscribe to the Lord’s command to become the disciples that the Lord intends (Eph 4:11-16). I believe that keeping up with the biblical terminology that describes our roles as Christians in the Church helps us understand our roles in spiritual formation. The term “mentorship” is still common and used by many people to refer to the spiritual formation and making of a disciple (Horan, 2017). However, the spiritual formation cannot be a synonym of discipleship or mentoring in such a case. According to Smith (2017), “Some trace the roots of the Spiritual Formation Movement to 1974 when Father William Menninger, a Trappist monk, found an ancient book entitled The Cloud of Unknowing in the library at St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts. This 14th century book offered a means by which contemplative practices, long used by Catholic monks, could be taught to lay people.” Menninger’s concept of spiritual formation through mentorship and training was later adopted by a variety of monks, spiritual teachers, and evangelists in making disciples (Shinohara, 2002). The disciplines of mentoring by Menninger were known to people that were very familiar with church history. Leaders repackaged and offered them as a means of spiritual development and maturity (Salberg, 2018).
As a matter of fact, the ancient contemplative methods introduced by Menninger implied that spiritual formation was impossible without them. The common acceptable biblical disciplines, like the Bible study and prayer sessions, were considered old-fashioned and simplistic (Jones, 2006). Worse enough, several believers were convinced that these biblical disciplines were copied from the Western “worldview of the head,” which was not realistic. The belief “that whenever one wants to move deeply into Godly things, these principles were now enough” led to the need for alternative spiritual formation models (Setran & Kiesling, 2013). Christianity has ever suffered much criticism from non-believers or those that believe in other religions. Every religion is specifically designed to address specific issues with beliefs and customs. Mentoring is an emerging concept that applies to teaching the Scripture, sharing ideas with the less mature believers, and making them disciples (Mulholland Jr, 2016).
My choice of mentorship as one of the salient issues and concepts in spiritual formation and growth is that we live in a digital era where almost every activity is conducted efficiently through mass media. Lowe & Lowe (2018) argues that “communion believers enjoy with Christ through the Spirit” (p. 73). Additionally, the text asserts that seminarians are tasked with spreading the gospel of the gospel through evangelicalism through any tools and means that reach masses. As a result, mentoring is a possible approach to evangelism and the making of disciples since it is made possible using digitalization (Chiroma, 2015). Proper spiritual ecology is deemed to provide the necessary spiritual nutrients for growth. Furthermore, Pettit (2008) presents the approach to the spiritual formation by associating in harmony and peace with one another as a leader to help others learn spiritually. The making of disciples is not an easy task with the existence of many critics, but since it is a God-ordained process that shapes the character and actions of a believer to the likeness of Christ. What differentiates spiritual formation from discipleship is its practices and philosophy (McRay et al., 2018). Therefore, mentorship is my emerging spiritual formation model that implies reaching out to individuals and masses to make them Disciples of Christ and strong believers.
References
Boswell, M. A. (2016). The way to love through hope: A virtue-based model of spiritual growth for Christian spiritual formation (Doctoral dissertation, Graduate Theological Union).
Chiroma, N. H. (2015). The Role of Mentoring in Adolescents’ Spiritual Formation. Journal of Youth and Theology, 14(1), 72-90.
Horan, A. P. (2017). Fostering spiritual formation of millennials in Christian schools. Journal of Research on Christian Education, 26(1), 56-77.
Jones, A. (2006). Cooperating with the Spirit: a model for spiritual formation within the local church. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19422539.2011.540138
Kujawa-Holbrook, S. A. (2001). Courage and resistance: Spiritual formation and mentoring girls for religious leadership. International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 6(3), 299-310.
Lowe, S. D., & Lowe, M. E. (2018). Ecologies of faith in a digital age: Spiritual growth through online education. InterVarsity Press.
McMartin, J., Dodgen-Magee, D., Geevarughese, M. C., Gioielli, S. M., & Sklar, Q. T. (2013). Spiritual Formation Training at Rosemead School of Psychology. Journal of Psychology & Christianity, 32(4).
McRay, B. W., Barwegen, L., Haase, D. T., Karianjahi, M., Larson, M. L., Ribbe, R., ... & Wilhoit, J. C. (2018). Spiritual Formation and Soul Care in the Department of Christian Formation and Ministry at Wheaton College. Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care, 11(2), 271-295.
Mulholland Jr, M. R. (2016). Invitation to a journey: A road map for spiritual formation. InterVarsity Press.
Norton, E. (2008). Spiritual Formation as If the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ Through Community. Library Journal, 133(11), 74.
Pettit, P. (Ed.). (2008). Foundations of spiritual formation: A community approach to becoming like Christ. Kregel Academic.
Salberg, K. A. (2018). Posture and Spiritual Formation: Sanctification in George Herbert’s The Country Parson and The Temple. Christianity & Literature, 66(1), 57-72
Setran, D. P., & Kiesling, C. A. (2013). Spiritual formation in emerging adulthood: A practical theology for college and young adult ministry. Baker Academic.
Shinohara, A. (2002). Spiritual formation and mentoring: An approach from the Christian tradition of spiritual direction. Christian Education Journal, 6(2), 105.
Smith, G. T. (2017). Generation to Generation: Inter-Gene rationality And Spiritual Formation in Christian Community. Journal of Spiritual Formation & Soul Care, 10(2), 182-193.
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