Contents
Introduction
Overview of Three Directional Love
Walking in the Spirit
Personal Growth Assessment
My Personal Growth Plan
Conclusion
Introduction
Spiritual formation and disciple making are processes that incorporate the practices of
daily Christian living into a reception of the Triune God into our life. The resulting lifestyle,
both individual and communal, will expose the highest ideals of faith in Jesus Christ: loving all
others as ourselves including enemies, unbounded forgiveness, and the sharing of the written
Word of God.
Spiritual formation and its counterpart, discipleship, are grounded in total dependence on
God, through salvation by the sacrifice of Jesus, and empowerment for daily living by the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Overview of Three Directional Love
The idea of “sacrificial, relational, and transformational” is uncomplicated enough to be
utilized by the mature Christian as well as the baby Christian. Each characteristic described in
both textbooks can be woven into a way of life that personifies the standard living model set by
Christ himself. When one is passionate about others, engrossed in the Word, and self-sacrificing
as opposed to self-centered he will instinctively walk in a manner modeled by Christ. While
many are often neglectful of our commitment to the word, it is imperative to be immersed in the
Word: “You cannot be a disciple without an aggressive commitment to consume and obey the
Scriptures.”1 To encourage the Corinthians to strive to be Christlike in manner, Paul shares with
us in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.”2 Being an imitator of
Christ is not necessarily a difficult thing to achieve, but it does require a certain commitment.
Community, as it relates to a discipleship model, requires one to be willing to give of himself
with the understanding that his return on investment might be null. Luke states quite boldly in
Acts 2:42, that “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to
fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Reminding us that fellowship is an ongoing
activity and includes prayer.3 When fellowship and a commitment to the Word are aligned,
growth is the natural response. Paul advises the Christians at Colossae to match their actions with
their words: “…so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all
respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God,”
1 Dave Early, Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making is… How to Live the Great Commission with Passion and
Confidence, (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2013), 22.
2 All Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible
3 Jim Putman, Bobby Harrington, and Robert E. Coleman, Discipleshift: Five Steps That Help Your Church to Make
Disciples Who Make Disciples, Exponential Series (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013), 37.
(Colossians 1:10). Walking as a disciple of Christ will carry many sacrifices, but the
transformation that follows will be eternal life changing.
Walking in the Spirit
Christian spiritual formation is the process of being conformed to the image of Jesus
Christ for the glory of God and for the sake of others (II Corinthians 3:17-18).
The focus of spiritual formation is the Holy Spirit, who guides the ongoing journey. The
Holy Spirit plays the central role in spiritual formation. Jesus comforted his disciples when he
told them of his coming death by assuring them of the Holy Spirit’s guidance:
“When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on
his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring
glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the
Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to
you.” (Jn. 16:13-15). Jesus assures his disciples that, when he is with the Father, the Holy Spirit
will take his place on earth and continue his work of redemption.
Our response to the leading of the Holy Spirit in discipline and discipling is submission.
Formation is an organic, life-long, and holistic process involving right thinking, right behaviors,
and right feelings of individuals and communities. It is only through the indwelling of the Spirit
of God that we formulate into usable, profitable servants for His kingdom.
The Spirit and the written Word, and the indwelling Christ help us to experience “living
water,” which flows out of our innermost being (John 7:37-38), coming from the depths of our
identities and our personal, earthly lives and into our communities.
The Holy Spirit guides us into the Spiritual disciplines, including the ones we are
studying in this course. They are his tools, as are we, but only he is the architect, builder and
finisher of the final product.
First, the Holy Spirit works in our human spirit to transform us individually and
personally into the image of Jesus Christ, from the inside out. Second, the Holy Spirit works
among us to build us into a community that functions as a temple for the very presence of
God that makes Him manifest in the church and in the world. Third, the Holy Spirit works
through us as prophetic persons and communities through whom the world hears the gospel and
sees its transforming effects in the lives of people and communities.4
The Holy Spirit forms and transforms one’s inner nature by opening a person’s eyes to
the truth already present in Scripture, by making a person more aware of God’s presence, and by
sustaining habits of holiness. As such, the Holy Spirit’s role cannot be duplicated by human
efforts.
To be attentive and receptive to the Spirit’s formative work in us, we respond to the
Spirit’s presence. Following that, the outward result of our discipline is to become engaged in
calling others, offering the plan of salvation, seeking the marginalized with love, sharing our
possessions. Spiritual directors, mentors, pastors, and spiritual friends provide important
relationships for reflection, companionship, and sometimes guidance. Incorporating these special
relationships into our formation is a true gift of the Spirit.
4 Sinclair Ferguson. The Holy Spirit (Downer’s Grove: IVP, 2015), 46.
Personal Spiritual Growth Assessment5
Love for God (Up)
__10__ 1. I am daily reading God’s Word.
___5_ 2. I am systematically memorizing God’s Word.
___3_ 3. I am writing out key passages and meditating on God’s Word for application.
__10__ 4. I have a daily prayer time and plan.
___1_ 5. I have a dated prayer request list for people and requests.
__10__ 6. I pray daily to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
___1_ 7. I keep a journal and record how the Lord is at work in my life and around me.
__6__ 8. I regularly practice fasting from food and other areas for my spiritual development.
__10__ 9. I regularly disconnect from the world (including all media) and in solitude connect to
Jesus.
___10_ 10. I try daily to listen and follow the still small voice of Jesus.
Add up the section ___66____ and divide by 10 = ___6.6____
Love for One Another (In)
__1__ 1. I meet weekly in a small group with other believers.
_1___ 2. I have discovered my spiritual gift.
_1___3. I am using my spiritual gift to build up others in the body of Christ.
_1___ 4. I am daily praying for other believers.
_10___ 5. I am guarding against the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
__1__ 6. I am confessing my faults, sins, and shortcomings to other believers.
__2__ 7. I am not involved in gossip against other believers.
__1__ 8. I am not holding a grudge or offense toward any person.
__2__ 9. I regularly clear up/ resolve hurts and offenses toward other believers.
5 Rod Dempsey, Dave Earley. Spiritual Formation Is...: How to Grow in Jesus with Passion and Confidence
(Kindle Locations 4542-4580). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
_2___ 10. I am daily praying with my family or for my family.
Add up the section __22_____ and divide by 10 = __2.2_____
Love for Our Neighbors (Out)
_10___ 1. I have a prayer list for people who do not know Christ.
_10___ 2. I am praying specific requests for their salvation.
__1__ 3. I am seeking friendships and relationships with people who do not know Christ.
___1_ 4. I am listening first to what they have to say.
_1___ 5. I am planning for opportunities to eat with people who don’t know Christ.
__9__ 6. I am seeking to use my spiritual gift to serve others outside the body of Christ.
__9__ 7. I am praying for opportunities to show and share the good news of the gospel.
__6__ 8. I have prepared a simple explanation of the gospel to share with others as God opens
the door.
_10___ 9. I am seeking to become a blessing and serve the poor and under- resourced in my
community.
_1___ 10. I am seeking to build bridges with people who have hurt me and to love them like
Christ.
Add up the section ___58____ and divide by 10 = _5.8______
Overall Score Add up the three sections ____14.6___ and divide by 3 for an overall score =
__4.5_____
• Discuss: What is your strongest area? Reading scripture and absorbing it. Planning and hoping
for an outlet to share with under-resourced, particularly a prison ministry.
• Discuss: What is your weakest area? Being in groups of people, mainly small groups which I
despise.
My Personal Growth Plan
Spiritual Disciplines Where I Need to Grow or Maintain Balance
Reading the Bible: I love reading the Bible; in fact, what I appreciate least about seminary is that
classwork requires constraining time from actual reading and study of the Scriptures. Bible
study has been a part of my life since childhood, and I am ever grateful for the Sunday School
classes at the Gospel Baptist Tabernacle in Crossville, Tennessee, where we learned directly from
Scripture, required to learn verses (that are still with me-in the KJV!), and had faithful teachers
who lived what they taught us. For me, this only requires keeping at it, and that’s not a problem.
It is new morning by morning. So, while in seminary, the goal is to turn off the computer, put
down the textbooks, and search the Scriptures—each day.
Private prayer—fifteen minutes every morning. I cannot always do this. I hate being still and
attempting to pray. However, I pray often throughout the day as I walk, do chores, drive, while
usually always while busy. I have five names of men I dearly want to see saved by God’s grace.
That is not to say I only want these few, but I feel it is important I focus on Wade, Curt, Tim,
Jake, and Colin. Discipline is needed, too, because I don’t see them in my everyday life.
Journaling—make an entry daily for a month. I once refused to do this; for me it was a waste of
time; I am 70 years old and diagnosed as mentally ill. While this is a fine goal and certainly
potentially helpful, it has seemed impractical for me. However, journaling is recording, and a
data base, so to speak, of reference on how I am progressing in other areas. For this reason, I
must be a spiritual diarist.
Exercise— Agreed, I need more physical exercise. I’m not certain why this would be a spiritual
discipline unless the goal is to keep our bodies in tune to augment our emotional and intellectual
beings. But my plan here is to make this a daily, primary activity. I am nearly obese, not entirely
from lack of exercise or poor diet, but as an elder, senior citizen, I need to “buffet my body” so
as to increase my longevity. Otherwise, how would I accomplish the rest of these goals?
Loving the least—This is extremely important to me. I have never been loved in my life, not
adequately, even by my mother. During my childhood and youth, I was emotionally tortured and
permanently scarred. Today, I suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result. I have
been homeless several times, and most often very poor (Phil 4:12). Had I not been subjected to
these horrendous experiences, there might not be the deep sympathy in my heart for the
marginalized. It is a blessing to share their existence, and whether they could ever understand
this, the least of us: the homeless, the desperately poor, the utterly alone, live life as a blessing to
me. For in their need, I can love to the fullest. I have no problem exercising this goal, just
remembering the necessity of it, at the times I have neglected serving.
Conclusion
Guiding Principles of Spiritual Formation
Spiritual formation focuses on the ordinary maturing of one's relationship with God.
Sacrificial service to Christ means laying aside the plans we have created for our present and
futures and following His will for our lives. To be a living sacrifice is to jump wholeheartedly
into service and obedience. He wants us to conform to His image and be fruitful in our service.
Yielding to God gives us His power to help in our transformation. On our own, our efforts have
only temporal value. However, when we join them to Christ, they have infinite value because of
His infinite value and the value of His saving work.6 The Apostle Paul explained in the letter to
the Romans the perfect example of spiritual formation: the one true sacrifice, Jesus’ self-offering
on the Cross. And it was Christ’s sacrifice that makes us holy, not because of anything we can do
or earn, but simply because God in his mercy has offered us this grace. In the New Covenant,
then, the role of sacrifice has changed. Christ’s sacrifice is now the source of our entering into a
right relationship with God, not our sacrifices.
6 Heath A. Thomas, Habakkuk (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2018), 52.
