LIBERTY UNIVERSITY RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Written Assignment: Spiritual Formation and Discipleship Assignment
Submitted to Dr. Jonathan Geukgeuzian
In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN 500-B02
Discipleship Ministries
Kion Bolden
January 18, 2022
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Table of Contents
Introduction: Spiritual Formation and Discipleship ....………………………………………..….3
Three Areas Related to Spiritual Growth …………………………………………………………5
Personal Growth Assessment ……………………………………………………………………..7
Area of Improvement (Habits & Disciplines) …………………………………………………….9
Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………..……..10
Bibliography …………………………………………………………………………………….11
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Introduction: Spiritual Formation and Discipleship
The process of becoming conformed to the image of Jesus Christ for the glory of God and
the sake of others is known as spiritual formation. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the
Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom,” the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth. And we
all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same
image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2
Corinthians 3:17-18 ESV). The Holy Spirit, who leads us on our journey toward unity with God,
fuels spiritual formation. As a result, it is He who is “working on you, in you, for you, and
through you.”1 He is the primary catalyst for spiritual transformation (2 Corinthians 3:18). His
presence does not make us perfect right away, but it does make us perfect. It gradually conforms
us to the image of Jesus.2 “Spiritual formation is an ongoing process of moving from one degree
of glory to another,” Dempsey and Earley say. It is becoming more beautiful as the image of
Jesus becomes more beautiful.3 It is, in some ways, the shedding of un-Christ like layers. The
positioning of oneself in a continuous cycle during which those layers are continuously being
rejected until Christ calls them home. “They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the
affections and lusts,” Paul warned the Galatian church. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in
the Spirit” (Galatians 5:24-25 KJV). Likewise, he tells the church at Corinth, “Therefore if any
man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become
new” (2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV).
The goal of spiritual formation is to improve one's relationship with God on a consistent
basis. Striving to become more like Him. Discipleship deals with the development and maturing
1 Dempsey, Rod, and Earley, Dave. 2018. Spiritual Formation Is... : How to Grow in Jesus with Passion
and Confidence. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
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of one’s faith as it necessitates the willingness to give up “the things of the world and following
Jesus.”4 Disciples are mentors and leaders entrusted to cast the net and develop other disciples as
they are commissioned to follow Him, as “I will send you out to fish for people” (Matthew 4:19
NIV). In his book “Spiritual Formation: Ever Forming, Never Formed,” Peter Nelson compares
spiritual formation to a journey through the seasons, which is important to believers because it
suggests that Christianity is more than just accepting Christ as a savior; it also provokes the
transformational theory that is associated with discipleship. “The journey of spiritual formation
takes us through seasons of the soul,”5 Nelson says. Disenchantment and even resentment might
arise after a period of initial fervor followed by an episode of eager study. Pressures and
temptations that we never expected to face in the earlier, easier seasons of spiritual life inevitably
do. The journey with Jesus takes numerous turns, just like a long road trip, and we have no idea
what awaits us around the next corner.6
Who we are in Christ is the cornerstone of spiritual formation, and we base this solely on
God's word. We can spiritually grow and form to become more like Christ by using the scriptures
as a foundation. Our spirits are the most significant aspect of who we are as spiritual beings. As a
result, everyday dedication to development is required, opening our hearts to a closer
relationship with God. As disciples, we are no longer bystanders in our spiritual life, but active
participants with God. According to Dempsey and Earley, our relationship with God “grows as
we pursue him.”7
Three Areas Related to Spiritual Growth
4 Earley, Dave, and Dempsey, Rod. 2013. Disciple Making Is ... : How to Live the Great Commission with
Passion and Confidence. B&H Publishing Group.
5 Nelson, Peter K., 2010. Spiritual Formation: Ever Forming, Never Formed. Downers Grove: InterVarsity
Press, p. 8.
6 Ibid, p. 8.
7 Dempsey, Rod, and Earley, Dave. 2018. Spiritual Formation Is... : How to Grow in Jesus with Passion
and Confidence. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group.
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Jesus employs a parable to share with his disciples about spreading seed on various soils
and the results that may be expected from each soil. Jesus makes it plain in Matthew 13:1-8 that
the sower must be mindful of the soil in which he or she is sowing as sowing within fertile
ground promises to yield a strong harvest when properly cultivated. The authors of the book
“Spiritual Formation Is...: How to Grow in Jesus with Passion and Confidence” divide spiritual
development and growth into three categories. According to Dempsey and Earley, “Loving God
(relating to God), loving one another (nurturing relationships), and loving our neighbors
(apostolic mission)”8 are all necessary for spiritual growth and are the “DNA of a follower of
Jesus.”9
The first step, of course, is to love God, which may be accomplished by actively spending
time in his presence and communing with Him, reading his word, and keeping a consistent
prayer connection with him. Believers will only experience revival and begin to love God as he
loves them if they do so. According to Dempsey and Earley, the church will surely “experience
revival if they will daily hear, read, study, memorize, and meditate on God’s words.”10 The
scriptures says, “If anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is
how we know we are in him” (1 John 2:5 NIV). Thus, Wilson Teo suggest that the Bible provides
biblical content and a source for spiritual formation in believers' lives. It reveals God's genuine
nature and enables believers to follow Christ’s example in terms of ideas, behaviors, and
lifestyles.11 The Pharisees asked Jesus which of the rules was the most important in an attempt to
deceive Him, and Jesus' response established the supremacy of Christianity. “Love the Lord your
8 Dempsey, Rod, and Earley, Dave. 2018. Spiritual Formation Is... : How to Grow in Jesus with Passion
and Confidence. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group.
9 Ibid.
10 Ibid.
11 Wilson Teo. 2018. "The Formational Journey of Emerging Ecclesial Leaders", Production SF. Regent
University School of Business & Leadership. 86.
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God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” he urged. “This is the
first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38 NIV). This implies that our discipleship is
authenticated by love. It is ethically impossible to acquire spiritual formation and advancement
without first having an unconditional love for God. By responding to his love and establishing
habits and practices that strengthen that love, we can refine our love for God, one another, and
our neighbors.12
Following that is the significance of loving one another. This “pertains to loving our
brothers and sisters in the family of God.”13 We are to love our Christian brothers and sisters and
to help one another grow in Christ so that we can all welcome others into the Kingdom together.
Others will be able to perceive our relationship with God based on how we interact and treat one
another. “By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples,” Jesus continued, “if you love
one another” (John 13:35 NIV). Jesus embarks on a lifelong path of teaching us to love God as
he want to be loved and to love one another as he loves us. Learning to love God and one another
is the core purpose and central process of our lives and spiritual formation. Following all of the
“one anothers” in the New Testament and using our spiritual abilities to build one another up in
the Lord's service is how we love our brothers and sisters.14
Finally, we must love our neighbors, which includes those outside of our faith. “Our love
for God and for one another should be a major apologetic to the unbelieving world,”15 Dempsey
said. Moreover, we begin to show that God is living among us as we love God and love one
another, and the visible presence of Christ becomes evident and recognized amongst believers.
12 Dempsey, Rod, and Earley, Dave. 2018. Spiritual Formation Is... : How to Grow in Jesus with Passion
and Confidence. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group.
13 Ibid.
14 Ibid.
15 Ibid.
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Nonbelievers should be able to recognize Jesus in everything we do and who we are because we
live out the teachings and examples of the one we claim to follow. Believers should act as
walking apologists. Our affection for one another ought to be sincere and deliberate. “We can
intentionally develop daily habits and disciplines that will help us love our neighbors,” Dempsey
and Earley write, “but it requires effort and focus.”16 When confronted with varied life
circumstances, we are guided by the Holy Spirit, and our thinking and behaviors are purposely
distinct from others. We model the fruits of the spirit that the Apostle Paul specifies for the
Galatian church, “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control.” (Galatians 5:33-23 NIV).
All believers make up the Body of Christ, as Paul refers to it. “There is one body, but it
has many parts,” he explains. However, the body is made up of all of its various parts. The same
is true of Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12 NIRV). As a result, the church of Jesus Christ
demonstrates that it is the body of Christ by loving God with all of their hearts (upward), loving
one another (inward), and loving their neighbors (outward).17
Personal Assessment
In relation to the three areas of spiritual growth, the Personal Spiritual Growth
Assessment that was administered for Module 2 has shown several pain points for me. While I
did well in many areas, the areas where I fell short as a Christian and as an Elder in the Lord's
church were quite concerning. The lowest score was for the area of Love for God, which
proposed journaling the progressive work of God in my life and around me. While this does not
speak to my inexhaustible gratitude for God's work in my life, taking time to reflect on and
document specific incidents and successes would be good for future reflection and advertisement
16 Dempsey, Rod, and Earley, Dave. 2018. Spiritual Formation Is... : How to Grow in Jesus with Passion
and Confidence. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group.
17 Ibid.
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for prospective witnessing. Another flaw is failing to keep a current prayer request list. The
phrase “pray for me” is frequently overlooked. We promise to pray for others when they ask, but
many of us fail to do so. Using the phrase as a colloquial cliché rather than a true profession.
While I certainly honor my requests for prayer, taking notes and keeping a record could be useful
when meditating on God's power, promises, and miracles. Meditating is simple, according to
Dempsey and Earley, because it is simply the discipline of getting the most out of your hearing,
reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating.18 Likewise, Daniel Morris suggests, “God offers
promises and prosperity to those who have his word in their mind and heart and meditate upon
them.”19
Spreading God's word, encouraging and equipping others, establishing leaders/disciples,
and being deliberate about reserving and spending time with God are almost synonymous with
areas of strength. I take delight in loving God and loving God's people as a natural born leader
and advocate for Christian living. I firmly believe that one cannot truly thrive in one without also
thriving in the other. For the scripture says, “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he
is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he
hath not seen” (1 John 4:20 KJV)?
Area of Improvement (Habits & Disciplines)
18 Dempsey, Rod, and Earley, Dave. 2018. Spiritual Formation Is... : How to Grow in Jesus with Passion
and Confidence. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group.
19 Morris, Daniel. 2013. Why You Really Can Memorize Scripture: Understand and Unlock Your Mind’s
Natural Ability to Memorize Long Passages. Life Sentence Publishing.
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According to Duke University researchers, 40% of the behaviors we take each day are
habitual rather than deliberate. Patterns are the source of these habits. What you do on a daily
basis will eventually mold you into the person you are. As a result, adopting habits and
disciplines in each area will aid in the development of habits that will positively benefit each area
of personal spiritual growth.
I intend to resume documenting my own experiences and ideas with God in the subject of
“Upward” (Love for God). Making self-reflection points as well as references and resources for
others. “Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take
place after this,” says the Bible (Revelation 1:19 ESV). When someone hurts or wrongs me, I
know I am guilty of harboring grudges for an inordinate amount of time in the area of “Inward”
(Love for One Another). It is frequently a case of removing myself from the source of the
offense. However, I recognize that it causes division and compromises my capacity to witness
and embody Christ's methods. Despite the pain He was experiencing at the hands of individuals
He prayed for, Jesus found it in His heart to forgive even on the cross (Luke 23:24). This is the
example of forgiveness that we are expected to follow and encouraged to do so. “Let all
bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all
malice,” Paul advised the Ephesus church. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32 ESV).
I will actively pray for God to massage my heart in order for me to create a bridge with
people who have hurt me in order to extend the love of Christ to them in the area of “Outward”
(Love for Our Neighbor). “If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your
brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar,” Jesus said
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to his disciples. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift,” implying that
forgiveness is as much for the forgiver as it is for the forgiven.
Conclusion
In conclusion, love is the common thread that runs through all of these areas. “We know
and rely on the love God has for us,” the bible says, “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in
God, and God in them” (1 John 4:16 NIV). Furthermore, even though we did not earn it, it was
love that brought us redemption. God gave His only Son to humanity out of love in order to save
us from eternal torment. Love occurs wherever and whenever it does on Earth because it is a
reflection of God's perfect love, which created and sustains us. We should become more like him
and more loving as we are introduced to him and spend time with him. In reality, love is the first
fruit of walking in and being governed by God's Spirit. Our influence and impact on the world
around us grows as we become more loving.20
Bibliography
Dempsey, Rod, and Earley, Dave. 2018. Spiritual Formation Is... : How to Grow in Jesus with
Passion and Confidence. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group.
Earley, Dave, and Dempsey, Rod. 2013. Disciple Making Is ...: How to Live the Great
Commission with Passion and Confidence. B&H Publishing Group.
Morris, Daniel. 2013. Why You Really Can Memorize Scripture: Understand and Unlock Your
Mind’s Natural Ability to Memorize Long Passages. Life Sentence Publishing.
Nelson, Peter K., 2010. Spiritual Formation: Ever Forming, Never Formed. Downers Grove:
InterVarsity Press.
20 Dempsey, Rod, and Earley, Dave. 2018. Spiritual Formation Is... : How to Grow in Jesus with Passion
and Confidence. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group.
11
Teo, Wilson. (2018). “The Formational Journey of Emerging Ecclesial Leaders". Production
Staff. Regent University School of Business & Leadership.
