LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Book Critique of
Spiritual Formation as If the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through
Community
Submitted to Dr. Gregory Faulls, in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the completion of the course,
EVAN 500
Spiritual Factors of Growing Churches
by
Kristopher Williams
SCORE: 96/100
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUMMARY ………………………………………………………………………………1
CRITIQUE ………………………………………………………………………………..4
APPLICATION …………………………………………………………………………..6
BIBLIOGRAPHY …………………………………………………………………..……8
ii
Wilhoit, James C. Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through
Community. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008.
SUMMARY
In the first chapter of his Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered, James Wilhoit
immediately states his overall thesis when he asserts that “Spiritual formation is the task of the
church.”1 Wilhoit dutifully defines what he means by “spiritual formation” when he explains
that it is intentional, non-individualistic, and seeks to serve others, stressing that “Christian
spiritual formation refers to the intentional communal process of growing in our relationship
with God… communal because the Christian life is best lived in community, where worship,
fellowship, and service are practiced, and spiritual formation takes place in, through, and for
community.”2 He recognizes spiritual formation as a process that is never completed and stresses
the centrality of the gospel at every stage of Christian development, stressing that the gospel “is
not merely what we need to proclaim to unbelievers; the gospel also needs to permeate our entire
Christian experience.”3
In his second chapter, Wilhoit presses the idea that Christianity is not an isolationist faith by
stressing that “Spiritual formation does not take place primarily in small groups and Sunday
school classes; instead, it mostly takes place in the well-lived and everyday events of life.”4 In
the living out of the faith and being spiritually formed, Wilhoit advocates a spiritual formation
model that can still be seen practiced by various trades, noting that it spiritual formation “more
akin to serving an apprenticeship with Jesus than merely mimicking selected actions of his.”5
1 James C. Wilhoit, Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through Community
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 15.
2 Ibid., 23.
3
Ibid., 29.
4
Ibid., 38.
5
1
This chapter introduces us to the Four Dimensions of Community Formation that the majority of
the book is based on: Receiving, Responding, Remembering, and Relating.6
Chapters three and four focus on the Receiving component of spiritual formation.
Wilhoit immediately stresses that “Understanding our pervasive brokenness is at the heart of true
community formation.”7 This underlying brokenness leads to insecurity, which can lead to a
focus on idols of one sort or another that are not usually overcome individually. In one of a
dozen “Community Spiritual Formation Corollaries” scattered through the text, Wilhoit notes
that “True formation requires that the community deeply understands that they cannot cure the
sickness of their souls through willpower alone.”8 The ultimate takeaway from chapter three is
that “Christian spiritual formation requires that we actively and continually receive from God.”9
This idea is by the concepts in chapter 4 by focusing on receipt directly from God, stressing how
“we have direct interaction with God and the opportunity of receiving his care and grace, and
naturally we put ourselves in a posture of receiving.”10 Lastly, but not lacking in importance,
recognition of corporate worship as reception of God’s Word is identified.11
Chapters five and six address Remembering. In these chapters, Wilhoit stresses that one
“major task in spiritual formation involves increasing our awareness of our need for grace,”12
Ibid., 39.
6
Ibid., 49.
7 Ibid., 57.
8
Ibid., 63. Emphasis mine.
9
Ibid, 76.
10
Ibid., 95.
11
Ibid., 95.
12
Ibid., 106.
2
with the major focus necessarily being on the Cross of Christ. It is at the Cross, according to
Wilhoit, that we must remember what God thinks of the ugliness of sin and, simultaneously and
in a manner that frees us, what God thinks of humanity. Remembering is more than mere
intellectual assent but focuses on the events of the Cross and the person of Jesus since “we are
far more likely to remember enfleshed truth, truth in the context of relationships, than mere
abstract propositions.”13 Moreover, Remembering is a focus on the historical reality of the
Christian faith, both past and present. Christians do not exist as singularities, whether in the
present or in the past. We have a continuity with past saints.
Chapters seven and eight introduce us to and expound upon the idea of Responding. From
practicing receipt of grace and remembering the faith, one is much more prepared to act out the
faith and demonstrate the fruits since “Christian spiritual formation ultimately is about enabling
people to love others more and to help create a just and well-ordered community.”14 In this way,
Christians become more effective by doing, whether engaging with the universal Christian
fellowship across the world or training other Christians.15 While recognizing that our will to do
and reform is of great value, Wilhoit cautions us to be careful in our reliance on it, with the
caveat that effective spiritual formation and ministry successes “must use it (Sic., our individual
and collective wills) to marshal other spiritual resources at our disposal.”16 This response to
God’s grace can, and Wilhoit argues must naturally since it is an “essential” part, lead to
evangelistic outreach to non-believers.17
13
Ibid., 114.
14 Ibid., 148.
15
Ibid., 157.
16
Ibid., 164.
17
Ibid., 167.
3
The final two chapters concern the concept of Relating. Wilhoit notes that “The biblical way
of life is decidedly centered on others,”18 which effectively recontextualizes Jesus’ command to
“Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:39). Since we are to love our neighbor as ourselves,
this opens up the possibility of greater participation with others and expanding the mission and
effectiveness of the church through meaningful worship, compassionate service, public witness,
and disciple making.19 Each of these four items lead to greater spiritual formation, though
Wilhoit argues that corporate worship is the most important aspect of spiritual formation since it
alleviates tendencies towards isolation and interaction with other children of God.20
CRITIQUE
One “negative” critique focuses on a lengthy subsection of chapter 6 titled “Anointed
Teaching.” Wilhoit asserts that “Anointed teaching means that the Holy Spirit comes upon the
teacher in a special manner” with the added dimension that the “audience does not detect
anointing merely in the passion of the speaker or in an insightful application of the text, but also
in the very fabric of the message and in the seamless integrity between the life of the speaker and
the message.”21 I am loathe to accept undefined terms that anyone can ascribe meaning to. It
allows projection of ideas that may be incorrect and, frankly, heretical. For example, Barack
Obama’s 2008 campaign slogan, “Hope and Change,” is one such “special” slogan. It is
undefined and permitted people to project themselves and their ideas while allowing Mr. Obama
to gain support without alienating his coalition. Permitting the idea of some “special” message
18
Ibid., 178.
19
Ibid., 180.
20
Ibid., 196.
21 Ibid., 125. Emphasis mine; it is not in the original.
4
reeks of extrabiblical revelation (a concept that I deny) and also the possibility of revelations
occurring from sources outside the bounds of God’s providence. In addition, the idea of
“seamless integrity between the life of the speaker and the message” is not necessarily a
requirement since Jesus himself recognized the authority of the scribes and Pharisees who held
the authority of Moses when he said “so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the
works they do. For they preach, but do not practice” (Matt. 23:3). From church history, the
Donatist controversy in North Africa following the Great Persecution of Diocletian demonstrates
the idea that the personal worthiness of the minister cannot impede the administration of the
sacraments or the message of God.
Another “negative” critique, also housed in chapter 6, focuses on Wilhoit’s claim that
“The best testimonies are stories of God at work as a Lover, Healer, Savior, and Friend: good
testimonies put God on display.”22 Prima facie, I can accept this as true. I do not view it as
necessarily wrong. In my experience, especially concerning “conversion testimonies,” I have
witnessed the tendency for “one-upmanship” on the part of those sharing; I think many of these
testimonies are unconsciously overhyped, but there is pressure placed upon the one sharing to
have a “Spirit-filled, dramatic, tear-filled conversion.” I think that Wilhoit oversteps.
Positively, Wilhoit is insightful when he stresses that “A church that has learned Scripture
is also able to engage in worship in a more meaningful way,” noting powerfully that “When the
community has memorized and “bought” Scripture, the Bible can have a higher authority in our
lives.”23 Biblical knowledge is the foundation of and a prerequisite to knowing God and Jesus; I
22
Ibid., 132.
23 Ibid., 141.
5
am not convinced that you can love someone unless you know them. Knowledge of God comes
through learning the biblical texts, in unison with the universal Church.
APPLICATION
For myself, Wilhoit clearly identifies a problem when he says that “Much of our failure in
conceptualizing spiritual formation comes from our failure to keep the gospel central to our
ministry.”24 I am well-versed with the “facts of the case” when it concerns the gospel, but I
struggle with true spiritual formation since, in my view at least, conversion is ongoing and
lifelong. I make a conscious effort to repent and reassert my allegiance on a daily basis, but I do
not make greater strides in living it and reproducing it in others. Knowledge of the Bible, a
foundational aspect of the faith in my opinion, is (if possible) overemphasized by me. To draw
an analogy, there are theoretical physicists who ponder over items to increase their own
knowledge and perhaps drive future applications, and there are physicists and engineers who take
the available knowledge, show initiative, and try to do something applicable to humanity with
what they currently know. I need to focus more on the latter since they are not mutually
exclusive. It may be the case that the bit that I know can be shared and illumine others.
When Wilhoit notes that “many churches seek to squeeze us into the mold of merely
being nice and seeking a sensible consumer-oriented faith that meets our needs and avoids
offending anyone else,”25 I find there to be much truth in there, but from the perspective of not
being outwardly “bubbly and friendly.” Too many evangelical churches have perfectly friendly
men as pastors who, frankly, have no real business attempting to lead a congregation. Yes,
ignorance can be remedied, and being kind is a necessity for evangelism and reaching people.
24
Ibid., 26.
25 Ibid., 33.
6
But this statement reminds me that our faith must be offensive. We can have no other gods. We
must not have idols, whether in the culture at large or internally. We need to be offensive in
presenting the faith because defensive measures never provide victory. Too much defense may
prevent defeat, but it does not necessarily lead to victory.26 We need to better express our faith.
Chapter 3, “Foundations of Receiving,” focused a large amount of attention onto idols,
with my major takeaway being that idols are simply any substitute for God that lead the adherent
into possession of an alternate worldview as a result of their presence. Rather than necessarily
being some graven image that one actively sits down in front of and offers prayers and sacrifices
to, an idol can be something that we unconsciously value or passive accept more than our
relationship with God. In pointing out that “One of the most basic questions in spiritual
formation must be ‘What am I doing about my idols?’ not ‘Do I have any idols,’”27 Wilhoit has
powerfully pointed at these weaknesses of mine that I must acknowledge, become better aware
of, and attempt to remedy on a daily basis.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Wilhoit, James C. Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through
Community. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008.
26
Yes, I am aware that the analogy breaks down in football, where interception returns can lead to victory.
27 Ibid., 73.
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