A Personal College Vision Statement for Christian Liberal Arts Learning

Lydia Hanson

CE 131: Intro to Spiritual Formation

Dr. Steve Oberg

October 13, 2018

 When a person hears the phrase “spiritual formation,” what usually comes to mind? A

person may picture nonbelievers committing to the faith, or synthesize ideas about how reading

the Bible more frequently will make people better Christians. Whatever a person initially thinks

of, the fact of the matter is that many of us have a vague sense of what spiritual formation is, yet

our understanding is merely surface-level. It is, by definition, the process of becoming more like

Christ through the habitual actions we perform each day, as we participate in various practices to

strengthen our faith. In order to live a fulfilling life that brings honor to God, it is extremely

important to take a deeper look at the personal relationship that we each have with Him and how

we have grown, not only spiritually, but mentally and emotionally as well.

There are many different facets of the Wheaton College experience that are facilitating

my own personal formation and discipleship. The fact that there are so many young Christians

here who daily strive to serve and glorify God through their actions has led me to become more

thoughtful in the ways that I think about Scripture and go about my everyday life. Additionally,

the presence of faithful adults who continuously push themselves to learn more about God and

meditate on His Word has played an essential role in forming my sense of discipleship. It is

incredibly helpful to have such steadfast role models who are rock solid in their convictions.

Seeing them live out their faith in such a bold manner daily inspires me to become a better

Christian myself. If we live our lives for Christ without hesitation, nothing can stand against us,

since the Lord is forever by our side. What a great and encouraging thought that is!

I have been expanding my sense of spiritual formation by participating in spiritual

practices that strengthen my faith, ultimately bringing me closer to Christ and helping me

understand how he wants me to live for Him. Various habitual practices contribute to a person’s

spiritual formation, and as Christians it can be very hard to stay consistent with how we spend
our time, especially because the modern world in which we live does not always welcome

spirituality, let alone Christianity. In order to reconcile ourselves with Christ, it is important to

follow His example and live in a manner that is pleasing to Him and brings us closer to His

likeness each day.

As previously mentioned, I have grown in my journey of spiritual formation through

performing habitual practices, which are crucial for strengthening a person’s faith. Throughout

my life, I have gone to Bible studies, served on mission trips, regularly attended church, prayed

each day, read devotionals, and listened to worship music while meditating on God’s Word. The

combination of all of these things has strengthened my personal faith and led me to become the

person I am today. I wanted to attend Wheaton College because of the cumulative impact that

these practices had, both on my life and on the lens through which I viewed the world. I plan to

continue to attend church each week, read Scripture passages thoroughly and try to memorize

different verses, read devotionals, pray, and help out those in need in order to further my spiritual

formation and follow Christ’s example for how Christians should live. However, seeking to

become more spiritually adept is difficult to do alone. It is easy to push aside one’s own personal

convictions or habits and blame it on the “busyness of life.” This, however, is where the aspect

of community plays a huge role.

The ways in which we live in community and encourage one another in our spiritual

journeys are very important. This is best described by a quote from Christine Pohl, who writes,

“How we live together is the most persuasive sermon we’ll ever get to preach.” Our shared life

has the power to either draw people in or push them away, and since spiritual formation depends,

in part, on community, it is important to make sure that our actions don’t exclude others and that

they push us toward Christ, not away from Him.

 The first set of readings in the Passage workbook allowed me to see that Christian love

and community are so important when trying to follow Christ, and that there are different kinds

of love: human and spiritual. Bonhoeffer writes that “because spiritual love does not desire but

rather serves, it loves an enemy as a brother.” This type of love can turn into spiritual formation

as we pray for those who we may not get along with, turning that act of prayer into a productive

spiritual practice that in turn can help us become more like Christ. As Christians, we need to

encourage one another and constantly work at being better servants of Christ each day, which is

why the role of community is so crucial to our spiritual formation. We should try to recognize

when our actions are not pure, and encourage others to make the right decisions, whether they

are in the Christian community or not. Being part of a community helps us keep ourselves

accountable for our actions and allows us to grow alongside one another in faith.

The second set of readings from the Passage workbook helped me realize how crucial

relationships are when performing acts of service. Alone, we can get a limited number of things

done, but together, with combined resources and ideas, the possibilities are endless. Service and

work play a role in spiritual formation because they allow us to see some of the struggles that

humanity faces, and what an impact we can have on those in need. Additionally, doing selfless

acts for others helps build character and compassion, and through these things we can lead

people to Christ. As Christians, if we lead by example in service and work, people are bound to

see our good works and hopefully make the connection between our selfless love and the love of

Jesus Christ.

The final set of readings in the second theme showed me that in order to become stronger

in my faith, some spiritual challenges and an exposure to opposing opinions are both crucial. It is

important to continuously ask questions and therefore grow in faith by starting off with a strong
base. After all, no house that was built on sinking sand ever withstood the test of time. In this

metaphor, the sinking sand is an unstable foundation of faith. In contrast, those who decide to

build their houses on solid ground will be more prepared to weather the storms to come. We as

Christians can apply this to our own foundations of faith. We know that with God on our team,

nothing can knock us down to a place in which His hand cannot reach us and pull us back up

again.

There are a few additional components that enhance and catalyze spiritual formation

throughout a person’s life. The mind, reason, intellect and imagination all play a role in spiritual

formation in that a person’s mind is going to doubt at times; that is part of being human.

However, if we can somehow use reasoning to push beyond that doubt and incorporate what we

know into combatting it, we are essentially laying bricks down onto our foundation of faith so

that even when the winds of doubt try to knock us down, the foundation will not waver, but will

withstand even the hardest of times.

In conclusion, what is spiritual formation? Does it still mean reading the Bible more

often, or trying to be kind to a neighbor every once in a while? The answer to both of these

questions is yes. However, after learning about how a person can grow in their faith and personal

spiritual formation, the reader should now understand that there is much more to these words

than meets the eye. Initially, it merely surveys the surface of the water and does not dare to

venture into a deeper faith. Together, we Christians can make that jump and immerse ourselves

in the unknown; that is when we will know that we have grown by leaps and bounds, and are

following Christ in the ways in which He commanded.

Bibliography

Cunningham, David S. At This Time and in This Place: Vocation and Higher Education. Oxford

University Press, 2016.

Dean, Kenda Creasy. Practicing Passion: Youth and the Quest for a Passionate Church.

Eerdmans, 2004.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, et al. Life Together. Fortress Press, 2015.

Jeffry C Davis, et al. Liberal Arts for the Christian Life. Crossway, 2012.

Niringiye, David. The Christ of the Cross and the World Mission of the Church. Church

Missionary Society, 1997.

Pohl, Christine D. Living into Community: Cultivating Practices That Sustain Us. Eerdmans,

2012.

Smith, James B. Embracing the Love of God. HarperCollins, 2010.

Smith, James K. A. You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit. Brazos Press, a

Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2016.