Spiritual Formation 101

Introduction

Have you ever noticed that the “Update available” alert on your phone or you computer always seems to pop up at the WORST time? When you are in the middle of something, or when you’re not sure how long it will actually take. And I don’t know about you, but sometimes if I’m not sure how long something is actually going to take, it’s easier for me to just put it off.

So here is what I do on my phone… I click “Remind me Later.”

No harm, right?

Until one day, you notice that things aren’t working like they should. Your apps start to get a little glitchy. The battery starts to drain a little faster. And overall your phone is just a little off.

You might see all these reasons that SEEM to be causing the issues. But then one day you realize that this thing was made to run on something better, but I’ve just been putting off the upgrade.

Friends, we treat our souls in the same way.

We feel it deep down that something is off. We’re running at capacity and we are exhausted. We are stuck in the same old patterns. But when God invites us to slow down, to change, to be renewed, we often give this line…

“I just don’t have the time.”

Dallas Williard, who spent much of his life helping people understand how spiritual transformation actually happens, said this:

“Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”

Hurry may not seem like the obvious choice you’d make for top enemy of our spiritual lives. But Willard had this way of looking at the root cause, not just the symptoms. He identified that the inner pace we live at… and let’s be honest, often the outward pace too… is a major reason so many of us feel distant from God. We’ve simply built lives that are too full, too fast, and too distracted for God to form us deeply.

And when we sense that there is a disconnect, you know what we do? We try harder and add MORE STUFF. Which only compounds the problem. We feel dry, so we add another podcast or book. We feel distant, so we start another Bible study. We feel guilty, so we try to be “better Christians” by doing more Christian things.

But here’s the thing:

You can be busy with spiritual activity and still not be spiritually formed.

That’s because spiritual formation isn’t about doing more for God - it’s about making space to be with God.

Today, I want to talk about spiritual formation. Not as a vague spiritual idea, but as a clear, intentional, everyday invitation. When I say “Spiritual Formation,” here’s what I’m talking about:

Christian spiritual formation is the process of being transformed into the image of Jesus by God’s grace through the Holy Spirit.

Every part of this definition is intentional.

“Christian Spiritual Formation”

Spiritual formation is not a “church thing.” It is a human thing. It is happening to all of us. The question isn’t IF, but WHO or WHAT is doing the forming. I think Paul got this when he wrote

Romans 12:2 ESV

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

You are either being conformed or transformed. There are no fence sitters on this one. You are being shaped by the patterns of the world, or you are being reshaped by God. It is inevitable that formation will happen. Transformation, on the other hand, is intentional.

Being conformed to the patterns of the world is easy, right? You can do it on autopilot.

Because no matter where you turn, it’s there. Just keep mindlessly scrolling on your phone. Just keep listening to the noise. Go with the flow of the pressure to fit in. Believe the lie that your worth is based on how much you produce or how perfectly you present yourself.

Paul gives another warning in Colossians

Colossians 2:8 ESV

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

When we simply go along with the world’s formation without even realizing it, we become enslaved to ideas, habits, and systems that promise life but in the end are only more draining.

Really, at the heart of this is this question:

What do you treasure?

Because as Jesus said,

Matthew 6:21 ESV

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Your attention, your affection, your time, your resources - whatever you give those things to is going to actively shape you. When we talk about Christian Spiritual Formation, we are talking about being shaped by Jesus rather than the noisy, anxious, hurried world around us.

“Process of being transformed”

This is a process. It isn’t an overnight thing, like one day you are a non-christian, and the next you are a perfect Christian with no more work left to do. The big theological phrase for this is “progressive sanctification,” which simply a way of saying that this growth and transformation is a lifelong journey. If you follow Jesus, you aren’t who you will be, but you certainly aren’t who you once were.

Which reveals something that is frustrating about spiritual formation… at times it feels painstakingly slow.

This past week, I was in the back yard working on my garden and chicken coop. With all this rain we’ve gotten over the past few weeks, there are definetly some projects I’ve put off. So I’m trying to get caught up on those, and I know we are going to be gone, so I’m thinking that I really need to make sure I have everything taken care of. And I’m walking back toward the house and I hear these words:

DAD, COME JUMP WITH ME!

Our youngest is on the trampoline, and wants me to come jump with her. Now, I wish I could tell you my first thought was to drop everything I had and joyously run to play with my daughter. But it wasn’t. My first thought was about the reasons why I couldn’t. Why I was too busy.

And then my second thought was about how I was preaching today on spiritual formation. How Dallas Willard says the great enemy is busy-ness and hurry. How the beneficial things are not always immediately seen as beneficial. And how spiritual formation is difficult because we sometimes don’t have something to immediately show for it.

If I kept working on the garden, you could see the progress. I might not immediately have something tangible to show for spending time with my daughter, but does anyone want to argue that time is wasted, and does not produce fruit? Of course not.

When it comes to spiritual formation, it often looks like choosing presence over productivity. Jesus says this…

John 15:4 ESV

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

Jesus doesn’t say “Work Harder” or “Get Busier.” He says “Abide.”

Abiding isn’t fast and flashy. It isn’t something you can measure with immediate results. But it is essential, because without it there is no fruit.

In John 15, Jesus words like pruning, growing, bearing fruit. They are agricultural terms. A gardener doesn’t plant a seed in the morning and expect a tomato by mid afternoon. Growth takes time, and pruning is uncomfortable. But by staying connected to the vine, transformation happens.

When you feel like nothing is happening in your spiritual life, can I make a suggestion? Maybe the answer is not to do more or move faster. Maybe the answer is to abide more deeply.

“By God’s Grace”

Spiritual formation is not about trying to earn something from God. It is not about proving your worth or measuring up. It is a response to grace. The same grace that saves you also sustains you. As Dallas Willard put it,

“Grace is not opposed to effort; it is opposed to earning.”

You don’t grow spiritually by striving to impress God, but by opening yourself to His transforming presence. All of it is a gift, from beginning to end.

So when you feel stuck or like you aren’t changing fast enough, remember this: As a follower of Jesus God is probably more patient with your transformation than you are. He delights in your progress, however slow it may seem. Your job is not to manufacture change, but to cooperate with grace. To keep showing up. To keep abiding. To keep surrendering.

“Through the Holy Spirit”

When I was in Texas, I had an interaction with a lady who asked “Are you part of a Spirit filled church?” If you aren’t aware, that a loaded question. She was really asking if our church had a specific theological leaning. But I chose to take the question in a different direction.

“Absolutely.” I said. “We are totally empowered by the Spirit. Every decision we make, we aim to be guided by Him. As every church should be.”

She looked at me, confused, and said “No… I mean do you speak in tongues?” Friends I knew what she meant - and that’s a sermon for another day.

But when it comes to spiritual formation, we are transformed by willpower or routine. We are transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, and He is the one forming Christ in you. The Spirit convicts, comforts, renews, and empowers you to live a new kind of life. Spiritual formation is not a self-help project. It is a Spirit-led journey.

In Galatians 5, Paul says it like this:

Galatians 5:16 ESV

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh… But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

This is incredibly freeing. Because it means you are not alone in your desire to grow. The Holy Spirit is always at work, often in ways you don’t immediately see. So ask Him for help. Rely on His strength. Follow His lead. Because the transformation you long for is not only possible, it’s already underway.

“Into the Image of Jesus”

The goal of spiritual formation isn’t to become a slightly better version of yourself. It’s to become more like Jesus. This isn’t about behavior modification… trying to act nicer or look more spiritual… it’s about life transformation. God’s desire is to shape you into the image of His Son, so that your thoughts, character, and actions reflect the heart of Christ.

That’s why Paul could say,

1 Corinthians 11:1 ESV

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

He wasn’t calling people to admire him, but to imitate the way he was being shaped by Jesus. And that same invitation is extended to us. As we learn to abide, to surrender, and to walk in step with the Spirit, we start to reflect Jesus in real, everyday ways. In how we treat others, how we respond to hardship, how we live with purpose and grace.

Conclusion

So where do we go from here?

Spiritual formation isn’t something you add to your life when things slow down. It is your life. Here is the process of Christian Spiritual Formation:

Know Jesus

Be with Jesus

Do as Jesus Did

It’s the process of knowing Jesus more deeply, being with Him more consistently, and doing what He did more faithfully. And it starts not with grand gestures or impossible goals, but with simple, faithful steps.

Maybe for you, that looks like slowing down and actually creating space to listen. Maybe it means reordering your week around time with Jesus instead of squeezing Him in. Maybe it’s naming the ways the world has been shaping you more than you’d like to admit.

Wherever you are at today, here’s the invitation:

Abide.. Surrender to grace. Trust in Him. Because God’s desire is not to make you busy, but to make you new.