Spiritual Formation Paper

a. Describe your understanding of Christian spiritual formation citing the overall vision / goal and the processes / means of growth using scripture, textbooks and other books from the required and recommended reading lists.

Christian Spiritual formation is the process by which God conforms us to the image of his Son (). This occurs through the power of the Holy Spirit and by God ministering his transformative grace into our lives. We position or posture ourselves to receive this grace through what Wesley called means of grace or spiritual disciplines. Spiritual disciplines are not entitled access to the grace of God but posture our hearts and our bodies in a disposition to receive grace from Jesus if he so desires to grant us transformative grace for our lives. As God ministers his grace into our lives we are continually conformed to the image of Jesus. God’s grace manifests in and through our hearts and lives through both the fruit and the gifts of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians

Don’t forget about the human component

b. Describe your understanding of the transformation by the Holy Spirit in the life of the disciple of Christ and the role of the believer to cooperate with God in this process.

c. Reflect on the integration of the development of the fruit of the Spirit as well as the gifts of the Spirit in the process of spiritual formation.

d. Outline the primary spiritual disciplines that you believe will be of greatest value in your personal development as a disciple of Christ as outlined by Calhoun and provide a brief outline of a daily, monthly, and annual practice (rule of life) that you believe will be helpful to your development. Make this practical for your use rather than aspirational.

Phillippians 2:

Philippians 2:12–13 NIV

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.