I Dislike Spiritual Formation

It's true. I do not like "Spiritual Formation." I am sure that you noticed that in the graphic and the previous sentence, those two words are in quotes. Here's the thing, as a pastor, as a disciple maker, and as an equipper of leaders, I really believe the way those two words are used has a net negative impact.

Spiritual formation became a popular term, perhaps most notably, through the work of Richard Foster and his Celebration of Discipline from 1978. It's like that the term was used in certain circles even before this, particularly within Christian mystic circles.

On the surface, it seems pretty harmless, and it has a certain attraction for many who feel as though the term discipleship has been overused. I understand that aspect, but let's look at the words again.

Spiritual Formation. What does it mean to be spiritually formed? Does this mean that it is about our heart, mind, and/or soul? Is it just spiritual?

Perhaps more difficult to answer is this question: Is this term ascribed to a set of specific things in our life that are spiritually formational?

Of course, most of us know that the spiritual and the physical are intertwined. So, is it just spiritual? Not at all. But this leads us to deal with the vanilla and ambiguous meaning of spiritual formation. The reality is that just about everything is formational, spiritually speaking. Negative experiences can be just as spiritually formative as positive ones. John Mark Comer says in Practicing the Way that who we are-the good, the bad, and the ugly-is all a result of spiritual formation (70). So spiritual formation is something that is always happening whether someone buys into or not. That is a very real thing.

Is it semantics? Yes. Maybe. But it's an important distinction, in my humble opinion, because we have been given a very concise and distinctive commission. We haven't been called to make church members, Christians, converts, or students of spiritual formation. Our commission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ--people who follow the life and ways of Jesus as his apprentices.

No matter who or what our north star is in life, we are all becoming someone. Each of us is becoming a person, but what kind of person are we becoming? Becoming a disciple of Jesus and growing as a disciple of Jesus requires spiritual formation. But not all spiritual formation shapes you to become a growing apprentice of Jesus Christ.