Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered (PDF)

Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered Wilhoit_SpiritualForm_JC_slb.indd 1 11/30/07 12:24:27 PM James C. Wilhoit, Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through Community, Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2008. Used by permission.  Wilhoit_SpiritualForm_JC_slb.indd 2 11/30/07 12:24:27 PM James C. Wilhoit, Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through Community, Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2008. Used by permission.  Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered Growing in Christ through Community James C. Wilhoit Foreword by Dallas Willard K Wilhoit_SpiritualForm_JC_slb.indd 3 11/30/07 12:24:27 PM James C. Wilhoit, Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through Community, Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2008. Used by permission.  © 2008 by James C. Wilhoit Published by Baker Academic a division of Baker Publishing Group P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287 www.bakeracademic.com Printed in the United States of America All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording— without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wilhoit, Jim. Spiritual formation as if the church mattered : growing in Christ through community / James C. Wilhoit. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8010-2776-5 (pbk.) 1. Spiritual formation. 2. Communities—Religious aspects—Christianity. 3. Church growth. I. Title. BV4511.W53 2008 253.5 3—dc22 2007036589 Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture is taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations labeled ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copy- right © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations labeled KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible. Scripture quotations labeled Message are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations labeled NASB are from the New American Standard Bible®, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations labeled NIV are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VER- SION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations labeled NLT are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations labeled Phillips are from The New Testament in Modern English, revised edition—J. B. Phillips, translator. © J. B. Phillips 1958, 1960, 1972. Used by permission of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. Scripture quotations labeled RSV are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations labeled TLB are from The Living Bible, copyright © 1971. Used by permis- sion of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. Wilhoit_SpiritualForm_JC_slb.indd 4 11/30/07 12:24:27 PM James C. Wilhoit, Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through Community, Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2008. Used by permission.  In memory of Tim Phillips 1950–2000 A friend from whom I learned much Wilhoit_SpiritualForm_JC_slb.indd 5 11/30/07 12:24:27 PM James C. Wilhoit, Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through Community, Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2008. Used by permission.  Wilhoit_SpiritualForm_JC_slb.indd 6 11/30/07 12:24:27 PM James C. Wilhoit, Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through Community, Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2008. Used by permission.  7 Contents List of Figures 8 Foreword by Dallas Willard 9 Preface 13 1. Formation through the Ordinary 15 2. Curriculum for Christlikeness 38 3. Foundations of Receiving: Formation by Grace for the Broken and Thirsty 57 4. To Foster Receiving in Community 81 5. Foundations of Remembering: Letting the Cross Grow Larger 104 6. To Foster Remembering in Community 114 7. Foundations of Responding: Love and Service to God and Others 147 8. To Foster Responding in Community 161 9. Foundations of Relating: Spiritually Enriching Relationships of Love and Service 177 10. To Foster Relating in Community 186 Appendix: Assessment Questions 205 Notes 211 Scripture Index 221 Subject Index 227 Wilhoit_SpiritualForm_JC_slb.indd 7 11/30/07 12:24:27 PM James C. Wilhoit, Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through Community, Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2008. Used by permission.  15 1 Formation through the Ordinary Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Jesus, in Matthew 28:19–20 NLT I know of no current denomination or local congregation that has a con- crete plan and practice for teaching people to do “all things whatsoever I have commanded you.”1 Dallas Willard It takes time, and the penetration of the truth, to make a mature saint.2 Richard F. Lovelace Spiritual Formation: The Task of the Church Spiritual formation is the task of the church. Period. It represents neither an interesting, optional pursuit by the church nor an insignificant category in the job description of the body of Christ. Spiritual formation is at the heart of its whole purpose for existence. The church was formed to form. Our charge, given by Jesus himself, is to make disciples, bap- tize them, and teach these new disciples to obey his commands (Matt. Wilhoit_SpiritualForm_JC_slb.indd 15 11/30/07 12:24:28 PM James C. Wilhoit, Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through Community, Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2008. Used by permission.  16 Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered 28:19–20). The witness, worship, teaching, and compassion that the church is to practice all require that Christians be spiritually formed. Although formation describes the central work of the church, and despite a plethora of resolutions, programs, and resources, the fact remains that spiritual formation has not been the priority in the North American church that it should be. A safe food supply, clean drinking and recreational waters, sanita- tion, and widespread vaccinations have improved the quality of our life. These interventions have eliminated diseases like smallpox and polio. These advances, and scores more, are part of the fruit of the public health movement that came to fruition in the twentieth century. I take many of these for granted, assuming that they are just part of life, but in many parts of the world they are not widely present. Currently 250,000 children die every year from measles, a disease easily prevented through vaccinations. We take for granted public health initiatives of the last century that have had measurable, positive social benefits. In medicine, the two tasks of prevention and cure must work hand in hand. Cures may provoke media attention and buzz; however, it is the preventative and public health interventions that generally provide the real “bang for your buck.” Likewise, spiritual formation makes its greatest contribution through quiet, hardly noticeable, behind-the-scenes work that places an emphasis on “prevention” and equipping rather than just on crisis interventions or headline-grabbing public conferences and programs. Consider the effects of the painstakingly established public health infrastructure in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Since 1900, the average lifespan of per- sons in the United States has lengthened by greater than 30 years; 25 years of this gain are attributable to advances in public health.”3 The quiet and seemingly ordinary work of public health has made a tremendous difference in our life expectancy and in the overall quality of life. When one looks at the list of the CDC’s “Ten Great Public Health Achievements,” they appear so reasonable that their implementation seems to be obvious to all. For the list includes now widely accepted “best practices” like vaccination, motor-vehicle safety, safer and healthier foods, and the recognition of tobacco use as a health hazard.4 Yet society implemented these strategies, which seem so commonsensical today, only after long struggles, careful science that established their efficacy, and the slow and ongoing work of public education. Some years ago a young physician summarized his medical-care trip to Central America by telling of the long days he worked caring for patients. He concluded his story by saying that he was convinced that he could have done more long-term good with one hundred meters of PVC pipe. So many of the people he treated suffered from medical conditions that Wilhoit_SpiritualForm_JC_slb.indd 16 11/30/07 12:24:28 PM James C. Wilhoit, Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through Community, Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2008. Used by permission.  17 Formation through the Ordinary were the result of the village’s contaminated water supply—a problem that could have been easily remedied. In this chapter, I want to begin to identify what the spiritual formation equivalent of safe drinking water and vaccinations might be. What are the patterns in Christian community life that make a positive contribu- tion to spiritual formation? What are the community practices that we can so easily overlook or underutilize, but that help create a climate of formation in a church? For many years I have been listening to the stories of how faithful people have grown in grace. These accounts pulse with deep drama. I’ve realized that Paul was not using hyperbole when he told the Galatians, “I am again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you” (Gal. 4:19). These stories are unique—unique as the people who tell them—and I want to be careful not to simply reduce their amazing tales of grace to a few abstract principles. However, themes and patterns do emerge when we look at the stories as a whole. While patterns of formation emerge, there does not exist anything approaching a “technology of spiritual formation.” Formation remains a messy and imprecise business, where character, wisdom, and faith play a far greater role than theories and techniques. Ironically, one value of engagement in deliberate formation is that it drives us to prayer because it reminds us, more than popular how-to books do, that true formation comes from grace and by grace, channeled through our humble efforts. This is not to deny what others have observed, that “spiritual formation in Christ is an orderly process.”5 Spiritual formation is certainly a multifactorial process that requires us to constantly ask God what we should be doing, rather than relying on our power and skill. Community Spiritual Formation Corollary 1 All persons are formed spiritually. It may be in either a positive or negative direction. This formation may involve the cultivation of virtues that promote trust in God and foster social compassion or may leave persons wary, self-protective, and unable to promote the welfare of society. Either-Or The influential twentieth-century philosopher-educator John Dewey complained that educators were constantly guilty of “either-or” think- ing. Instead of recognizing the need for both experience and educational content in schools, he said these writers tended to emphasize one at the Wilhoit_SpiritualForm_JC_slb.indd 17 11/30/07 12:24:28 PM James C. Wilhoit, Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through Community, Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2008. Used by permission.  18 Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered Christian Spirituality—The Ongoing Results of Formation Widely Shared Patterns in Stories of Spiritual Growth 1. Christian spirituality begins with a response to the call of Spirit to spirit. Issues that appear to be primarily psychological in nature often have a deeper spiritual significance. The first steps of response to the call of Spirit to spirit are often not consciously spiritual. 2. Christian spirituality is rooted in a commitment to Jesus and a transformational approach to life. Christian spirituality is not simply a state; we do better to think of it as a process. 3. Christian spirituality is nurtured by the means of grace. Scriptures, prayer, the sacraments, and Christian fellowship all serve as media through which we may uniquely receive grace. 4. Christian spirituality involves a deep knowing of Jesus and, through him, the Father and the Spirit. Christian spirituality is grounded in know- ing, not knowledge. Knowing God requires that we believe that God wants to be known. While God reaches out to us, he is also boundless mystery. Christian spirituality involves the grounding of the human spirit in the divine Spirit. 5. Christian spirituality requires a deep knowing of oneself. People who are afraid to look deeply at themselves will be equally afraid to look deeply and personally at God. It is important to remember that self- knowledge is simply the means, not the end, of Christian spirituality. 6. Christian spirituality leads to the realization of the unique self that God ordained each of us should be. Properly understood, the denial that is a part of Christian spirituality is not of self but of false selves. Christian spirituality does not call for the renunciation of humanness, trading humanity for divinity. It does not make us less human but more human. 7. Christian spirituality is uniquely developed within the context of suffering. Openness to suffering is really openness to life. Suffering is an inevitable part of life, and if we are to be open to any of life, we must be open to it all. Openness to life means living it with willingness, not willfulness. Christ is the epitome of life lived with willingness. 8. Christian spirituality is manifest by a sharing of the goodness of God’s love with others and in care for his creation. Christian spiritu- ality involves participation in God’s kingdom plan for the restoration of the totality of his creation. 9. Christian spirituality expresses the goodness of celebration in Christian community. Celebration and community are the unmistakable marks of mature Christian spirituality. continued ➤ Wilhoit_SpiritualForm_JC_slb.indd 18 11/30/07 12:24:28 PM James C. Wilhoit, Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through Community, Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2008. Used by permission.  19 Formation through the Ordinary expense of the other. We could count the same as true for writers about the Christian life. In the next three sections we will look at three sets of im- ages of the spiritual life: nurture (agriculture, gardening, human growth, intimacy), the journey (race, battle, struggle), and death and resurrection (dying with Christ, being born again). To capture the complexities and nuances of Christian spiritual formation, the biblical writers employed these images, and we would do well to honor their emphasis on nurture, training, and resurrection. Images of Christian Life and Nurture Jesus and John the Baptist challenged their hearers with the need to produce good “fruit” (Matt. 21:43) and “fruit” originating in a true repentance (3:8). Jesus used a maxim in fruit growing to show how one can judge a person’s character: “A healthy tree produces good fruit, and an unhealthy tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. . . . Yes, the way to identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit that is produced” (7:17–18, 20 NLT). Jesus illustrated how our heart condition affects our response to the gospel by his parable of the sower and the seed. When he explained the meaning of it to his followers, he told them, “But the good soil represents honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s message, cling to it, and steadily produce a huge harvest” (Luke 8:15 NLT). The image of Jesus as the true vine (John 15) vividly communicates the spiritual truth that we need to stay spiritually connected to Christ. Incidentally, we often misread this image as being just about “me abiding in Jesus,” when the actual Summary: If spirituality is our response to deep foundational yearnings for meaning, identity, connections, and surrender, what part of our psy- chological functioning could possibly be excluded from such a quest? If anything is excluded from our spirituality, it will by necessity become a dissociated part of ourself, detached from the rest of our life. Whether this be our body, our unconscious, our emotions, our intellect, our sexuality, or any other part of ourself, the result is always the same—a fragmenta- tion of personhood and an encapsulated spirituality. Christian spirituality either makes us more whole or, if it is contained in some limited sphere of our being, furthers our fragmentation. Only wholeness is worthy of being associated with the Spirit of Christ, who empowers, directs, and gives name to the experience we have been calling Christian spirituality. Adapted from Care of Souls by David G. Benner. Used by permission.6 Wilhoit_SpiritualForm_JC_slb.indd 19 11/30/07 12:24:28 PM James C. Wilhoit, Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through Community, Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2008. Used by permission.  20 Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered image and language has a strong community focus: when the branches are connected to the vine, a marvelous crop of grapes is produced. The concreteness of agriculture makes the more abstract subject of spiritual formation less abstract and more comprehensible. The biblical writers also used agriculture to capture part of the inter- play between human and divine in formation. This is seen when Paul described the work he and Apollos did and then asserted that “God, who makes things grow” (1 Cor. 3:7 Message) is the true cause of all the spiri- tual growth. Yet in saying this, he does not diminish the importance of their participation. Agriculture requires sustained and systematic work performed at the right time and carried out with an experience-based expertise, but all human efforts are subject to weather, pests, disease, and war. Agriculture illuminates the beautiful symmetry between God and his people that is at play in the process of spiritual formation. Therefore, we go about our formation work doing what we can and being prayerfully receptive, especially about those areas outside our direct influence. “You happen to be God’s field in which we are working” (1 Cor. 3:9 Message). The field is the primary location of the work of farming. To flourish, a field must be cultivated, planted, tended, watered, protected, and harvested. The illustration is a communal or population-based image. The farmer is more concerned with the total crop than with one individual plant. In many of the New Testament agricultural images, the focus is on the big picture, on how abundant the harvest is, and not just on the output of a single plant. Nevertheless, there must be a both-and emphasis on the individual and the group in spiritual formation. Images of Christian Life as Journey and Struggle Paul uses imagery drawn from the Hellenic games to illustrate the need for training and discipline in the Christian life. Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one re- ceives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified. (1 Cor. 9:24–27) The emphasis of this race image is a call for Corinthian believers to adopt the singular focus of a trained athlete who follows Christ. In Philippians 3:13–14 Paul describes his own athletelike straining to pursue Christ well. “The image of ‘straining forward, . . . press on toward the goal’ evokes the picture of the racer who looks neither to the left nor to the right to Wilhoit_SpiritualForm_JC_slb.indd 20 11/30/07 12:24:28 PM James C. Wilhoit, Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through Community, Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2008. Used by permission.  21 Formation through the Ordinary check the progress of the competition or be swayed by any diversion.”7 In the Pastoral Epistles the imagery is developed further: the importance of rigorous training (1 Tim. 4:7–8), endurance (4:8), following the rules so that one is not disqualified (2 Tim. 2:5), and winning an imperishable crown (1 Cor. 9:25). The emphasis in this set of images is on the need for training, discipline, and rigor. Satan was soundly defeated at the cross as Jesus “disarmed the pow- ers and authorities, . . . triumphing over them by the cross” (Col. 2:15 NIV), and yet biblical writers recognized that Satan is still active and a great cause of distress for Christians. He is busy in his constant work of accusation (Rev. 12:10) and “prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8 NLT). We now live between the time of the cross and the final victory. The church is called to wage battle “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). This struggle against the dark spiritual forces is both a corporate responsibility and a personal one for every Christian. A concern about the battle imagery for sanctification is that often it is presented in a way that emphasizes struggle and risk such that a life of grace-dependency is diminished. Not many writers are as adroit as John Bunyan in The Holy War in capturing the reality of this spiritual struggle without minimizing the place of grace in the midst of the struggle. The armor-of-God imagery from Ephesians is full of battle, struggle, alertness to Satan’s craftiness, and God-given grace/power. We are told from the outset of this passage that we are to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power” (Eph. 6:10), and the description “whole armor of God” (6:11) reminds us that the armor is of God’s design. God gives the battle armor to those he has called, but apparently the armor could just sit and gather dust. Ephesians therefore admonishes us to “take up the whole armor of God” (6:13). As would be true for a first-century soldier, most of the armor is defensive. The only offensive weapon is Scripture, here described as the sword of the Spirit (6:17). At an individual level the battlefield is the human heart. In Proverbs we are admonished, “Guard your heart, for it affects everything you do” (Prov. 4:23 NLT). The heart/soul is the center of our being and where our growth is solidified. We are warned not to give a “foothold to the Devil” (Eph. 4:27 NLT) and instructed to wage war against “the Devil’s strongholds” (2 Cor. 10:3–4 NLT). The picture here is of a territorial battle that is being keenly contested. The battle will turn as we or the enemies are able to secure footholds and establish strongholds. Again, our temptation may be to see the battle merely in individual terms, but Jesus declared that the “gates of hell shall not prevail against” the church (Matt. 16:18 KJV), the corporate might of the body of Christ. Wilhoit_SpiritualForm_JC_slb.indd 21 11/30/07 12:24:28 PM James C. Wilhoit, Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through Community, Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2008. Used by permission.  22 Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered Images of Christian Life and the Resurrection The death-rebirth pattern is an archetypal paradigm present through the pages of the Bible. The pattern shows itself in the flood (Gen. 6–9), as God destroys the entire world, except for Noah’s family and selected animals, and then brings forth life on the earth out of the barrenness of the destruction. Poignantly summarizing the image, Noah plants a vine- yard: “After the Flood, Noah became a farmer and planted a vineyard” (Gen. 9:20 NLT). In the exodus, the people of Israel experience a rebirth, after four hundred years of slavery in Egypt, when they escape from the deathlike grip of bondage, moving out to worship and serve God. The pattern is immediately repeated in the death zone of the wilderness, followed by the birthlike entrance into life in the promised land. This imagery “from death to rebirth underlies most of the OT, preoccupied as it is with lament giving way to praise, servitude to freedom, exile to return.”8 Certainly the central image of resurrection in the New Testament is that of Jesus’ death on the cross and subsequent resurrection. The victory of death secured by the resurrection event is the basis of the Christian’s claim to new life. Jesus described the Christian’s regeneration as a person being born again (John 3:1–8). When we trust Christ for salvation, God makes us alive. “Even when we were dead through our trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ” (Eph. 2:5). The central Christian initiation ceremony of baptism symbolizes death and rebirth. Paul says that believers are “buried” with Christ: “Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4). This imagery of death and resurrection is often missing in much con- temporary spiritual formation literature. The absence of these radical and supernatural components can reduce spiritual formation to little more than religious self-help. This is unfortunate because these are the images reminding us that true formation is first and foremost the work of our forming God. Jesus’ death and resurrection make our true forma- tion possible and provide the grace we need to experience true spiritual change. These three image families—nurture, journey and struggle, and death/ resurrection—capture many of the essential elements of spiritual forma- tion. Though in our personal devotional lives we may find that certain images resonate more deeply with us, it is important in our teaching ministry that we provide a balanced treatment of these images. Other people may be at a point where a cluster of images other than our favor- ites may help to illuminate the path they need to travel. Additionally, the Wilhoit_SpiritualForm_JC_slb.indd 22 11/30/07 12:24:29 PM James C. Wilhoit, Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through Community, Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2008. Used by permission.