Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered

C. Wilhoit James

Description

Most books on spiritual formation focus on the individual. But spiritual formation is at the heart of the church's whole purpose for existence. It must be a central task for the church to carry out Christ's mission in the world. This book offers an introduction to spiritual formation set squarely in the local church. The first edition has been well received and widely used as a textbook. The second edition has been updated throughout, incorporates findings from positive psychology, and reflects an Augustinian formation perspective. Foreword by Dallas Willard.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 29 mars 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781493435166
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

Endorsements
“For anyone who has ever thought that the way we ‘do church’ is missing something, this book is a godsend. Wilhoit reclaims the New Testament vision of local congregations being conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others. In this second edition, Wilhoit has refined and strengthened his arguments—his wisdom—for how local gatherings of God’s people are designed to be the nonnegotiable relational context for Christian formation and, thereby, mission. This book is my go-to for what Christian formation should look like in local churches.”
— Steve L. Porter , Biola University; editor, Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care
“Christian spiritual formation is often reduced to personal practices and individual faith without an awareness of its communal nature. Wilhoit provides a corrective by developing an ecclesiology that situates spiritual formation in faith communities and the broader social context. In a communal view of spiritual formation, Christians are not formed for themselves but for the sake of others, and are to engage in God’s redemptive work in the world. I highly recommend Wilhoit’s thesis of placing the church as the curriculum for spiritual formation because of its transformative power!”
— Mark A. Maddix , dean, School of Theology and Christian Ministry, Point Loma Nazarene University
“ Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered is the mature fruit of a devout scholar. Here Wilhoit weaves theory, passion, and practice together into a rich re-presentation of the gospel for the local church. He takes the discussion about spiritual formation an important step forward, shifting the emphasis from private pursuit to corporate culture. Sensitive to the seldom-noticed dangers along the path of growth toward Christlikeness, this book is loaded with wisdom for those who desire to facilitate communities of formation.”
— Evan Howard , author of A Guide to Christian Spiritual Formation
“Wilhoit has written a book of special urgency for our times. In it he addresses the central problem facing the contemporary church in the Western world and worldwide, the problem of how to routinely lead its members through a path of spiritual, moral, and personal transformation that brings them into authentic Christlikeness in every aspect of their lives. . . . He helps any serious person engage the project from where they are, discover what really works for Christlikeness and what doesn’t, and assess outcomes realistically to make needed adjustments as they go.”
— Dallas Willard† (from the foreword)
“From the first stunning sentence in Wilhoit’s book—‘The church exists to carry out Christ’s mission in the world’—I was hooked. Wilhoit captures the journey and struggle of spiritual growth through the life and invitations of Jesus Christ. This lovely work nourished my heart, instructed my mind, and opened my spirit to the Spirit of Christ.”
— Adele Calhoun , copastor of spiritual formation, Highrock Church, Arlington, Massachusetts
“The title of this tightly woven, consistently challenging meditation on Christian spiritual formation serves notice that this book is going to be more than another self-help manual. . . . This skilled writer uses many pedagogical tools to keep his audience focused. Clearly written from an evangelical perspective, this cogent and passionate book deserves to have wide appeal.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Half Title Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2008, 2022 by James C. Wilhoit
Published by Baker Academic
a division of Baker Publishing Group
PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakeracademic.com
Ebook edition created 2022
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 is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-3516-6
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 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® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2016
Scripture quotations labeled GNT are from the Good News Translation in Today’s English Version-Second Edition. Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations labeled KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture quotations labeled Message are from THE MESSAGE , copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Scripture quotations labeled NASB are from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org
Scripture quotations labeled NIV are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations labeled NJB are from THE NEW JERUSALEM BIBLE, copyright © 1985 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House, Inc. Reprinted by Permission.
Scripture quotations labeled NLT are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations labeled Phillips are from The New Testament in Modern English by J. B. Phillips copyright © 1960, 1972 J. B. Phillips. Administered by The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England. Used by Permission.
Scripture quotations labeled TLB are from The Living Bible, copyright © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Baker Publishing Group publications use paper produced from sustainable forestry practices and post-consumer waste whenever possible.
Dedication
With gratitude to Evan B. Howard, a good friend and companion in Christ, from whom I have learned much
Contents
Cover
Endorsements i
Half Title Page iii
Title Page v
Copyright Page vi
Dedication vii
List of Figures xi
Foreword by Dallas Willard xiii
Preface xvii
1. Formation through the Ordinary: The Pathway to Flourishing in Christ 1
2. Curriculum for Christlikeness: Imitation of Christ as the Means and Glorious End of Formation 25
3. Receiving: Formation of the Heart by Grace for the Broken and Thirsty 63
4. Remembering: Remembering What God Sings over You 111
5. Responding: Love and Service to God and Others 163
6. Relating: Spiritually Enriching Relationships of Love and Service 189
7. High-Impact Practices: Proven Community Practices That Foster Formation 213
Appendix: Assessment Questions 257
Scripture Index 263
Subject Index 267
Back Cover 271
List of Figures
Figure 1 Gospel as pre-discipleship 16
Figure 2 Gospel for spiritual formation 16
Figure 3 The spiritual chasm 17
Figure 4 Bridging the gap 18
Figure 5 Progress in sanctification 93
Figure 6 Sins-sin continuum 95
Figure 7 Yearnings continuum 96
Figure 8 Sin and yearnings matrix 96
Figure 9 Need for grace 122
Figure 10 Sam’s reception of more grace 124
Figure 11 Maria’s gap of grace 125
Figure 12 Susan’s shrinking cross 126
Figure 13 Spiral curriculum 136
Foreword
BY D ALLAS W ILLARD
James Wilhoit has written a book of special urgency for our times. In it he addresses the central problem facing the contemporary church in the Western world and worldwide: the problem of how to routinely lead its members through a path of spiritual, moral, and personal transformation that brings them into authentic Christlikeness in every aspect of their lives, enabling them, in the language of the apostle Paul, “to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (Eph. 4:1 NASB).
For most of the current century, we have been in a period of time when Christian churches have been distracted from the central task of teaching their people how to live the spiritual life in a way that would bring them progressively to enjoy the character of Christ as their own. But in the last few decades, a sense of spiritual shallowness and emptiness, in individual lives as well as in church groups and activities, has led to a renewed use of the ancient language of “spiritual formation.” Spiritual formation (really, trans formation) is the process, in Paul’s language, of “putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, and not organizing our lives around the satisfaction of our natural desires” (Rom. 13:14 author’s trans.). In that process, we “put off the old self, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and are renewed in the spirit of our mind; and . . . put on the new self, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Eph. 4:22–24 author’s trans.).
In the period we have recently come through, our church activities have simply had no serious intention of fostering the individual transformation of members of the group. Becoming the kind of person who routinely and easily does what Jesus told us to do has generally been considered out of reach and therefore not really necessary for what we, as Christians, are about. Paul, in conformity with the central teachings of the whole Bible, is referring to the type of life transformation from inside to outside—“first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may also become clean,” as Jesus said (Matt. 23:26 NASB)—that