Spiritual formation speaks to the life of growth in the Spirit. It is taking the journey of obedience and surrender. It is best seen in two ways - crisis and process. As Pentecostals wrestle with how to deal with this subject it is useful to pull from our Wesleyan and Holiness tradition. Spiritual formation has its genesis in the conversion experience. Conversion is regarded by some as the crisis moment in the life of the converted. It is this moment of dramatic change. We are baptized into the body of Christ. We receive a new identity, new values, new direction, new hope , new destiny. This experience should lead the believer along a path of seeking, learning, yielding and following. The crisis without the process will eventually lead to stagnation and frustration. The lack of an engaging process has led many to manifest a false spirituality - a spirituality that is shallow, without substance and cannot handle struggle and temptation.
Spiritual formation should not be optional. It should also be intentional. It must be Christian. We must seek to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. This growth begins when the believer understands that he or she must be an active participant in his or her own formation. There is a negative and positive side to formation. There is the deliberate abandoning of those principles and practices that are against God and seek to dishonour God's holy name. The apostle Paul constantly tells believers to flee sinful desires, to mortify the flesh put off the old man etc. He also challenges the believer to clothe himself with godliness, to be kind, to live holy and to pursue righteousness. While all this is going on there is the reliance on the Lord to who is at work in us to accomplish his good pleasure.
The practice of spiritual disciplines will help the believer to discern between good and evil, excellence and mediocrity. It is the empowering by the Holy Spirit that will enable the believer to live the Spirit filled life.
Spiritual formation also takes place within the context of healthy relations where relationship skills are developed and emotional wellness is achieved. Spiritual maturity is not a destination, it is a journey. Those who take this trek will be tested but their lives will be marked by sound character, a servant heart, commitment to loving life changing service, tenacity and fixity of purpose in the face of glittering illusions and deceptions.
To refuse to engage in the process of spiritual formation is to expose yourself to becoming DEFORMED.
