Reorienting Christian Education Towards Spiritual Formation

Have you ever met someone who seemed to have a riveting sense of God’s presence in their life? Did you wonder, “How did they get to this place? And how can I get to this place in my life?” You know this person didn’t read “the right book” or do “the right degree program” or even attend “the right spiritual retreat.” This person was formed.

But how? How is a person formed, and what does the big picture of that journey even look like? More importantly, how might Christian education be shaped by that journey?

Well, let’s start with a definition to answer the underlying question, “What is spiritual formation?” Richard Foster has a helpful definition. Foster describes spiritual formation as “the redemptive process of forming the inner human person – us – so that we are enabled by God’s grace to progressively take on the overall character of the inner being of Christ himself” (Foster, 2022).

Foster’s definition rings with the heart of Paul’s admonition in Romans to “be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you can work out what God’s will is, what is good, acceptable and complete” (Rom. 12:2). And it rings with the heart of Jesus in John: “I have given them the glory which you have given to me, so that they may be one, just as we are one. I in them, and you in me; yes, they must be completely one, so that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them just as you loved me” (John 17:22-23).

Formation, then, is a matter of increasing in Christlikeness as Christlikeness grows from within you. Or, as Paul describes it in Colossians: “And this is the key: the Messiah, living within you as the hope of glory! He is the one we are proclaiming. We are instructing everybody and teaching everybody in every kind of wisdom, so that we can present everybody grown up, complete, in the Messiah” (Col. 1:27-28).

But did you hear the words of Christ above? Christlikeness looks like understanding and experiencing the love of God the way that Jesus experienced and understood the love of God. Being formed by the love of God in Christ Jesus takes time, and it progresses in stages. So, we need to have a handy guide for what growth can look like and how it might unfold.

In Hagberg and Guelich’s book, The Critical Journey: Stages in the Life of Faith, the path of spiritual development is described in six stages. The stages are:

1. The Recognition of God
2. The Life of Discipleship
3. The Productive Life
4. The Inward Journey
5. The Journey Outward
6. The Life of Love.

These stages describe what is observable in people from various Christian communities. The stages don’t necessarily flow in a linear process, and these stages are far from inarguable. But a framework – even if painted in broad brushstrokes – can be helpful in describing a process and even locating yourself within that process.

If you could take these stages as a framework for Christian education, you could create a compelling curriculum for the process of spiritual formation. Think about current approaches to Christian education. Don’t they tend to fall into the rut of only addressing the first three phases of the life of faith: The Recognition of God, The Life of Discipleship, and The Productive Life (e.g. Gospel, Family, and Mission)? These stages are good and necessary. But, if made the goal, Christian education will miss the opportunity to help believers navigate stages four through six.

Understanding the final three stages is paramount. Stage six, The Life of Love, describes the goal that Jesus had for His followers in John 17. But there is a problematic stage in the life of faith that seems common to many. Some call it “the dark night of the soul,” while others may call it “deconstruction.” Hagberg and Guelich call it “the wall.” And the wall is the place where the journey inward becomes a place of questioning, despair, and trouble. It can lead to a transformation – forward toward The Life of Love. It can lead to a confusing retreat – back to the safety of the first two stages and The Productive Life. It can also lead to a stuck point, where faith and growth feel blocked.

What would it be like, then to orient Christian education in this direction? What would it be like to prepare and equip followers of Jesus for the inevitability of “the wall” at stage four? What would it be like to set The Life of Love as the compass star of every believer? Understanding the patterns of spiritual growth and development can give the church a path forward where the goal of Christian education is spiritual formation.

Photo by Earl Wilcox on Unsplash