MissioLife: Spiritual Formation

There is a tendency in the church to turn “spiritual formation” into a purely personal and private issue — into something that is between you and God. It is. Spiritual formation is personal but it is never private. This is why I appreciate MissioLife so much: it is about spiritual formation …

Personally…

Corporately…

Locally …

and … it is shaped for different age groups. It is not a one-size-fits-all approach; nor is it insensitive to the needs of children, young adults or adults. Each age group enters into a resource that permits formation into the Story of God’s mission in this world.

Recently I blogged through an excellent book on Christian spirituality, and it was one of those let’s-get-together and discuss our differences books, but there were some dimensions of spiritual formation that were not present because spiritual formation is so often shaped by personal and private issues, or activist issues, or ecclesial issues, or sacramental issues.

But there’s more, and MissioLife features this dimension: formation is formation into a Storied narrative that tells us who we are, why we are here, and where we are going. In other words, a gospel-shaped spirituality is about the Story of Israel coming to completion in the Story of Jesus, and that means it takes a really good look at the mission of God in this world.

What does spiritual formation look like when it means being formed into becoming an agent in the mission of God? I would urge you to take a look at MissioLife.