Foundations of Spiritual Formation: A Community Approach to Becoming Like Christ

by Paul Pettit (Editor)

Foundations of Spiritual Formation takes a unique approach to its subject, arguing that we become like Christ in the context of authentic, Christian community. Without undermining individual Bible study, private prayer, and meditation, the authors emphasize these pursuits for the purpose of both personal and community enrichment-that the whole body, as well as the individual, may be built up. Part 1 lays the groundwork of spiritual formation. Jonathan Morrow develops a distinctively evangelical theology, while Richard Averbeck writes about worship. Then Gordon Johnston and Darrell Bock delve into the text of Scripture, grounding the pursuit of spiritual formation in revealed truth. Part 2 focuses on functional aspects of spiritual formation. Klaus Issler emphasizes the importance of the heart in spiritual formation, while Reid Kisling illustrates the vital connection between character development and spiritual formation. Bill Miller explores love's role as the motivation for spiritual formation. Andrew Seidel examines servant leadership, and George Hillman extends the discussion to include the significance of calling. Gail Seidel discusses personal narrative as a catalyst for spiritual formation, and in closing, Harry Shields advocates the public preaching of the Word as a tool for spiritual formation.

Genres: Christian Living, Theology, Discipleship, Nonfiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published July 31, 2008

About the author

Director of Career Services @ Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, Texas.
President of Dynamic Dads (www.dynamicdads.com)
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Reviews

[BJ Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a required textbook for my MDiv program. It is a loose collection of essays that deal with specific topics and how they relate to spiritual formation. Early on there are two on Old Testament and New Testament community, then they cover a range of topics like worship, character, love, preaching, etc.

Because it is a collection of essays, some chapters are great and some are only OK. Also, there is not much of an overall flow to the book. It just jumps from one topic to the next. In addition, there does seem to be a lot of overlap between the essays. In all, I would say the book is good, but if there was more collaboration between the different contributors, it could have been excellent. It is better than many similar textbooks out there, but I wouldn't recommend someone just picking it off the shelf.

[Craig Archer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I enjoyed this book and the topics that were covered. It’s a good academic read on spiritual formation. The studies of spiritual formation and community in Scripture were my favorite parts in the book. The last few chapters (life story, preaching) were really stretched out and detailed. I skimmed through them as I didn’t find it necessary for me to dive into them at the time.

[Sean-david · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am somewhat surprised that this book has received lower ratings. In a sea of books on spiritual formation, there are plenty of books peddling questionable ideas about spirituality and even borrowing from unbiblical traditions and teachings. I appreciate the community approach and while I may not agree with the authors on all points, this text is refreshingly Trinitarian; Christ and community centered, and holds a high view of the church and the necessity of a communal faith for growth in knowledge and grace. It is a refreshingly different kind of book in the field of spiritual formation.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was required to read this book for a class I was taking. I was impressed with the readability of it, despite the fact that it is an academic book. It was very practical and I found that I enjoyed reading it. Instead of skimming for the important details, I actually read the whole thing. It had a lot of wonderful points regarding spiritual formation.

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many books about spiritual growth and formation written these days out a heavy emphasis on the personal encounter and individual disciplines. While this is not a bad thing (we should be placing a strong emphasis on personal spiritual growth, especially in the basic disciplines), it is insufficient on the whole. Personal development in spiritual formation is only truly effective if you put it into practice within the community of the local church. This book puts the focus on that larger goal of community development through spiritual formation, and it covers a wide variety of topics very well. A couple of the chapters are poorly written or miss the purpose of the book (the chapter on OT community especially missed the mark, in my opinion), but for the most part each chapter highlighted well an aspect of discipleship and spiritual growth in the church.

[Johnathan Nazarian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Seminary required reading. More of a collection of essays from various authors. Because of this there is a lot of redundancy and it seems they try to force topics to fit. It also appears each author was given a minimum word count, so there is a lot of droning on when unnecessary. Very labosome to read. The quotes from other books was the best part of the book. The chapter on leadership may have been the best chapter.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

The key to understanding what type of book this is lies in two basic facts. First, Pettit is the editor, so you get multiple perspectives on how to grow to become more like Christ. The second is that the approach assumes community (as arguably so does the Bible). With those signposts, this book presents a compelling case for, roadmap for, and practical application of a group approach to discipleship in the life of the church or even for the individual believer who thinks he can go it alone.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book as part of a theology program. Overall, it has good thoughts and suggestions. As one might expect, the individual essays vary in quality. The overall volume could have used a stronger editing hand—the essays could be needlessly repetitive, and they did not always connect as well as they could have with the surrounding topics in the book.

[Mark Roossinck · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read on Spiritual Formations based from the editorial efforts of Dallas Theological Seminary professor. Great topics, good perspective. This book broadened my perspective of Spiritual Formations.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a required textbook in a graduate seminary course taken in the Fall of 2018. I was pleasantly surprised by much of the material.

[Jonathan Caldwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fairly typical denominational approach to discipleship. The only redeeming aspect is the chapter on leadership which is wonderful. Otherwise, find something else.

[Laura Andrus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly informing, read for a Doctorate course, it more than helped in understanding many levels of outreach.

[Benton Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good collection of thoughts on spiritual formation.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

The old joke about seminaries is that they are cemeteries. I first heard this when I was discerning a call to vocational Christian ministry. “Why do yo want to go to cemetery?” My theological education was decidedly more lively than this crypt-ish descriptor. God used my time in seminary to shape me. As I wrestled with doctrine, but I also pressed into prayer and community and came face to face with some of the ugly bits of my heart that still needed to change. God was gracious to give me friends and mentors who spoke into my life. But the point of the ‘cemetery’ label is well taken: learning about God–theology, biblical history, exegesis, hermeneutics, discipleship–does not necessarily translate into ‘life with God.’ Sometimes theological centers of learning fail to form us spiritually.

Paul Petit is aware of this phenomenon. As the director of the spiritual formation programs for Dallas Theological Seminary has edited a volume which describes a ‘community approach to becoming like Christ.’ Most of the contributors to Foundations of Spiritual Formation are somehow connected with Dallas (either were students there or teach at the institution); however this is a multidisciplinary project and each author has unique insights.. Contributors turn around the notion of spiritual formation and examine in from various different angles. The result is a holistic and comprehensive look at what Christian spiritual formation is.

Howard Hendricks writes the forward and argues for the necessity of small groups for spiritual nurture. Pettit’s introduction helps give a relational, holistic definition for ‘spiritual formation’ and urges us towards the practice of Spiritual disciplines as way to cooperate with the grace of God operating in our life (we don’t change our hearts, only God does that, but we can participate in the process). Pettit’s introduction is unpacked further in part one of the book. Jonathan Morrow describes a distinctively evangelical model of spiritual formation in chapter one (a model that is Christocentric and biblically-rooted). Richard Averbeck unfolds the formative nature of Christian worship and how spiritual disciplines help us ‘lift our sails’ so that God’s Spirit can move us closer to Him. Gordon Johnston and Darrell Bock explore the nature of spiritual formation in the Old and New Testaments, respectively. In both instances they focus on the nature of community and how it lays a foundation of response for growth.

In part two, the contributors turn their gaze toward the practical elements of Spiritual formation. Klaus Issler focuses on the soul and the emotional life in Spiritual formation; Reid Kisling explores the importance of character development in spiritual formation; Bill Miller looks at the nature of love as a ‘lived-out action'; Andrew Siedel examines our identity in Christ and its implications for Christian leadership; George Hillman describes God’s unique call on us as individuals (in service to the wider Christian community); Gail Seidel helps us attend to God’s transforming work in our lives by narrating our own life stories; finally Harry Shields explores the importance of preaching in spiritual formation.

Each of these essays are instructive and helpful for laying out a full-orbed vision of spiritual formation. I appreciated both the depth and the breadth of these essays. The authors delve deeply into the biblical foundations for community and spiritual formation. They also navigate theology, insights from contemporary psychology, and leadership literature. The multi-disciplinary approach models a ‘community approach to Spiritual formation’ even as the authors give pride of place to the concept of community in our formation. This means the authors (under Petitt’s editoral direction) practice what they preach.

The essays are fairly cohesive but the authors do not necessarily agree on every point. Howard Hendricks forward relativizes the importance of preaching in favor of small groups, whereas Harry Shields gives it a place of privilege. Yet the distinctions between each chapter also rounds out the picture of spiritual formation presented here. I recommend this book for seminary students and ministers hoping to grow spirutually and lead others in transformative encounters. This is a great resource. I give it four stars.

Notice of material connection: I received this book free from Kregel Academic in exchange for my honest review.

[Thay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say, this is a must-have for any resource on discipleship. Variety of Christian self-help books explores how to be a better Christian. Yet this book is refreshing in reflecting on the role of community to grow in one’s understanding of the Bible, godly character, and, essentially, worship of God.

Many times books either solely dwell on the theology or skip the foundational pieces to go straight towards application. It can leave the reader asking why should I take this approach or how really would this work? This book provides a nice blend where Part I provides the foundation/theory behind discipleship while Part II provides practical steps and ideas (especially the chapter on developing a life story). It is important to understand why we believe that it is important to be a part of a community as compared to a Christian lone ranger approach.

Even though Foundations of Spiritual Formation is directed to readers that are in seminary, this is a good read for any Christian that is actively mentoring!

[Danny Bennett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only read one chapter (Bock), it was alright. I like that it fights against the individualism of spirituality. We are designed for community.

[Melissa Marrs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Also a good book on Spiritual Formation.