College Union

By Julie Robertson

A Journey in Formation

Almost a year ago, the students at the Auburn Wesley Foundation decided to walk home to Birmingham for Christmas Break. Frustrated with rising gas prices, they joked that they should walk home for the holidays. This seemingly crazy idea transformed into a full-blown plan to actually walk home for Christmas. A two hour ride in a car, they new this was a huge undertaking. To make it manageable, the students contacted area churches and businesses to sponsor them financially and/or with food and shelter.

There were times along the way they were certain they would never make it to Birmingham. It was cold and the road was long. It took several days of faithfully waking up and walking to arrive at their destination.

Spiritual formation is a lot like the journey these students took last Christmas. It is a daily waking up and walking with Christ to arrive at our destination. That destination is to be “conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others.”[1]

Within the Christian community, spiritual formation has gone through a serious resurgence of interest over the past decade or so. Books published on the subject by the likes of Dallas Willard, Richard Foster and others have been rediscovered over the past few years, adding to the interest. This is all good news, right?

The trouble with this new found interest is that spiritual formation is easily misunderstood. Ask Richard Foster or Dallas Willard and they will likely agree. We have missed the boat on this one, creating a craze for spiritual formation that is not true to what it really is.

Spiritual formation and the spiritual disciplines are not a means to an end. They are not there for us to use to get closer to God or get what we think we want or need from Him. This is, however, how they are viewed. Well-meaning Christians who have read every book on the subject walk away with the distorted notion that spiritual formation is something we do for ourselves. This could not be farther from the truth.

In his book Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation, Robert Mulholland offers the best definition of spiritual formation I have encountered to date. Mulholland defines spiritual formation as the “process of being conformed to the image of God for the sake of others.”[2] Throughout the book, he emphasizes the notion there is nothing we can do to propel this process forward. The best we can do is surrender ourselves to the God who is able to do this work in us.

Suffice it to say this is a novel concept in our instant gratification culture. Spiritual formation is a gradual process of being made more like Christ, far from instantaneous. It demands the kind of patience and persistence that we are not capable of on our own. It demands the grace, mercy, and love of Jesus Christ. It demands that we relinquish control so that God can restore and redeem us for the sake of others.

Moreover, the focus of spiritual formation goes beyond our individual needs to benefit the people in our lives. Yes, we will certainly grow and gain strength as we give up control and allow God to work in us, but God deepens us in order to broaden the benefit to the body of Christ.

The Scriptures tell us that we participate in Story and that each person has a specific role to play in the story. We are part of something bigger than ourselves, and we must allow ourselves to be conformed to Christ that we might benefit the body of Christ. This does not diminish our role in the story. You and I are important and our spiritual formation is key to our role.

What if we approached spiritual formation in the same way the students at Auburn Wesley Foundation approached their walk last Christmas? We would see that the journey is really not about us. We would remember that we need the support of others to succeed and that any rewards we receive are meant for the benefit of others.

This outrageous walk home for the holidays ended up benefiting the participants and countless others. For example, our students arranged for people to sponsor them for every mile they completed. At the end of the trip, they raised over $8,000 for persons affected by Hurricane Katrina.

So, are you ready to walk? In the next several weeks, we will take a look at specific spiritual disciplines – some classic, some new – and look at how they might propel us forward in our spiritual formation journey. As we take a look at these practices, pray. Pray for the strength to surrender and not to make these disciplines and practices a means-to-an-end, but a daily blessing that benefits you and others.

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[1] Ibid.

 

[2] Mulholland, M. Robert. Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation. Downer’s Grove, IL: 1993, p. 15.

Categories: Nurturing the Soul of the College Student
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