Spiritual Formation Resources

Here are a series of resources for apprentices who would like to learn more about spiritual formation and the spiritual disciplines.  Feel free to check out the sections highlighted below:

I. Dallas Willard has said, “Disciples are those who, seriously intending to become like Jesus from the inside out, systematically and progressively rearrange their affairs to that end.” TRANSFORMED LIVES TRANSFORMING THE WORLD is a series of occasional  posts intended to help us all to seek and work at continual transformation so we can make a difference in this grimy, depressing world in which we  now live in – the place C.S. Lewis called ” enemy-occupied territory.”

II. “CONTINUAL RENEWAL” – THE RENOVARE WAY TO DISCIPLESHIP:  In 1988 Richard Foster formed an organization based in Wichita, Kansas, to “advocate, resource, and model the with-God life.”  Foster recruited his friends James Bryan Smith, Dallas Willard, Bill Vaswig and Marti Ensing to become early members of the Renovare team. After the success of publication of Foster’s first book, Celebration of Disciplines, Foster began speaking to groups of people who were hungry  for the approach to the Christian life that Foster described.  He felt a call from God to a ministry that spoke to the needs of these people. That call was resulted in Renovare. You can read more about the history and goals of this organization on the Renovare website .

The Renovare Spiritual Formation Workbook is based on these disciplines and is ideal for small groups. In her teaching experiences, Karen worked through this workbook with many groups, and both Richard Foster and Renovare were instrumental in her growth and early understanding of spiritual formation. She wrote a series of occasional posts that reflect on Renovare and the six dimensions of faith and practice stated on the back of the Renovare membership card. You can find these posts in the category “Continual Renewal,” the Renovare Way to Discipleship. The hope is that they energize your faith and your practice of the disciplines.

III. LIVING THE SERENITY PRAYER –  The Serenity Prayer has a long and mysterious history. The first three lines were made popular by Reinhold Niebuhr (1892 -1971), as part of a 1834 lecture. The modern prayer is several lines longer.  In 1941 the prayer was noticed and later adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous. Over the past 60 years the prayer has gone far beyond AA boundaries. It is especially instructive for anyone longing to be an apprentice of Jesus. 

IV. WHAT IS SPIRITUAL FORMATION? If you are interested in the general topic of Spiritual Formation, you might want to check out 14 entries Karen wrote for the Daily Devotional booklet, Words of Hope, You can find them online on the Words of Hope website (If the link is broken, here is the address: woh.org/word/devotionals/) Look for Karen Bables (alphabetized by first name) the list of authors  As usual, these are very personal reflections about how a belief system needs to be supported by a personal, intimate relationship with God and training to become more like Jesus.  Perhaps they will be helpful to you.

V. SPIRITUAL FORMATION IN A WELL-KNOWN PARABLE:

Recommending The Prodigal God by Tim Keller:  The story of “the man with two sons”  from Luke 15 is the essence of the gospel. It is a simple story, really, replayed throughout history and replicated every day in urban centers, small towns, and rural areas. A father is raising two sons. The elder son is responsible, obedient, and hardworking. The younger son longs long to leave home and explore the freedom in the world “out there.” The father loves both sons, even though they sorely try his patience.

In the book The Prodigal God by Tim Keller,  we learn about a God who’s love is embodied in a man who is big enough to take in and embrace the fullness of all that is present. This reality is at the heart of the spiritual disciplines as we seek to know this God who loves us.  Although this story is often called the story of the “prodigal” son,  Tim Keller has famously shown us in the book that it is really the story of a prodigal father and the lessons we can learn from his role in this story.