vision of spirituality was myopic at best, and I am only now beginning to see all that God intends for me as a Salvationist. Such richness has come through interaction with “higher” church expressions such as the Lutheran and Anglican traditions where I have been challenged to consider all my senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch) in worship. Previously worship for me always happened from the neck up, and then only with certain senses. For several years, I have met with Mennonite and Quaker friends to pray and talk about how God is forming me. The discipline of submitting to their insights is a rich experience. As I interact with other believers, I see tremendous opportunities for the Church to speak to Salvationists about formation practices, just as we have historically spoken to the Church regarding sacraments and sacramental living.
Spiritual disciplines that will deepen your faith and move you from adherence to abundance
An Inside Job
by Major Wendy Swan Director of Spiritual Formation, Winnipeg CFOT
I
n his seminal book The Spirit of the Disciplines, Dallas Willard notes that spiritual formation isn’t new—it’s only been lost for a while. He contends it was lost because of the ModernistFundamentalist controversy. The liberal church focused on social action and the conservative church became fixated on correct belief—the Gospel was split down the middle. As a result, both sides lost the notion of transformational living. As Salvationists we’ve understood spiritual formation or transformational living to be holiness. We know it to begin with 24
Salvationist May 2006
a crisis experience of meeting God accompanied by a lifelong endeavour to move from mercy seat to spiritual maturity. Salvationists have always been open to seeking new insights into the practicalities of living the incarnational life within our own tradition. But are there other traditions we might explore that would deepen and enrich our experience of God and help us move out in service to the world?
Rich Traditions My own understanding of what it means to be formed, conformed and transformed to the image of Christ has been dramatically stretched and enriched over the past 16 years as I’ve served internationally and ecumenically. Working in the greater Christian community, I’ve gleaned insights from other streams of life and faith. My former
What are some historic patterns of holy living that help us raise a family, get along with our neighbours and engage in our culture? How can we heighten our awareness of God and keep our hearts turned toward him as we work and live in our offices, shops and neighbourhoods? If you have never explored the spiritual disciplines you may be wondering where to start. There are many different ways to group such practices together, but the easiest has been devised by Richard Foster, spiritual formation writer and practising Quaker. The down-to-earth approach in his book, Celebration of Discipline, reminds us that any needed change within our lives is God’s work, not ours. “The demand is for an inside job,” he writes, “and only God can work from the inside.” Foster divides the classical disciplines into three areas: inward disciplines that cultivate our heart and mind; outward disciplines that cultivate our appetites; and corporate disciplines that cultivate our affections to Christ.
Inward Disciplines Inward disciplines are “foundational” to transformational living. They challenge our inner spiritual lives and are a powerful means of grace as we listen to God’s voice and obey his Word. Foster notes that habitual reading of the Bible touches the affections, systematic study of the Bible touches the mind and sustained meditation on the Bible touches the soul. When we read Scripture, we gain a worldview. In reading about God’s interaction with