Category: Formational Theology

“Nothing can be done about the past. Just get over it and move on.” I can’t tell you how many times I have heard that over the years. Perhaps we can sympathize with the sentiment that it is not good to be trapped in old experiences. But the belief...

When we think about forgiving someone who has wronged us, quite often we find it difficult not to dwell on the offense or our negative sense of the person. Consequently, we may also find it hard to let go of what they have done and finish the work of...

Perhaps the single greatest problem Christians have had since the beginning of the church is that of participation with God. Nearly every mistake in discipleship or Christian living can be traced to mistaken approaches to participation. Just look at the problems the early church experienced: The Galatians tried to...

In the previous post I discussed some of the problems regarding the common understanding of negative confessions. At the other end of the spectrum is a practice that is referred to as positive confession. Again, we need to be careful. On the one hand, it is good for us...

In some places there is a teaching that we should never say out loud the things in our heart that we fear or that are faulty. Referred to as “negative confession,” these kinds of statements supposedly give power to the enemy. Consequently, we should not say those things except...

From a developmental perspective, we all need to be needed. We all have an innate need to be of good to someone, to have a life-giving impact that makes a difference. Whether it has to do with helping our family survive, or easing the burden of someone, or simply...

Often when we talk about the fruits of the Spirit, we frame the discussion in terms that make it sound as if fruit is an end point we arrive at — after which we simply are grateful for its production. But while spiritual fruit is in fact an outcome...

Here is a link to a fascinating picture of the Gospel, demonstrated by an active metaphor of two chairs. It takes a few minutes to watch, but it is truly worth the time. (You can skip the first 5:30 minutes of intro material without missing anything)....

More and more Christians today are discovering the joy of being healed in their heart and mind from painful things in their past. Jesus came to "bind up the broken-hearted" and He means for this to be commonplace among His people. In many cases, we are healed when God...

"Rather than view our relationship with God as primarily an arrangement whereby we get to have life after death, Christian formation views our relationship with God as the very definition of life itself, a relationship that leads to living forever with the King." — from Forming: A Work of...