Spiritual Formation

I encourage you to read this excellent interview with Dallas Willard and Dieter Zander. They address the question, "Why don't Christians look more like Christ?"

Here's a terrific quote from Willard: "Instead of counting Christians, we need to weigh them. We weigh them by focusing focusing on the most important kind of growth -- love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, kindness, and so on -- fruit in keeping with the gospel and the kingdom."

That's teaching to change lives!

If you are interested in spiritual formation, also check out Bruce MacLaren. He writes clearly about "learning Christ," vs. "learning about Christ." Too many educated Christians have gotten lots of information but are the least Christ-like.

Dallas Willard's book, Renovation of the Heart, belongs on your bookshelf.

Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ By Dallas Willard / Nav Press We aren't born to stay the way we are. But how many times have we looked around us in dismay at the lack of spiritual maturity in fellow believers? It is evident in the rising rate of divorces among Christian couples. We find it in the high percentages of Christians, even pastors, who regularly view pornography. And we face it each time a well-known leader in the Christian community is found in sexual sin or handling finances dishonestly. Perhaps you have struggled with your own character issues for years, even decades, to little avail. There is good news. In Renovation of the Heart best-selling author Dallas Willard calls it "the transformation of the spirit" - a divine process that "brings every element in our being, working from inside out, into harmony with the will of God or the kingdom of God." In the transformation of our spirits, we become apprentices of Jesus Christ.