Spiritual Formation

What is spiritual formation? How does one know if he or she is spiritually formed?

According to George Barna, Christians are confused about spiritual formation. Jennifer Riley, in an article for Christian Post on Barna's latest research, reported that a "significant portion" of born-again Christians could not describe how "their church defines spiritual maturity."

Further, Barna's research concluded that pastors struggled to give definition to "spiritual maturity" -- which is the goal of spiritual formation.

So -- what is spiritual formation? How does it work? What are the components that lead people to become spiritually mature? And -- how do we measure spiritual maturity? Do you measure it by faithfulness in church attendance? How about tithing? Or serving? Or, is it measured by orthodox views on the Bible or theology?

It is a challenging enterprise -- this whole spiritual formation thing. I am working on a document right now for my church that addresses this relevant topic. It has been truly challenging for me. I am trying to be more specific than I have ever been in addressing this issue.

I'll keep you posted.