Southside's Blog
The Role of the People of God in Spiritual Formation: An Environment of Love and Accountability
Individuals cannot be fully formed spiritually without participation in a strong community of faithful believers. The congregation impacts the spiritual formation of the individual within it by mentoring, building up, and providing an environment of love and accountability.
The apostle Paul stresses the role of the people of God, or faith community, in spiritual formation. His key thought on the role of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12-14 and Romans 12) is that every member of the community is there to build each other up and so build up the whole. The people of God provide an environment of love and accountability, mentor others to be more like the Lord, and use their gifts to build up the body (Eph. 4:11-16). Therefore, spiritual formation occurs as we interact within the faith community.
Being a Christian means to be part of a community and to take responsibility and accountability in the community seriously.1 God expects Christians to be there for each other “to spur one another on to good deeds” (Heb. 10:25). Parker J. Palmer writes, “the community is a check against my personal distortions; it helps interpret the meaning of texts and gives guidance in my experience of prayer.”2 With the people of God, “I can live out (or discover I am lacking) the peace and joy, the humility and servanthood by which spiritual growth is measured."3 I need my brothers and sisters in Christ to love me, to keep me in check spiritually, and to model for me what it means to be like Christ. This is a sentiment shared by Paul in several of his epistles.
Jesus calls his followers to a life of spiritually mature faith evidenced by love for God and love for others. Practicing spiritual disciplines like solitude, hospitality, contemplative Bible reading, and prayer can help us live out these two great commandments and create a loving church community. Practicing solitude (Luke 4:42) helps us to create a space for God and deepen our relationship with him.4 Extending hospitality to those in need (Matt. 25:31-45) demonstrates our love for others. Meditating on the Bible gives us the strength to serve God and overcome temptations (Matt. 4:1-10). Spending time in prayer, praising God and interceding for others, connects us with both commands (Matt. 6:9-16).
Paul believes that the transforming love of Christ is found in “loving communities of faith."5 Certainly this is expressed even at the outset of his letters. John affirms that the ultimate test of authentic Christian community is love for one another (1 John 4:19-21).
Andrew Purves speaks emphatically about the importance of the faith community where Christians live in loving communion with God and each other:
To assume one can be a Christian without attending church and participating in the life and mission of the fellowship is to misunderstand the meaning of being joined to Jesus Christ. Communion with Christ involves communion with one another and sharing together in Christ’s mission to and for the world. While Christianity provides a deeply personal relationship with God, Christianity is not to be construed as individualistic and as an essentially private experience. Christian faith is lived as a communion in the body of Christ.6
Purves argues further that “the congregation has the function of creating the community that is lacking in society, providing warmth and authenticity.”7 This rings familiar with themes found in Paul’s letters to the Ephesians and Philippians. This love and authenticity was also evident in the early apostolic church (Acts 2-4).
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul puts great emphasis on the community living out a transformed existence, living out their heavenly citizenship in the present. He explicitly describes ways for Christians to show love and support for each other. Paul encourages the believers at Philippi to follow his example, as well as the example of others, to be unselfish, to love one another, and to hold each other accountable.
This post discussed how the people of God provide an environment of love and accountability. In the next two posts I will discuss the role of God’s people in mentoring and edification.
1Israel Galindo, “Methods of Christian Education toward Christian Spiritual Formation”, Review and Expositor, Vol. 98 (2001), 418.
2Parker J. Palmer, “Leaping High Walls: Education as Spiritual Formation”, Educational Horizons, Vol. 82, no. 1, (Fall 2003), 56.
3Palmer, 56.
4Jim Wilhoit, Spiritual Formation as If the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through Community, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008, 48.
5Gary Holloway and Earl Lavender, Living God's Love: An Invitation to Christian Spirituality. Siloam Springs, AR: Leafwood Pub., 2004, 139.
6Andrew Purves, Reconstructing Pastoral Theology: A Christological Foundation, (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004), 41.
7Purves,142.
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