The Journey

Invitation to a Journey ~ A Road Map to Spiritual Formation
M. Robert Mulholland & Ruth Haley Barton
plus
Notes and writings on Spiritual Formation from the
Institute for Spiritual Formation, Biola University

Lesson 13-- Chapter 7:  Holistic Spirituality

Opening Prayer—Mulholland, p. 76

1.  Natural spiritual path
 We all naturally follow a spiritual path based on our creation gifts.
How do you prefer to worship?
How do you best relate to God?

2.  The Center for Applications of Personality Type – 2 tables
Table 1 spells out our natural path based on our creation gifts, then identifies the area needed for wholeness.
Table 2 illustrates the need for balanced spirituality.  It also points out the difference between the positive and negative expressions of each type, under and over expression.

Remember though, that it is not the case that psychological imbalance can be solved simply by nurturing the opposite side of the pair.  It is really a matter of who is in control—who rules our life—God or us?

Look carefully at each chart.  Consider where you fit.
How are you addressing your opposite side?
Where can you make changes that stretch and expand how you relate to God?

3.  Need for Reflection
We tend to develop worship patterns that suit our own preferences, but need to keep in mind that there are ALL patterns in the body of Christ.
As leaders and mentors, we need to be sensitive to the other types when we teach or lead in any area.

Example:  in the classroom, you have visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners. What happens if the teacher only teaches from a visual perspective?

Spiritual Formation always takes place within our personality pattern. God gave them to us.  But if we ignore the shadow side of our personality, we become disconnected from ourselves, those around us, and even God.  It becomes easy to compartmentalize the aspects of our lives so that there is no flow.  Church is church, work is work, family is family, and they may not connect.  This is a shame, since God created us to be holistic, and draw all people to Himself.  How can we do that if we put Him in His own compartment?

4.  Practice:  Let’s ask God to search our hearts.
How is your life one-sided?
Paraphrase of Psalm 139:23-24:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my thoughts.  See if there be an undeveloped, undernourished part of my personality and lead me in a more holistic, life-giving way.”
How does your undernourished side cry out for attention?
Ask God to give you insight over the next few days into how this operates in your life.  When something occurs to you, jot it down on a post-it note or in your journal and ask God to show you the more life-giving path.




You can share our lessons with others who can’t be here in person by referring them to http://christian-transformationblog.blogspot.com

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