What makes the difference between a class/study that is a “data transfer” and one that facilitates spiritual transformation?
If asked to describe “spiritual disciplines” most people will give things done in privacy like prayer, Scripture reading, fasting, Scripture memory, etc. and they are often things that are viewed as burdens. A couple of years ago I was introduced to the phrase “spiritual practices.” That are the behaviors that we choose to practice that yield the results we desire?
Below are some practices that may alter your class/study/small group.
“When we are alone, it's easy to think, incorrectly, that we are spiritually advanced. I can watch a Hallmark commercial alone and find myself moved to tears. I tell myself that I am a very compassionate person. But when I spend time in community with a person who annoys me, it's amazing how quickly I experience "compassion fatigue."
In community we discover who we really are and how much transformation we still require. This is why I am irrevocably committed to small groups. Through them we can accomplish our God-entrusted work to transform human beings.
However, experience tells us that simply meeting with a small group does not automatically result in spiritual growth. There are certain practices that must be present, spiritual disciplines that must occur, to facilitate the transforming work of Christ in us. The presence of these things is what makes the difference between all-too-typical small groups, and life-transforming communities of spiritual formation.
What are these practices? I don't think I have the definitive answer, but I have observed five essential practices:”
Confession: remove the masks
Application: look in the mirror
Accountability: stand on the scale
Guidance: follow the map
Encouragement: embrace each other
To read more from the author of the above quote and list (including explanations and illustrations of each one) click here.
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