Spiritual Formation
After finishing seminary and settling into my first pastoral call, I began to worry about who I was becoming. I felt like I had learned so much more about God, but I was not sure I knew God any better. There seemed to be a disconnect between my intellectual knowledge about God (which had grown immensely) and my relational experience with God (which felt very stagnant).
Healthy trees grow both upward and downward. The upward growth is seen, but it is the downward growth which anchors the tree to withstand storms and provide nourishment. Pastors can especially become prone toward the public and upward growth. I worried that my spiritual life was becoming increasingly top heavy and I did not really know how to cultivate that downward growth on my own. The truth is, we do not ever grow on our own.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
―Matthew 11:28-30
As a carpenter, Jesus likely made a number of yokes. It is a farming instrument used to harness two animals together to do a shared task. A yoke also served as a way to train inexperienced animals how to work more effectively by pairing them with a more experienced partner. This is the invitation at the heart of spiritual formation. Simply: working with Jesus to become more like Jesus.
Spiritual formation can be a touchy topic for some because it can seem to veer toward mysticism, subjectivity, and works-based righteousness. However, we are all undergoing spiritual formation all the time. Jesus is inviting us to learn how to do the work of the kingdom with him; we are invited to become people who look more and more like Jesus for the sake of others.
Who we become is based largely on the things we do. So working with Jesus to become like Jesus means we need to pay attention to the things Jesus did.
Scripture
Jesus’ life was shaped by Scripture, even from an early age. Luke tells the story of the adolescent Jesus who runs off to the temple where he is found days later listening to teachers and asking questions about Scripture (Luke 2:41-49). Later, during the temptation in the wilderness, Jesus rebuffed each with Scripture (Matt 4:1-11). If we are going to be like him, we need to open our Bibles and let it shape our being.
Silence and Solitude
Jesus often retreated from ministry and crowds to commune with God. Silence and solitude are pathways to communion with God.
I love podcasts and audiobooks. If I’m doing chores or going on a walk, I’m usually listening to someone talking. This is not a bad thing, but Jesus spent his alone time listening to God, not podcasts. Solitude is about disconnecting from society; silence is about quieting the noise around us, to listen for the still, small voice of God.
Slow
Pay attention to the pace of Jesus. When was he in a hurry? Never! He walked everywhere and seemed to have time for everyone, including a foreign woman (John 4:1-26), a little child (Matt 19:13-14), and a tax collector in a tree (Luke 19:1-10). If there is one thing Jesus modeled during his time on Earth that is most out of step with modernity, it just might be his pace. We pride ourselves on our busy lives; as if our busyness is a sign of importance and not the path to burnout. Going slow means noticing what’s unfolding around us and finding time to engage with the people God places along our way.
Repentance
This all sounds fine and dandy, but what if you blow it? What if you screw up again and again? Some spiritual formation traditions contain the idea of “Christian perfectionism.” This is the belief that a Christian ought to have less and less sin as they journey through life toward eternity. But it is completely contrary to what Luther says in the first of the 95 Theses, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’ (Matt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”
Even in the area of repentance, Jesus serves as an example. The ministry of Jesus begins with him submitting to the baptism of John, which was a baptism of repentance (Matt 3:13-17). I believe Jesus is doing this in part to model a life of repentance. It is ironic that we resist repentance when we have many reasons to repent, whereas Jesus embraces repentance when he has no reason to repent. And it is when Jesus comes out of the water that he hears our Heavenly Father declare, “this is my Beloved Son” (Matt 3:17, ESV). When we repent, we ought to be reminded that we, too, are God’s beloved children.
Every good thing we do is in response to what God has done. Spiritual formation is not about moving toward God through our actions, but working with Jesus in response to his invitation. If the work feels heavy, difficult, and exhausting… you are probably doing it wrong. In keeping with the invitation, it ought to feel restful, easy, and light. Learn from Jesus, but always leave the heavy lifting to him.
While we all receive the invitation to work with Jesus, most of us are prone to one of two errors in response to the invitation: we either sideline Jesus or sideline ourselves. In other words, some of us insist on doing the work ourselves, while others of us never get around to the work at all. We need to remember that while “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith” (Eph 2:8), we are “created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph 2:10).
My struggle to experience God relationally was a result of sidelining Jesus in an attempt to do things for him instead of with him. I was stuck because I was trying to make things grow on my own. Using these tools of spiritual formation, I feel more rooted in God’s love and grace for me, and it is changing the way I see other people.
We are all invited to come and partner with Jesus to become more like him for the sake of others. If you take the invitation seriously, it will change you; if you ignore the invitation, that will change you, too. The real question is this: Who do you want to become?
If you are struggling with where to start on your journey of spiritual formation, ask God for the desire to become the person he created you to be―someone saved by grace through faith and created to do good works.
Dr. Alan Johnson is pastor at Regeneration Church in Sammamish, WA. He is married to Cheryl and they have two children. Alan received his DMin in June, 2025.