Christian Formation: The Sunday Formation

Throughout the Bible, there are times when God's people gather together. In practically all of these instances, the people hear from God and what He says with the expectation that they are formed by what they hear. This gathering continues now on this side of the cross and resurrection.

Sundays are, for many, the designated day of worship. We come together with others of God's people to hear of His forgiveness in Jesus, as well as what it means to be His people. We are formed by what we hear, especially as we work it into our daily lives. When we hear we are forgiven, and then practice forgiving others, we are formed. When we hear that God says certain things are either to be about or done, and then we attempt to do so daily, we are formed.

The Sunday gathering, or to use the more accepted word, worship, is a strong formational place. We are worked on by God. We are sharpened by each other. Our songs and praises form us, as do our conversations and interactions. We hear God's word, and His Spirit works in us. We are renewed as a new creation, and that new creation seeks God's directing.

This week we focus on the formation that takes place in worship. I pray that you grow in appreciating the formation that takes place when we Christians gather.

Christian formation: Baptism part Four

Formational events in life are ones that impact who we are and help determine how we live our lives. Sometimes these are significant, one-time events that change something about us. Others are not single events, but rather a series of things or people that slowly shape our lives. Yet others are people who work in our lives, who encourage us to improve, or who lovingly point out areas where we can grow.

In Baptism, we are introduced into a whole community of people that share much in common. In fact, when we are baptized as children, the whole community into which we are introduced takes on the responsibility of shaping us in the image of Christ. They do so by sharing the story of God with us, by pointing us to God's action throughout history, and especially by pointing us to God's great saving work in Jesus, the cross, and the resurrection.

We are formed in our interactions with God's people. In the Proverbs it says that, as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. We are formed by the presence of other Christians in our lives. That is why it is so vitally important to be with other Christians, and to be grown by those further along the faith road.

We are formed by our fellow Christians, and they are also formed by us. While our Christian faith is intensely personal, it is also pervasively communal. Without others, our formation suffers. With others, we are formed and grow. Painfully at times, yes, but those painful times often form us the most.

Christian formation in Baptism, part three

As I continue this series on Christian formation in Baptism, today we look at something vitally important; the gifts in Baptism. Gifts are something that we understand. We like those occasions when we receive gifts. Birthdays, Easter, Christmas, Mother's day, Father's day, and the like are special because we are often given gifts to celebrate.

Now, to start this, I want to say something quickly about gifts. Gifts are given freely to us from another. A true gift carries no obligation on the part of the recipient. If you get a gift, but you sense that the other person expects something in return, they haven't given a gift, but an obligation.

In Acts 2:37-40, Peter speaks of two great gifts that come through Baptism. These two are the forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit's presence. In Baptism, God gives these as gifts. They were yours when the water and God's name combined on you. God gives them freely, because He sees you then just as He sees Jesus.

That has much to do with your Christian formation. When you come to know that God gives you such costly things, but that He gives them freely to you, you are formed. Think about how you are formed in a relationship, say, when a husband gives his wife an unexpected gift, such as flowers. The depth of relationship grows. The attachment increases. The one receiving sees a glimpse of the other's care. Such things form us in deep ways.

Likewise, God's gifts in Baptism form you. That's why it is so sad when Baptism gets seen as something we do for Good. Then we lose our on seeing how much we matter to Him. We lose out on the gifts that show the depth of that care. We fail to see ourselves as the apple of His eye, but instead see ourselves as proving ourselves to Him. Those are two far different things.  And each forms us differently.

For now, know this. The gifts God gave you in your Baptism form you as you see his great care for you. Being cared for in such a significant way forms you. I hope that you continue to be formed as those gifts are renewed in you each day by God's promise.

Christian Formation, Baptism Part 2

So yesterday we started taking a look at the beginning point of Christian formation in the lives of people, the action of God on us we call Baptism.  We mentioned yesterday that this action brings us into relationship with the Father, Son, and Spirit, according to the words of Jesus.

Yet, that is not all that happens in this action.  One thing we also find is that it not only brings us into connection and relationship with God, but it also connects us with God's greatest work on our behalf, the saving work of Jesus in His death and resurrection.  Writing about this to a group of Christians in Rome, St. Paul would write that when we were baptized into Jesus, we were baptized into His death.  Okay, so what does that mean?  It means that, when we were baptized, everything that happened to Jesus has, in essence, happened to us.  Jesus died bearing our sins, and so, when we were baptized, it is as though the same thing has happened to us.  Who we are as a fallen creature died with Jesus.  Everything wrong and broken (the Bible word is sinful) died, and as a result, it no longer haunts us.

However, there is even more than that.  We were baptized into Jesus' death.  But Jesus didn't stay dead.  He rose back to life, raised by the Father, reclaiming His own life that He had lain down.  The amazing thing is, through Baptism, we are also connected to that resurrection.  A few verses later Paul would write "just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life."  (Romans 6:1-14 at work here)  With Jesus raised from the dead, we also have a new life, a life connected to His perfect, eternal life lived in perfect harmony with the Father.

So that's the theological background, but now you ask, "What does this have to do with Christian formation?"  Well, everything, but that's hardly the answer you were probably looking for.  So we'll focus on a couple of things in particular.

In Baptism, you died with Jesus.  As part of your formation as a Christian, that also means that all those wrong things (Bible word: sin) that you have done that you feel sorry about (Bible word: contrition) have died and no longer have any impact on you.  Imagine, for a moment, that you could live as though you hadn't done those, that those things would no longer be held against you.  That friendship you betrayed, well, it's forgiven and over with.  Those unfortunate words that slipped out of your mouth that really hurt another person, forgiven and over with, not held against you.  Just imagine the new life that you could have with all those things forgiven, with you being able to live as though they weren't held against you.

That's formational in your life!  You essentially get a new life when that happens. And wouldn't you know it, that's one part of the new life that is yours in Jesus because you are also connected to His resurrection.  Now you can have a bold, daring confidence in living according to God's design and will because you know you have that new life in Jesus.  That gives meaning.  That gives fulfillment.  That gives purpose.  And that gives you something to form your life around.  Yes, Baptism truly is a part of our Christian formation, as we will hear more tomorrow.

The Beginning of Christian Formation

For many, the beginning of their Christian formation took place before they were even aware of what was going on.  It began with an event that is spoken very highly of throughout the New Testament, one that continues to be one of the ways that God does His work into the lives of those whom He would claim as His own.  It's an event that takes place when water (in whatever quantity, and applied in whatever way) touches a person at the same time as the name of God is spoken upon the person.  This washing of water with God's name is called simply Baptism.

There is a lot that happens in this simple action, though what it is really doesn't seem readily understood by many Christians, and even more seem to take these great and amazing things for granted.  How do we discover what all happens here?  Well, we simply go to the Bible, to God's Word, to hear what He has to say about it.  And as we dive into those gifts that God gives in Baptism, we also see that this action is the beginning of our Christian formation.

Now, to go into all these details, we'll take a couple of posts, at least, to get through them all.  For example, the very first thing we start off with.  It is where Jesus speaks about His desire to have people of all nations baptized, that most familiar of Bible references in Matthew 28:16-20.  Most translations say that Jesus says to baptize them "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."  Not to get all Greeky on you, but it's perhaps better to translate the first word of those quotes as "into" rather than "in". 

What big difference does that make, you ask, and how does that impact Christian formation?  Well, rather than just simply having some name spoken over you when you are baptized, "into" actually carries the deeper meaning of you being brought into an intimate connection with the Father, Son, and Spirit.  Your Christian formation begins when you are brought into that intimate connection with God in His full essence.  And notice that this isn't something that you do.  This is God bringing you into Himself as the water and His name are spoken on you. 

When you are brought into that relationship with God, your Christian formation begins.  There is more to this action than what we have covered today, and we'll dive a bit more into it tomorrow.  But this truly does point us to the place where our Christian formation begins: when we are brought into our God, who created us, redeemed us, and sustains us.

New Day, New Theme

I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I haven't posted an entry since last December.  While many things have happened since then that have contributed to my absence, it's all on my shoulders.  However, I do plan on starting to re-kick things off yet again.

One brief update for those who may not personally have a lot of connections with me.  I have recently moved, from the Atlanta, Georgia area to St. Louis, MO.  Instead of working in a congregation, I now work at an institution of higher learning, a post that I began early in June.  The actual call was extended in February, and my family and I prayed and deliberated on it for some time, until I announced that I was accepting the call on April 2.  At that point, we started the challenge of wrapping things up in the congregation in Georgia, getting the house ready for our stuff to move and for the house to sell, finding a place to land in Missouri, and figuring out what the new position would have me doing.  It's been an interesting journey.

However, rather than looking for your empathy at all that, I actually want to focus on something else for a while.  My new position is one which has a focus on formation.  One of the things that drew me to this position was that I am part of the process of finding where God's Spirit is at work in the lives of men and women, preparing them for ministry.  That was and is very attractive to me.

A large part of my background, studies, and interests are in the formation of God's people as Christians, and how we can take that from the cradle to the grave, creating life-long Christians who hold firmly to God's good news.  Formation is something that has great interest to me, and something that I want to see done in the lives of God's people.  I want to see God's people, baptized into Christ Jesus, brought all the way to the fulfillment of their hope, their eternal life that God gives through Jesus when they cross the doorway of death and receive new life in Jesus.  I want to see God's people continue to grow and challenge themselves in living out God's will and design in their lives, not merely when it is convenient, but at all points in their lives.

To that end, don't be surprised that much of what you will start seeing here will deal with Christian formation.  It's something that starts the moment God's Word and the water touch our heads and hearts, and only ends when Jesus calls us to our eternal inheritance.  Our whole life in between is one of being formed in the image of Christ Jesus, who loved us and gave Himself for us.  So you will see a lot of thoughts on what this looks like, what God is doing, how it gets played out in our lives, and other such random thoughts and pieces along the way.  As always, if you have questions, feel free to make use of the comments section, which I plan to be more active in engaging as we go forward.

In Christ,
Scott