How can we grow closer to God? Is there a secret to spiritual life? Do we need a second blessing? Is sanctification God's work or ours? Is it instantaneous or is it a process?

The nature of Christian spirituality has been widely debated throughout the history of the church. The doctrine of sanctification was one of the main fissures separating Luther from the Catholic Church. ...

Your attention, please. That's what God wants, Leighton Ford discovered. It's the path to becoming like Christ. Distractions, fear and busyness were keeping Ford from seeing God's work in and around him. He was missing God. So he began a journey of longing and looking for God. And it started with paying attention. In these pages, he invites you to journey with him. Using the rich monastic tradition ...

In our ongoing battle against sin in our life as believers, we need all the help we can get. Spiritual Formation: Ever Forming, Never Formed is a breath of fresh air in this fight, setting out biblical foundations and offering practical advice. Spiritual Formation both humbles triumphalistic Christians and gives much needed hope to defeated Christians. We can deceive ourselves ...

Jesus said we should focus our minds and hearts on God above all else. No small task! Is there someone we can turn to for help? "Wisdom tells us to sit at the feet of our elders rather than the latest ministry fad," notes author Kyle Strobel. And is there a better elder to guide us than Jonathan Edwards? In Edwards, the eighteenth-century Puritan pastor and theologian, we find deep thought balanced ...

This comprehensive theory and practice of Christian spiritual formation weaves together biblical and theological foundations with interdisciplinary scholarship, real-world examples, personal vignettes, and practical tools to assist readers in becoming whole persons in relationship with God and others.

• 2014 Best Book of Spirituality—Academic, from Byron Borger, Hearts and Minds Bookstore

Why does merely understanding and trying hard to follow the example of Jesus often yield little progress--and even less joy and peace? In this foundational work of Christian formation, Klaus Issler derives insights from the life of Jesus in the Gospels to uncover the dynamics of becoming Christlike. You will discover how you can forge much deeper connections with Jesus so that his life begins ...

This volume, edited by Jeffrey P. Greenman and George Kalantzis, marks another compilation from the Wheaton Theology Conference. 2009's event produced the wealth of work represented here exploring the theological foundations for a faithful approach to the church practices that contribute to spiritual formation, that is, to our sanctification in the power of the Holy Spirit. Including essays from ...