Thoughts From Just Another Passer By

Spiritual Formation was a rather brilliant non-assessed class in my first year here at  Cliff . But what is Spiritual Formation?  For me the image that supports spiritual formation is that of a master potter.  This is image is one that has biblical support which would of course get me brownie points in my essays here, but is also a pretty good basis to life. The image of the potter is God building us up forming us and our spirituality out of clay, building us up and breaking us down, leaving his finger print, and moulding us into a masterpiece where he has left something of himself. This work is not clean or clear cut but rather, rather messy. What is spiritual formation? A spiritual hunger for more than spiritual junk food. A development of our relationship with God moving us to spiritual maturity. A process for individuals and communities. Moving towards a Christ-likeness. A journey of faith. Painful and pleasing. Uncomforting and comfortable. Towards a spiritual iden...

The consistency of Jesus. This term keeps cropping up amongst our lectures. Why did people follow Jesus... he was consistent. Why do we use his approach to spirituality he was consistent. The Gospel a biographical piece of work, not much character development, but rather, consistent. Jesus was consistent. Wow, not sure if I was to right down my top three reason to why everyone should follow Christ that consistent would be up there. Or would it? Consistent what does it mean? the definition straight off my mac: consistent  |kənˈsistənt| adjective (of a person, behavior, or process) unchanging in achievement or effect over a period of time  : manufacturing processes require a consistent approach. •  compatible or in agreement with something  : the injuries are  consistent with  falling from a great height. •  (of an argument or set of ideas) not containing any logical contradictions  : a consistent explanation. Jesus the Consistent. We often tal...

What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? Tonights was the second session of Christian Spirituality here at Cliff . I'm going to draw on a few discussion that took place tonight. Firstly what are words would use to describe Jesus Spirituality? How would you describe Jesus approach to others. I think Jesus Spirituality and the way that related to others was intense. I just imagine this intensity that comes from God. If this was part of his persona, a character trait then it would have appeared in his fasting, praying, study, celebrating, serving. His whole ministry in itself was a radical concept, therefore why not his spirituality. Other ideas include Practical, loving, confident, flexible, consistent, relational, caring, selfless, servant hearted, led by example, intuitive, humble, encouraging, visible, paradoxical and inclusive. Jesus washing his disciples feet is a key example of Jesus practising the spiritual disciplines and teaching them to his discip...

I have been really challenged by many things in the last few weeks. What came top – and its not a new challenge to the way I work – was do I actually take enough time out. Burnout is an ever-growing concern placed on those within all forms of ministry in the 21st century, because most are not satisfied unless they are juggling 21 things! Furthermore I felt a great desire to re-do the Christian Spirituality module here for level four (first years), I did it last year, but I feel due to the fact that it is a credited module that I did not get out of it as much as I could of. So, this is my second chance at Christian Spirituality. Time out to learn something away from assessments, that I shall be documenting on the World Wide Web, and highly likely that as the course looks at some of the Spiritual disciplines, that I shall be attempting to use them in my life and practice them where possible. Why is spirituality attractive in the 21st Century? It could be suggested that many feel that...