Discipleship & Spiritual Formation focuses on becoming more like Jesus through lifelong growth in faith, character, and obedience. Explore Bible-based articles on following Christ, spiritual disciplines, prayer, Scripture reading, community, and the habits that shape a mature disciple. You’ll find practical guidance for mentoring, accountability, repentance, perseverance, and cultivating a gospel-centered life in every season. Whether you’re learning the basics of discipleship or helping others grow, these resources equip you to form disciples who love God, love people, and live on mission.
September 11, 2024
What is a child of God? I certainly identified myself this way, but I defined it through my service and leadership in the church. But what happens when the titles are transferred? What happens when the gift set has no place to be plugged in? How can I be a child of God without the things that I’ve used to define me as one?
July 1, 2024
When it comes to our children, we are merely co-parents in God’s divine mission. . . .
The Relevance of the Doctrine of Adoption in 2024 . . .
March 1, 2024
A historical novel about Alexander Campbell has been unexpectedly helpful to us . . .
March 1, 2024
Recently, I made it a discipline to read a saint story every day for a year. . . .
February 12, 2024
People can sometimes get stuck in their spiritual growth. They start out well. They attend church, read their Bibles, and join a small group. And then they stall out. . . . Done With Stuck is a company that aims to give people tools to deal with the deep-seated issues that block their growth. . . .
January 22, 2024
Dallas Willard and Dietrich Bonhoeffer both thought it was important to describe “the cost of discipleship” and “the cost of non-discipleship.” The former is the more famous phrase. But it’s often misunderstood. And the latter is rarely considered—at least directly. What can Bonhoeffer and Willard teach us about these concepts? . . .
January 1, 2024
Experiencing Growth and Community in a Covenant Group By Chad Goucher In my life, I have made some good investments and some bad investments. Let me begin by telling you about one of the really bad ones. I made what was perhaps my worst investment when I was in college. I took out a student loan and used the funds to purchase a membership at a local golf course. It’s the truth. I was in Bible college, and I obviously wasn’t majoring in finance. I loved golf and wasn’t fond of the classroom so—at the time—it made perfect sense to
January 1, 2024
THIS IS A SIDEBAR TO CHAD GOUCHER’S ARTICLE, “THE BEST INVESTMENT I’VE EVER MADE.” _ _ _ By Alan Ahlgrim What is Soul Care? The model we follow at Covenant Connections for Pastors is typically 4-3-2-1: four leaders (and one experienced facilitator), meeting over three years, twice a year in retreat, and once a month by Zoom or phone calls. This model allows honest, transparent, and even vulnerable sharing as relationships deepen through the consistent devotion of a disciplined community. The group is not out to “fix others” or even to hold others accountable; rather, the commitment to “be close”
September 1, 2023
By Kent E. Fillinger It’s been said that a person can live 40 days without food, four days without water, four minutes without air, but only four seconds without hope. Hope is a power that energizes us with life. The available research on hope is limited, so Christian Standard conducted an online survey in May 2023 to assess how hopeful people are about the future of the church. The survey size was limited—just 141 responses—but the results were informative. It’s worth noting that 87 percent of the survey participants reported attending church “more than once a week” or “once a
September 1, 2023
By Randy Frazee Have you ever struggled to understand how the various stories in the Bible connect to one another? Or wondered how those stories relate to the story of your life today? What if the testimonies in the Bible, the lives of everyone who ever lived, and your own “story still in progress” are all connected—all part of one big divine epic? Two Paintings Two of the most famous works of art in the world help us understand how the long, sweeping story of the Bible—seemingly a narrative only about God and ancient people with strange names—connects with your
By Bobby Harrington I believe Christian Churches and the Restoration Movement are the best hope for disciple-making movements in North America. A disciple-making movement (DMM) is characterized by a rapid and exponential increase in disciples making disciples. These movements share a distinct group of priorities which provide the environment for viral multiplication. The emphasis on DMM principles started about 30 years ago, and now about 1,500 DMMs are reaching over 1 percent of the world’s population. Here is a four-point summary of the character traits of a disciple-making movement: 1. fast-growing 2. indigenous (of the local culture) 3. multiplying disciples and groups 4.
By Laura McKillip Wood Wendy Fitzgerald has a passion for serving God and for helping others see how God works in their lives. As a young woman involved in her church, she looked at the women around her and saw many who wanted to serve God with their talents but did not know how to start. Many of the women felt limited in their churches and did not know how to use their gifts in that setting. Some felt overwhelmed with childcare and family, while others felt isolated because they did not have husbands and families. Wendy began to pray
July 1, 2023
By Jerry Harris When I came to The Crossing in Quincy, Illinois, 25 years ago, I fashioned a mission statement of helping people find “an intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ.” The thought that a real relationship with Jesus was even possible was a game changer for many in our church and community, and it shaped our impact on the world around us. If I understand that the “what” of my faith is defined in my relationship to Jesus, and if a relationship is what I want, then the next logical step is the “how.” I think the “how” of
July 1, 2023
By Tyler McKenzie Spiritual formation has become a buzz phrase. It sounds sophisticated, all the influencers use it, and it’s a way to signal my friends that I am one of those neo-monastic types who reads poetry and welcomes strangers into my home. But what does it actually mean, and why does it matter? I believe this is an important discussion in our cultural environment. A spiritual formation mindset can help us reframe the discipleship conversations we are having in our churches to meet our moment. When I’m asked to talk about spiritual formation, I boil it down to three
Three events recorded in Luke 19 offer three tuning forks for the soul. . . .
March 1, 2023
By Megan Rawlings Question: What is black and white and re(a)d all over? Answer: Not the Bible. This may seem like a trivial schoolyard joke, but I wanted to get your attention. The American Bible Society (ABS) reported alarming statistics in its 2022 State of the Bible survey. Based on their findings, I fear Christians are moving away from the Bible in the hopes of finding something that makes them feel better. I have seen an influx of “do what’s best for you,” “what you put out into the world will come back to you,” and other well-intentioned pieces of
Spiritual disciplines, by themselves, do not bring about the spiritual transformation God seeks in our hearts.
Our educational system and culture train us in a way of reading literature that works against the way the Scriptures were designed to be read and experienced. Our information culture resists embracing a text written primarily for transformation rather than information.
September 1, 2022
By Chris Philbeck When it comes to ministry, for me, one Scripture verse stands above the rest. Paul wrote in Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” I love this verse for many different reasons, but mostly because of Paul’s honesty in saying that doing good can wear you out. How else can you interpret those first eight words? While I invest my life in many “good” things, preaching is the one constant “good” thing that takes up most of my
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