Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation Author: M. Robert Mulholland Jr. | Language: English | ISBN:
B001Q3L9RS | Format: PDF
Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation Description
The process of being conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others:" so M. Robert Mulholland Jr. defines spiritual formation. Compact and solid, this definition encompasses the dynamics of a vital Christian life and counters our culture's tendency to make spirituality a trivial matter or reduce it to a private affair between "me and Jesus."
In Invitation to a Journey, Mulholland helps Christians new and old to understand that we become like Christ gradually, not instantly. Not every personality is suited to an early morning quiet time, so Mulholland frees different personality types to express their piety differently. He reviews the classical spiritual disciplines and demonstrates the importance of undertaking our spiritual journey with (and for the sake of) others.
This road map for spiritual formation is profoundly biblical and down to earth. In the finest tradition of spiritual literature, it is a vital help to Christians at any stage of their journey.
- File Size: 1894 KB
- Print Length: 173 pages
- Publisher: IVP Books (August 20, 2009)
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
- Language: English
- ASIN: B001Q3L9RS
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #111,334 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
I feel a little gruff in only giving this book three stars, but that is largely due to the fact that if someone were to ask me what the book was about, I would scratch my head and be able to say little more than, "Spiritual Formation" and hope that the other person knew what that was. Mulholland's book was well written enough, but I found that the book did not hold my attention very well, even amidst a quiet environment. I re-read page after pager trying to glean something that would stick with me after I set the book down.
These "sticking points" were few and far between. However, some of its more salient features included the idea that Christians are not converted in one, fell swoop going from zero to 60 in nothing flat, but that they undergo multiple conversions as God increases in their lives (and as they seek to let him do so).
I liked Mulholland's urging contemporary Christians to try and measure themselves as God sees them (both better and worse) and not by what spiritual disciplines THEY are doing. I also appreciated his insights on how to read for "formation" (not just for information) and every Christian's need for a community of believers. Many of us neglect these important aspects.
What hit closest to home for me was just a few, brief sections on doubt and the mystery we encounter with God. Mulholland says that, "If there is no mystery, there is no room for God, because God is the ultimate mystery" (P. 148). I appreciate this honesty in a sea of Christians who would otherwise have us believe that they have it all figured out.
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