Tag: christian-spiritual-formation

The Blessing of a Morning Liturgy

June 30th, 2026

This piece was originally published as a Substack newsletter on August 9, 2024.

For many years now I have maintained a generally consistent practice of a morning devotional time that included Bible reading, journaling, and prayer. However, at our spring MA CSFL program residency in April, we were provided with a “morning liturgy” that was developed by our facilitator, Emily P. Freeman. We were instructed to follow the practice until our next residency in September.

After more than three months, I can say unequivocally that it has been a blessing. Following is the basic structure, along with my particular choices and habits.

1. Pray the opening prayer from Ted Loder’s Guerillas of Grace.

(Address with your current name for God.)
Gather me now to be with you as you are with me.
Soothe my tiredness;
Quiet my fretfulness;
Curb my aimlessness;
Relieve my compulsiveness;
Let me be easy for a moment.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.
Amen.

I love this opening prayer. I usually address God as “Jehovah Jireh,” as I am aware of my desperate need for his provision. I am always tired in the mornings, and the supplications having to do with focus and rest in the presence of God are never inappropriate.

2. Read Psalm 23 from The Message.

God, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction.
Even when the way goes through Death Valley,
I’m not afraid when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd’s crook makes me feel secure.
You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing.
Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life.
I’m back home in the house of God for the rest of my life.

Reading this Psalm nearly every day for the past three months may have been the most beneficial aspect of this morning liturgy. I was already in the habit of praying the first line from the NIV as a breath prayer (The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.), but reading and ruminating on these verses daily have done much to promote tranquility of heart.

3. Read a chapter or two from The Gospels.

The gospel reading is my addition to the plan in accordance with my goals for the year. I’m reading a different translation each quarter.

4. Write at least one page in my journal.

We were given options here that also included play and embodied movement such as walking or dance, but what else can a writer do but write? It has been my habit for years to try and write at least one page per day. Sometimes there is more; occasionally there is less; but a page is usually just right. My Paperblanks journal has pretty wide lines, so it’s usually easy to quickly fill a page. I may write about observations from my Bible reading, but more often, I write about whatever is on my mind. My ruminations usually lead to written prayer.

5. Read nonfiction and poetry.

We were instructed to read nonfiction for a set period of time, based on the time available to us. Initially, I read a chapter or two in recently published Christian nonfiction books, but about a month ago, I decided to begin a slow read through Saint Augustine’s Confessions. The Oxford World’s Classics edition I am using has small type, and the prose is divided into short sections, so it usually works out that I read about two pages a day. That’s it.

About a month into this liturgy practice, I decided to add a poem to my reading, so I picked up the copy of Mary Oliver’s Devotions that I had set aside. Oliver’s sacramental approach to life is perfect for encouraging a reflective, prayerful mindset.

6. Pray.

I try to begin with about ten minutes of silence. The goal is to quietly sit in God’s presence and reflect on his love for me. However, my ADHD brain often falls short of the goal. I hope to improve with practice and to gradually extend the period of time to twenty minutes.

Next, I pray The Lord’s Prayer. Then I move on to adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication (not always this methodical). I have a regular list of folks for whom I pray, but I also try to be responsive to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes the Spirit brings to mind people I haven’t thought of in a long time.

Finally, I close with this passage from The Book of Common Prayer:

Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day. Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

I do not take for granted the amount of time at my disposal in the mornings that allows me to follow such a plan. I am grateful for the ability to “ease into the day” and to spend as much time as I am able cultivating my relationship with God. If I were to recommend an abbreviated, thirty-minute version, I would suggest Psalm 23, a chapter in the gospels, a page of journaling, and prayer beginning with the Lord’s Prayer.
What is Christian Spiritual Formation, & Why Am I Studying It?

June 30th, 2026
The Voyage of Life: Manhood by Thomas Cole via the National Gallery of Art.

This piece was originally published as a Substack newsletter on October 3, 2023.

If you are reading what I’m sending out around here you will have read recently that I am in my first semester pursuing a M.A. in Christian Spiritual Formation and Leadership from Friends University. There has been some interest among readers in my decision to pursue this course of study, so it seems appropriate to discuss it further. Besides, all Christians should care about Christian spiritual formation (CSF).

I don’t remember where I first heard the term “Christian spiritual formation,” but I’ve been interested in the basic concept for years. I have a 20th anniversary edition of Richard J. Foster’s Celebration of Discipline that I purchased and read in the late nineties or early aughts. In the years since, I’ve read several other books on the spiritual disciplines and practices, especially prayer. More recently, I’ve been reading and listening to John Mark Comer, whose Practicing the Way ministry is all about following Jesus via spiritual practices.

However, spiritual formation is about more than just practices such as Bible reading, prayer, fasting, and corporate worship. Everyone everywhere is being formed one way or another. The things we expose ourselves to on a daily basis, our family, our culture, and more all make us who we are. Dallas Willard, prolific author on CSF and a father of the current CSF movement, writes “The human spirit is an inescapable, fundamental aspect of every human being; and it takes on whichever character it has from the experiences and the choices that we have lived through or made in our past. That is what it means for it to be ‘formed’” (Renovation of the Heart, 13).

With CSF the ultimate goal is to become more like Jesus. In Comer’s ministry the goal is to “be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and to do what he did.” That’s a great summary of the end game of CSF.

And for the true follower of Jesus, it is not optional. Willard says, “Spiritual formation is not something that may, or may not, be added to the gift of eternal life as an option. Rather, it is the path that the eternal kind of life from above naturally takes. It is the path one must be on if his or hers is to be an eternal kind of life” (Renovation of the Heart, 59). This brings to mind Jesus’s words in John 17:3, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” There is a single-minded focus on knowing and becoming like Jesus in Christian spiritual formation.

My increased interest in CSF–beyond reading a book here and there and my own spiritual practices–has come out of my life experience in recent years. As I’ve dealt with some hard things and observed our “Christian culture” here in the U.S. I’ve been asking questions such as:
- Why do Christians who are highly moral and have attended church their entire lives not demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit more consistently?
- Why do Christians often prioritize doctrine and theology over love of God and neighbor?
- Why do many Christians tend to equate political ideology with faith? Why do they care more about politics and the “kingdom of man” than the Kingdom of God? Why do they so often conflate the two?
- Why do young people raised in church leave the faith?
These and more questions related to CSF have plagued me for the past seven years, and it is my hope that my studies provide understanding and the means to be a force for positive change within my own context.

I learned about the Friend’s program because a couple of writers I’ve followed and read for years have completed it. One in particular, Lore Wilbert, regularly wrote about and shared on social media how much she loved the program, and that was the impetus for my applying. Fewer than forty students are accepted per cohort, so my being admitted was not a given. I applied and prayed that God’s will be done, and here I am almost finished with my first class. It hasn’t been easy. I am rusty! The reading and writing take a lot of time and determined attention—not easy for someone recently diagnosed with ADHD! But it has been good, and I’m beginning to get some answers to my questions.

For example, in today’s lecture, our program director said that if we don’t have the right narrative in place, the practices will shape us in the wrong direction. That resonated with me and can conceivably speak to all four of my questions. Narratives will be discussed in the class that begins on October 16.

If you are interested in learning more about CSF, Practicing the Way or Willard’s Renovation of the Heart (both linked above) are good places to begin. I’ve been listening to the Practicing the Way podcasts chronologically from the beginning, and they are excellent. The audiobook for Renovation (read by the author) is available for free with an Audible plan.

Tag: christian-spiritual-formation

The Blessing of a Morning Liturgy

1. Pray the opening prayer from Ted Loder’s Guerillas of Grace.

2. Read Psalm 23 from The Message.

3. Read a chapter or two from The Gospels.

4. Write at least one page in my journal.

5. Read nonfiction and poetry.

6. Pray.

What is Christian Spiritual Formation, & Why Am I Studying It?