Author Richard R. Dunn speaks to spiritual formation:
· Spiritual growth isn’t a religious answer given in response to the perceived religious problem, instead Dunn shares, “It is a matter of personal transformation. That transformation process, God’s redemptive work with us, has one goal: “to make us more and more like God, or more and more like Christ who is the perfect image of God.” (52)
· Spiritual growth isn’t a religious answer given in response to the perceived religious problem, instead Dunn shares, “It is a matter of personal transformation. That transformation process, God’s redemptive work with us, has one goal: “to make us more and more like God, or more and more like Christ who is the perfect image of God.” (52)
· “Becoming a “good Christian” is not God’s goal for our adolescents. His goal is nothing less than transforming each student into an increasingly accurate likeness of his Son.” (52)
“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed
into his likeness with an ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord,
who is the Spirit.” (2 Cor 3:18)
· I like Dunn’s description: “The whole of the goal. Transformation into the likeness of Jesus is a whole-person process.” (52)
· “One common misunderstanding concerning the nature of spiritual transformation is betrayed in the oft-repeated critique “I think her problem is really a spiritual issue.” We must be careful not to over-spiritualize problems.
· And at the same time we must be wary of under-spiritualization. “An underspiritualized approach concludes that all human experiences can be explained in purely physiological or psychological categories.” (53)
· When addressing problems in teens lives as spiritual caregivers we may want to ask the following questions as part of our pacing process: (54)(I modified to encompass both genders)
How does she/he perceive God in her/his life?
How is she/he experiencing God in her/his life?
How is she/he responding to God’s invitation to walk daily with him?
How doe she/he feel about herself/himself?
How secure is she/he in relationship with her/his parents?
What needs are being met by gaining the acceptance of these peers?
What skills does she/he lack when it comes to making good decisions or communicating those decisions to her/his friends?
How does she/he deal with failure?
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