Affirmations of Spiritual Formation at Messiah
Knowing
We believe that we should engage in developing Christ followers who have a rational and basic intellectual understanding of their beliefs and lifestyle choices. It is important that they understand how God is revealed through scripture, tradition and faith communities. Formation should include efforts to connect vocation, calling and academic disciplines with faith. Those involved in formation need to understand and appreciate the world-wide body of Christ and our inter-connectedness to it. We should also strive to understand the context and implications of our own faith journey and faith community.
(College Wide Educational Objectives: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Being
We believe that we should engage in developing Christ followers that have a personal and communal faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. We believe that vital and diverse forms of worship, proper understanding of the brokenness in our lives, awareness of sin and its results personally and in our worldwide community. We believe that awareness, experience and appropriation of God’s love, grace, empowerment and ministry of reconciliation are essential for the faith journey. Space for reflection, solitude, prayer, developing the fruit of the Spirit and developing life disciplines is at the heart of spiritual formation.
(College Wide Educational Objectives: 4, 5, 6, 7)
Doing
We believe that we should engage in developing servant leaders who will passionately demonstrate purposeful mission and meaningful proclamation. It is very important to engage the process of calling and vocation and gain in understanding of how we can be transformative followers of Christ to appropriately and skillfully utilize our spiritual giftedness, leadership skills, personal talents and experiences to minister in the world and disciple others in the Christian community. We will need to learn how to contextualize the Gospel and develop Christian community.
(College Wide Educational Objectives: 5, 6, 7)
Process
We believe Christian spiritual formation involves a process of gradual growth and transformation is punctuated by occasional “crisis” moments of heightened awareness, personal struggle or intense experience of progress. These “crisis” moments may also take the form of intense questioning, disillusionment and doubt.
Therefore, we believe that Christian spiritual transformation is a work God does in us. Spiritual practices are useful for making us available and attentive to God but these in themselves do not effect the transformation nor do they function as a means for earning God’s favor or transforming work in our lives.
According to S. Steve Kang, “In a learning community, we come to know ourselves as we are known by God. True learning is a holistic process of formation and transformation.”
(A Many Colored Kingdom page 166) We believe that the Messiah College community is intentionally a sacred space in which we engage the formational process that results in the transformation of our lives.
Model
Since Messiah College is primarily a residential college serving 18-22 year old students, we will integrate what is developmentally appropriate for that age grouping. But, we will also be attentive in intentionally addressing the needs of staff and faculty and how we might serve our larger constituency as appropriate. We also affirm that while College Ministries is a part of the division of Student Affairs and identified as co-curricular educators, we will need collaboration with the entire community of educators to integrate Christian spiritual formation into the life of the Messiah community.