Spiritual Formation

Articles that address the process of being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ for the glory of God and for the sake of others (II Corinthians 3:17-18).

Nonconformity: A Dangerous Alternative

By Asher Witmer Popular Posts, Spiritual Formation

Until our relationships accurately represent Christ, our doctrines will always be held in suspect.

Not everyone is rebellious, wanting to do their own thing. Many know the Bible and the God of the Bible and how He relates in love and grace, and when that isn’t being lived out in a community that focuses so much on trying to be like Christ, we feel something is missing.

But what if we’re chasing relationships at the expense of faithfulness? What if in our desperation for Christ, we completely miss Him?

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What Does “Assimilating to Culture” Mean?

By Asher Witmer Spiritual Formation
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What are we talking about when we say we shouldn’t be conformed to the world? What do we mean when we talk about being transformed, or “holy.”

Can I tell when you are being assimilated to an earthly culture? Can I tell when you are assimilating to a heavenly culture (or mindset)? Is holiness something we dissect from looking at each other? Is worldliness something that can be prevented by keeping the external in order?

Does what happens on the outside actually reveal what’s on the inside? Is the heart the only thing that matters?

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How to Know Your Calling

By Asher Witmer Spiritual Formation
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We all long for a sense of meaning. Until you and I get a picture for how we individually fit into God’s plan of reconciliation, we will always settle for lesser pleasures that give just enough fulfillment for us to sense deep meaning.

Knowing a lot about God and what He created us to do doesn’t motivate us to actually do it anymore than knowing how to churn butter motivates us to churn it ourselves. Knowing our calling isn’t so much about learning facts as it is discovering God’s work in our lives.

Until we discover His work in our lives, the pleasures that following Him requires us to give up will always have a greater pull on our hearts then Jesus Christ Himself.

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Radical Love: how you can tell a true Christian from a fake one

By Asher Witmer Spiritual Formation
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If God did create, then His plan for my life is the plan that is most fulfilling. Because I am born with a fallen nature, I constantly trying doing life outside of His plan. I need saved. When I am saved, I become a part of a family that far transcends my immediate friends and connections. Experiencing more of God requires my continual engagement with His people.

Creation and salvation are absolutely fundamental for understanding life as God designed. Church, the body of Christ, is a critical part of going deeper with Him. But understanding creation, experiencing salvation, and participating with church are not enough to live a life that truly matters.

True meaning comes from radical love.

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What I Believe About Salvation

By Asher Witmer Spiritual Formation
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God does not have a reverse economy. Satan does, and we chose to settle for his perversion of God’s economy, God’s perfect creation.

Nothing exists that God did not create. No creature, no desire, no ability, and no pleasure. He made it all and it is good. The normal way life functions is the way God designed it to. We are the ones who reversed the economy of life. We are upside-down from what God created.

Lust is not our longing of something Satan created, but our settling for his perversions as a way of fulfilling our longing for what God created. In order to live a life that truly matters, life as God intended, we need a supernatural salvation.

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What I Believe About Creation

By Asher Witmer Spiritual Formation
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I announced earlier that I am starting a study on church: its purpose, how it should function, and the relationships therein. As I study, I’ll write at least one post a month about what I’m learning. To kick everything off, I felt it valuable to go back to the very beginning of that which makes up the church—mankind.

Over the next five posts I will be doing a series on what it means to live a life that matters. This series is not an in-depth exposition, rather a basic understanding of why man was made and God’s plan for him throughout his life. We’re going to start with creation, then look at salvation, then discuss the church, and end the series with two posts focused on ourselves individually and how we find our place in God’s eternal story.

In order to live a life that truly matters, you and I must first understand a few things about our creation.

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What This Generation of Anabaptists Really Needs

By Asher Witmer Church Life, Spiritual Formation
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I’m speaking specifically to Anabaptist churches. Not because they are worse than others and not because they are better. I speak to Anabaptists because I am one. I understand this denomination the most. I feel the frustrations others feel as they work with their Anabaptist brothers and sisters. I value the upbringing and heritage I have been given, as many Anabaptists do.

This generation of Anabaptists wants to know we won’t be written off when we verbalize the frustrations we feel. We want people to care, to invest in us and help us chart an even better course—no matter how good or bad the current one is. But in our ambition for the change we want, I fear we may neglect what we really need.

We don’t need everyone to stay “Anabaptist,” neither do we need everyone to leave. I see at least seven things this generation of Anabaptist really needs.

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What This Generation of Anabaptists Really Want

By Asher Witmer Popular Posts, Spiritual Formation
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There is a lot of uncertainty in Christianity today, especially among the younger generation. Church is frustrating, whether you come from a more traditional background or a progressive one. Either it’s full of ritual and stringent practice or obsessed with growth and modern advances.

People want more; but they’re scared. Unless you’re willing to come under suspicion, it’s best to keep your questions and desire for change secret.

So what do you do when things feel remarkably out of order? How are you supposed to handle it when church is not as you are studying about in the Bible? Do you sit passively by and accept the status quo? Do you campaign for reform, start a radical movement, and subject yourself to critical suspicion? Or do you simply walk away?

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The New Conservative

By Asher Witmer Spiritual Formation
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We like to throw around the labels conservative and liberal as if they’re two different camps of people. But what does it actually mean to be conservative or liberal? Can I accurately assume what someone stands for just because they’re labeled conservative?

Labels are often vague and worthless. What does it actually mean to be CEO of a company? What does a Coaching Consultant do? Pastor how does one know a good pastor from a bad pastor or a good Dad from a bad Dad?

I’m not sure we can ever rid this world of labels—that’s really not the point. Too often, however, we stop at them, as if being conservative completely describes who we are and what we stand for.

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What to Focus on When You Feel Held Back by Your Church

By Asher Witmer Popular Posts, Spiritual Formation
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What if it is possible to move through frustrations with church and live vibrantly for Christ? What if there was a way to align our focus so that no matter what church situation we are dealing with, we can respond in loving, Christ-exalting, God-honoring ways? What if we could be free of the bondage of feeling held back? Free to live as Christ calls us to while not needlessly fracturing relationships?

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3 Kinds of Millennial Christians

By Asher Witmer Church Life, Spiritual Formation
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In the past number of years, I have noticed there are primarily three kinds of millennial Christians who discover weaknesses in their upbringing and strengths in other denominations, and struggle to know how to reconcile them.

Is it wrong? Is it right? What do we do if we see ourselves in one of these?

In this post, I introduce an eBook where I address the three kinds of millennial Christians in the church today, and give a few words for each as to what I believe we can do to grow personally, as well as corporately, in maturity in Christ.

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