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).

20 Things Men Don’t Talk about, but Should

By Asher Witmer Romance & Family, Spiritual Formation
aw_men_talk

Women like to talk. Men, on the other hand, not so much. I don’t know why God created men and women so differently in this regard.

What I do know, however, is that there a few things men don’t talk about, but really should. At least, if we’re going to experience fulfilling and meaningful relationships with those we lead.

I’ve discovered at least twenty things I tend to avoid talking about but should. Compare your list with mine, then leave a comment adding what else you think we should start talking about.

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What Plexus Exposes about the American Church

By Asher Witmer Popular Posts, Spiritual Formation

It’s not a new discussion. Ever since it hit the market, there’s been tense controversy over it. So why would I dare waste my morning writing a few thousand words that may only cause more arguments?

Because Plexus exposes something about the American church. Not the product itself, although I do plan to share a few statistics and resources concerning it. But rather, the phenomenon of Plexus Worldwide exposes something about the hearts of American christians.

This article is not about finalizing an opinion on the brand, but on what it exposes and how to deal with it. This issue has everything to do with the future spiritual life and health of the church. That’s why I feel compelled to address it.

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No Broken People Allowed

By Asher Witmer Popular Posts, Spiritual Formation

Within the Christian culture, we don’t do well at caring for broken people, especially in a church mainly filled with multigenerational believers. We’ve known all of our lives how to live appropriately and so Christianity becomes more about living rightly than faith and transformation in Christ.

Requirements for church membership focus more on outside sins (smoking, dress, habits of leisure) instead of internal sins such as gluttony, gossip, self-righteousness, hypocrisy, anger, rebellion, materialism and many more. The idea is, once you have your outside life altogether you can become a member. And then, don’t show anymore imperfections after that.

The problem is, that only cultivates fake Christians.

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A Prayer for My Generation

By Asher Witmer Spiritual Formation

Every generation has to find their place in history. For one, morality may be the trump struggle they face. For another, it may be poverty.

For us, there’s never been a more Christian time in history. And that’s making us ask questions. How do we know what we’ve been taught all these years is right?

With as many faults as our parents may have, we have been given a lot. We have been given faith blocks to build on—will we building on them? Do we want more of God, and are we willing to take what they gave us and add to it?

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A Discussion on Modesty

By Asher Witmer Popular Posts, Spiritual Formation
clothes on rack

What comes to your mind when you hear that we’re going to have “a discussion on modesty”?

Perhaps you think, “Oh no! Another person is going to tell me how I should dress.” Or maybe you think, “Modesty is not a type of dress, it’s a principle.”

Do you recall a particular sermon that left you feeling sour and used? Or do you think of a really good sermon that you recommend to everyone?

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Does God Really Work All Things Together for Good?

By Asher Witmer Spiritual Formation

Three years ago this morning I woke up an excited groom-to-be. Dad and I were going to have breakfast together and have a much needed father-son talk, if you know what I mean.

Our family was staying in the basement of some friends in Canon City, Colorado, where my fiancée lived and our wedding was going to be held. I went out to the living room that morning to have personal devotions. I was tired and doing my best to be “spiritual.”

Mom woke up around the same time and came out to the living room, as well. After a few minutes, she broke the silence and asked how Teresa and I were doing. I remember feeling slightly annoyed—”I’m meeting with God, can’t you see?”

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11 Simple Values I Appreciate from My Anabaptist Heritage

By Asher Witmer Popular Posts, Spiritual Formation
worship service

Heritage is powerful. God saved Lot because of his family heritage through Abraham. If it wasn’t for Abraham’s intercession, Lot would have destroyed along with Sodom.

Everyone who knows the story of Lot remembers that his family became enemies to Israel. God pronounced judgement on them. The godly heritage of his uncle, which could have been passed on, was destroyed.

Why? Because of Lot’s choices. He chose the better fields, subsequently, “pitching his tent toward Sodom.” (Gen. 13:8-13) He later lived in the city of Sodom and would have gone up in flames with it if it wasn’t for Abraham. (Gen. 18:22-33)

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Why I’m Mennonite (and why that’s not the point)

By Asher Witmer Popular Posts, Spiritual Formation

I took a risk in asking some questions last week about Mennonite distinctives. I framed the questions so they would be probing, yet wide-open for any and all to answer. It felt risky, and proved to be so.

There’s no doubt in my mind that this is a pressure point. Call me naïve, but I honestly didn’t realize asking these questions would produce as many fireworks as it did. My intention was not to create an argument or discredit our Anabaptist heritage. It’s just that there are a few things I wanted to share with my generation and felt I had to first ask some (risky) questions.

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When You Want More Than Your Mennonite Distinctives

By Asher Witmer Spiritual Formation
when you want more

Church is confusing these days. Especially with all the different denominations and applications to scripture.

I feel a tension in my generation of Mennonites. We learn in church that a passage of Scripture means this and we should be doing that because of it.

But other believers aren’t. Other people who have authentic relationships with Jesus aren’t necessarily wearing the veiling or dressing in dresses. In fact, some of them are having a greater impact on our culture. So why do we insist on doing things our way?

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Worn-Out Parents Like to Hear This Important Truth

By Asher Witmer Relationships, Spiritual Formation

I used to think that to develop holiness you need to develop good spiritual disciplines. But when I got married and started having children, I ran into trouble.

No matter how hard I tried and no matter how disciplined I had been before, my “good spiritual disciplines” kept getting interrupted by the responsibilities of marriage and parenting. It’s not uncommon for my wife and I to stay up late talking. Those times are good and needed. But then it’s harder to wake up in the morning.

Recently, this happened on a Friday evening and I thought we’d be able to sleep in the next day because it’s Saturday, right? Both our boys woke up at 6:30 the next morning. We had been up ‘till after midnight. It had been a busy week. All I wanted to do was sleep!

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What I Learned about Discipleship From 18 Months on Drew Street

By Asher Witmer Spiritual Formation

I think the church in general misunderstands discipleship. We like programs where we go out and invite people to come to our building, tell them a cute Bible lesson, and then send them home. That way we don’t have to deal with them day in and day out. We can choose when we want to “minister” and when we don’t.

A couple of months ago I heard the news that a friend of mine became, in his words, “a child of God.” I never felt so excited!

While I wasn’t there for that experience, I had the privilege of walking with him through quite a bit in the last couple of years. You see, this friend was our fourteen year-old neighbor on Drew Street, a street in North Eastern Los Angeles notorious for crime and drug dealing.

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