For more than thirty years, I have lived with a kind of tension in my relationship with the church. I deeply love the church because it is God’s Bride, precious to Him and central to His purposes in the world. At the same time, I have often felt a growing frustration with the superficial choices and patterns that can shape how we live and grow together. Out of that tension, a desire has steadily formed in me — to help awaken a deeper hunger for Christ and to encourage more intentional, life-giving ways of pursuing spiritual formation.

One of my deepest burdens is not to convince believers that everything they have been doing is wrong. Quite the opposite. I believe many sincere followers of Jesus are much closer to the life He calls them into than they realize. They love God and read the Scriptures. They attend church and pray regularly. They serve others and genuinely desire to obey Christ. These are good, necessary, and God-honoring practices.

Yet many also sense that something is missing. They know more than they did years ago, yet some of the same fears, frustrations, or unhealthy reactions and patterns remain. They may faithfully participate in church life while wondering why lasting transformation seems so slow or incomplete.

I believe the problem is often not that we have embraced the wrong practices. It is that we have not yet seen the fuller picture of what Jesus is seeking to accomplish through them. This article is an invitation to complete that picture.

Not Far from the Kingdom

Jesus once told a sincere scribe, “...You are not far from the kingdom of God...” — Mark 12:34. Those words have always fascinated me. Jesus did not say, “You have everything wrong.” Nor did He say, “You’ve already arrived.” He acknowledged that the man had understood something important, while gently inviting him to continue into something deeper.

I believe many believers today are in a similar place. They are not far. They have embraced many biblical truths and healthy practices. But being near the fullness of Christ is not the same as continually entering into it. The invitation of Jesus is always deeper.

When Good Practices Are Not Enough

Churches often encourage practices such as studying the Bible, praying, and attending worship. They also encourage serving others, giving generously, and sharing the gospel. These are all essential.

The problem is often not the practices. The problem is that we sometimes misunderstand their purpose. They can slowly become religious activities instead of pathways into God’s transforming presence. We celebrate participation. We applaud activity. But God is seeking transformation.

Beyond Behavior Modification

This brings us to one of the most important distinctions in spiritual formation. Behavior matters. Obedience matters. Holy living matters. But God is after something deeper than outward conformity. God is not only concerned with what we do, but also with why we do it and what we love. He cares about how we see and who we are becoming. As these inner realities are transformed, they begin to inform and rightly order our actions.

Behavior modification asks, “What can I do differently?”  Christlike formation asks a different question, “What kind of person is Christ forming me to become?”

Jesus continually moved beneath behavior to the deeper realities of the heart: 

• He spoke not only about murder, but also about anger.

• Not only adultery, but also lust.

• Not only giving, but also motives.

• Not only prayer, but also sincerity.

• Not only fasting, but also the desire for human approval.

He was always forming the inner person from which life flows.

The Whole Person

Jesus does not merely seek informed minds or improved behavior. He forms whole people. As I have reflected on the Gospels, I have found it helpful to think about Christ’s work of formation in five dimensions.

He teaches us to:

1. See like Jesus — Our perception is restored. We begin to see God, ourselves, and others through the lens of Christ. We also learn to see the world without fear, pride, or shame.

2. Love like Jesus — Our affections are reordered. What once captivated us begins to lose its grip. Christ Himself becomes increasingly beautiful and desirable.

3. Choose like Jesus — Our motives and desires are reshaped. Our discernment and intentions are gradually brought into harmony with the Father’s purposes.

4. Live like Jesus — The life of Christ becomes embodied in our daily attitudes and habits. It also shapes our relationships and decisions.

5. Serve like Jesus — Our lives overflow in love for others. We become participants in His mission and help others grow into His likeness.

This is far more than behavior change. This is transformation.

Jesus’ Way of Forming People

Jesus rarely settled for merely telling people what to do. He formed them.

• Sometimes He taught.

• Sometimes He asked questions.

• Sometimes He told stories.

• Sometimes He created experiences.

• Sometimes He challenged assumptions.

• Sometimes He exposed motives.

• Sometimes He simply invited people to follow Him.

His methods varied. His purpose never changed.

He was always restoring perception, awakening love, and reshaping motives. He was also forming lives. He was creating the kind of people who would naturally live as citizens of His Kingdom.

Cooperating with the Holy Spirit

This understanding also changes how we think about spiritual growth. The Christian life is not primarily about trying harder. It is about cooperating more deeply with the Holy Spirit.

God is the One who transforms us. Yet He graciously invites our participation.

• Through His Word.

• Through prayer.

• Through His people.

• Through spiritual practices.

• Through obedience.

• Through the ordinary circumstances of life.

Each becomes an opportunity to place ourselves before His transforming presence.

The practices themselves do not change us. God does. The practices help us become increasingly available to God’s transforming work. They do this through the many faithful ways He has given us to encounter Him.

Completing the Picture

Perhaps the missing dimension of spiritual formation is not that we need entirely new practices. Perhaps we need a fuller understanding of what those practices are meant to accomplish.

• Bible study and Biblical meditation are meant to lead us into beholding Christ.

• Prayer is meant to deepen communion with God.

• Confession is meant to restore honesty and healthy relating.

• Thanksgiving retrains our perception.

• Service forms humility.

• Mission enlarges love.

Everything Jesus gives us has one great purpose: To form us into His likeness.

This is the kind of formation I am after. Not merely helping people behave more like Christians, but cooperating with the Holy Spirit in forming men and women whose perception and affections are transformed. Their motives and character are reshaped. Their lives are increasingly conformed to Jesus Christ. As they behold Him, they learn to see like Him, love like Him, and choose like Him. They also learn to live like Him and serve like Him.

An Invitation

If you are a believer, I hope this encourages you. You may not be as far from the life Christ calls you into as you think. Perhaps what is needed is not abandoning what God has already begun, but allowing Him to deepen it.

If you are a church leader, I hope this encourages you as well. Your task is not merely to organize ministries or create programs. It is to help people intentionally cooperate with the Holy Spirit’s work of becoming like Jesus. That begins by helping them see the more complete picture. Because when people can clearly see where Christ is leading them, they can more intentionally participate in the journey.

And that is the invitation before us all. Not simply to become better Christians. But to become the kind of people Jesus came to form.