What is it about?
This article examines the role of the Christian year as one of the simplest yet powerful ways of spiritually forming people, both individually and corporately, to become more like Jesus. Many Christians and churches are subtly shaped more by the time structures of the average work week or cultural holidays than the life of Christ or the church. Engaging both the conscious and unconscious self in cognitive practices and steady habits, both the individual Christian and local congregations, are trained toward Christlikeness.
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Why is it important?
The tendency in discussions of spiritual formation is to focus upon individual practices based upon cognitivist approaches to change or individual formative practices. However, I explore several ways in which the Christian year offers a wholistic approach to life formation through the steady, time-bound patterns of the Christian year. Engaging both the conscious and unconscious self in cognitive practices and steady habits, both the individual Christian and local congregations, are trained toward Christlikeness.
Perspectives
I hope this article makes people think about the place that walking through the Christian year in a church congregational setting has for spiritual formation of individuals and church communities. It was great to work the seed of this idea into a full-fledged, published article.
Matthew Erickson
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Time to Live: Christian Formation through the Christian Year, Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care, November 2018, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/1939790918805430.
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