Key Texts: Ephesians 4:11-16; Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 5:8-10; 2 Peter 1:5-8
Goal: Cast a compelling vision of what the church could be—and invite longing for that reality.
Open by painting the picture:
"Imagine a community where people are actually becoming like Jesus.
Not just talking about it. Not just believing the right things about it. Actually becoming—progressively, visibly, substantively—more loving, more joyful, more peaceful, more patient, more kind. A community where the default response to conflict is reconciliation, not division. Where generosity flows without calculation. Where truth is spoken and grace is given in the same breath.
Imagine a community where people are honest about their struggles—not hiding behind polished exteriors—because they know they'll be met with compassion, not judgment. Where confession is normal and forgiveness is certain. Where everyone is growing and everyone knows it.
Imagine a community where newcomers walk in and sense something different. Not just friendliness—lots of places are friendly. Something deeper. A quality of life together that makes them ask, 'What's happening here? Why are these people different?'
This is what Jesus intended His church to be. Not an institution that manages religious services. Not a group that guards correct doctrine while ignoring transformed character. A community of people being formed into His image—together."
Then read the anchor text:
"And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." (Ephesians 4:11-16)
"This is the goal: mature manhood. The measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Not just saved souls, but formed souls. Not just church members, but Christlike people. The church exists to produce this.
Today we bring our journey together by asking: What would it look like for a community to take spiritual formation seriously? And what's our part in making that real?"
Goal: Diagnose why churches often fail at formation, clarify the Great Commission's true aim, commit to the path forward, and help participants process the series as a whole.
"If the church exists to produce Christlike people, we have to ask an uncomfortable question: Why doesn't it?
Most churches are filled with sincere people who genuinely believe in Jesus. Most have preaching, worship, programs, and activities. Most would say that spiritual growth matters. And yet—transformed lives are the exception, not the norm. Why?
Willard identifies several patterns:
We aim at the wrong target. Many churches aim to get people into heaven rather than to get heaven into people. The goal becomes securing the afterlife—through correct belief, proper baptism, faithful attendance—rather than transformation in this life. Once you're 'in,' the urgency fades. The result is churches full of people who are confident about their destination but unchanged in their character.
We confuse the vessel with the treasure. Churches often become preoccupied with their forms—their traditions, their building, their style of worship, their distinctive doctrines—and lose sight of the treasure those forms were meant to carry. The vessel becomes the point. We fight over the container while the contents leak away.
We substitute information for transformation. We assume that if people know the right things, they'll become the right kind of people. So we teach and preach and study—which are good—but we don't provide the practices, relationships, and environments where actual change happens. People leave knowing more but being the same.
We emphasize being right over being good. This is particularly relevant in our tradition. We can become so focused on doctrinal correctness that we neglect character formation. The result, Willard says bluntly, is 'righteously mean Christians'—people who are confident they're right and treat others poorly in the name of that rightness. Correct doctrine without transformed character is a tragedy.
We make discipleship optional. In most churches, you can be a member in good standing without ever being challenged to grow. Discipleship is for the serious few, not the expectation for everyone. But Jesus didn't make discipleship optional. He made it the point.
This isn't an attack on the church. It's a diagnosis. And diagnoses exist so that healing can begin."
On the series: As you look back over these thirteen weeks, what has been most significant for you? What insight, practice, or challenge has stayed with you? Where have you seen movement—even small movement—in your own formation?
On church failure: We named patterns that keep churches from forming people: wrong targets, confusing vessel with treasure, information without transformation, being right over being good, optional discipleship. Which of these do you recognize in your own experience? How have they affected your formation?
"Let's look at what Jesus actually commissioned His followers to do:
'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.' (Matthew 28:18-20)
We often read this as a command to evangelize—to get people saved, to grow the church numerically. And evangelism is part of it. But look more carefully at what Jesus actually says:
'Make disciples.' Not 'make converts.' Not 'make church members.' Disciples—apprentices, learners, people who are being formed by following Jesus. The goal isn't a decision; it's a transformation. It's not about getting people to pray a prayer; it's about forming people who live like Jesus.
'Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.' Baptism isn't just an entrance ritual. It's immersion into Trinitarian reality—into the life of God Himself. The baptized person is now living in the Father's care, following the Son's way, empowered by the Spirit's presence. This is identity transformation.
'Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded.' Not just teaching them what Jesus commanded—teaching them to observe it, to do it, to live it. Information isn't enough. The goal is obedience—not grudging compliance but the natural outflow of a transformed life. Remember: we're aiming for the point where doing what Jesus taught becomes who we are.
This is a formation mandate. Jesus is commissioning the church to produce people who are becoming like Him—not through information transfer but through life-on-life apprenticeship in His way.
And notice His promise: 'I am with you always.' This isn't a task we accomplish in our own strength. Jesus Himself is present in the work. The Spirit who transforms is actively at work. Our job is to cooperate—to create the conditions where formation can happen—while God does what only God can do.
Paul describes this same vision:
'For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.' (Ephesians 5:8-10)
'You were darkness. You are light.' Identity has changed. Now: 'Walk as children of light.' Live out the reality. Let the fruit grow—goodness, righteousness, truth. This is the formed life. This is what we're after."
On the Great Commission: Does reading the Great Commission as a formation mandate rather than just an evangelism mandate change anything for you? What would it look like for our community to take 'teaching them to observe all that I have commanded' seriously?
On your responsibility: We said your formation is ultimately your responsibility before God, regardless of what your community does or doesn't do. How does that land? What do you need to take responsibility for that you've been waiting for someone else to provide?
"So what does it look like to take formation seriously—both as a community and as individuals within that community?
For communities:
Make formation the main thing. Not one program among many—the organizing purpose. Every activity, every ministry, every gathering should be evaluated by whether it's actually forming people into Christlikeness. If it's not, why are we doing it?
Create environments for transformation. Sermons alone don't transform. Information alone doesn't transform. Transformation requires practice, relationship, accountability, and time. Churches need small groups where people are actually known. They need mentoring relationships where the mature invest in the growing. They need opportunities to practice the disciplines together.
Expect growth. Stop treating spiritual maturity as optional. Stop being satisfied with attendance and orthodoxy while character remains unchanged. Lovingly but clearly communicate: this is a community where we're all becoming like Jesus. That's what we do here.
Model it in leadership. Leaders must be the most visibly formed people in the community—not perfect, but clearly on the journey, clearly growing, clearly demonstrating what transformation looks like. If the leaders aren't being transformed, no one else will believe it's possible.
For individuals—for you:
Take responsibility. You cannot wait for your church to become the perfect formation environment. Your formation is your responsibility before God. Pursue it whether or not anyone else does. Find the resources, relationships, and practices you need. Don't let the community's failures become your excuse.
Find companions. You cannot be formed alone. Find at least one other person—ideally a small group—who is serious about transformation. Meet regularly. Be honest. Confess. Pray. Hold each other accountable. Encourage each other. This is how formation happens.
Stay in community. The temptation when churches fail at formation is to leave—to go it alone or to endlessly search for the perfect community. Resist this. Imperfect community is where formation happens. The people who irritate you are forming you. Stay planted.
Be patient. Transformation takes time. The dimensions of the self we've explored—thought, feeling, will, body, relationships, soul—have been disordered for years or decades. They won't be renovated in a weekend retreat. This is a lifelong journey. Pace yourself. Keep walking."
On companions: Who are the people who could be companions on this journey for you? Do you have relationships where you're honest about your struggles, where you confess and pray and hold each other accountable? If not, what would it take to build them?
On patience: Transformation is a lifelong journey. How do you hold together urgency (this matters now) and patience (this takes time)? Where do you need to push harder? Where do you need to extend grace to yourself?
On next steps: As this series ends, what's your next step? What practice will you continue? What relationship will you pursue? What dimension of your formation needs the most attention in this next season?
Close the EXPLORE & ENGAGE section by returning to the series thesis:
"We began thirteen weeks ago with a thesis:
Christians are members of God's realized kingdom—but kingdom membership calls us to transformation, not complacency. We fail when we doubt real change is possible or when we simply don't take it seriously. Scripture is clear that transformation is both available and expected. To enter this journey, we must understand the dimensions of our inner being and then meet the Spirit in His power, intentionally cooperating as He renovates us from the inside out.
We've walked through those dimensions: the mind and its ideas, the heart and its feelings, the will and its choices, the body and its habits, relationships and their wounds and healing, the soul and its deep need for rest. We've seen the VIM pattern—Vision, Intention, Means—and how it applies to each dimension.
Now the question is: What will you do with this?
The journey doesn't end because the class does. The class was Vision—helping you see what's possible and what's at stake. Now you must move to Intention—deciding whether you will pursue this seriously—and Means—engaging the practices that open you to transformation.
Peter gives us the picture of the fully formed person:
'For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.' (2 Peter 1:5-8)
Faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, love. Yours and increasing. Not perfection but progression. Not arrival but journey. Effective. Fruitful. This is the life we're invited into.
The Spirit transforms. We cooperate. This is the ongoing journey of heart renovation into kingdom living."
Goal: Offer a benediction that acknowledges the completion of the thirteen-week journey and commissions participants into the ongoing work of transformation.
"We began thirteen weeks ago with a promise: rivers of living water. Not occasional refreshment, but continuous streams—the Spirit's presence flowing through us, making us alive to God and to one another.
And we have walked through every dimension of the self. The mind with its thoughts and ideas. The heart with its feelings and desires. The will with its choices and power. The body with its rhythms and wounds. Our relationships with their capacity to wound and to heal. The soul with its longing for rest.
You came here to learn about formation. But learning isn't the point—it never was. The point is becoming. And becoming happens not because you understand it better, but because you cooperate with the Spirit who is already at work in you.
Listen: the Spirit transforms. You cooperate. That's the whole thing. That's the entire Christian life, repeated in every season, every struggle, every choice.
The journey doesn't end because this class does. In fact, it's just beginning. This was Vision—now comes Intention and Means. The sustained, daily, weekly, lifelong work of opening yourself to the Spirit's renovation.
You cannot do this alone. Find companions. Commit to practices that have proven to open people to transformation for centuries. Stay in community, even when it's difficult. Give yourself permission to move slowly, to change gradually, to be patient with yourself.
May we walk this together. May we become together. May the rivers of living water flow through us—healing what has been broken, transforming what has been disordered, forming us into the image of Christ.
The journey continues. The Spirit is at work. We cooperate. Let's go."
Note: Since this is the final session, these experiments are designed for ongoing practice rather than a single week.
"A 'rule of life' is an ancient practice—a personal plan for spiritual formation that structures your days, weeks, and seasons around practices that open you to transformation.
This week, draft your own rule of life. This isn't a rigid schedule but a sustainable rhythm. Include:
Daily practices (15-30 minutes total):
Weekly practices (2-4 hours total):
Seasonal practices (quarterly or annually):
Dimension focus: Based on what you've learned about yourself over these thirteen weeks, which dimension most needs attention right now? Build specific practices around that dimension:
Write your rule down. Share it with a companion who will help you stay accountable. Review and adjust it quarterly.
Remember: the rule is a servant, not a master. It's scaffolding for transformation, not another performance to manage. Hold it with open hands."
"Transformation happens in relationship. This week, invite one to three others into a formation covenant—an ongoing commitment to pursue transformation together.
Identify your companions. Who from this class—or from your broader life—is serious about formation? Who could you be honest with? Invite them into this covenant. (If you can't identify anyone, this is your first assignment: pray for God to provide, and look for opportunities.)
Establish your rhythm. Agree to meet regularly—weekly is ideal, biweekly at minimum. Protect this time. If it's not scheduled, it won't happen.
Create your structure. Each meeting might include:
Check-in (10-15 minutes): How are you? What's happening in your life? Not just surface—what's happening in your soul?
Confession and prayer (10-15 minutes): Where have you struggled since we last met? Where have you seen growth? Confess honestly. Receive grace. Pray for one another.
Content (15-20 minutes): What are you learning? This might be a book you're reading together, a practice you're all trying, a dimension you're focused on. Share insights and questions.
Commitment (5-10 minutes): What's one step you're taking before you meet again? Be specific. Write it down. You'll report back next time.
Sign a covenant. Put it in writing—not as legalism but as seriousness. Something like:
'We covenant together to pursue transformation into Christlikeness. We commit to meeting regularly, being honest about our struggles, confessing our sins, praying for one another, and holding each other accountable with grace. We acknowledge that this is a lifelong journey, and we commit to walking it together for this season.'
Sign it. Date it. Keep it where you'll see it.
The journey continues. Don't walk it alone."
By Dallas Willard:
Other Formation Classics: