I have been a Christian for some 25+ years. My spiritual transformation during this time was one of crisis or experiential transformation. As situations presented themselves I was shaped and molded by them. I could choose to embrace the transformation or ignore it and escape the process. I was dumped into what has been called the “Transformational Crucible.” This was a place where I was refined to become more like Christ. It was during this time that I preached my first sermon, struggled with infertility issues, struggled with depression, spent years moving from place to place, going to school, and trusting God. My crucible experiences grounded me in a lot of ways. I didn’t see them then, but as I reflect back ten, fifteen or twenty years removed from the experience I can see God’s hand in my life, the potter shaping and molding the clay which became me, the person I am today.
After graduating seminary in 2001 I felt a little lost, tired, and complacent. I was working, taking leadership roles in my church, teaching, and simply doing life. There was little “transformation” going on. I had hit some sort of spiritual plateau. It was here where God chose another type of formation process to again begin to shape and mold me. For lack of a better word I call it process formation. By process formation I mean that you are guided through a series of exercises, questions, or processes to produce in the end a transformation in my life.
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