Friends in Formation

In this episode, James, Richella, and Nate attempt to explain spiritual formation in layman's terms, and address questions about fasting and struggling with feeling ill-will toward others.

1. [1:18] Can you explain spiritual formation in layman's terms?
2. [15:50] Fasting - I'm totally sold on the idea of fasting, and I’ve read a lot of material on fasting, and even given a few devotional lessons on fasting, yet I'm still struggling with even wanting to fast or getting the results I hope to get – an increased sense of the Lord’s presence, spiritual breakthroughs in some personal issues. I struggle with answers to prayer. Please help.
3. [34:03] I’m experiencing greater levels of ill-will toward others, and I’m concerned about where this ill will is coming from. Do you have advice on how to handle it?

Resources Mentioned

• Song: The Great Physician
• Daniel Siegel, Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation

Have a question for us to consider? Email [email protected]. Learn more about Renovaré and find lots of resources for spiritual formation at renovare.org.

In this month’s episode of Friends in Formation, Richella, James, and Nate answer honest listener questions regarding Safety in the Kingdom of God, social justice concerns, and nurturing a character of peacefulness and gentleness.

1. [0:40] I recognize it is probably uncomfortable to acknowledge that God may not keep us safe from an earthly perspective, but Christianity is nothing if it does not provide us tools for understanding and living our sometimes extremely difficult lives. And from another listener: I was a missionary in PNG time and again I would encounter tribes on the road in conflict. My kids were in the back of the pickup . I would put my landcruiser in four wheel drive 2 gear in case I was set upon. I was prepared to go through the tribe. Was I scared you bet
2. [14:52] In your opinion, how can the church begin to have a stronger voice in issues of social justice?
3. [27:28] What practices have you found that have helped you grow in peacefulness and gentleness? How have you been able to keep peace and calm lately with all that is going on?

Resources Mentioned

• Dallas Willard, Life Without Lack
• Ronald Sider, I Am Not a Social Activist: Making Jesus the Agenda
• John Mark Comer, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry
• African Enterprise

Submit any questions you would like us to consider on future podcast episodes to [email protected]. Learn more about Renovaré and find lots of resources for spiritual formation at renovare.org.

In this month’s episode of Friends in Formation, Richella, James, and Nate discuss honest listener questions about safety within the Kingdom of God, rhythms of spiritual practice in a busy life, and how to listen to the news.

1. [0:45] Dallas Willard comments on the gospel and how living within the kingdom brings safety. Could you comment on what Dallas might have meant by safe within the kingdom when the kingdom is “here but not yet” fully present?
2. [11:40] My question, as a husband, a father of four young children, and a pastor of a church, I find it incredibly difficult to create a rhythm of spiritual practice. Every day is scheduled so differently and carving a quiet moment of meditation, contemplation, solitude, or any other attentive discipline is all but impossible in this season of life. In Richard Foster's "Sanctuary of the Soul" he suggests that parents of young children "rest easy" for the time being until the children need less attention. My kids are 3, 5, 7, and 9 and I find them even busier than when they were infants. Do you have any suggestions?
3. [27:40] I'm a newspaper (news outlet) dabbler. For many years I never read and even avoided the news and now I read a little every day, spending ideally less than 15 minutes of my day. How would Jesus read/listen to the news our day and age? Put differently, how should the gospel of the kingdom's availability effect how we inform ourselves about current events?

Submit any questions you would like us to consider on future podcast episodes to [email protected]. Learn more about Renovaré and find lots of resources for spiritual formation at renovare.org.

In this month’s episode of Friends in Formation, Richella, James, and Nate discuss:

• The Availability of the Kingdom of God
• Prayer
• Loneliness in these times

Resources Mentioned

• Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy
• J. P. Moreland, Finding Quiet: My Story of Overcoming Anxiety and the Practices that Brought Peace

Submit any questions you would like us to consider on future podcast episodes to [email protected]. Learn more about Renovaré and find lots of resources for spiritual formation at renovare.org.

Welcome to a new podcast from Renovaré where three very different friends—James Catford, Nathan Foster, and Richella Parham—discuss listener questions about life and faith, with the goal of listening, learning, and helping one another go deeper with God.