Worship is . . . Transformational

In my last post I talked about the key component of Spiritual Formation being Accountable Relationships.

In his book, Liturgical Spirituality, Philip Pfatteicher identifies

5 Characteristics of Spirituality:

1. always a Response to what God has done
2. is essentially God Dwelling within us
3. is Cultivated within the church, the community of believers . . . intensely personal, but not individual” and is social.
4. marked by Growth and Development as the normal state of a healthy life in Christ
5. the goal is nothing less than the Total Transformation of the human person

Do you think worship should be Transformational? And, why?

The Bible talks alot about obedience. Note John 15.

What does obedience have to do with worship? And,

What does worship have to do with transformation?

Worship is . . .

Over the next few weeks I'll be posting to this Blog. I will present a short amount of material and then respond by asking questions and/or give some of my own thoughts on it. To start, I'm just going to ask some questions . . .

In his book, The Divine Embrace: Recovering the Passionate Spiritual Life, Robert Webber describes a key componet of the process of Spiritual Formation as . . .

‘a process that takes place within accountable relationships over a period of time for the purpose of bringing believers to spiritual maturity in Christ.’ . . . It is a ‘process . . . over a period of time’ within ‘accountable relationships . . . for the purpose of . . . spiritual maturity in Christ.’

There is something about this statement that makes me want to say, 'Amen' and 'wait a minute' all at the same time. While I certainly agree that within community spiritual maturity happens,

1. What about one's individual relationship with Christ and 'Quite Time'?
2. Does that not count for in the process of being formed spiritually?
3. Then again, how much 'acountability' can actually happen in accountable relationships that lead to spiritual formation/maturity?
   

In today's society where we see relationships being torn apart (marriages, friendships) particularly in the church, how can we expect to experience 'accountable relationships' when the track record is so discouraging?