Discipleship, becoming Christ-like, empowered by the Spirit to image God to the world is not magic. Nor is it merely intellectual. It’s a matter of re-forming our loves, re-narrativing our identities, re-habituating our virtue. And that is centered in the practices of the people of God gathered by the Spirit around Christ’s Word and the table.
Love takes practice. Worship is our gymnasium. . . .
— Conclusion to James K.A. Smith’s presentation Liturgical Discipleship: Worship as the Center of Spiritual Formation at the 2014 Ancient Evangelical Future Conference (Theme: As We Worship, So We Believe: How Christian Worship Forms Christian Faith).
The 2014 Ancient Evangelical Future Conference, hosted by the Robert E. Webber Center at Trinity School for Ministry (Ambridge, PA), was a significant opportunity to
- wrestle with As We Worship, So We Believe: How Christian Worship Forms Christian Faith – personally and with respect to the various communities with which I am connected
- explore the development of A Theology for Higher Education for ESN
- expand/deepen the Emerging Scholars Network (and our budding partnerships)
- envision more of the framing of ESN’s Devotionals for/by Academics.
James K.A. Smith’s presentation on Liturgical Discipleship: Worship as the Center of Spiritual Formation (Youtube, ~ 1 hour) struck a deep chord and I am still giving it prayerful consideration. I encourage you to meditate upon it in preparation for the Lord’s Day. To God be the glory!
A few questions . . . [Read more…] about James K.A. Smith on “Liturgical Discipleship”