christ

Spiritual Formation Classes

Exploring the Historic Christian Faith

Download 2011 Spiritual Formation Class Schedule (PDF)

A note from Jonathan

Are you eager to develop in your Christian faith? I hope one or many of the classes listed here will pique your interest and play a role in that process. Over the course of my time as a minister in Berkeley and Oakland, I have regularly heard the following questions:

Who is Jesus, what did he do, why does it matter, and how does that apply to my life today?
What are the basic tenets of the historic Christian faith?
How is God both one and three?
Why do we worship with a liturgy and observe the Christian Year?
If Scripture and the Sacraments (baptism and Lord’s Supper) are central to Christian worship, how can I engage with them on a deeper level?
What is prayer, and how do I pray to God on my own?
What is the Bible, and how do I read it and apply it to my life?
What is the history of Christianity? How does Christian tradition influence my faith?
What do Christians think about X, Y, or Z issue?
How are church communities and individual Christians to be a counter-culture to the broader culture?
How do I talk to my family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues about the Christian faith?
How do I connect worship with my work, what we do on Sunday to the rest of my week?
How do I approach relationships and sexuality in a distinctively Christian way?
How do I apply the Christian faith to parenting my children?

I pray that the spiritual formation classes listed here will address these relevant and pressing questions and “build up” Christ Church in faith, hope, and love.

Grace and peace,

Jonathan

How do I RSVP?

Regular attenders must RSVP on our Online Community Network one week in advance in order for us to adequately prepare. Newcomers and guests are, of course, welcome to come with no notice.

Parents who RSVP one week in advance will have the opportunity for fee-based childcare.

Why spiritual formation classes?

Consider Jesus’s famous last words, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Mt 28:19-20)

The ancient church wisely discerned the link Jesus made between baptism and teaching in the making of disciples (i.e. those who follow Jesus). New disciples (called “catechumens,” meaning the “orally instructed”) were prepared for their baptism into Christ and the worship and mission of his Church through teaching in the following areas:

Theology

Every Christian needs an interpretive lens for reading the Bible, understanding world history, and knowing their basic identity as a follower of Jesus. Thus, the catechumens were given instruction in the Creed. This prepared them for the three questions they would be asked at their baptism before each pouring of water - What do you believe about God the Father? What do you believe about God the Son? What do you believe about God the Holy Spirit?

Ethics

Every Christian needs a paradigm for making decisions that will honor God and lead to a just life. Thus, the catechumens were given instruction in the Ten Commandments. This prepared them to live out their baptismal identity as a new creation in Christ who could discern right from wrong, good from evil, the way of wisdom from the way of folly.

Spirituality

Every Christian needs to appreciate God’s grace and the means for receiving his grace in order that they may be empowered to follow Jesus in his mission. Thus, the catechumens were instructed in the Lord’s Prayer, which prepared them to develop the habit of daily prayer. They also received instruction in the Sacraments of baptism and Lord’s Supper, which prepared them to fully participate in the Sunday worship services and develop a deeper communion with Jesus.

In sum, spiritual formation classes at Christ Church are, like the ancient church’s catechumenate, intended to prepare the unbaptized and equip the baptized with teaching that will draw them closer to Jesus, build in them the Christ-like, cross-shaped character of love, and encourage faithfulness and passion in the worship and mission of his Church.

How is this different than sitting in a pew?

Sunday sermons are good and necessary commentary on the Scripture lessons. However, these 25-minute teachings are limited in their scope. Spiritual formation classes, on the other hand, go broader and deeper, helping us to effectively apply the following to any and all areas of our lives:

Old Testament - Jesus’s Bible, the Hebrew Scriptures
New Testament - The apostolic witness about Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection
Christian history and tradition - Jesus’s continuing work in his Church from the first century to the twenty-first through his Word and Spirit

These classes are also dialogical, meaning that teaching can be followed (or interrupted!) by questions and interaction with a pastor and others in the church community. This will enable you to develop a more personal relationship with a pastor and get to know others that worship alongside you at Christ Church.

How is this different than sitting in a Community Group?

Community Groups are the primary place to develop meaningful relationships in the church and to put faith into practice with others as they focus on prayer, sharing, and serving the broader community. In this sense, they could just as well be called Action Groups or Mission Groups. Spiritual formation classes, on the other hand, offer Biblical and pastoral instruction on the content of the historic Christian faith that the Community Groups are seeking to put into practice during the week.

We encourage Community Groups to consider participating in classes together as they will further strengthen and enhance the life of the group.?

When are the classes scheduled?

Spiritual formation classes are scheduled and themed according to the Christian Year - Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost. Sunday classes are typically offered before or after worship services:

9:15am in Berkeley (ending at 10:15am before the worship service)
6:30pm in Rockridge (starting after the worship service and ending at 7:30pm)

Other classes or seminars may be offered during the summer on Wednesdays and during the rest year on Saturdays or Mondays.

How are classes structured?

One-offs

For example, on Sunday, Jan 16, 9:15am. Though the one-offs address material that could be taught over the course of a semester (or a graduate program!), they provide an accessible entry point for exploring a topic further, perhaps in a consecutive week class.

Consecutive weeks

For example, on Sundays, Jan 30 - Feb 20, 9:15am (4 wks). Consecutive week classes are conducive to a deeper exploration of a given subject. If you want to participate in a consecutive week class, you must RSVP and plan to attend all or a majority of the sessions.

What is the cost?

Each one-hour class session costs $5 per person. Fifty percent of monies collected will go to Third Millennium Ministries whose mission is to equip church leaders in their own lands by creating a free multimedia seminary curriculum in five major languages - English, Arabic, Mandarin, Russian, and Spanish. View Third Millenium’s free video curriculum. The other fifty percent will go back into the spiritual formation budget for resources and future classes.

Download Overview of Spiritual Formation Classes (PDF)

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