Spiritual Formation

This week at the blog, just over six months since close to 16,000 of us gathered in St. Louis, we’re telling stories from Urbana 12.

Today we celebrate freedom as a nation. But how are we to view freedom as Christians?

God wants you to have a vacation. Seriously. Let me explain: Yes, God wants you to work hard and be faithful in school, at work, and in all of your responsibilities, whatever they might be.

God’s wrath is troubling. God seems to choose some people … and not others. He gracefully invites and intensely disciplines. The God of the Bible—our Father—is accessible … and terrifying. Ten years ago this month, I became a father. 

Remember your commitment to keep growing in faith over the summer? InterVarsity Press happens to have some great new resources to help you do just that: the LifeGuide in Depth Series.

If your life is like mine was, summer means leaving the support of your InterVarsity fellowship and church and living in the spiritual desert of your home environment. Without even a strong church tie at home, I spent my first two summers caught in a harmful cycle of sin, guilt, and little spiritual growth.

One of my favorite stories about Jesus happens in a packed house (maybe because I love packing out my house with friends!).

I am not a leader. Or at least that’s what I keep telling myself. The problem is, no one but me seems to believe it. Ever since my staff worker encouraged me to fill out that leadership application at the end of my freshman year, I have been surrounded by people who are constantly calling me to lead stuff.

As we go deeper in following Jesus, we all at some point enter into a heart-wrenching wrestling match with God in which we repeatedly ask whether he’s truly out for our best interest.

Just last semester, I was leading a Bible study with some friends who don’t follow Jesus, and one of them texted me out of the blue asking, “Erica, can God help me love myself more?”