Spiritual Formation Part 2

What it means to have Christ-Like Character

Review

In our last newsletter/podcast, we talked about spiritual formation in ages 5-12 and highlighted the idea known as the age of accountability. Up until this point, any “spiritual formation” is better defined as character development (yes, there is a difference). Our philosophy is to develop this “launching pad” so that, when they do reach the age of accountability and truly understand what Jesus did for them, they can be justified by the Lord’s grace, and be better suited to go through “sanctification” (or spiritual formation) which can only truly be done when the Holy Spirit dwells within us (which we’ll discuss later in this newsletter).

Our primary recommendation, in regard to this launching pad, is a curriculum of chronological Bible reading that reinforces Bible characters and stories, Israel’s history, and the story arc of God from beginning to end. However, other things have also been shown to form the character of an individual that we want to highlight in this newsletter to support future conversations on the topic of how to train boys to be competent men with Christ-like character. We’ve categorized them in 3 unique ways:

1. Consumption

2. Community

3. Choices

Character Development: The 3 C’s

Character is the QUALITIES or distinguishing features of an individual - usually the specific moral qualities of someone. Our character matters because it drives what we do and the results that we get in our life. Brett Ledbetter, a sports consultant, explains this well in a TedTalk he gave a few years ago (Start at 11:15):

He separates character into two categories: Performance and Moral.

He believes these character traits drive our behaviors (our process) which in turn shape the results that we get in sports and in life. But, we think that the three C’s are inputs that form our character traits.

Consumption

“Oh be careful little eyes what you see. Oh, be careful little ears what you hear. Oh, be careful little feet where you go. For the father up above is looking down in love…” - Christian Children’s Song

What you consume, shapes your thoughts, self-talk, perception, beliefs, body, and ultimately influences your decisions. “You are what you consume”. This is partly why information warfare is so powerful. All the things around you are data that your brain uses to shape the stories of what you believe about the world and yourself. What you are consuming through books, music, tv shows, movies, social media, news, and even food, shapes your body and your mind, and has a major impact on your character.

Community

“You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” - John Maxwell

Who we are around has a massive impact on who we are. This is what many psychologists would call the “social influence” that drives the things that we do and believe. The Bible has hundreds of passages directed to being careful about who you surround yourself with as they can bring you up or tear you down.

Choices

“You are what you repeatedly do...” - Aristotle

Its thought that character is built only during times of crisis, but it is really built in the routine acts of common life where we are being made every minute. Character comes from a chisel where you are the sculptor, and with every decision, you are re-shaping and re-forming for better or for worse. Each decision, when made a few times over, can become a habit - a formative power that the body puts on autopilot.

Although there is a lot of truth to this process as helping to improve character, the Bible has a very different take on what TRUE character development requires….