Praxis Tool Box - Tools for Christian Formation

Tools for Christian Formation

Latest Activity

Reframing Spiritual Formation For a Secular Age

Eddie Hammett provides valuable insights about the changing face of disciple development in the 21st century. You will profit from this article and information about an upcoming webinar he is offering.

February 1

Ircel Harrison added a video

January 27

A note by Ircel Harrison was featured

The Missional Church and Small Groups

What is God doing through the missional church, and how do small groups fit in? Read this interview with Reggie McNeal to find out.

December 23, 2009

Ircel Harrison added a note

The Missional Church and Small Groups

What is God doing through the missional church, and how do small groups fit in? Read this interview with Reggie McNeal to find out.

December 23, 2009

A note by Ircel Harrison was featured

What the Dalai Lama Might Teach Us

Alan Roxburgh continues to provide significant insights about how the church can be transformed in the 21st century. In this article, he helps us to understand two primary resources available to us: All of this drives me back to two irreducible rea…

December 19, 2009

Ircel Harrison added a note

What the Dalai Lama Might Teach Us

December 19, 2009

A note by Ircel Harrison was featured

Finding Spiritual Community on Facebook

Much to her surprise, Cathleen Falsani found community -- real, authentic, deeply connected, deeply faithful community -- online. Read about her experience here.

December 13, 2009

Ircel Harrison added a note

Finding Spiritual Community on Facebook

Much to her surprise, Cathleen Falsani found community -- real, authentic, deeply connected, deeply faithful community -- online. Read about her experience here.

December 13, 2009

Ircel Harrison added a video

The Face of Jesus

A consideration of the changing perceptions of Christ through the ages.

October 22, 2009

Ircel Harrison added a note

Streams of Living Water

Richard Foster’s Streams of Living Water is a must for anyone wanting to learn more about the various approaches to spiritual formation available to Christian believers today. Foster's thesis is that we are to respond to Jesus’ command, “Follow me.…

October 19, 2009

Gaili Jensen is now a member of Praxis Tool Box

Welcome Them!

September 29, 2009

Ircel Harrison commented on Ircel Harrison's blog post 'Spiritual Type'

Thanks, Phil. Sounds like a good resource. I will check it out.

September 28, 2009

Philip Potratz replied to Ircel Harrison's discussion 'Resources for Spiritual Formation'

"Celebration of Discipline" would also be high on my list. My son has now borrowed my copy so many times that I finally ordered another one. There are so many others that it is hard to single a few out. "Streams of Living Water" also by Richard Fost…

September 28, 2009

Philip Potratz commented on Ircel Harrison's blog post 'Spiritual Type'

Ircel, I am familiar with "Please Understand Me" and Myers-Briggs. I am not familiar with the other two resources you mentioned above, but personality types and ministry is an interest area of mine and I would like to look at them. I recently ordere…

September 28, 2009

Rick Lane replied to Ircel Harrison's discussion 'Resources for Spiritual Formation'

That's a tough one, Ircel. I, too, discovered a whole new area with which I was unfamiliar at the time when I first read Foster's Celebration of Discipline. Since then, I have discovered his other writings, those of his mentor, Dallas Willard, and m…

September 28, 2009

Tim Clark replied to Ircel Harrison's discussion 'Resources for Spiritual Formation'

I have enjoyed reading Foster's book for the 3rd time now (most recently during a vacation this year) and have found it to be very helpful in a new and unique way each time. On a very practical side I was greatly helped by a set of booklets on Spiri…

September 27, 2009

Tools on this site will stimulate your thinking to develop a model of believer development based on process not programs.

Members

View All

Blog Posts

Spiritual Type

As part of my Formation for Christian Ministry class, I usually ask the students to complete a Myers-Briggs Type Inventory. We do not use the full-blown instrument but something like the form in Keirsey and Bates’ Please Understand Me. I then apply this to spirituality using other resources like Oswald and Kroeger’s Personality Type and Religious Leadership.

When I came across Malcolm Goldsmith’s Knowing Me, Knowing God, I thought I had found an MBTI instrument and the spir… Continue

Posted by Ircel Harrison on September 26, 2009 at 4:58pm — 2 Comments

Living Into One's Calling

Since I have become involved in doing clergy coaching, I have found that there is a great deal of interest in the field and a number of misconceptions about it. Like anything, coaching can become a “fad”” or “passing fancy” if the purpose and process are not clearly understood.

In a recent news release, the International Coach Federation defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potenti… Continue

Posted by Ircel Harrison on September 1, 2009 at 6:48pm

Your Approach to the Bible--Static or Dynamic?

As a minister or Sunday school teacher, how many times have you had someone come up to you or speak up in a class and say, “What does this particular scripture passage mean?” I have finally come to the point where I believe the most honest answer I can give is, “Here’s what it means to me,… Continue

Posted by Ircel Harrison on July 19, 2009 at 2:52pm

Journey Inward Journey Outward

As Christians we tend to use the word community in a number of different ways, but two usages are especially significant. First, we talk about the community of faith. For most of us that means the church, but it may mean a Bible study group, a recovery group, or a prayer group. The community… Continue

Posted by Ircel Harrison on July 16, 2009 at 7:14pm

Exposition on the Great Commission (Part 3)

3. “Teaching”

The third of the three participles in this passage that describe disciple-making is the word “teaching.” You may have thought that this topic is the only one we would be considering, and we will indeed be spending most of the rest of our time together focused on teaching to make disciples.

We have already noted that we teach through our “practices,” but the church also teaches in a number of other ways. Pastors often teach through their preaching. Counseling is another avenue thr… Continue

Posted by M. Michael Fink, Jr. on July 11, 2009 at 5:34am — 1 Comment

Welcome

Welcome! This site is designed to be a clearing house for those interested in revisioning Christian faith formation to share their insights, resources, and comments. Feel free to blog, add notes, initiate forum discussions and invite others to join. I will do my best to keep it fresh and interactive, but I hope it will become a community effort!