To get a copy of a google doc, open it in your browser which should have a google doc viewer that allows you to open the file menu and choose “Download as” then you can download it in your preferred format. If you have a Google account you should also be able to save to your Google Drive from the file menu. Documents were created by Phil Rehberg.
THE CHRISTLIKE CREED – A CORNERSTONE FOR DISCIPLING
What is a disciple? This one-page creed answers that question so believers know how they become mature. When we pursue spiritual growth it is important to know what we are aiming for, and we are aiming to make disciples of Jesus. This is a one page creed that states the essentials of following Jesus. The Christlike Creed can be used in many situations from a congregation reciting it on Sunday morning to using it as a foundation for ministries. It would also be excellent as a source for determining a church’s vision and strategies, for church assessment, for spiritual formation teachers, men’s ministries, women’s ministries, discipleship groups, and any ministry that is aiming to produce disciples of Jesus.
This creed is highly recommended for church-wide discipleship.
A SUMMARY OF THE BIBLICAL STORY OF MATURITY (BIBLICAL SPIRITUAL THEOLOGY)
This paper is highly recommended for everyone. It is a short paper (about 10 pages) titled: A Summary of the Biblical Story of Maturity: God’s Desire for Your Life. This paper is invaluable because it summarizes the story of human spiritual maturity in the Bible. This serves as a foundation for all discipling, and can be used in many settings including coaching, spiritual direction, youth work, adult education, developing a vision for a church, etc.
The Summary in Google doc format is here.
ACTIVATIONAL MEDITATION
Meditating on Scripture is the foundation of one’s individual spiritual rhythms. If you don’t do anything else, do this. This format is like the classic lectio divina format but with much more emphasis on the specifics of personal transformation. This process releases the power of God’s word in you. It is pretty much guaranteed to make a difference in your life. Enjoy the change!
SPIRITUAL LIFE QUESTIONNAIRE – ASSESSMENT OR INTAKE TOOL
I find this questionnaire essential for helping others. It is the first thing I ask people to do after our first talk about growing spiritually. This questionnaire is highly recommended for spiritual counseling and discipleship, (especially for discipling existing leaders). It is updated from time to time.
Link to PDF of Spiritual Life Questionnaire
This assessment tool is very helpful in quickly discovering where someone is spiritually. It also makes it easy for a coach or teacher to cover many different topics quickly. It is about 8 pages long. Most questions are short-answer and some are based on scales for evaluation. It is thorough and personal (includes questions about one’s psychological condition) so you may want to edit some questions out of it depending on who you use it with. But we hope you take the whole thing for yourself!
We developed it because we could not find anything else like it. The Spiritual Life Questionnaire doesn’t focus on rating someone’s spiritual life but asks the important questions for examining one’s spiritual condition. It is up to the individual to decide how to proceed based on how they answered the questions. Or, their coach or director can use it to highlight issues for discussion. We published a post about the Spiritual Life Questionnaire here. There are no copyright restrictions on this; share it as much as possible!
SPIRITUAL LIFE ASSESSMENT QUIZ
This is a multiple choice scale-based assessment quiz with over 90 questions. The questions cover the whole range of the spiritual life and will give the taker much food for thought as well as give their advisor, if any, ideas for assisting in the taker’s spiritual growth. We have found this incredibly helpful!
The format is Google Forms so it can all be easily done online. This allows leaders of larger groups (e.g. classes, congregations, etc) to evaluate their group as a whole. Google Forms will aggregate the information so you can get a quick look at the maturity or your group and common issues in your group. This also makes it easy to give the assessment before and after a discipling/spiritual formation program in order to measure the changes. This is invaluable since we often do not know how our ministry is affecting people. Since it is free (see below), you will be more likely to do before and after assessments. It is also intended to be predominantly cross-cultural.
The sample Google Form that the link below takes you to is owned by us so please do not use our form because then we would know all your results. We can make a free copy for you and give you permission as editor to customize it. Google does not let people change ownership of Google Forms (for security reasons) so we cannot make you the outright owner. Since we are still the owner of the form that we copy for you, we would still be able to see your results, which is not desirable. The best solution is for you to copy the questions from the form that you have editing permission on to a new Google Form that you create. (You will have to insert sample info on your sample editable form in order to advance through all the questions so that you can view them and copy them.) It is fairly easy.
If you happen to remember, we would appreciate it if you gave us a brief summary of what you learn about the people you give it to, but of course without any details. This is just to help us learn more about the spiritual health of believers in general.
Email your request for a copy of the form, with you as editor, to us at meatmature@gmail.com. We look forward to providing this resource to you!
The link to a sample of the Google Form Spiritual Life Assessment is here.
A GUIDE TO PURIFICATION
Below is a practical guide for pursuing purification either for specific issues or in general. This applies to all types of imperfections and habits including external and internal sins, impulsive sins, attitudes, and desires. It begins with reading Titus 2:11-4 and then briefly meditating on the passage. Then you move through some specific guidelines for purification. You may need to alter it some in order to fit your situation. It would also be helpful if someone led you through it.
The purpose of this Guide is to produce Christformation and to demonstrate that using your new Adamic willpower combined with dependence on the Spirit will help you make substantial progress.
The Guide in Google doc format is here.
RETREAT GUIDE
This contains more than enough content for longer retreats and parts can be used for shorter times of solitude.
The retreat focuses on opening up to God and inviting him to do whatever work he would like to do. If you have something pressing in on you then you can process that too.
The Google doc is here.
TYPES OF PRAYER
These types should give you different ideas about how to relate with God. Many of the types of prayer listed below are found in the Psalms. Other are found in the New Testament in Jesus’ life, or in the teachings on spiritual gifts. Some are just common experiences Christians have given names to. If you can’t make time for prayer then you will grow slowly or not at all. This is a consistent teaching from all the great Christian spiritual life teachers in history. See Richard Foster, Prayer, HarperSanFrancisco, 1992.
Download PDF here.
Download Microsoft Word version here.
LECTIO DIVINA
Lectio Divina is a pattern of reading, meditating on and internalizing scripture. It will help get away from being overly analytical or avoiding the impact of scripture. (It was formalized by Guigo II in the 12th century.) This format follows a common sense approach to personalizing scripture. It is very popular and effective. It officially has 4 steps but I add a 5th step to involve the will.
Download PDF here.
DISCERNMENT GUIDELINES
Discernement has been one of the most prized virtues throughout the history of Christian maturity. Below is a list of principles of discernment that apply especially to impressions, but also to discernment in general.
Guidelines for Discernment Google Doc