Tyndale University College and Seminary

A Critique of Two Books

Learning from Other Spiritual Formation Models

An assignment
submitted in partial fulfillment of
Developing a Model of Spiritual Formation
Tyndale Seminary

For
Dr. Jeffrey Loach

by
Neil Richard S. Zagala

Toronto, Canada

June 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS
IMAGES ............................................................................................................................. 3
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 4
CHAPTER 1 INVITATION TO A JOURNEY................................................................ 5
PRESENTATION ........................................................................................................... 5
CRITIQUE ...................................................................................................................... 8
CHAPTER 2 SOULFUL SPIRITUALITY .................................................................... 11
PRESENTATION ......................................................................................................... 11
CRITIQUE .................................................................................................................... 17
COMPARISON ............................................................................................................... 19
CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................ 20
BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................ 22

IMAGES

1

2

3

A Diagram Presentation of Invitation to a Journey

A Diagram Presentation of Soulful Spirituality

12

Table of the Six Spiritual Practices

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INTRODUCTION

The journey to this paper started with reading two books. The goal is to be

able to learn different models of spiritual formation from these books. Invitation to a
Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation by M. Robert Mulholland Jr. and Soulful
Spirituality: Becoming Fully Alive and Deeply Human by David G. Benner were
chosen.

The books will be presented separately. It will start with a personal

understanding of the book. The model, as perceived by the writer, will be presented.
It will be followed by a critique. The critique will consist of what makes sense and
what doesnt make sense from the point of view of the writer. This will largely come
from the experience, background and situation of the writer. A comparison of the
two books will also be shared. The same as the presentations, the comparison is
coming from the writers point of view based upon his experience, background and
situation.

The paper will conclude with thoughts that relate to the writers journey to

spiritual formation. This may be related to his personal, individual journey. This
may also be related with his journey with other people. Furthermore, a communal
journey will also be considered. The possibilities of how the ideas and thoughts of
these books can be used in relation to the journeys mentioned above will also be
presented.

CHAPTER 1
INVITATION TO A JOURNEY

The writer started to read this book even before the syllabus was received. It

was a required reading for a ministerial fellowship where the writer regularly
attends. The initial thought was, Another book? On top of all the other books that is
required to be read for the different courses? It was just something that has to be
done if the writer would like to participate in the group discussions in the
ministerial meetings. The book was discussed two or three chapters at a time. After
the first four chapters were read, the writer received the syllabus for this course. Lo
and behold, this book was included in the reading list. Praise the Lord! This book did
not end up as an additional reading. Two birds were hit with one stone.
PRESENTATION

The definition given by the author with regard spiritual formation helped in

navigating this book Spiritual formation is a process of being conformed to the

image of Christ for the sake of others.1 He divided this definition into four sections
representing the first four chapters of this book. The first section is the road map.
This section showed the entire process - chapter 1: The Process, chapter 2: Being
Conformed, chapter 3:The Image of Christ and chapter 4:For the Sake of Others.

1 Mulholland, M. Robert Jr. 1993. Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual
Formation. (InterVarsity Press: Downers Grove, Illinois), p. 12.

The second section is the vehicle needed for this travel represented by

personality and piety. The author used Carl Jungs sixteen preference patterns
(MBTI Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) and he considered this as Gods creation gifts.
Spiritual formation will be one-sided if and only if one will only concentrate on his
or her own creation gifts. According to Mulholland, the four preferences that do not
represent the person is his or her shadow side. He said that this side must also be
nurtured and developed if one desires to have a holistic spiritual formation.

The third section is the journey itself represented by spiritual disciplines.

According to Mulholland, Holistic spiritual disciplines are acts of loving obedience

that we offer to God steadily and consistently, to be used for whatever work God
purposes to do in and through our lives.2 He mentioned that there is the idea of
avoidance versus imprisonment in terms of spiritual disciplines. One may truly
enjoy the disciplines itself that leads to works righteousness. One may be afraid of
going to the other extreme that is legalism, which may lead to not doing any
disciplines at all.

The last section is companions on the way. Ones spirituality is not his or hers

alone. People will be affected by ones journey. It is also possible that a group may
decide to travel together in some parts of their journey. This journey, whether,
personal or communal, must affect the larger society/community where one lives in.

2 Mulholland, M. Robert Jr. 1993. Invitation to a Journey, p. 103.

The writer appreciated Evan Howards class because of the diagrams that

were presented during the residency discussions. This made the class easier to
understand. The material was hard but the diagrams helped in making the materials
manageable. It can also be done for this book (see Image 1).

Image 1 A Diagram Presentation of Invitation to a Journey

The idea presented in the diagram above is molding someone being

conformed into the image of Christ. The mold is inside the vehicle of personality and
piety. The person keeps his or her own personality in this process. In order for the
YOU to be molded into the image of Christ, the above contraption needed spiritual

disciplines to activate it. The result should be a person ready to be a blessing to

others. The ideal outcome is that one is conformed in the image of Christ in one go.
The reality is one may need to go through the process many times in order for him
or her to reach that perfect result. Each time, he or she comes out; he or she will be
ready and willing to extend his or her hand for the sake of others.
CRITIQUE

The model is very evangelical. One with a Baptist background will appreciate

how the author presented the whole journey. The centrality of the use of spiritual
disciplines as the journey itself gives one with a conservative background
confidence that what was presented is acceptable.

The first four chapters were well presented and make sense. One can use that

framework and be confident that he or she will end up a better person. The next
three chapters were also well presented. Connecting creation gifts with Carl Jungs
preference patterns gives a good foundation on why one must seriously consider his
or her own preference pattern in his or her own spiritual formation journey. If
Mulholland concentrated only on the preference pattern, one may be suspicious of
what was this presentation all about. One will miss the importance of the preference
pattern in ones life if it was not connected with creation gifts. It was also very
encouraging to note the concern of the author. He showed in the book the need for
everyone to nurture and develop his or her shadow side. You may think that you
already understood who you are by concentrating your spiritual development using
only your own preference pattern. The author pointed out the need to look seriously
into ones own shadow side in order for one to be truly whole.

In the third section, Mulhollands mention of classical Christian pilgrimage

from awakening to purgation to illumination then to union may not be familiar to

many especially to those who are in a different tradition. The terminology is familiar
with those who are in the Roman Catholic tradition (and probably some, if not all, of
the mainline traditions) and many in that tradition will understand what those
words meant. It would be best if he also used other terminology that will be familiar
to other traditions. A genuine spiritual discipline is a discipline of loving obedience
offered to God with no strings attached.3 This is a quote from chapter 10 of the
book. A lot of people think that they do the spiritual disciplines in order for their
lives to change. One must realize that ALL the power lies in God. Our desire to be in
control is shown even in the practice of spiritual disciplines. A lot of strings are
attached to our practices (so we thought). Everyone must realize then that our part
is to listen and obey and believe that God in His own perfect will and time will bless
the offerings that we give Him.

The last section is actually a challenge to the church. For some of the

churches, the concern is only on the outward appearance that are measurable
attendance, building, finances, programs, etc. The churchs challenge is for each
member to be vulnerable enough to reach out ones hand to other other members of
the church in this spiritual journey. Up to this point of, one can accept this spiritual
formation journey as long as he or she will be doing it alone. This idea of spirituality
as private is hurting the Christian community. Yes there is a personal side to
spiritual formation but it must not remain private. It can be shared to others. One

3 Mulholland, M. Robert Jr. 1993. Invitation to a Journey, p. 131.

must be willing to allow oneself to be a part of the communal journey. As the church
journeys as a community, it is hoped that this communal journey will affect the
larger society. The churchs concern must also be holistic within the church and
also outside of the church.

It is worth noting Mulhollands conclusion, We are being conformed to the

image of Christ for the sake of others within the body of Christ and for the sake of
others outside the body of Christ.4 It is time for the church to impact its community
through its personal formation journey. It is now its leaders challenge to teach each
member to cultivate ones own personal individual journey and to also challenge
them to be part of the communal journey. It is hoped that as one participates in this
journey, this world will become a better place.

4 Mulholland, M. Robert Jr. 1993. Invitation to a Journey, p. 168.

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CHAPTER 2
SOULFUL SPIRITUALITY

This book was chosen because the writer read some of David Benners books

for a research paper from the Spiritual Formation course. His books helped a lot in
the preparation of that paper that was why his name stood out of the list written in
the syllabus. As the reading progressed, it was realized that this was not an easy
book to read especially for those who do not have much psychology background. At
the end of the reading, the writer found out that this was published by Brazos Press
which was also the publisher of Evan Howards book The Brazos Introduction to
Christian Spirituality. As experienced in the Spiritual Formation course, the Brazos
book was a hard read, scholarly and deep. The feeling was almost the same as this
book was read.
PRESENTATION

The previous presentation ended up with the diagram. In order for one to

understand where the writer is coming from in presenting his understanding of this
book, we will be starting with the diagram (see Image 2).

The author started with humanity. He said that humans couldnt live this life

any other way. One cannot live as a flower. One cannot live as a rock. One cannot live
as something else. We can only live as humans therefore it is imperative that we live

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it fully fully human and fully alive. Ones spiritual life, therefore, must not make you
more or less than human but should make you fully human and fully alive.

Image 2 A Diagram Presentation of Soulful Spirituality

Benner defined spirituality as our way of living in relation to that which is

beyond the self.5 It has been mistaken many times that to be spiritual is to be less
human. Benner explained that this should not be the case. The more spiritual you
become, the more you reach the fullness of being human. Because of this idea of

5 Benner, David G. 2011. Soulful Spirituality: Becoming Fully Alive and Deeply Human.
(Brazos Press: Grand Rapids, Michigan), p. 24.

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separating the spirit and the body (and even the soul), we live a
fragmented/disintegrated life. Yes we are humans. Yes we are alive but we are not
experiencing the fullness of this humanity and this life. This is due to the above
disintegration. In talking about spirituality, it was always said that we are human
beings in a spiritual journey. Benner asked the reverse of that statement. Arent we
also spiritual beings in a human journey? The two journeys happen side by side.

Part two of this book discussed the spirit, the soul and the body. He entitled

this section as The Path to Becoming Fully Human. Full humanity involved taking
care of and nurturing the body, the soul and the spirit. The term he used for the
spirit is Fire in the Belly. The picture is the place up there. The desire to move
beyond, soar higher and reach the desires of your heart. If one will allow his or her
own spirit to soar unchecked, he or she will live in illusion. That is why the spirit is
tied and connected with the soul. The soul is the anchor to reality. It keeps our feet
on the ground. He called the soul the Womb of Experience. If one disconnects ones
soul from the spirit, he or she will live a life of superficiality. It is good to quote
Benners words with regard the spirit and the soul, A spiritual journey that is not
attentive to the call of the soul leaves us ungrounded in some fundamental way, and
a journey of soulfulness that is not responsive to the call of the spirit leaves us self-
encapsulated.6 The spirit is important and the soul is important in these spiritual
and human journeys to becoming fully human and fully alive. The channel where the
spirit and the soul express life is through the body. That is why all these three must
be integrated in order for one to become fully human and fully alive. He further

6 Benner, David G. 2011. Soulful Spirituality, p. 42.

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stressed that the ideas that we have a body, we have a soul and we have a spirit are
not right. We are the body. We are the soul. We are the spirit. These are the
statements that should characterize our being. We have separated these three too
much in our thinking that we live a fragmented life.

Part three of the book was entitled Spiritual Practices for the Human

Journey. In this part, Benner presented six spiritual practices to soulful spirituality.
He emphasized in the previous part that soulful spirituality can never be reduced to
practices, but it shapes our lives and in that sense must be lived, not simply
believed.7 Soulful spirituality, therefore, is a way of living coming from the depths
of our being leading to potential heights. It should nourish human life. It should
foster human development. The six spiritual practices are summarized in the table
below:

7 Benner, David G. 2011. Soulful Spirituality, p. 52.

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Some key words and phrases were also included in the table above as related to the
respective specific spiritual practice. Benner mentioned (especially with the
spiritual practice of Awareness) that some might find this very similar with what
other groups are practicing like the New Age Movement. He said that there are
some practices by other groups with psycho-spiritual support. A pastor once
mentioned that wherever you are, be there 100%. This is what Awareness
(represented by the letter A in Image 2) is all about. One must pay attention, be
attentive, notice, be mindful of ones surroundings. Awareness of God will be hard if
one is not aware of his or her surroundings.

Connected to Awareness is Wonder (represented by the letter W in Image 2).

As one becomes Aware, he or she realizes the Wonder of what is happening around.
The reality of God becomes a wonderful experience. He or she is in awe, in
reverence of the extraordinary. Our ordinary will not stay superficial. Our ordinary
will become extraordinary as the Wonder increases.

As Wonder is increased in us, understanding of the Otherness (represented

by the letter O in Image 2) of others starts. One realizes that feeling that others are a
threat. This realization should lead to a dialogue in order to understand the
Otherness of others. Hopefully, this dialogue will lead to a more hospitable attitude
towards others. Benners premise is this, if one cannot accept and/or understand
the Otherness of another human being, how can one understand the otherness of
the Ultimate Other? We are related to other people in the community we are in.

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When we show welcoming hospitality to the otherness of others, we

encounter the gift of a doorway to the broader realities that exist8 Reality
(represented by the letter R in Image 2) is the next spiritual practice suggested by
Benner. The way up is down. That is why descent, a life anchored in reality, is
needed. Here in this place, we learn to listen. Here in this place, we can live a life of
authenticity. One will dream of what he or she could be but that is in tension to what
life actually is. One must be authentic and that will only happen if he or she will
accept what is Reality. Embracing Reality will start the embrace of the present
moment.

Presence (represented by the letter P in Image 2) is the fifth spiritual

practice. It is related to Awareness when we are present to the moment. It is related

to Otherness when we are present to others leading to an understanding of being
present to the Ultimate Other. This spiritual practice of presence can be cultivated
by practicing Silence, Solitude and Stillness. Practicing Presence starts from within
before it can be practiced out in the world. One who is not still inside cannot be
present to the moment, cannot be present to others and cannot be present to the
Ultimate Other. Without presence we will never know Ultimate Presence.9

Presence is openness. Openness involves letting go. This letting go is the last

dimension of soulful spirituality called Surrender (represented by the letter S in

Image 2). Surrender is primarily letting go of control. People like control. We would
like to be in control of everything that happens in our life but the reality is we
cannot control everything. Even the things that we can control we should consider

8 Benner, David G. 2011. Soulful Spirituality, p. 132.
9 Benner, David G. 2011. Soulful Spirituality, p. 155.

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Surrender. One of the examples given by the author is the nonresistance to

problematic situations. One needs to accept the reality of problematic situations.
Nonresistance is the suggested response to some of these problematic situations.
Another example is welcoming difficulties. When difficulties come, one should
welcome it. One must let go of control the desire to fix the current situation. This is
very much similar with nonresistance. It is but fitting to end this presentation by
quoting Benner Becoming at one within our selves requires our consent to the
gentle beckoning of life. It involves letting go of everything that keeps us apart from
love. It is the great adventure and deep joy of becoming fully human.10
CRITIQUE

There is a sense that the preceding presentation does not fully explain what

the author would like to convey. The writer felt like that some of the ideas presented
in this book were way over his head. It was a hard read but an enjoyable one. The
author makes sense but it feels like it is way out there. How does one fulfill the
suggested spiritual practices in real life? A leader of the church may not get what he
is talking about. What more a layperson who would read this book? It would be best
if we can translate the authors ideas using words that are understandable by
laypeople. It was great that some disciplines were mentioned such as silence and
solitude. These are activities that are doable and measurable.

There was a section about the ego and the self that was not presented. The

writer felt like he needs more time and resources to fully understand that section.
What is the difference of the ego, to the Self (with the capital S) and the self (with

10 Benner, David G. 2011. Soulful Spirituality, p. 171.

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the small s)? It is clear that the Self is the one related to the image of God. How is it
different from the self? It makes sense when the book presented that the ego should
be the COO and the Self the CEO. Why is it that ego is not bad but egocentricity is?
Looking at the total picture, it makes sense that one must travel into this direction
but one must study further the ideas presented by the author. It would be nice to see
a working model representing the authors ideas.

At the moment, this model will be considered but will be at the bottom of the

list unless more resources are studied related to this. It would be hard for a leader
to ask his congregation to pursue this direction if he or she cannot fully explain such.
In order for this model to be used, it must be contextualized. Terminologies must be
translated to words that the congregation can understand. There should also be a
pathway, a direction that the congregation can see so that they know where they are
going.

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COMPARISON

These two books are worlds apart in terms of their presentation and content.

There are some similarities such as the mention of some spiritual disciplines
suggested for one to do such as Silence and Solitude. They are also similar in pursuit
to be whole. Mulholland suggested a holistic approach to spiritual formation.
Benners goal is for humans to be fully human and fully alive by becoming an
integrated being.

Benners book will be considered in the creation of a model that can be used

in the writers quest to create his own model. The writer will take note of the ideas
the author presented in his book. Mulhollands model, on the other hand, is easily
transferable. His model will be highly considered in the creation of a working model
for the present day church. In this model, the background, situation and culture of
the church will be considered. It is important to take serious notice of the context of
the church that will receive such a model. It is in this context that a model will be
born.

It is not wise to take a model as is. However good a model maybe, there will

always be sections that will not apply to a specific congregation. It is a wise move to
look at those sections and tweak them accordingly. Mulhollands model may make a
lot of sense but should not be taken hook, line and sinker. Benners model may be
wait out there but should not thrown altogether.

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CONCLUSION

The end of a journey is always different from its beginning. There is always a

sense that growth happened because of what just happened. It started as just
reading two books but it ended in a reflection of what can happen next to the writer
as an individual and also in relation to the community he is part of.

There is a way forward in terms of spiritual formation and for one who has a

conservative background; Mulhollands model makes a lot of sense. The writer can
relate his own experience of spiritual growth. He remembered when he started to
learn and then practiced some of the different spiritual disciplines mentioned. The
many faults and faltering experienced along the way were also remembered.

On the other hand, it seems like Benners model doesnt make any sense but

the writer felt that deep within him, it does. It is an inclination that one can just
throw away Benners thoughts and ideas but it is undeniable that it relates to ones
journey of spiritual formation. Surrender clearly happened in the writers life when
he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Awareness was also there. Presence was
also there. There was also a sense of wonder and the understanding of otherness.
There was also an understanding of reality. It may not be as deep as what Benner
expected. There is still a lot of practice to be done to reach a certain depth.

True for both books was the emphasis on community. Yes, the starting point

is your spiritual formation journey within but it doesnt stay there forever. That

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journey goes out and is also experienced and/or felt by the people around you. The
writer has a deeper understanding now of a communal journey. It is not just a
journey with someone else like a discipler or a mentor but also a journey with a
group like a congregation. It will be a great challenge for one who has been used to
travelling alone to travel with someone else but the reality is, if we will look
seriously, we are always travelling with someone else.

The challenge is greater when one will think that one of the reasons for all

these is to be an impact to the society at large to be salt of the earth, to be light of

the world. One must think of the specific task but should not miss the big picture.
Yes, spiritual disciplines for spiritual formation leading to the extension of the
kingdom of God so that everyone will see the reign of the only King Jesus Christ!

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Benner, David G. 2011. Soulful Spirituality: Becoming Fully Alive and Deeply Human.

Brazos Press: Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Mulholland, M. Robert Jr. 1993. Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual

Formation. InterVarsity Press: Downers Grove, Illinois.

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