One of the key modern texts on spiritual formation is Dallas Willard's Renovation of the Heart. The first half of the book contains a meta-discussion of the process of and need for spiritual formation in the human soul. In fact, he argues, every soul is "formed" - it just might not be formed in the right way or
intentionally at all. He does not hesitate to lovingly call out some of the laxity in the evangelical church in American on this point. Actively living in radical dependence on Christ, therefore, is the only way to live human life abundantly.
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Matthew Lee Anderson
Matthew Lee Anderson is an Associate Professor of Ethics and Theology in Baylor University's Honors College. He has a D.Phil. in Christian Ethics from Oxford University, and is a Perpetual Member of Biola University's Torrey Honors College. In 2005, he founded Mere Orthodoxy.