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Today's conversation on Back Porch Theology is the first in a four-part series exploring the biblical foundations of spiritual formation.

Spiritual formation has been trending for the past few years and is often associated with

deep breathing and yoga, which of course makes some Christians more nervous than a long-tailed cat

in a room full of rocking chairs. But spiritual formation actually has ancient roots dating all the

way back to the 1500s when a Spanish soldier named Ignatius

began studying the life of Jesus Christ as well as the lives of some of the early saints

while he was recovering from a battle wound. And while Ignatius was healing physically,

he found himself longing to be healed spiritually. So he began experimenting with

different forms of prayer and Bible study and meditation in his desire to become more fully devoted to God.

Ultimately, Ignatius became a priest, became affiliated with the Jesuit movement, and wrote

a manual called the spiritual exercises

to help Christ followers become more disciplined and devoted in their walk of faith. And his 500-year-old

guide, again called the spiritual exercises, it would probably be called a practical application

Bible study if it were published

today, it became the scaffolding for what we now call spiritual formation. There are lots of strong

opinions regarding which practices in particular should be included in a classic spiritual

formation plan,

but we're only gonna cover a couple here on BPT,

beginning with table fellowship.

Have you ever noticed how often Jesus gathered

around a table with his friends and disciples

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