Life and Books and Everything

A Reformed Approach to Spiritual Formation with Matthew Bingham

Mar 31, 2025

01:13:09

It is often believed, by friends and critics alike, that the Reformed tradition, though perhaps good on formal doctrine, is impoverished when it comes to spiritual formation. The charge is that the Reformed approach to piety is all about head knowledge, about learning things as brains on sticks. Other Christians may be less critical but simply assume that there is no right or wrong way to do spiritual formation. This often leads evangelical to adopt an eclectic approach to personal growth in Christ. Many Christians in conservative Protestant churches end up adopting Catholic and Orthodox approaches as being more fulsome and effective. But what if there is a Reformed approach to spiritual formation that is rich, deep, historic, and more biblical than the alternatives? That’s what Kevin explores with Matthew Bingham (associate professor of church history at Phoenix Seminary) as they dig into Matthew’s fantastic new book A Heart Aflame for God: A Reformed Approach to Spiritual Formation (Crossway).

Chapters:

0:00 Sponsors & Intro

3:27 Tell Us About Yourself

8:16 Spiritual Formation

14:18 A Heart Aflame for God

21:15 A Reformed Approach to Spiritual Formation

26:53 Sponsor Break

29:44 Biblical Centrality

40:40 The Reformed Triangle of Spiritual Formation

47:24 Quick Takes

1:06:41 Final Thoughts

1:12:14 Until Next Time…