Document Type
Article
Abstract
This article recounts the author’s path into the Protestant Spiritual Formation Movement (PSFM) as both a scholar and practitioner. The article then considers current challenges for Protestant Spiritual Formation, including environmental factors (political assimilation, pervasive distraction, and the couplet of anti-intellectualism and disinformation) and institutional challenges (the individualism of much of North American Protestantism and fragile educational networks). Given these contemporary challenges, the article proposes a strategic emphasis for the future of the PSFM: to articulate the criteria for Christian maturity (“Christlikeness”).
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/19397909261427662
Publication Date
8-23-2026
Recommended Citation
Smith, James K.A., "Whose Jesus? Which Christlikeness? On the Prospects of Protestant Spiritual Formation" (2026). University Faculty Publications and Creative Works. 1147.
https://digitalcommons.calvin.edu/calvin_facultypubs/1147