Are we actually forming people, or are we just informing them?

What I Believe About Spiritual Formation — And Where I Think We're Missing the Mark

I've spent decades in ministry and leadership, and if I'm being honest, one question has become impossible for me to ignore:

Are we actually forming people, or are we just informing them?

Because there is a difference. A profound one.

Information says, here is what you should know. Formation says, here is who you are becoming. One fills a mind. The other reshapes a life. And I believe the church, broadly speaking, has become exceptionally good at the former while quietly losing ground on the latter.

We have built impressive organizations. Polished services. Sophisticated systems. And I want to be fair — none of that is inherently wrong. But somewhere in the pursuit of bigger and better, we began measuring the wrong things. Attendance over apprenticeship. Reach over depth. 

Programming over presence.

The result? Crowded rooms of people who know about Jesus but are not being systematically formed into His image.

Jesus didn't build a platform. He formed people. Slowly. Personally. Inconveniently. He spent three years in the unglamorous work of walking with twelve ordinary people — and that investment changed the world. Not because of scale, but because of transformation.

I think we've forgotten that formation is slow by design. It cannot be programmed into a weekend service or downloaded through a sermon series. It requires intentional community, honest accountability, practiced rhythms of prayer and scripture, and leaders who are willing to shepherd rather than simply perform.

That last part is where I think we feel the tension most.

Platform culture has shaped pastoral culture more than many of us want to admit. The pull toward influence, reach, and recognition is real — and it is not neutral. When a leader's energy flows primarily toward building their brand rather than tending their flock, formation suffers. The people pay the price.

This is not about blame. It is about honesty.

The good news is that nothing has been lost that cannot be recovered. The Spirit is still moving. The call to genuine formation is still open. People are hungry for it — deeply, quietly hungry for something that actually changes them, not just challenges them.

Formation over information. That is where I believe the path forward begins.

I'd love to know — where have you seen formation done well? And where have you felt the gap?