What do you think?
Rate this book
A Call to Christian Formation: How Theology Makes Sense of Our World
Southwestern Journal of Theology 2021 Book of the Year Award (Honorable Mention, Applied Theology/Ethics)
This book shows that theology is both integrally related to formation in Jesus Christ and shapes our understanding of the world. Christian formation is incomplete and impossible without theological formation, because Christ transforms our hearts and minds, attuning them to the reality of God. As the authors explore the deep connections between theology and the life of the Christian, they emphasize Christian formation as a defining feature of the church, arguing that theology must be integrally connected to the church's traditions and practices.
This book shows that theology is both integrally related to formation in Jesus Christ and shapes our understanding of the world. Christian formation is incomplete and impossible without theological formation, because Christ transforms our hearts and minds, attuning them to the reality of God. As the authors explore the deep connections between theology and the life of the Christian, they emphasize Christian formation as a defining feature of the church, arguing that theology must be integrally connected to the church's traditions and practices.
224 pages, Paperback
Published July 20, 2021
9 people are currently reading
109 people want to read
About the author
John C. Clark
4 books9 followersMarcus Peter Johnson (PhD, University of Toronto) is assistant professor of theology at Moody Bible Institute. Along with writing his doctoral dissertation on union with Christ in the theology of John Calvin, he is also the author of several scholarly essays. He and his wife, Stacie, live in Chicago with their son, Peter, and are members of Grace Lutheran Church.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 2, 2024
4.5 stars
A rich and profitable exploration of the importance of theology for every Christian. Beautifully details "...the ancient wisdom of the church, that our lives are lived—day to day, year to year, season to season—in accord with how God has revealed himself in Christ." It's dense and took me a while to read because I only did a few pages at a time; the tone is very academic, which I really liked but just requires more focus and intention in reading.
A rich and profitable exploration of the importance of theology for every Christian. Beautifully details "...the ancient wisdom of the church, that our lives are lived—day to day, year to year, season to season—in accord with how God has revealed himself in Christ." It's dense and took me a while to read because I only did a few pages at a time; the tone is very academic, which I really liked but just requires more focus and intention in reading.
November 7, 2021
This books is a treasure trove of theological beauty. The Christocentric and Trinitarian convictions of the authors drive every chapter. While, I wouldn’t draw some of the same practical conclusions these authors do, I found this book to be an incredible example of theology that leads its reader into worship of the Triune God. What a gift.
January 22, 2022
Great introduction to the shapes and contexts of theology. So many of the great things that I learned from these men, for years, are encapsulated in these chapters. Thankful for a concise and accessible orientation to thinking in the Christian life.
July 25, 2021
It's fine. As a student of these authors, most of this is directly pulled from their lectures. They stay fairly vague on issues of denominational importance (nothing on infant/believer baptism, nor anything overwhelmingly one way or the other on communion, though I know they hold a Calvinistic perspective). Nearly half of this work is quotes from other theologians, which was a little surprising. Equally surprising were some of the theologians they chose to quote, as a few of them teeter on the edge of orthodoxy, if not going beyond its bounds (I'm looking at you Barth). However, it is a true summary of their work and will serve them well as reading for their students in their classes.
June 18, 2021
RC Sproul used to say, “It is not a question of whether we are going to engage in theology; it is a question of whether our theology is sound or unsound .” Laboring under a similar premise, Clark and Johnson, seek to show the reader that this sound or unsound theology plays a direct role in their development, growth, and formation as a disciple of Jesus.
It is not a necessarily a novel idea that orthodoxy (right beliefs), orthopraxy (right living), and orthopathy (right affections) are all intrinsically linked one to another. Therefore, the contribution of this book is not in its novelty (at least in that respect) but in its ability to persuade the reader to yearn passionately for orthodox theology. The authors remind us that this pursuit of the knowledge of God should saturate the entirety of the church’s and the disciple’s formation and activities.
A Call to Christian Formation, is just that, a call to be formed in Christ. Which, as the book states, “necessarily entails a theological formation…” This is a call that when appropriately responded to can become, “…an act of devotion that costs us immensely yet enriches us immeasurably.”
As a lover of theology, I have been enjoying this book immensely. I will definitely be recommending to some of those that I disciple in the future.
This book was received for free in exchange for a fair and honest review. Hopefully, I have achieved that.
#ACalltoChristianFormation #NetGalley
It is not a necessarily a novel idea that orthodoxy (right beliefs), orthopraxy (right living), and orthopathy (right affections) are all intrinsically linked one to another. Therefore, the contribution of this book is not in its novelty (at least in that respect) but in its ability to persuade the reader to yearn passionately for orthodox theology. The authors remind us that this pursuit of the knowledge of God should saturate the entirety of the church’s and the disciple’s formation and activities.
A Call to Christian Formation, is just that, a call to be formed in Christ. Which, as the book states, “necessarily entails a theological formation…” This is a call that when appropriately responded to can become, “…an act of devotion that costs us immensely yet enriches us immeasurably.”
As a lover of theology, I have been enjoying this book immensely. I will definitely be recommending to some of those that I disciple in the future.
This book was received for free in exchange for a fair and honest review. Hopefully, I have achieved that.
#ACalltoChristianFormation #NetGalley
August 28, 2021
In this book, John Clark and Marcus Johnson express with clarity and joy the reality that "theology helps the church sing to Jesus Christ." While theology certainly helps the church do just that, they in no way imply that it's purpose is singing as an end in itself, instead, they masterfully demonstrate how Christian theology is a life-altering, reality-defining call on the everyday life of those who believe and are baptized into Jesus Christ. There is no aspect of our cosmos that is not touched deeply by the God-Man, Jesus Christ. Therefore nothing in our lives, no matter how mundane, can be considered unimportant or neutral. Christian theology is a lived and experienced endeavor precisely because our Theology became man and dwelt among us, and we continue to theologize because of what He has revealed to us and as He shapes us into His image.
This book is a simple yet challenging call for Christians to worshipfully engage in theological formation because it is in and through this formation that we become more like Christ.
This book is a simple yet challenging call for Christians to worshipfully engage in theological formation because it is in and through this formation that we become more like Christ.
October 19, 2022
This book calls the reader to embrace divine revelation, and submit our human intellectual faculties (mind/reason) to God’s ultimate incomprehensibility. Instead of blushing at Richard Dawkin’s assertion that Christian doctrines (such as the Trinity) are useless, meaningless, and vapid, Clark and Johnson call us to believe in God, believe God, and therefore worship the Triune God.
Readers may be unsatisfied with the author’s explanation of the relationship between faith and reason. I tend to believe that faith fulfills reason (like Aquinas taught), and that Christianity answers all of life’s big questions.
As a minor critique, I would emphasize the more emotive aspects of the Christian life than the authors do in this book, since Clark and Johnson can come across as more heady (faith as mere ascent and verbal confession). They only explicitly mention repentance from sin on one occasion. Jonathan Edwards on Religious Affections and John Owen on the mortification of sin should be required reading for all their students/readers.
Readers may be unsatisfied with the author’s explanation of the relationship between faith and reason. I tend to believe that faith fulfills reason (like Aquinas taught), and that Christianity answers all of life’s big questions.
As a minor critique, I would emphasize the more emotive aspects of the Christian life than the authors do in this book, since Clark and Johnson can come across as more heady (faith as mere ascent and verbal confession). They only explicitly mention repentance from sin on one occasion. Jonathan Edwards on Religious Affections and John Owen on the mortification of sin should be required reading for all their students/readers.
May 28, 2021
In this book Clark and Johnson argue powerfully that robust theology, rooted in Scripture and the Great Tradition, is vital to Christian formation. Sadly, theology has fallen on hard times in society and unfortunately, also in the modern church. Drawing on Scripture and the voices of theologians from the early church right through to contemporary times, the authors show the relevance of theology in forming the church and the individual believer. In a time when experience is elevated over Scripture and Tradition, this is important reading.
One of my favourite quotes "...make no mistake: theological formation is the only antidote against being conformed and deformed by the world, the only alternative to being catechized and liturgized by the spirit of the age and its dominant ways of thinking, speaking, and acting."
One of my favourite quotes "...make no mistake: theological formation is the only antidote against being conformed and deformed by the world, the only alternative to being catechized and liturgized by the spirit of the age and its dominant ways of thinking, speaking, and acting."
August 12, 2021
This was a wonderful book exploring the shape of Christian formation. If you want to grow into child-like maturity this is a book for you.
Ignore that critical three star review by the current student of these two professors and churchmen. I had these two professors myself 7 years ago and as I have been in ministry for 6 years now these realities are a balm to my soul. It's easy in an environment of rigorous theological academia to become cynical or jaded. But this book is what the church today needs to hear.
Ignore that critical three star review by the current student of these two professors and churchmen. I had these two professors myself 7 years ago and as I have been in ministry for 6 years now these realities are a balm to my soul. It's easy in an environment of rigorous theological academia to become cynical or jaded. But this book is what the church today needs to hear.
June 15, 2025
A compelling and classically-minded apologetic for the discipline of theology. I especially appreciated the wide range of historical voices called upon by the authors.
There were multiple times in the book when I was unsure of who the target audience was; it seemed a bit lofty and academic for lay readers and it seemed a little light for academic readers. Still, the content itself was very good.
There were multiple times in the book when I was unsure of who the target audience was; it seemed a bit lofty and academic for lay readers and it seemed a little light for academic readers. Still, the content itself was very good.
August 13, 2024
Fantastic!
January 9, 2022
“Theology is the deliberate and considered response of the people of God to the revelation of God in Christ, where we offer joyful and worshipful expression to the truth and the reality found in him” (Clark and Johnson 2). This is the definition of theology put forth by the authors in the introduction, which the rest of the book can be understood to expound, and it is expounded to defend their central claim: “theology, because it seeks to know and express the truth of God, shapes and determines how we understand reality––even as it bring us into conformity with that reality” (Clark and Johnson 4). They practice this theology, and defend this claim, in a way that is profoundly biblical, intentionally ecclesial, exceedingly pastoral, deeply historic, and refreshingly artful because this theology is profoundly, intentionally, exceedingly, deeply, and refreshingly defined by and concerned with Christ as the definitive word, image, and revelation of our triune God. If that interests you, dive in and drink deep of this theological celebration of Christ in and for His creation.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews