Desire, Imagination, Story, and Imago Dei: A Multi-Method Exploration of Selected Elements of Spiritual Formation

Abstract

Desire, imagination, story and the imago Dei are critical elements of Christian Spiritual formation. Throughout recent years, scholarship on spiritual formation has acknowledged these elements; however, a more extensive reflection on the potential of each, as well as their interconnection has been needed. Through the methods of composing a spiritual autobiography, interacting with biographies, engaging in autoethnographic research and building theoretical model, this portfolio highlights each element and its dynamic interconnection in the process of spiritual formation. Awareness of the critical nature of each element arose from reflection on the author’s life bolstered by a review of relevant literature. As each factor came to light, the profound interconnection of all four became apparent and became the impetus for intentional choice of research methods and the design of this document. Key findings include the importance of desire as motivation, imagination as means, story as context and the imago Dei as the goal or telos in both human and spiritual development, as well as the potential for the use and study of autobiographical writing, biographical reflection and autoethnography as transformational exercise.