Being the Church: Marva Dawn on Communal Formation in Our “Technological Age”

This article explores Marva Dawn’s contribution to the Spiritual Formation movement, focusing on her vision for the Church as a joyful, communal witness of God’s kingdom. Drawing on Jacques Ellul’s analysis of our “technological age” and the New Testament concept of “principalities and powers,” Dawn diagnosed how cultural forces like efficiency, productivity, and utility distort the Christian life. She offered a deeply theological alternative: life together in the Trinity, nurtured through worship and Sabbath, which create space for the Church to be renewed by God’s kingdom so that God’s kingdom can reign through the Church. These practices are not quick fixes, but gifts that shape believers communally into Christlikeness. Dawn’s teaching on worship and Sabbath remains a force in the Spiritual Formation movement, and are instructive for those seeking to embody the “hilarity” of community and the wholeness of life in God amid the pressures of a technological age.