Institutes & Centers Martin Institute for Christianity & Culture
“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit
and so prove to be my disciples.” John 15:8
The Martin Institute for Christianity and Culture was established in 2011 to assist Christian individuals and organizations to deeply understand, intelligently communicate, and effectively implement reliable and psychologically realistic pathways of becoming more like Jesus for the sake of the world. As part of that quest, we hope to honor the legacy of Dallas Willard while placing his work in the context of other thought and praxis leaders who have developed methods for authentic Christian formation that have stood the test of time.
Contact Us: Email the Martin Institute at martininstitute@tgpj.net or call our office at (805)565-6022.
Our Goals
1. We aim to help establish Christian spiritual formation as a domain of publicly available knowledge that is open to research and pedagogy of the highest order.
Through a variety of initiatives, we foster multidisciplinary scholarship on the need and nature of Christian spiritual formation and disseminate the deliverances of that research to Christian thought leaders for the good of the church.
2. We aim to support a new generation of thought leaders in the area of Christian spiritual formation.
Through a variety of initiatives, we come alongside students, pastors, scholars, parachurch leaders, and other publicly engaged individuals in their desire to be formed in Christ and advance knowledge of Christian spiritual formation.
Centers of the Martin Institute
Conversatio Divina
A Center for Spiritual Renewal: Creates and offers resources for both “pilgrims” and “guides.”
Dallas Willard Research Center
Supports and engages in Christian spiritual formation research and writing efforts. Encourages the Westmont community to spiritual and moral transformation through experiences and tools for an alternative way of living with God.
Incarnatio Center
Incarnatio encourages our community on a path of whole-person development including authentic spiritual and character formation and renewal.
Other Initiatives
Next Frontiers
A part of Frontiers, established through the generous support of Lilly Endowment, Inc., Next Frontiers is a two-year program designed to help mid-career pastors thrive in congregational leadership during times of transition in ministry.