Archive for the ‘Disciplines’ Category

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Lent For Non-Lent People

February 10, 2016

Today begins the season that we call Lent. The season traditionally calls for sacrifice, introspection, and focus on God.

I grew up in a family and church that did not really call for much difference after perhaps an Ash Wednesday service. I have a virtual friend, Jon Swanson who writes a very good blog called 300 Words a Day and wrote Lent for Non-Lent People. He comes up with very good questions to ponder during Lent.

Lent points us toward Easter. Christmas gets huge society play as non-christians also celebrate with gift giving, food, and parties.

Easter gets less society play–although the “Easter Bunny” and candy are popular sales items in stores.

Do you give up things for Lent? As a Methodist in a Lutheran town (if you’re from a city you wouldn’t understand, but if you are also from a village, well), we sort of made fun of, or at least chuckled about, what the Lutherans gave up for Lent. I’ll never forget the guy who gave up watermelon. You couldn’t buy a watermelon in February if you wanted it in those days! Then last week I heard about another guy who is giving up watermelon.

That, of course, is not taking the season of life seriously.

I have another friend who gives up his daily can of beer, fried foods, and desserts. He’s in his 80s. He wonders why he feels so good physically during that time and loses up to 15 lbs. (All of which he replaces on Easter Sunday!)

Right now, I’m at a conference. I’m usually very busy during these things, but this year seems to be crazy. Monday I was up at 3 am to catch a 6 am flight from an airport 90 minutes away. I arrived at the site at 11:30 and immediately began meetings which included dinner. Back at my room at 11 pm. Tuesday keynote sessions and meetings non-stop all day. Back at my room at, er, 11 pm. Today, 7 am breakfast meeting, maybe a little break to catch up on writing this morning, and meetings all day.

How do I find 15 minutes to remember God? To ask what he wants of me today? To ask him to help people I know and people I don’t. It recently dawned on me that I could also ask him to help me. No, I can’t do it all alone.

How about you? Have you found time to be alone with God, his word, his companionship? Maybe Lent gives you a good excuse to start.

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On Being Spiritual Without Being Religious

February 8, 2016

“I’m spiritual; not religious.”

This has been a mantra of many for at least 50 years. Maybe much longer, I’m not sure. Seems to me I heard it when I was in college.

This may be a reaction to “organized religion”, that is, belonging to a church or attending a church gathering usually meaning Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Baptist, or other organizations.

It may also be an acknowledgement of lack of total involvement.

It’s easy to be “spiritual” because no one can know what it is. You can’t be held against a standard, because there is no real definition.

You could be in the Desert Fathers tradition of deep contemplation. Or you could be in the New Age movement of crystals, candles, auras. Or maybe it’s just a warm feeling that visits at times.

My latest morning study book is Dallas Willard’s The Spirit of the Disciplines. Willard was a brilliant and wise man. I’ve heard him speak. Such a calm and humble voice. And understandable, a fact that is remarkable given his profession–Professor of Philosophy.

He discusses why it is important to involve our bodies in our worship and spiritual life. It’s not enough to just have a “head” idea of God. A belief that is only that deep. Or just a warm feeling.

To Willard, who uses many examples but you can read the letter of James for a good starter, faith must be lived out in the real world with a real body. Believing and doing are actually two sides of the same coin.

He said, “To withhold our bodies from religion is to exclude religion from our lives.”

Andy Stanley has said that anyone can say they are a Christian, because there exists no good definition. But, to be a Disciple of Jesus, well, that’s hard. It is defined. We can see it in your life.

I’m not religious? It means I’m not committed. So, what good is the spiritual, then?

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The Work of a Leader According to Paul

February 5, 2016

I have been contemplating this description of leadership that the Apostle Paul gave to the church in Ephesus (Ephesians 4:12).

Leaders are given for the equipping of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ until we all attain the unity of faith and of knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

We may need a little translation for our understanding for our growth as leaders.

“For the equipping of the saints.” By saints, Paul meant the people in the church–specifically believers. Very interesting thought–and it is listed first. What does that teach us about leading?

There are people we lead. Our first job is to equip them for success. We must provide training, tools, support. A key question a leader can ask of someone in the group is, “How can I help you?” I translated that in some jobs I’ve had as, “I have access to resources. Can any of those help you do your work successfully?”

“For the work of the ministry.” The group you are leading has a goal, a focus, a desired end result. We have work to do, otherwise why exist. So we are to equip others so that we can do the work that is set before us.

“For building up the body of Christ.” The body of Christ is the church–the organization. Our task is to strengthen and grow the organization. How? By equipping the people to focus on the work. As we focus on the work, we need unity of purpose. We need to be of one mind on the work. A strong and growing organization harbors no senseless arguing (see other writings of Paul). The leader assures that everyone know what the task of the organization is and is committed to its accomplishment.

The last part reads like Paul thought that the end result is actually the growth and maturity of the people in the group. We don’t work just to pass the time. We work on a specific task. But while working on the task, what we are really working on is ourselves. We mature and come to greater understanding.

In the end, the leader leads people to their own growth. A true leader breeds more leaders.

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Preparation Forms The Spiritual Life

February 4, 2016

Teenagers watch their favorite athlete. They try to mimic his or her style. They fail miserably at becoming a top athlete.

Why?

They didn’t mimic what they didn’t see–the work ethic of the top athletes. They practice and work out and eat right as a way of life.

Unless…they are like “Johnny Football.” The curse from my dad was to make me a Cleveland Browns fan. Although I’ve become increasingly disenchanted with the NFL, the curse lingers. And the geniuses drafted a known problem child but thought about bringing excitement to the town.

This is a kid who had one good year in college. Came to the pros as a cocky kid imitating the swagger of some top pros. Except–he forgot about the work ethic. And there is a lot of work that goes into being a top pro player.

Dallas Willard used the first example in his book The Spirit of the Disciplines as a metaphor for the life with Jesus.

We ask “What Would Jesus Do?” thinking about acting like he acted in public.

Do you ever think about Jesus’ preparation. He knew the Scriptures thoroughly. We know from a snippet of a story from when he was 12 and was studying with the great teachers at the Temple.

He studied, memorized, thought about the Scriptures. He could quote and interpret flawlessly.

We know his practice was to go off alone and pray.

Jesus put in the hard work of living a life of preparation in order to “be a pro.”

If we want to be like him, it’s not just asking what he’d do in a situation. Or wearing sandals and growing a beard. Or acting like we know it all.

There is the hard work of constant study. Reading and thinking about the scriptures. Praying, meditating, contemplation as we grow into a deeper relationship with God and our knowledge and wisdom increase.

That work need not be joyless. But it needs to become a way of life. Then we are ready to act like Jesus because it is just a natural part of our lives.

It’s easy to coast. But the fruits that come from a spiritual life only come to those who are prepared.

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Living In A Land of Paradox

February 3, 2016

The American Deep South is a fascinating place. Known as the “Bible Belt” for the prevalence of fundamentalist Evangelicals, it also has a violent history from the mid-20th Century and the Civil Rights movement.

I went to grad school at Louisiana State receiving an introduction to the South.

We drove to Florida last week. I noticed once again that Georgia is the land of billboards. That state may have more billboards per mile of Interstate highway than any other. If you take away the billboards advertising restaurants and hotels, you are left with two types of advertising.

Porn shops / strippers and Bible quotes.

Not that we don’t have porn shops in Ohio. I used to work out of a building beside one. But there just isn’t that amount of advertising. It’s as if we’re still a little ashamed to be appealing to the base lusts of men. (And sex trafficking is rampant in Ohio along with all the states. People just aren’t aware of it.)

Bible verses are good, of course. The thing I notice is that they seem to scream at you accusingly. Of course, all of us need to be accused for our thoughts and deeds that are not in keeping with the faith.

It’s just the paradox that gets me.

Do those Bible verses do any good?

What does it take to change someone’s direction? They were going off the exit toward a porn shop and suddenly decided to stop at the church next door. Why?

When you meet someone and the subject gets personal, can you get away with just quoting a Bible verse?

Probably not. It takes a deeper, longer conversation. Perhaps over a cup (or pot) of coffee. It takes time. Listening. Then you could pull out a passage and show how it applies directly to life.

You gotta show you care. A quick verse or an accusation won’t do anyone any good.

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Dangling Conversations

February 2, 2016

My friend Jim Pinto is an engineer, so he always researches and sometimes overthinks things (as a reader of this blog, does that sound familiar?). He was raised as a Catholic in India. Gives him a perspective on life that I find valuable.

He recently became bored with adult conversations at a gathering. Ever happen to you? Adults usually talk about other people. Or, as they get older, they talk about themselves–their medications, ailments, aches, doctors.

I know that conversations are not listed on Richard J. Foster’s exhaustive list of spiritual disciplines. Think about it for a minute. Are there not times when you could steer conversation intentionally toward new ideas? Toward growth moments? Or even toward spiritual life?

Another friend recently received a cross about two feet high to place in his yard from his church. The idea was that it could be a conversation starter. Someone walks by, sees the cross, asks about it, and you have an opening to talk about church and life with God.

I should mention that he lives in a retirement community in Florida. The first person who walked by asked, “Aww, did your dog die?” The second person asked if someone was killed on the road in an accident. Oh, well. Nice try.

Anyway, back to Jim. Remember him? He was bored with adult conversation and did what I like to do–go talk with the kids. They are enthusiastically learning new things and sharing them. Life is an adventure to them. They get new ideas, try them out, explore them.

Jim things that the generation of teens today (whatever label marketing people are giving them) will change the world for the better. I told him that that’s just what people said about us–the Boomers. We only sort of did that. But the majority also were the “Me Generation” and we can see that in everything from politics to fashion.

I hope he’s right.

But I began to wonder–how many Millennials (say 20 to 35 years old today in my terms) are there in your church? How many are you nurturing? In my case, none. That’s not good.

Then, how are you relating to today’s teens? Are you nurturing and mentoring anyone that age?

I sense that is the task of older people. A generation of church leaders sprang up against much opposition to reach a younger population (think Bill Hybels, Andy Stanley). Are those churches still relevant to the next younger population? Is yours?

Bet we have work to do.

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Leaders-Be Real

January 29, 2016

I talked a couple of days ago about how people want their conversations about Jesus to be real. Especially younger adults want their Christian leaders to be real. They don’t want hype. Or leaders who say one thing and then do another.

Taking this discussion into a more general leadership area, people whom you are trying to lead value your being real to them.

A friend told a story about an old-line manufacturing company. It was highly structured as those companies tended to be. Built by engineers who think hierarchically and structured, the company featured separation of people according to rank. For example, there was an executive dining room, a supervisors dining room, and an employee cafeteria.

A man bought the company. He abolished the tiered dining areas. Everyone ate in the same area. The new owner would walk through at lunch time and chat with anyone. He broke the barrier.

People responded. Treat people with respect, show your real side, and they will follow your lead.

Searching the scriptures for an example, my attention suddenly focused on Paul, the apostle. This guy was a fantastic leader. We don’t usually talk about that. He’s known as an evangelist (persuasive speaker), theologian, and writer.

But he founded or shepherded several churches. His letters to Timothy offer great leadership advice.

Think about his communication to the churches that he had relationships with. He had not seen some people for years. He wrote to them. He laid it all out. He wrote about his passions, his background, his troubles, his physical ailments. He was a real person. He wasn’t a preacher who hid behind an office and administrative assistant. He didn’t get up, preach with emotion, and then go live life a different way.

With Paul, what you saw was what he was. It worked. People responded. They will for you. Try transparency, build trust, show yourself as a person.

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Be Real In Faith, In Life

January 28, 2016

“I always look for the mask people are wearing,” said a friend once.

I suppose that comment is cynical, since he assumes everyone has ulterior motives or is hiding something.

But many of us are hiding something. Pain, uncertainty, feelings of being inferior, feelings of inadequacy. Or, we are acting a role. We want to convince people we’re smarter, better, more spiritual than others.

You can devote your life to spiritual practices. But, in the practices themselves, where is your heart?

Do you study not only to learn but also to impress others? Do you worship because your heart is joyful or out of duty? Do you fix a smile on your face and raise your hand in celebration, but you “really want to get away?”

More important is the question, is what I am doing helping someone else along their journey to God?

Maybe I have adopted the language, dress, and attitude of another group. I talk at them, not with them. How is that working for you? Or your worship music changes every year while seeking to appeal to a specific group.

But what do people, especially seeking people or young people, really  want to see? They want to see you being real.

When you talk about study, you can teach yet acknowledge that you still haven’t figured it all out, yet. When you discuss the with-God life, you confess that it is not an easy path and that there are times you get off the path.

Has the spiritual life helped you? And you can answer honestly where it has and where you still need to grow.

We probably all wear masks at times. But if we are trying to help someone else, we’ve got to drop the pretense. We are what we are. Struggling seekers longing for a better relationship with God.

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Living In Service To Others For Jesus

January 27, 2016

Service is an important spiritual discipline. Jesus almost always had people respond after a healing. James told us that faith without works (service) is dead.

Wycliffe, the Bible translator group, had a celebration yesterday Jan. 26 as it released 16 new translations of the Bible for language groups in Asia, Latin America, and south Pacific Islands.

It is amazing how many languages there are. In the US, we have some people who think that everyone should only speak English here. Some of these people travel and think that everyone everywhere should be speaking English. It’s only natural, I guess, when you grow up in an area where that’s what everyone  speaks.

Hearing these stories of groups of people in Peru, southeast Asia, Papua New Guinea where there is a distinct language in almost every village, would blow their minds.

The Wycliffe presenters (I was at a Presbyterian church in The Villages, Florida for a service led by leaders of the nearby Wycliffe headquarters) shared stories of people of service who dedicated large chunks of their lives to learning about a people, their language, and their culture. They did this in service so that they could translate the Bible into their language so that they could better understand.

A woman in Cameroon who had only heard the Gospel message in French only came to understand the Easter story when she heard it in her native language. That is the power of the work of these people.

Another of the powerful spiritual disciplines is study. Picking up the Bible daily and actually reading it. Almost all of us read it in our native language without thought of the translation from the original Greek or Hebrew. We rely on the translators without thinking most of the time. But the power of the message for our faith and our lives comes out of study and meditation on the word.

This is marvelous service. Makes me wonder about my service. Am I using all of my talents? And you?

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Success Is (Not) Cheap

January 26, 2016

“Success is Cheap” screamed the billboard.

OK, they were trying to say that if you went to that school, the price is low for the success you’ll surely receive.

This is not a “growth and success” blog. My friend Jim Pinto wrote one of those (as well as columns for my magazine) for years.

Pursuing spiritual disciplines is not really a success or failure sort of thing. We may not achieve perfect study, worship, prayer, and so on, but it’s the work that is the reward.

There is probably a definition of success for these future college graduates, but it won’t come cheaply.

Success requires work. Work that is unseen by the crowds. Preparation. Study. Repetition. Grunge work.

Then success comes–maybe in the form of accolades–and people say, “Wow that all happened overnight.” No. Things don’t happen overnight.

Cheap? Is investing years of your life mastering a subject matter cheap?

I think of the preparation of people in the Bible put there for our edification. Joseph prepared and was ready when his time came. Daniel, same thing. Study, prepare, be ready to act when called upon. Jesus. Peter. John. Paul. Barnabas.

The marketers were trying to get attention. But don’t buy into it. Even beyond my usual philosophy that you get what you pay for, success isn’t cheap. It requires work, dedication, discipline.

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