Faith Venture

We want to lose 50 lbs. We want to be fit. We want the spiritual formation of a saint. 

We want a lot, and we want it now.

I only lost a pound this week. How am I going to lose 50? Well, a pound a week for a year will net that 50 lbs. And that will signal a lifestyle change that will keep it off. Celebrate that pound a week.

I want to be fit, yet I can barely get out of my chair and walk across the room. Go outside and walk to the end of the drive and back. Every day. Then to the end of the block and back. Then pick up some beginning resistance training exercises. Not a lot, but a little a week. Maybe today you lift 5 lbs. By adding a little at a time, in a year, you could be lifting 20 lbs. or more. Celebrate each small victory.

I want to be one of those knowledgeable and spiritual people. Begin with 5 minutes a day. Open a Bible and read a paragraph. Meditate on that paragraph. Perhaps over the course of a month or two you can do 30 minutes a day. And everyday you find one little act of service for someone. Soon you’ll realize that you are a kinder and deeper person. Celebrate each small victory along the way.

Small victories that accumulate lead to changes of life. We become what we practice.

Thinking over the weekend following my wrap up of Paul’s Letter to the Romans studied not from a theology point-of-view, but as a guide to our spiritual life.

Paul is not Jesus. There are times I disagree. I’d love to be able to sit over coffee or dinner and discuss what he was actually thinking at times. But Paul’s writings perhaps were published before any other New Testament writing. Some scholars believe that early drafts of the gospels circulated before the finished documents were published. I am continually amazed at how Paul quotes phrases from Jesus never having met him in life, probably only meeting the apostles. Yet, there he is, Jesus, with words that echo the writings of the gospels.

Paul had a few views of great concern:

• Assure that weird theologies did not gain a footing detracting from the essential gospel message
• Guide his followers into how to live a spiritual life
• Help the small forming churches learn to govern themselves in the new freedoms without going so far as to draw ire of the Emperor

He taught spiritual formation often using analogies from athletics. Running a race or boxing. He talked about discipline. Intention. Practice.

Looking at Romans, for example, he did not stop with advising us to simply meditate on God’s grace saying we believe in Jesus.

He took literally Jesus’ commands about loving our neighbor by, for example, drawing a picture of the way people following Jesus actually live. Every day. Serving others. Being kind. Showing (not just feeling) love.

Where are you in your spiritual practices? Do you study daily? Pray and meditate daily? Find ways small and large to serve others every day?

Is it time for us to reflect at the end of each day how we did on those topics? Just like on our physical exercise and nutrition.

Ignatius of Loyola and Benjamin Franklin, to pull examples from totally disparate people, advised such a daily practice.

That would be good for me to be more regular. How about you?

Rich Dixon wrote on Jon Swanson’s blog:

Recently I listened as a manager analyzed a struggling player. “He’s too focused on results.” Wait. He’s a big-league ballplayer, paid handsomely to perform. How can focusing on results be a bad thing? Turns out, results-focused athletes take shortcuts and develop bad habits. They stop doing the things that made them successful in the first place. In sports, the best way to succeed is to focus relentlessly on proper principles and great habits. Do those, and results follow.

My decades of meditation practice has taught the same thing. Sometimes in our spiritual development practice, we begin to focus on results. Did God give the answer we demanded? Why didn’t I have a “God experience” every day?

The reality lies in the practice. It’s coming to our chair daily. Perhaps it’s reading a passage from the Bible or from a spiritual writer like Henri Nouwen or Augustine or similar. Then sitting quietly in prayer and meditation. The entire practice can be a brief as 15 minutes. We can get up 15 minutes earlier for a bit of quiet time.

It’s just a system. Rise, fix a coffee or tea, sit, spend time with God. If someone is in need, focus your thoughts on them for a bit while sitting in the presence of God. God knows. But there’s something about aligning with the Spirit that brings peace and understanding…eventually.

Instant results are a lie. The practice is everything.

Remember, motivation is unreliable, but systems are sustainable. From Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Pump Club newsletter.

The above quote brings up a fitness and nutrition truism. We read something and our motivation emotions ramp up. But morning comes with the thought of getting up and going out to walk/run, lift weights, go to Yoga class just deflates us. When we set up a system of getting up with the workout clothes draped over the chair waiting for us, and we head out, that is when we’ll begin to see results.

I once played guitar and sang. Then I stopped for a while. Then started again. Then moved at the beginning of Covid and stopped. Something happened that motivated me, but I made no progress. Then I adopted an online teacher who talked of intentional practice. For several months for 30-60 minutes a day (when I’m in the country), I have an intentional practice—some scales to stretch and strengthen my fingers, repeated chord changes especially difficult transitions, different finger-picking styles, then a couple of songs.  And I quit forcing the singing returning me to the ability to pick up a piece of sheet music or hear something on YouTube and find the key right away.

The Pump Club app referenced above guides me through intentional weight training exercises. Over a couple of years, I’ve added appreciable size to biceps, pectorals, arms, quads/hams/glutes, and calves.

Needing a teacher to give assurance that my meditation practice had not drifted in a bad direction, I learned about a Zen monk with an app. Zen is not a religion; it’s a practice. He gave me assurance I was still on the right path.

Practice.

The lack of training for systematic and intentional practice for the spiritual life for us non-monks frustrated me. I found Richard J. Foster’s Celebration of Discipline. Foster devotes a chapter each to describing ten different disciplines. But we need an app that translates monastery/convent practices for us common folk. I just thought of that. Maybe I’ll do it.

But, just like for fitness and art, a systematic practice of meditation, prayer, study, service needs to become our Christian spiritual practice.

We only need to practice.

Poets across centuries and cultures have developed structures for their poems. Haiku, ballad, sonnet.

Poets especially in the 1950s and 1960s explored something called free verse—that is, no outside structure.

The teacher of poetry writing at university explained how easy it is to get lost in free verse. The poet must discover an internal structure to effectively express themselves.

Some people have expressed that they wish a life totally free from constraints. “That is freedom,” they proclaim.

Just like the early free verse poets (ever tried to read Allen Ginsberg?), total freedom so easily drifts into meaninglessness. One becomes subject to whim, suggestion, cravings. No purpose. No value.

Some constraints actually allow for creativity and true freedom to live a fulfilled life. I’ll try to start your thinking.

• Consistent sleep times
• Consistent exercise
• Regular (for you) work times
• Ability and courage to say no
• Solid moral foundation

Can you add more?

I’ve been in the personal development (non)business. Not something I’ve earned an income from. Just something I have done. Both for others and for myself.

A couple projects in my open queue include looking at the Letter to the Romans as a guide for spiritual development and a new look at a spiritual disciplines course I’ve led a couple of times.

Another development is organizational. I’ve long believed that, especially for churches and other non-profits, leaders must analyze their budget in two buckets (from a financial standpoint, there are other things you need like P&L and capital)—how much is spent on maintaining the status quo (salaries, rent, maintenance) and how much is spent on ministry to others (missions, local and international ministries, supporting people in need). If it’s too much of the former, you need to consider if you are really doing your mission.

Then, let us look at time. Arnold Schwarzenneger suggests, “Instead of changing goals, look closely at how you spend your time. What habits are holding you back? And, maybe more importantly, what ‘good’ habits aren’t getting the job done? The more you assess how you spend your time, the better you can use that time to shape a more desirable future.”

For you, those you are mentoring, your organization—how do you spend your time?

• Endless meetings?
• Gathering with the same people?
• Meeting new people?
• Supporting those in need?
• Sharing your story with someone new?
• Bringing meals to homeless?
• Sheltering refugees (instructions direct from the Bible)?

Take a look at your calendar (diary in English English). What does it say about you? What needs a refreshment?

From Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Pump newsletter. 

Small acts of discipline, from finishing a workout to choosing a healthy meal, become the bricks in the foundation of self-respect. Don’t chase motivation. Chase consistency. That’s how you earn the version of yourself you admire.

From Shane Parrish of Brain Food. The entire self-help industry in one sentence: Do what makes mornings exciting and nights peaceful. Will this make me excited to wake up? Will this let me sleep in peace? Everything that fails both tests is noise.

Health begins with good sleep.

Meaning comes from getting up excited to serve others according to your talents.