personal growth

Professional Growth

xaglen — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 18:56:32 -0600

Convictions About Ministry

I have a few convictions about ministry:

ministry is complex, and so
we regularly face unfamiliar problems which we’re not smart or experienced enough to solve,
yet rarely do we face a problem that no one else has ever solved.

Therefore I’m a firm believer in gleaning ideas from wherever I can. That’s a pretty Biblical perspective, by the way:

Intelligent people are always open to new ideas.
In fact, they look for them.
Proverbs 18:15, NLT

An intelligent person is always eager to take in more truth;
fools feed on fast-food fads and fancies.
Proverbs 15:14, The Message

The more wise counsel you follow,
the better your chances.
Proverbs 11:14b, The Message

How We Develop Expertise

According to a wide-ranging body of research, it takes about 10 years of deliberate practice to truly develop expertise in an area. The key phrase in that sentence is deliberate practice. People who become experts do so intentionally--they create their own learning plan and follow it. This generally includes

disciplined reading (in addition to spontaneous reading)
experimenting with different ministry styles
surrounding oneself with learning peers
formal education (via seminary, conferences, or at the college you minister to)

The Role of Experience

Experience alone does not bring wisdom! Haven't you ever done the same dumb thing over and over?

Reflected-on experience is the key. To learn from our experiences we have to reflect on them. This happens different ways for different people:

Some people write it (either through journaling or through writing books and articles)
Some people talk about it (with learning peers)
Some people just think about it (but this is less effective)

[edit]

External Links

Leaders That Grow: An Interview With Henry Cloud Cloud talks insightfully about how leaders sabotage themselves in their relationships.

Kaizen

xaglen — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 18:44:26 -0600

Kaizen, I am told, is a Japanese term meaning "improvement". It's used in business circles to refer to a achieving true & long-lasting excellence through making many small incremental changes to everything you do.

It's a great word to know, it's a better word to practice.

Do you pause after every message to ask how you could have done better?
Do you solicit feedback from your students? Do you listen to it?
Do you change something small every time you have a meeting?

Here's a specific tip that works well:

 Hand out index cards to everyone at your meeting.
 Ask them to write down 3 "pointers" and 3 "keepers."
 (3 things you could improve and 3 things you rock at)
 Collate the info and think about what you learned.
 Do this once a quarter or twice a semester.

Goals That Mobilize

xaglen — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 18:13:34 -0600

This article first appeared in Pastoral Renewal, October 1980, Vol. 1, #4 and was adapted for a campus ministry context.

How to set goals and priorities that move God's people toward his purposes.

By Ted Engstrom.

Purposes or goals?

It is important for a discipler to distinguish between purposes and specific, achievable, measurable, and manageable goals. For instance, ask yourself if the following are purposes or goals:

To glorify God through our campus ministry
To be a mature Christian
To teach an effective lesson in Small Group
To be a good friend and helper
To be a better discipler

It might surprise you to know that none of the above are goals. They are all purposes. A purpose, or aim, is something for which we ultimately hope. It is not necessarily measurable in itself, but is a clear direction toward which we wish to move.

Our purpose statements often fall in the category of things we want to be. To be mature, to be a better, to be a good - these are the ideals toward which we are striving. But it is our goals which help us determine how much progress, if any, we are making toward our "to be" purposes.

Below are examples of specific goals. I think you will readily see the difference between purposes and goals:

To share Christ with a non-believer twice a week
To spend 15 minutes in prayer each day
To tithe a minimum of 10 percent of my income
To eat with my discipleship group once a week
To learn to fly an airplane by the end of the summer

Now of course no one can guarantee, for example, that eating with my discipleship group once aweek will make me a better discipler. But it does give me a specific, tangible means of measuring this important purpose in my life. Therefore, all of the above are measurable goals.

Communicate and Mobilize

It seems that God has so made us that we almost naturally respond with enthusiasm to something worthwhile, specific, and measurable to tackle. That's because good goals are related to faith.

A goal is a statement about how we hope things are going to be at some time in the future. It is a statement of faith.

Any statement about tomorrow is a statement of faith. This is an important concept. Don't miss it As the writer in Hebrews said, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for" (Hebrews 11:1).

Goals have the power to lift our eyes from the mud below to the sky above. They are a statement about what could be, what should be, or what can be.

Notice that goals are not statements about what will be. That is in God's hands. But they are statements about what we believe God wants us to do or to be, in light of his word.
Well-written Goals

Many may be asking at this moment, how do I start writing down goal statements? I know what we want to be as a campus minist:ry, but how do we develop the goals that will help us measure our progress toward what we want to be? Below are some statements that might help you.

Well-written goals are:

Stated in terms of end results
Achievable in a tirne span
Definite as to what is expected
Practical and feasible
Precisely stated in terms of quantities, where applicable
Limited to one important goal statement

Poorly written goals tend to be:

Stated in terms of process or activities
Are never fully achievable; no specific target dates
Ambiguous as to what is expected
Theoretical or idealistic

Too brief and indefinite, or too long and complex Written with two or more goals per statement

Goals may cover different time periods. You may have immediate goals for this week, month and year. Then you may have short-range goals for the next two or three years. And finally you may have long-range goals for five years or more.

Another way of looking at the characteristics of good goals is to use the following items as a checklist of questions to ask for any goal statements you have developed:

Is this goal accomplishable: do you believe you can do it (under God's leading)?
Does this goal have a date: will you know when you want to do it?
Is this goal measurable: will you know that it has in fact happened?
Does this goal have steps (a plan): do you know how to reach it?
Is this goal claimed: do you know who will be responsible for the following the plan?
Is this goal supported: do we have the resources to accomplish it?

The ABC's of Prioritizing

Now after you have set your goals, you may still have confusion and misunderstanding in the group if you do not prioritize theim Especially with limited manpower, time, and financial resources, it is important for us to determine the top items requiring our best efforts.

Here is a little prioritizing system that may help you sort out the most important items. It is simply called the ABC technique.

Start by making a list of all the goals that you have considered....

There is no reason why we have to have one goal that is our top priority. We are more likely to have a number of goals, all of which we consider number one.

There is a simple and effective way of sorting out in terms of priorities. Instead of trying to assign each goal a ranking number, assign it a value, an A, B, or C.

A - "Must do" or very high value

B - "Should do" or medium value

C - "Can do" or low value.

You can use the ABC technique in one of two ways. The first way is to go down your list and decide which of these goals you consider to be A goals. If it's a B or a C go right past it. Just mark the A's. Now go back to the list and decide which ones are C goals, low priority. The rest are automatically B's.

A second way is to pause at each goal and decide whether you think it is an A, B, or C.

It does not matter which of these methods you use. Some people find one easier than the other.

Remember, goals for which you have no priorities are useless.

Goals and Leadership

It isn't always easy to put flesh and bones on the exalted purposes which God has called us to in his Word. But developing achievable goals for these purposes and prioritizing them can be one of the most practical and measurable means of mobilizing believers to truly seek his kingdom and his righteousness.

The Qualities Necessary to be an Effective Discipler

xaglen — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 18:01:44 -0600

Ready to Disciple?

So you're ready now to be a Small Group Discipler. Or are you? How does a person assess his or her own preparedness? By what gauge or guide can one evaluate whether to take a step of faith and assume discipling leader-ship? Anyone who takes seriously the Lord's injunction to "disciple the nations" will ask these kinds of questions.

In this lesson, we shall look at two gauges or measuring sticks by which we can measure ourselves, drawn from practical experience in campus ministry and from the Apostle Paul.

Essentials for a Small Group Discipler

Godly character

The most incredible news the world has ever heard is that God himself came to earth. Not only did this provide a wonderful salvation for us, but the Lord wanted to make sure we could come to know Him as He is. No more voices from a mountain or earthquakes or even still small voices, but God became a man. In doing so, He demonstrated firsthand what He purposes us to become. The most significant way that we can know how we are to live, act, think, and love, is to see a model, have an example. Jesus was the first model for all who would follow Him, and not only are we to follow Him, but we are to become like Him.

This means that our character needs to become conformed to His. Godly character qualities need to find a home in our lives such as the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:2-12), Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-26), and the Rules for Holy Living (Colossians 3:12-17). These qualities are not taught, they are caught.

A Bible teacher may explain them, but each individual believer must respond individually to the Lord to implement them into his or her life. To become like our Lord, a person must spend time with Him. Sharp edges must be chipped and polished, wild branches must be pruned. This interaction with the Lord is often painful (at first), but to the one who submits to this process will find peace and fruitfulness flowing from his life.

There are two reasons why a person's growth in Godly character is a very important indicator as to whether he would become an effective discipler: for two reasons: First, those discipled need a real-life example of who Christ is. We should be able to say as Paul did: "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1). Second, those who are growing in Godly character are obviously people in vital interaction with Him. They have learned how to listen to God's voice and obey. They have submitted themselves to God's discipline and are being developed by it. This process cannot be taught into a person, exhorted in, preached in or even encouraged in; it comes only from the Lord. The person who is in this kind of relationship with the Lord is just the kind of person that should be discipling others (for that person's experience with the Lord will strongly influence growth in the ones discipled).

Pastoral heart

The word "pastor" comes from the same root that we get the word "shepherd". To care for people as a pastor is thus to care as a shepherd tends sheep. When the Apostle Peter described a shepherd's heart, he underscored the motivation for leadership. A discipler leads because he or she is not forced but willing, not greedy but eager, not lording over but serving as an example to the flock (I Peter 5:1 -4).

A discipler needs to have a heart that breaks at the point of another person's needs. Someone who truly cares, someone who hurts to see the damage done by sin and misfortune in a friend's life. Insensitivity in the hands of a spiritual leader is horribly destructive. A critical attitude will only compound wounds in a young believer's life. A discipler must exhibit the warmth of Christ.C. Vision

Life without vision is a dead-end. Jesus' first words to his about-to-be disciples were "Come and follow me".

Vision is important in three areas:

1. personal vision

A person is much more eager to follow than to be pushed. A discipler must be a person who sees God's direction through prayer and serious study of Scripture. He has prayed for direction to live by, and Jesus has responded. A discipler is going somewhere, is filled with hope for the future, and is not alone; he or she is going somewhere with others who have prayed for vision.

2. relational vision

The discipler needs to prayerfully develop vision for where the younger believer can grow and develop in the Lord (as well as where the entire Small Group can grow if the Spirit is free to operate among them).

3. corporate vision

The discipler needs to share the same vision of ministry that the corporate fellowship feels called to fulfill from the Lord. Vision is characteristically something that is shared between believers, and not just personalized. It is a corporate issue.

Kingdom-conscious

A discipler must be a Christian through and through. To be disci piers, we must be totally sold out for the Lord. We must be people who recognize that Jesus Christ is the only answer to people's lostness. It is a great temptation iR today's society to be a humanistic Christian. It is not sufficient merely to help people to feel better about themselves, for we will only truly feel better about ourselves when we are completely assured from within that our sins are forgiven. It is not enough for people to have friends who are Christians and not feel so lonely. Loneliness is only dealt with when believers walk in the light together. A Christian is not just a very moral person. A Christian is a transformed person, a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17). A Christian no longer belongs to this world---citizenship is in heaven. A discipler must know the difference and live out this difference.

Ministry skills

To be effective, a discipler must know how to affect others for the Kingdom of God. A disci pier must know the methods of discipleship as well as the message of discipleship. A discipler must know how to:

lead a person to Christ
facilitate worship
lead a discussion
encourage people to share from their heart
teach others how to pray
assess another person's needs
plan to minister to those needs

There is good news here though! Of these five essentials, the first four (character, heart, vision, kingdom-consciousness) occur in a person who is faithful in knowing God from his heart, and for that reason they are the most important. The ministry skills can be learned. Any person who is sold out for God can be taught how to be effective for the Lord. These skills come to us as a leamed process.

The Apostle Paul Demonstrates Effective Discipleship

The following are nine essential ingredients taken from the life of the Apostle Paul in his interaction with the church at Thessalonica.

An effective discipler is earnest in prayer.

"We always thank God for you all and always mention you in our prayers. For we remember before our God and Father how you put your faith into practice, how your love made you work so hard, and how your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ is firm.. Day and night we ask him with all our heart to let us see you personally and supply what is needed in your faith." 1 Thess. 1:2-3; 3:10-11

The effective discipler places complete reliance on the power and presence beyond him or herself. Effective disciplers see themselves as being able to change the course of human events through prayer. They know that any human activity apart from prayer is doomed to failure. Therefore, they become intercessors for those being discipied, ever offering them up to the Father who can "supply what is lacking in (their) faith."

An effective discipler is a prodaimer of the gospel.

"And there is another reason why we always give thanks to God. When we brought you God's message, you heard it and accepted it, not as man's message but as God's message, which indeed it is." I Thess. 2:13

Effective disciplers believe completely in the power of the gospel to change lives. They proclaim the good news of Jesus because they know that it will transform someone. Effective disciplers do not disciple from feelings of guilt. Central to the task of discipling is telling others about Jesus and His love and plans for them.

An effective discipler is pure in heart.

"Instead we always speak as God wants us to, because he has judged us worthy to be entrusted with the Good News. We do not tryto please men, but to please God, who tests our motives. You know very well that we did not come to you with flattering talk, nor did we use words to cover up greed-God is our witness! We did not try to get praise from anyone, either from you or from others." I Thess. 2:4-6

The proper motivation for an effective discipler is to ever and always please the Lord and not merely be a man-pleaser. The discipler's heart must be free from self-interest and the need to manipulate others. Integrity between what a discipler says and what he does is essential.

An effective discipler is an example of Christ-likeness.

"For we brought the Good News to you, not with words only, but also with power and the Holy Spirit, and with complete conviction of its truth. You know how we lived when we were with you; it was for your own good. You imitated us and the Lord; and even though you suffered much, you received the message with the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit.. .You are our witnesses, and so is God, that our conduct toward you who believe was pure, right, and without fault." I Thess. 1:5,6; 2:10

The lives of effective disciplers must be open for inspection. They must be people who are open and honest, letting the sincerity of their walk with Christ become observable. They must be individuals who can testify as Paul said elsewhere, "Follow me as I follow Christ" (I Cor. 11:1). A discipler is a person who lives above reproach.

An effective discipler is a lover and nurturer of people.

"As apostles of Christ we could have made demands on you. But we were gentle when we were with you, like a mother taking care of her children. Because of our love for you we were ready to share with you not only the Good News from God but even our own lives. You were so dear to us! Surely you remember, our brothers (and sisters), how we worked and toiled! We worked day and night so that we would not be any trouble to you as we preached to you the Good News.. As for us, brothers (and sisters), when we were separated from you for a little while-not in our thoughts of course, but only in body-how we missed you and how hard we tried to see you again! We wanted to return to you. I myself tried to go back more than once, but Satan would not let us." I Thess. 2:7-9; 2:17, 18

There needs to be an intensity in a discipler's caring and concern that undergirds any ministry to others. Paul likened it to the tenderness with which a mother nurtures her child. Patient compassion is essential to building the love of God in someone. A discipler must allow the fruit of the Spirit to express itself toward those he or she serves.

An effective discipler is an admonisher.

"You know that we treated each one of you just as a father treats his own children. We encouraged you, we comforted you, and we kept urging you to live the kind of life that pleases God, who calls you to share in his own Kingdom and glory." I Thess. 2:11,12

Love must always have the strength to confront a brother or sister in love. To admonish is the necessary counter-balance to the previous quality of being a lover/nurturer. To admonish is our reflection of God's love, expressed in Hebrews 12:5-12, where every son is loved and disciplined. If disciplers fail to admonish, they are bound to reproduce disciples who are self-centered and unable to endure the hardships of life.

An effective discipler is a teacher and encourager.

"Day and night we ask him with all our heart to let us see you personally and supply what is needed in your faith. May our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus prepare the way for us to come to you! May the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow more and more and become as great as our love for you. In this way he will strengthen you, and you will be perfect and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all who belong to him." 1 Thess. 3:10-13

This demands a consistent discipline in the study of the Scriptures. If disciplers are to encourage growth in someone else, then they must be continually growing themselves. Disciplers must then work at becoming effective at communicating this knowledge to others. Simple faith is essential, but stupid faith on the part of a discipler is an affront to the person of God and His people. Truth shared in love builds up.

An effective discipler is persevering.

"You know how we had already been mistreated and insulted in Philippi before we came to you in Thessalonica. And even though there was much opposition, our God gave us courage to tell you the Good News that comes from him." I Thess. 2:2

The effective discipler must be willing to go against the grain of his culture, being willing to become a prophetic person. Discipling is emotionally taxing and time-consuming, thus demanding the ability to persevere. This quality is a direct result of prayerfulness and realistic biblical planning. If we are to help build lasting communities for Christ, then excellence in craftsmanship is required. This means that a discipler must dig in and stick to a task with perseverance.

An effective discipler is open to receive personal ministry.

".. while we sent Timothy, our brother who works with us for God in preaching the Good News about Christ. We sent him to strengthen you and help your faith.. Now Timothy has come back, and he has brought us the welcome news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always think well of us and that vou want to see us just as much as we want to see you. So, in all our trouble and suffering we have been encouraged about you, brothers (and sisters). It was your faith that encouraged us, because now we really live if you stand firm in your life in union with the Lord. Now we can give thanks to our God for you. We thank him for the joy we have in his presence because of you.. Pray also for us brothers (and sisters)." I Thess. 3:2, 6-9; 5:25

Effective discipleship is not a one-way street. Leaders will not produce other healthy leaders if they do not let others minister to them. If you desire humble, honest, confessional disciples, then you must be one. Beware of isolation, it breeds hostility, haughtiness and heresy.

Conclusion

Well, after looking at these two gauges, how did your self-evaluation turn out? If you're like most other folks on the planet, you will find several areas where growth is needed. Don't walk away defeated just because you realize God is not finished with you yet. Find your Small Group Leader and share your self-evaluation with them, and then agree to pursue the specific growth in Jesus that is needed.

Remember, it is God's will that we disciple the nations. It is His idea. And since it is His idea, He is the One who equips us to fulfill His will. He delights in doing so. "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10). "Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6).

The Disciplines of Discipleship

xaglen — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 17:45:46 -0600

Introduction

Discipline is training that corrects, molds, and perfects the mental abilities and moral character of a person. We often think of punishment first when we consider discipline, but even good punishment should serve to penalize a person due to their lack of self-control (trusting that the direct attention will aid in the development of self-control). Thus, to discipline simply means to impose order upon disorder within the mind, heart and spirit.Spiritual disciplines are tools of training for the spiritually unruly which will cause growth in the knowledge of God, growth in putting on the irnage of Christ, and growth in living an effective Christian life-style. The disciplines enable the "fruit of the Spirit" to come to a bountiful harvest in our lives, bringing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

"Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people...

Neither should we think of the spiritual disciplines as some dull drudgery aimed at exterminating laughter from the face of the earth. Joy is the keynote of all the disciplines. The purpose of the disciplines is liberation from the stifling slavery to self-interest and fear... Singing, dancing, even shouting characterize the disciplines of the spiritual life...

Our ordinary method of dealing with ingrained sin is to launch a frontal attack. We rely on our willpower and determination...we determine never to do it again; we pray against it, fight against it, set our will against it. But it is all in vain, and we find ourselves once again morally bankrupt or, worse yet, so proud of our external righteousness that "whitened sepulchers" is a mild description of our condition...

Willpower will never succeed in dealing with the deeply ingrained habits of sin... Willpower has no defense against the careless word, the unguarded moment. The will has the same deficiency as the Law-it can deal only with externals. It is not sufficient to bring about the necessary transformation of the inner spirit.

The needed change within us is God's work, not ours. The demand is for an inside job, and only God can work from the inside.

Our world is hungry for genuinely changed people. Leo Tolstoy observed, 'Everybody thinks of changing humanity and nobody thinks of changing himself.' Let us be among those who believe that the inner transformation of our lives is a goal worthy of our best effort." (From Richard J. Foster's Celebration of Discipline. Emphasis added.)

A Sampling of Solomon's Wisdom Concerning Discipline

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline" (Proverbs 1:7).

"My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in" (Proverbs 3:11,12).

"At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent. You will say, 'How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! I would not obey my teachers or listen to my instructors. I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly"' (Proverbs 5:11-14).

"He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray" (Proverbs 10:17).

"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates corrections is stupid" (Proverbs 12:1).

"He who ignores discipline despises hirnself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding" (Proverbs 15:32).

Also see Proverbs 1:2,3; 5:21-23; 6:2O-23; 9:13-18; 13:18,24; 15:5-10.

Obstacles to a Disciplined Life

A. The age of permissiveness we live in encourages an undisciplined approach to life.

The dominant world-view in America assumes that there is nothing which is universally right or wrong; nothing which is intrinsically good or bad. Good and evil are not built in, essential, unchangeable qualities of life; they are only descriptions of our perceptions in different situations. Everyone is really "free" to think, live and love as they feel best. Therefore, there is no standard to which we should aspire, other than the "standard" within each of us.

B. The over-spiritualization of spontaneity.

In some Christian circles those things which are planned or scheduled are often seen as less "Spirit-led". Strategy in ministry and missions is viewed with the suspicion that the "flesh" must be in control. Only those activities of the Spirit which occur on the spur of the moment or are received by special revelation carry ultimate spiritual weight. This is not to say that special revelation is in any way to be undercut, on the contrary, we are enormously blessed when the Holy Spirit works among us in this manner. But over-spiritualization occurs when we exclusively cling only to the special word. This misses the dimension that faithful commitment produces much fruit. Often "spiritual spontaneity" is only a mask for spiritual irresponsibility.

C. We develop a sacred/secular dichotomy.

We have a great tendency to divide our lives into those things which have spiritual value and the rest which is non-spiritual. This flies in the face of a true understanding of spirituality. Our Christian faith must be integrated into the entire fabric ofour normal lives. Moreover, this is precisely an essential task of discipleship, to lead disciples into concrete understanding of how relationship with Jesus relates to every fiber of our lives.

D. The failure of the church and home to teach skifls for the maturing of the spiritual life.

In many cases the normal Christian life has become as lackadaisical and as haphazard as modern secular society. Discipline causes pain for gain, and we live in a society which will do anything necessary to avoid suffering in any form at any cost. Often suffering is equated with evil itself. The local church and the nuclear Christian family must assume their responsibility for training believers in righteousness.

Four Foundational Truths Concerning the Spiritual Disciplines

A. Spiritual disciplines are not an end in themselves, but a means to a greater end.

The goal is not to be known as a great pray-er, but to know God better. The goal is not to see how rigid a life we can live, but to become as effective as possible for the Kingdom of God in our daily lives. "I can't see the forest for the trees." This is what happens often to disciples. They focus so much on the immediate issue of "I didn't pray today", to the exdusion of seeing the larger picture of a God who wants to be in relationship with me, and wants me to know Him.

B. Discipline brings healing into our broken lives.

Just as the beauty of God's universe was an outgrowth of God making order out of the primeval chaos, so order coming into our disorderly lives will bring healing and beauty. Unchecked anger brings hurt, but anger brought under the Spirit's control will produce understanding, forgiveness, and healing.

C. The flip-side of loving compassion is loving discipline.

The writer of Hebrews 12:5-13 quotes Solomon, reminding us that God the Father disciplines every child that He loves. Maturity and proper self-understanding only come by way of this type of loving discipline. To not act with discipline toward someone straying way off the narrow path is most unloving on our part. Remember, when the Lord Jesus commands that we follow Him, His words bring blessing and curse at the same moment. Blessing for those who respond to His love, and destruction to those who reject His offer.

D. Blessing comes to the disciplined.

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it" (Hebrews 12:11).

The Facets of Discipline

A. The Discipline of our Spiritual Resources

Inward Disciplines

Outward Disciplines

Corporate Disciplines

Meditation - Ps. 1:1-3

Prayer - James 5:16

Fasting - Mt. 6:17,18

Study -- John 8:32

Simplicity -Prov.11:28

Solitude - Mt. 14:23,24

Submission- Eph. 5:21

Celebration- Gal. 5:13

Confession- James 5:16

Worship -John 4:23

Guidance - Prov. 3:5,6

Celebration -John 15:11

A spiritual growth project:
The previous chart is based on the structure of Richard Foster's book, Celebration of Discipline. This book has filled a void that has existed for several decades. Very little had been written on the spiritual disciplines during most of the century. We recommend one of two things for you:

a. Get a copy of Foster's Celebration of Discipline and read it over Christmas Break, Spring Break, Summer Vacation, or even better...

b. Make this book serve as a spiritual growth project for the next year. There are 12 disciplines mentioned. Study and try to implement, as fully as possible, one discipline per month for the next year. Every chapter has much practical instruction assisting you to incorporate the discipline into your life. The effects of this spiritual growth project would without a doubt produce blessing for a lifetime.

B. The Disciplines of our Material Resources

1. Finances

a. Tithes

It is an Old Testament principle that one-tenth of all of our income belongs to the Lord and should be given at the storehouse (where we are experiencing daily Christian community, where we are fed the Word, where we worship, where we minister to other members of Christ's body, and where we are held accountable for the faith within us). The New Testament expands the principle that all belongs to the Lord. A beginning stage should start with at least one-tenth and then increase as the Lord directs. (For a creative option, read about the Graduated Tithe in Rich Christians In An Age Of Hunger: A Biblical Study, Ronald J. Sider, Inter-Varsity Press, 1977).

b. Offerings

Offerings are financial giving that go beyond our regular tithes. Whereas tithes should go to your immediate spiritual community, offerings could go to Kingdom needs outside the local community, like missions or benevolent assistance.

2. Hospitality

Giving assistance and opening up our dwelling places to guests to provide fellowship is a very strong theme throughout the Old Testament and central to the life-style of Jesus.

3. Tangible Goods

Sharing and giving away of the material blessings we have received from God's grace (clothes, books, gifts, food, etc.) is demonstrating God's ownership of all things and our willingness to be a good steward of those blessings.

C. The Discipline of our Relational Resources

There are disciplines that must be learned in regard to how a disciple relates to his/her parents, teachers, employers, peers, opposite sex, and the community of Christ, as well as to one's self.

Time and time again we are called in the New Testament to demonstrate love and allegiance to one another. We are consistently called to minister to those around us. All of this calls for modeling, teaching, and the doing of Christ's will.

D. The Discipline of our Temporal Resources

Each year about 25% of most campus fellowships graduate. Among those graduating are approximately 30% of the fellowship's discipleship leaders. Each year 30% of the typical campus fellowship is composed of new recruits and converts. Without fail, a central issue in these student's lives is the issue of time and priorities.

It doesn't take you very long as a new university student to discover that you can't join everything; can't support every good cause; and you can't give of yourself to every needy person. We are all faced with the law of an effective disciplined life-style. Effectiveness demands choices, choices, and more choices. What you chaose bath now and throughout your life will determine to a significant degree, your impact in this world for Christ. The priorities of your life are most clearly seen by your use of time. If being committed to Christ is the top priority of your life, but it is nowhere reflected in your weekly schedule, then this priority is only a dream or wish and not a part of actual reality.

As important as this whole area is, it is very distressing to see that very little, if any, training is given prior to coming to the university in the area of time management and prioritizing of commitments. Because of this, a great majority of students feel that they don't have time to participate in Bible classes, outreaches, small groups or prayer meetings.It is safe to say that most of today's university students are wasting at least 8-10 hours a week or are involved in unimportant and time consuming commitments. Christian students must become more disciplined in the use of their time. In order to do that, more thought will have to go into the setting of personal priorities. For significant results in ministry to occur, it becomes an absolute necessity. A typical small group discipling leader will spend about fifteen hours per week preparing, leading, training and following up on his/her small group. This includes the large group gatherings and leadership meetings. If we are to seriously attempt to reach our world, we must help one another develop in our use of time.

How Can I Tell If I Am Being Effective?

xaglen — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 17:03:22 -0600

Problems Measuring Ministry Productivity

Last week I saw an award-winning author get interviewed. At one point the topic turned to productivity, and the author opined: “There are a lot of things I can do and justify in my mind as an author: research, brainstorming, or getting my workspace set up just right. But at the end of the day, I look at how many words I’ve put on paper. That tells me whether I’m being productive or I’m just making myself busy.”

I had two emotional responses: admiration and envy. I felt admiration because this was obviously a person of discipline and ambition. I felt envy because it must be nice to have such a simple metric to evaluate your day.

It’s a little more complex when you’re a minister.

There are things we can measure in ministry—the most obvious being “butts in seats” as some pastors indelicately put it. There are other things we also tend to measure, such as conversions, offerings, and baptisms. These measurements have their place, but there are two huge problems with using any of these as tools to evaluate our daily productivity.

First, these are weekly metrics that aren’t that useful for evaluating a daily schedule. “Martha, I’m so excited! I feel confident that we’ll have 1% more converts this week as a result of my discipleship meeting with Tim this morning.” Or “Frank—I feel sure that as a result of my extra fifteen minutes of prayer today attendance at our worship service will be up 2.3%!” It’s silly to assign value to these important daily activities using such statistics.

There’s an even better reason to be cautious with these measurements: there is a difference between a good decision and a good outcome. “The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all” (Ecclesiastes 9:11, NIV).

Sometimes in ministry we have good results and sometimes we have bad results. Those are usually related to our personal effectiveness, but not always. If we adopt results as our only measuring stick, we guarantee that we will periodically pat ourselves on the back for doing shoddy work and kick ourselves all the way home after a season of solid labor.

Read the last two paragraphs again. They really matter.

For example, I know one pastor who pioneered a church that flopped, and then moved to take over a small church which exploded in growth (becoming the largest church in its region). An aspiring young minister asked him what he had done differently in this church than in the previous one, and the highly successful pastor replied humbly, “Not a thing. I pray the same, I lead the same, and I even preach some of the same messages.”

“Butts in seats” should never determine our self-worth. The big churches are not always to the best leaders, the big crowds are not always to the best preachers, and the converts are not always to the best evangelists.

Low attendance should always cause us to evaluate our ministry (and our leadership), but not even Jesus was successful everywhere he went. In Mark 6:1-5 we read about the time Jesus' ministry flopped. He did all the right things, and the results did not follow. The results did not follow because it was not all up to him—the people to whom he was ministering did not want to receive his ministry.

Let me be clear: I keep track of “butts in seats” and other useful measurements because I think they are important indicators of the health of my organization. I just do not find them useful in determining how effectively I am stewarding my time and energy. Sometimes attendance is down and it’s not my fault, sometimes attendance is up and it’s not because of anything I did.

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A Possible Solution

What I’ve said doesn’t mean that we can’t measure something that will give us useful information about our productivity—it just means that we have to ensure that what we measure meets two criteria that “butts in seats” does not:

It must be a measurement of our daily activities instead of our weekly ones.
It must be a measurement of things that are within our control rather than things that we only influence.

Let us look to the Scriptures and see if there are any clues there:

“We apostles should spend our time preaching and teaching the word of God, not administering a food program… we'll stick to our assigned tasks of prayer and speaking God's Word.” (Acts 6:2-4, NLT)
“As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.” (1st Samuel 12:23, NIV)
{A minister’s} responsibility is to equip God's people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ… (Ephesians 4:12, CEV)
Preach the word of God. Be persistent, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching… keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. (2nd Timothy 4:2-5, NLT)
Command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching (1st Timothy 4:11-13, NIV).
Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned… (Titus 2:7-8, ESV)
So I ask you to follow my example and do as I do. That is the very reason I am sending Timothy—to help you do this. (1 Cor 4:16-17, NLT)

Three key responsibilities recur in these passages:

We are to pray for those we serve.
We are to model Christianity for those we serve.
We are to teach God’s Word to those we serve.

To be sure, we have many more responsibilities as ministers. We must visit the sick, lead meetings, keep track of the church finances, and a zillion other things. But these three areas seem to be where God expects to spend the bulk of our time.

Therefore, I’d like to propose three simple questions we can use to evaluate our day.

How much time did I spend in prayer today?
How many meaningful conversations did I have today?
How much time did I spend preparing for my teaching responsibilities today?

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Time In Prayer

This is a dangerous one—assessing time in prayer too easily becomes a legalistic trap. Still, I think it’s safe to say that the number one peril in ministry is public faith and private atheism.

We really think we can do what we are called to do without God’s help or direction. At least, I sometimes do. If I’m regularly assessing my prayer life as one of my core work responsibilities I am less likely to let it slide.

The apostles passed up a task assignment to give time to prayer, so I shouldn’t feel guilty letting good work go undone because I’m praying. And if those to whom I minister give me flak about it, I’d rather be right with God than right with them.

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Meaningful Conversations

This flows directly from the idea of modeling. People can’t emulate what they can’t see. The way we act in the pulpit isn’t much of an example to anyone. It’s the way we act in the supermarket that matters.

Conversations are a tangible measure of how much personal interaction we’ve had with others. They’re vital to both evangelism and discipleship. They are the essence of relationship. In short, they’re the very lifeline of ministry.

What constitutes a meaningful conversation? A meaningful conversation is one in which you reveal truth in a way that the other person can understand it. Sometimes the revelation is by modeling (“so that’s how I can react when someone makes me angry”), sometimes by explaining (“so that’s how I can take every thought captive”), or sometimes by accident (you drop an aside into the conversation and don’t realize how deep the arrow strikes).

I almost titled this section “meaningful encounters” to include things like smiling at the checkout clerk and generally being an uplifting presence, but there were three reasons I chose to measure conversations:

Encounters are fuzzy whereas conversations are tangible.
If I’m having conversations I can be sure I’m also having lesser encounters, but the reverse is not true. I can enter a smiling shell and not have a meaningful conversation for days on end.
Conversations are essential to our goals. We don’t simply want people to be happier for a short while because our peaceful aura entered their awareness—we want them to understand how they themselves can experience the peace that passes all understanding.

So pay attention to how many conversations you have with people outside your office. It will tell you a great deal about your priorities and your effectiveness.

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Preparing For Teaching

Finally, I should devote some time every day to preparing for my teaching responsibilities. This includes leadership training times and other outlets in addition to the weekly preaching of the word.

We must not only prepare for our next responsibility, we must seek to hone our skills as a preacher. Contrary to popular belief, experience is not the best teacher. Reflected on experience is the best teacher.

We must regularly take time to analyze our preaching and our people’s response to it. This habit will reap rewards not just for next week’s message but also for the rest of our lives.

We should also be aggressive in blocking out preparation time. Again—good things must go undone so that we can prepare. We have to prepare in three ways:

Truly understanding the text. Too many preachers skip this step. They use a search engine to do a superficial topical study and then they substitute flamboyance and emotion for sound understanding. Our calling is not just to motivate people but to help them learn the truths of God’s Word. We can’t explain what we don’t know.
Applying the text to our lives. Again, many preachers skip this step. If we don’t live it either we don’t understand it or we don’t believe it. In either case, we have no place saying it. We are allowed to speak beyond our experience as long as we’re honest about it (“I really struggle with this, but I know my goal is to…”), but we’re not allowed to deceive others into believing something that we ourselves don’t believe.
Figuring out how to best explain the text. Most of my peers devote considerable time to this step. All I can say is, keep learning to do it better. Devote the rest of your life to the ongoing improvement of your ability to interest people with your words. I’ve heard that a wide-ranging body of evidence demonstrates that it takes about ten years of deliberate practice to develop truly impressive expertise at a complex task like mathematics or playing a musical instrument. My sense is that that’s probably about right for preaching. Not ten years of experience—ten years of deliberate practice. Most of us have a long, long way to go.

What if you’re not a preacher? Perhaps you’re the administrative pastor or a worship pastor. How does this apply to you? I have two competing answers inside me, and I haven’t decided which I think is better:

On the one hand, I’d say substitute your core responsibility for ‘teaching time.’ As an administrative pastor, I’d ask myself how much time I spent organizing the church in a way that facilitates rather than hinders ministry. As a worship pastor, I’d ask myself how much time I spent preparing to lead worship this week.
On the other hand, I’d say that your fundamental responsibility doesn’t change at all—just the means of expression. You’re still expected to teach people about God. As an administrative pastor, you do that by creating policies and procedures that reflect the character of God. Just as the Law teaches us about God’s nature, so should a church’s structure. As a worship pastor, you do that through the songs you select and the way you disciple the others on your worship team.

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In Conclusion

So how can I know if I’m being a good steward of my time and energy? It’s sure not by looking at my weekly attendance figures—there’s not enough of a correlation between my day-to-day activities and what happens at the worship meeting. When it comes to the effectiveness of my own life I should look at the scriptural mandates for ministry: prayer, relationship, and teaching.