Pastor's Message
What is Your Plan for Spiritual Growth?
The old saying is
that if we aim at nothing, we will hit nothing. That is especially
true where spiritual growth is concerned. Most of us go into the New
Year with no intentional thought of how we plan to grow
spiritually. We are simply creatures of habit and pretty much
repeat what our patterns have been in the past. So, I want to
encourage us all to give this some intentional thought. I know I
have because I want to be a more
effective pastor, a more loving husband and father, and reach
more
people for Christ.
I knew
that I needed to grow so I sought out those who mentor other great
church leaders and CEO’s. Henry Cloud and John Townsend are the best
in the business and have a webinar just for us. We are on internet
together for an hour each month and then we are connected weekly
with other professionals who are struggling with similar growth
issues. After the webinar, we are given homework—a lot of homework.
There are questions that challenge everything I do and the reasons
for doing it. I have to set goals and then do a time audit to
substantiate that I’m actually putting the time in to achieve those
goals. Then I have to share my answers with the three other
professionals in my group. It’s awesome! I’ve learned so much just
in the first few weeks.
Let me
share with you four important things to look at as you consider an
intentional spiritual growth plan for 2012.
1. Clinical considerations: Are you
struggling with destructive patterns, habits, addictions, character
defects, etc that will sabotage your growth? These must be addressed
in a group of spiritually caring people who struggle with similar
issues. James says to confess your sins one to another and pray for
each other that you may be healed. At First UMC that would be
Celebrate Recovery. We must all take personal responsibility for
seeking the healing we need.
2. Emotional considerations: Do I struggle
with emotional hang-ups like anger, depression, fear, unforgiveness,
critical spirit, resentments, etc.? These are feelings but they have
an underlying spiritual root cause usually related to lack of
gratitude and the way we think. Dealing with these requires
confronting and owning these emotions and then establishing an
intentional program of confession and making a gratitude list every
day.
3. Relational considerations: Our
relationships with others are many times reflective of our
relationship with God. Issues with authority often reflect our
resistance to God’s authority. Problems with relationships may
reflect a lack of investment of time with God. Peter even warns
husbands that their payers are not answered because of the way they
treat their wives.
4. Spiritual considerations: How am I
developing the Fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, gentleness, etc) and where am I seeing the fruit of making
disciples for Christ. Jesus said that it is by our fruit that we
prove to be his disciples (John 15:8). Then the question becomes:
What spiritual disciplines do I need to develop in my life? It may
be knowledge of the Bible, prayer, tithing, witnessing, spiritual
accountability, fasting, etc.
So, the starting
place is to identify the areas where we need to grow and then find a
place and a way to address each of these issues. In the end, no one
can drag us into spiritual growth. We must see the need and find
personal motivation. If we keep doing what we’ve always done, we’ll
keep getting what we’ve got. We don’t need any new ways to fail, the
old ones will work just fine.
A year
from now your life can be significantly different. You can be more
confident in your faith, more effective in the cause for Christ,
experience more of the Fruit of the Spirit, and repair stressed or
damaged relationships. It’s not too late to start—but some day it
will be
