Tag Archives: Spiritual Growth

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Developing An Environment Of Growth, Part 2

One of the ways that leaders grow is by maintaining an environment of growth. Without building such an environment in your life, you could be setting yourself up to fail. Or, at the very least, setting yourself up to experience difficulty in leadership.

Watering Can

photo credit: macca via photopin cc

In my last post, we looked at three indicators of a growth-oriented environment.

Today I want to look at three more.

Epictetus is credited as saying “It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.” This is true. Without an environment designed to foster growth, you will not grow.

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Memorize Scripture – Week 41

This is the last passage on our journey down the Romans Road. A lot of the lists you’ll find describing the salvation process found in the book of Romans doesn’t include this verse.

But I believe that the follow through is crucial to the salvation process as well. And I believe Paul did as well. See what he wrote in Romans 12:1:

Romans 12:1

This passage is often quoted with verse two attached, which speaks about not being conformed, but being transformed, by being informed.

And while that is important, the part of the passage I want to focus on is verse 1.

After we have accepted Christ into our lives as Savior, the story doesn’t end there. On the contrary, it’s just the beginning.

In this passage, Paul gives us some instruction on how to begin to live our lives. They key is to offer all of ourselves, and to do so in worship.

Paul brings to mind images of the Old Testament sacrificial system, which was what the early Christian would have been familiar with. But he makes a key distinction: our worship sacrifice, of ourselves, isn’t to be killed, as was the norm. No, we are to be living sacrifices, continually.

It’s part of the life transformation that begins when Christ invades our lives. When he comes in, it’s impossible for us to remain the same.

And as we strive to live in a manner pleasing to him, this lifestyle becomes a part of our worship.

That’s great! But it’s also difficult.

Someone once said, the only problem with a living sacrifice is that it keeps crawling off of the altar.

That’s very true. The biggest hindrance to living with a worship nature… is my sinful nature. And that’s where verse two comes in, giving us a glimpse of just how to do that.

Do you find it easy or hard to maintain a worshipful attitude and lifestyle? What makes it difficult? What helps you out? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

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Developing An Environment Of Growth

A crucial element in leadership is continual growth.

This is true in all areas of leadership, but I find it to be especially true in ministry.

Green Grass

photo credit: Jason A. Samfield via photopin cc

Growth is critical if you want to stay on top of your game and be effective for the long term. I’ve seen too many leaders sacrifice personal and spiritual growth. It doesn’t take long for their leadership to crumble, for their effectiveness to wane, and even for their integrity to be compromised.

In order to grow, you have create the right environment. Hank Aaron understood this when he said, “My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging.” He created an environment where he could continue to grow, no matter what. And we must do the same.

In order to maintain your leadership abilities, you need to make sure that you are in an environment that is designed for growth. There are a lot of aspects of your leadership environment that you may have no control over. But there are several elements that you can control.

So how do you determine if you are in an growth environment? Here are a few tell-tale indicators that will show you. And if you don’t see these, many of them you can seek out or even create.

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Memorize Scripture – Week 40

I love the Romans Road. I especially love the simplicity of the promise found in Romans 10:13. Take a look:

Romans 10:13

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? That’s because it is.

The message of the Gospel is both deeply profound and easily understood. It is both incredibly complex and surprisingly simple.

While there are layers and layers that you can dig through all your life and still never completely reveal it all, the gospel is also as easy as this verse proclaims: Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

To be sure, there are complexities to the Gospel that defy our minds, but we often make things more difficult than they need to be.

At least I do.

And so, a message like the one here is refreshingly simple.

Breathtakingly so.

Do you need the occasional reminder that the message of Christ is refreshingly simple? What reminds you of this? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

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How I Revive My Spirit

It’s that time of year again!

Next week, I’m spending five days in Colorado at CIY Wilderness.

I do this every year, and I refuse to miss it, it’s that important to me.

Glen Eyrie - CIY Wilderness

It refreshes my soul.

In a nutshell, Wilderness is an opportunity for youth ministers to connect with God and one another. It’s a chance to get away from the daily stresses of life and ministry. It’s a chance to let God revitalize me.

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Memorize Scripture – Week 39

A lot of times I hear people complain that the New Testament writers seem to be at odds with one another; that James doesn’t agree with Paul.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The New Testament is extremely cohesive, and this week’s passage reinforces that idea.

Take a look at Romans 10:9-10:

Romans 10:9-10

Paul explains here that our salvation isn’t simply a matter of faith. To be sure, God justifies us by his grace, based on our faith.

But what comes next is action: we confess with our mouths.

It seems to me that this is the natural flow of things, anyway. If something as incredible as God’s intervention happens in my life, the natural inclination is to shout about it. Our next instinct is not to shut our mouths, but to open them.

So let’s speak up!

Confessing Christ can be difficult at times. When do you struggle with this/ When do you find it easy to accomplish? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

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Memorize Scripture – Week 38

Romans is a pretty deep letter in the New Testament. While it is perhaps Paul’s most theological writing, it is also at times some of his simplest.

This week’s destination on the Romans Road is a perfect example. You can find it in Romans 6:23:

Romans 6:23

Paul describes vividly and succinctly our spiritual bankruptcy. We are sinners. And the consequences of sin is death. But because of what God did on our behalf, through Christ’s death on the cross, we can experience eternal life instead.

That is truly an amazing gift!

Have you thanked God yet today for this incredible gift? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.