Ministry Essentials Bible: Article Excerpt

SPIRITUAL THE LE ADER’S LE ADERSHIP SPIRITUAL LIFE

SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES FOR LEADERS David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God. 1 Samuel 30:6

A filled with resistance and hostility to your leadership. First Samuel 30 records one of those

s a leader, you will have some bad days—and you’ll even have some horrible, draining days

really bad days in the life of David. He had lost a major battle, his troops were defeated and demoralized, and some of his own men were plotting to kill him. Talk about a bad day! But David found the secret to maintaining stability and holding on to hope in the ministry—he “found strength in the Lord his God.” The text doesn’t give any details beyond that, but we can assume that somehow David reconnected with the God he had come to know and love.

As a church leader, you’ll never grow beyond your need to strengthen yourself in the Lord. In other words, you will need to grow in the spiritual disciplines, those regular prac­ tices (like silence, solitude, fasting, meditation, and so forth) that keep you centered in God’s promises even when the world around you is falling apart.

378

06-17_Jos-Est_Ministry-NIV_THIRD.indd 378

3/6/14 1:17 PM

Spiritual Disciplines for Leaders

The Importance of Spiritual Disciplines Henri Nouwen One of the most obvious characteristics of our daily lives is that we are busy. Our lives often resemble over-packed suitcases bulging at the seams. We’re occupied (and preoccupied) with many tasks, projects, and worries. Let’s explore what it means to follow Jesus, who was also busy but still found time to practice spiritual disciplines like prayer, silence, and solitude.

Jesus had a single focus.

There is little doubt that Jesus’ life was a very busy life. He might even appear to us as a fanatic driven by a compulsion to get his message across at any cost. The truth, however, is different.

The deeper we enter into the gospel accounts of his life, the more we see that Jesus was not a zealot trying to accomplish many different things in order to reach a self-imposed goal.

On the contrary, everything we know about Jesus indicates that he was concerned with only one thing: to do the will of his Father. From his first recorded words in the temple, “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49) to his last words on the cross, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46), Jesus’ only concern was to do the will of his Father. His obedience meant a total, fearless listening to his loving Father.

We are called to seek first the kingdom.

In Matthew 6:33 Jesus tells us, “Seek first his kingdom.” The kingdom is the place where God’s Spirit guides us, heals us, challenges us, and renews us continuously. When our hearts are set on that kingdom, our worries will slowly move to the background, because the many things that made us worry so much start to fall into place. It is important to realize that “seeking first his kingdom” is not a method for winning prizes. In that case the spiritual life would become like winning the jackpot on a TV game show. The words “all these things will be given to you as well” express that indeed God’s love and care extend to our whole being. When we set our hearts on the life in the Spirit of Christ, we will come to see and understand better how God keeps us in the palm of his hand.

But this leaves us with a very difficult question. Is there a way to move from our worryfilled life to the life of the Spirit? Must we simply wait passively until the Spirit comes along and blows away our worries? Are there any ways by which we can prepare ourselves for the life of the Spirit and deepen that life once it has touched us? The distance between the full yet unful­ filled life on the one hand and the spiritual life on the other is so great that it may seem quite unrealistic to expect to move from one to another. The claims that daily living make on us are so real, so immediate, and so urgent that a life in the Spirit seems beyond our capabilities.

The spiritual disciplines support us in our desire to have our worries lose their grip on us, and to let the Spirit guide us to the true freedom of the children of God.

379

06-17_Jos-Est_Ministry-NIV_THIRD.indd 379

3/6/14 1:17 PM

SPIRITUAL THE LE ADER’S LE ADERSHIP SPIRITUAL LIFE Spiritual disciplines require human effort.

The spiritual life is a gift. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit, who lifts us up into the kingdom of God’s love. But to say that being lifted up into the kingdom of love is a divine gift does not mean that we wait passively until the gift is offered to us. Jesus tells us to set our hearts on the kingdom. Setting our hearts on something involves not only serious aspiration but also strong determination. A spiritual life requires human effort. The forces that keep pulling us back into a worry-filled life are far from easy to overcome. And to convince us of the need for hard work, Jesus says, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matt 16:24).

Here we touch the question of discipline in the spiritual life. A spiritual life without dis­ cipline is impossible. Discipline is the other side of discipleship. The practice of a spiritual discipline makes us more sensitive to the small, gentle voice of God. A spiritual discipline is the concentrated effort to create some inner and outer space in our lives, where obedience can be practiced. Through a spiritual discipline we prevent the world from filling our lives to such an extent that there is no place left to listen. A spiritual discipline sets us free to pray or, to say it better, allows the Spirit of God to pray in us.

The Discipline of Solitude Henri Nouwen Without solitude it is virtually impossible to live a spiritual life. Solitude begins with a time and place for God, and him alone. If we really believe not only that God exists but also that he is actively present in our lives—healing, teaching, and guiding—we need to set aside a time and space to give him our undivided attention. Jesus says, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen” (Matt 6:6).

Leaders face the challenge of solitude.

To bring some solitude into our lives is one of the most necessary but also most difficult disci­ plines. Even though we may have a deep desire for real solitude, we also experience a certain apprehension as we approach that solitary place and time. As soon as we are alone— without people to talk with, books to read, TV to watch, or phone calls to make—an inner chaos opens up in us. This chaos can be so disturbing and so confusing that we can hardly wait to get busy again. Entering a private room and shutting the door, therefore, does not mean that we im­ mediately shut out all our inner doubts, anxieties, fears, bad memories, unresolved conflicts, angry feelings, and impulsive desires. On the contrary, when we have removed our outer distractions, we often find that our inner distractions manifest themselves to us in full force.

We often use the outer distractions to shield ourselves from the interior noises. It is thus not surprising that we have a difficult time being alone. The confrontation with our inner conflicts can be too painful for us to endure.

380

06-17_Jos-Est_Ministry-NIV_THIRD.indd 380

3/6/14 1:17 PM

Spiritual Disciplines for Leaders Leaders plan for solitude.

We must begin by carefully planning some solitude. Five or ten minutes a day may be all we can tolerate. Perhaps we are ready for an hour every day, an afternoon every week, a day every month, or a week every year. The amount of time will vary for each person according to tem­ perament, age, job, lifestyle, and maturity. But we do not take the spiritual life seriously if we do not set aside some time to be with God and listen to him. We may have to write it in black and white in our daily calendar so that nobody else can take away this period of time. Then we will be able to say to our friends, neighbors, students, customers, clients, or patients, “I’m sorry, but I’ve already made an appointment at that time and it can’t be changed.”

Leaders are faithful to times of solitude.

Once we have committed ourselves to spending time in solitude, we develop an attentive­ ness to God’s voice in us. In the beginning, during the first days, weeks, or even months, we may have the feeling that we are simply wasting our time. Time in solitude may at first seem little more than a time in which we are bombarded by thousands of thoughts and feelings that emerge from hidden areas of our mind. One of the early Christian writers describes the first stage of solitary prayer as the experience of a man who, after years of living with open doors, suddenly decides to shut them. The visitors who used to come and enter his home start pounding on his doors, wondering why they are not allowed to enter. Only when they realize that they are not welcome do they gradually stop coming. This is the experience of anyone who decides to enter into solitude after a life without much spiritual discipline. At first, the many distractions keep presenting themselves. Later, as they receive less and less attention, they slowly withdraw.

It is clear that what matters is faithfulness to the discipline. In the beginning, solitude seems so contrary to our desires that we are constantly tempted to run away from it. But when we stick to our discipline, in the conviction that God is with us even when we do not yet hear him, we slowly discover that we do not want to miss our time alone with God. Leaders grow in their desire for solitude.

Intuitively, we know that it is important to spend time in solitude. We even start looking forward to this strange period of uselessness. This desire for solitude is often the first sign of prayer, the first indication that the presence of God’s Spirit no longer remains unnoticed. As we empty ourselves of our many worries, we come to know not only with our mind but also with our heart that we never were really alone, that God’s Spirit was with us all along.

Thus we come to understand what Paul writes to the Romans, “Suffering produces per­ severance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Rom 5:3–5). In solitude, we come to know the Spirit who has already been given to us. The pains and struggles we encounter in our solitude thus become the way to hope, be­ cause our hope is not based on something that will happen after our sufferings are over, but on the real presence of God’s healing Spirit in the midst of these sufferings. The discipline of solitude allows us gradually to come in touch with this hopeful presence of God in our lives, 381

06-17_Jos-Est_Ministry-NIV_THIRD.indd 381

3/6/14 1:17 PM

SPIRITUAL THE LE ADER’S LE ADERSHIP SPIRITUAL LIFE and allows us also to taste even now the beginnings of the joy and peace that belong to the new heaven and the new earth.

Endless variations of practicing solitude are possible. Walks in nature, the repetition of short prayers, singing—these and many other elements can become a helpful part of the disci­ pline of solitude. But we have to decide which particular form of this discipline best fits us, to which we can remain faithful. It is better to have a daily practice of ten minutes solitude than to have a whole hour once in a while. Simplicity and regularity are the best guides in finding our way. They allow us to make the discipline of solitude as much a part of our daily lives as eating and sleeping. When that happens, our noisy worries will slowly lose their power over us, and the renewing activity of God’s Spirit will slowly make its presence known.

Although the discipline of solitude asks us to set aside time and space, what finally matters is that our hearts become like quiet cells where God can dwell, wherever we go and whatever we do. The more we train ourselves to spend time with God, and him alone, the more we will be able to recognize him even in the midst of a busy and active life. Once the solitude of time and space has become a solitude of the heart, we will never have to leave that solitude. We will be able to live the spiritual life in any place and any time. Thus the discipline of solitude enables us to live active lives in the world, while remaining always in the presence of the living God.

How to Spend a Day in Prayer John Ortberg God invites church leaders into two categories of solitude—regular periods of brief soli­ tude and occasional periods of extended solitude that last for part of a day, an entire day, or even a few days.

Know the purpose of extended solitude.

Some people ask, “What do I do when I practice solitude? What should I bring with me?” The primary answer, of course, is nothing. At its heart, solitude is primarily about not doing some­ thing. Just as fasting means to refrain from eating, so solitude means to refrain from society.

When I go into solitude, I withdraw from conversation, from others, from noise, from media, from the constant barrage of stimulation.

“In solitude,” Henri Nouwen wrote, “I get rid of my scaffolding.” Scaffolding is all the stuff I use to keep myself propped up, to convince myself I’m important or okay. In solitude I have no friends to talk with, no phone calls or meetings, no TV to entertain me, no music or books or newspapers to occupy and distract my mind. I am, in the words of the old hymn, “just as I am”—just me and my sinfulness, and God. Frances de Sales, author of the classic An Introduction to the Devout Life, used the image of a clock: There is no clock, no matter how good it may be, that doesn’t need resetting and re­ winding twice a day—once in the morning and once in the evening. In addition, at least 382

06-17_Jos-Est_Ministry-NIV_THIRD.indd 382

3/6/14 1:17 PM

Spiritual Disciplines for Leaders once a year it must be taken apart to remove the dirt clogging it, straighten out bent parts, and repair those worn out. In like manner, every morning and evening a man who really takes care of his heart must rewind it for God’s service. . . . At least once a year, he must take it apart and examine every piece in detail—that is, every affection and passion—in order to repair whatever defects there may be.

Plan for extended solitude.

I was intimidated the first time I tried spending an entire day in solitude. Putting some struc­ ture on the day helps. Here are some suggestions.

First, spend a brief time getting ready the night before. Ask God to bless the day and tell him you want to devote the day to him. This day is your gift to God, but of course even more than that, it is a gift God wants to give to you. What do you need the Lord to give you? A sense of healing and forgiveness? Conviction for an apathetic heart? Compassion? A renewed sense of mission?

Second, arrange the day around listening to God. Here’s a format I’ve adapted from Glandion Carney’s The Spiritual Formation Toolkit: • 8:00–9:00. Prepare your mind and heart. Take a walk, or do whatever will help you set aside any concerns over other tasks. Try to arrange your morning so you can be in silence from the moment you first wake up.

• 9:00–11:00. Read and meditate on Scripture, taking time to stop and reflect when God seems to be speaking to you through the text.

• 11:00–Noon. Write down your responses to what you’ve read. Speak to God about these.

• Noon–1:00. Grab some lunch and take a walk, reflecting on the morning.

• 1:00–2:00. Rest or nap.

• 2:00–3:00. Think about any goals that have emerged from the day.

• 3:00–4:00. Write down these goals and any other thoughts in a journal. You may want to do this in the form of a letter to God.

The Discipline of Spiritual Rhythm Ruth Haley Barton How is it that life in and around the church often gets reduced to so much activity, so much busyness, so many incessant expectations? Unfortunately, one of the main reasons that church life is so full of busyness is the way its leaders are living. Most church leaders know only one speed: full steam ahead. And they have been stuck at that speed for a very long time.

If leaders do not establish saner rhythms in their own lives—life patterns that curb their un­ bridled activism and calm their compulsive busyness—they will not make it over the long haul. And neither will the people they are leading! Here are some ways strong leaders deal with the issue of busyness.

383

06-17_Jos-Est_Ministry-NIV_THIRD.indd 383

3/6/14 1:17 PM

SPIRITUAL THE LE ADER’S LE ADERSHIP SPIRITUAL LIFE Learn to work hard and rest faithfully.

Jesus understood how quickly our passions, even the most noble, can wear us out if we’re not careful. Early in his ministry with the disciples, he began to teach them about the importance of establishing sane rhythms of work and rest.

In Mark 6, Jesus commissioned the disciples for ministry and gave them the authority to cast out demons, preach the gospel, and heal the sick. They went off on their first ministry excursion and returned excited about their newfound power and influence. They crowded around Jesus to report all they had done. But what did Jesus do? He didn’t seem to have much time for their ministry reports. Immediately he instructed them to “come with me . . . and get some rest.” He seemed more concerned about helping them establish a rhythm that would sus­ tain them in ministry rather than allowing them to be overly enamored by ministry success, which can lead to a compulsion to do more and more without ceasing.

When we are depleted, we become overly reliant on the clamoring voices outside of us for direction. We react to symptoms rather than seek to understand and respond to underlying causes. We rely on other people’s ministry models because we are too tired to listen so we can observe our setting and craft something uniquely suited for this place. When we are rested, we bring steady, alert attention to our leadership and are able to discern what is truly needed in our situation. And we have the energy and creativity to carry it out.

Create rhythms of engagement and retreat.

An occupational hazard for those in Christian ministry is that it can be hard to distinguish between the times we are “on,” working for God, and times when we can just be with God to replenish our own soul. Our time with Scripture can be reduced to a textbook or a tool for ministry rather than an intimate communication with God. Even prayer can become an ex­ hausting round of different kinds of mental activity, or a public display of our spiritual prowess.

Times of extended retreat give us a chance to come home to God’s presence and be open with him, in utter privacy. This is important for us—and for those we serve. When we re­ press what is real in our lives and just keep soldiering on, we get weary from holding it all in.

Eventually it leaks out in ways that are damaging to ourselves and others. But on retreat there is time and space to pay attention to what is real in our own lives—to celebrate the joys, grieve the losses, shed tears, sit with our questions, feel our anger, attend to our loneliness—and invite God to be with us in those places.

These are not times for problem solving. On retreat we rest ourselves in God and wait on him to do what is needed, and we return to the battle with fresh energy and keener insight.

Develop rhythms of silence and words.

“In the multitude of words there is much transgression” the Scriptures say. This is a truth that can drive leaders to despair, given the incessant flow of words we feel compelled to share from our mouths, pens, and computers. Those of us who deal in words are at great risk of misusing them and even sinning with our words due to the sheer volume of them!

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I can literally feel it—deep in my bones—that if I do not shut my mouth for a while, I will get myself in trouble because my words will be 384

06-17_Jos-Est_Ministry-NIV_THIRD.indd 384

3/6/14 1:17 PM

Spiritual Disciplines for Leaders completely disconnected from the reality of God in my own life. Silence is the only cure for this desperate situation.

“Right speech comes out of silence, and right silence comes out of speech,” wrote Dietrich Bonhoeffer. In silence our speech patterns are refined, because silence fosters a self-awareness that enables us to choose more truly the words we say. At times the most heroic thing you, as a leader, can do is to remain in that private place with God for as long as it takes, to consciously entrust yourself to God rather than give in to everything else you could be doing in the moment.

Embrace rhythms of stillness and action.

It is an embarrassing little secret, common among leaders, and we need to be more honest about it: Buried deep in the psyche of many leaders is a Superman mentality. We believe that somehow we are not like other human beings; we think we can function beyond normal hu­ man limitations and save the world, or at least our little corner of the world. This is a myth we indulge to our own peril.

There are limits to our relational, emotional, mental, and spiritual capacities. We are not God. God is the only one who can be all things to all people. God is the only one who can be two places at once. God is the one who never sleeps. We are not. This is pretty basic stuff, but many of us live as though we don’t believe it.

Sabbath-keeping is the primary discipline that helps us live within the limits of our hu­ manity and honor God as our Creator. It is the key to a life lived in sync with the rhythms that God himself built into our world. Sabbath-keeping helps us to live within our limits because on the Sabbath, in so many different ways, we allow ourselves to be creatures in the presence of our Creator. We touch something more real than what we are able to produce on our own.

Our very being touches God. There is a freedom that comes from being who we are in God and resting in God. This eventually enables us to bring something more authentic to the world than all of our striving.

Surely that is what those around us need most.

The Discipline of Slowing Down John Ortberg One of the great illusions of our day is that hurrying will buy us more time. Churches obsess over getting services finished on time. Cell phones now interrupt more sermons than cranky babies. Every preacher knows that on the hour, a symphony of wristwatch beeps will fill the auditorium (though no two of them will sound at precisely the same time).

Ironically, our efforts have not produced what we’re after—a sense of what might be called “timefulness,” of having enough time. In fact, quite the reverse is true, which is a dangerous thing. The danger is not that we will renounce our faith; it is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it. We will just skim our lives instead of actually living them.

385

06-17_Jos-Est_Ministry-NIV_THIRD.indd 385

3/6/14 1:17 PM

SPIRITUAL THE LE ADER’S LE ADERSHIP SPIRITUAL LIFE The reality of “hurry sickness.”

Though our society exemplifies “hurry sickness,” it’s not a new problem; people in ministry have been subject to it at least since the days of Jesus. During one hectic season of ministry, Mark notes of the disciples, “because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat” (Mark 6:31).

Far too many people involved in ministry think of this as a life verse—as if God will re­ ward the hectic one day with, “What a life you had! Many were coming and going, and you had no leisure even to eat. Well done!” Not quite. Jesus was aware of this problem, and he constantly withdrew from crowds and activities.

If you want to follow someone, you can’t go faster than the one who is leading. Following Jesus cannot be done at a sprint. Jesus was often busy, but he was never hurried. Being busy is an outer condition; being hurried is a sickness of the soul. Jesus never went about the busyness of his ministry in a way that severed the life-giving connection between himself and his Father.

He never did it in a way that interfered with his ability to give love when that was what was called for. He observed a regular rhythm of withdrawal from activity for solitude and prayer.

He ruthlessly eliminated hurry from his life.

The invitation to life in the slow lane.

We don’t have to live this way. The hurried can become unhurried. But this will not happen by trying alone, nor will it happen instantly. You will have to enter a life of training. One useful practice might be called “slowing.” This involves cultivating patience by deliberately choosing to place yourself in positions where you have to wait. For instance, over the next few days or weeks, try doing the following: 1. Deliberately drive in the slow lane on the expressway. It may be that not swerving from lane to lane will cause you to arrive five minutes later. But you will find that you don’t get nearly so angry at other drivers. Instead of trying to pass them, say a little prayer as they go by, asking God to bless them.

2. Eat your food slowly. Force yourself to chew at least fifteen times before each swallow.

3. At the grocery store, discover which checkout line is the longest and choose that one.

Then, let one person go in front of you.

4. Reread a book.

5. Take an hour simply to be with God. Don’t use this time to prepare messages or do strategic planning. Don’t use this time at all. Simply be with God. In short, find ways to make hurry impossible. As you practice “slowing,” tell God you trust him to enable you to accomplish all that you need to get done.

386

06-17_Jos-Est_Ministry-NIV_THIRD.indd 386

3/6/14 1:17 PM

Spiritual Disciplines for Leaders

The Discipline of Sabbath-Keeping Eugene H. Peterson Understand the Sabbath.

Sabbath means “quit,” “stop,” “take a break.” The word itself has nothing devout or holy in it.

It is a word about time, denoting our nonuse thereof—what we usually call “wasting time.” In the two passages where the Sabbath commandment appears, the commands are identical but the supporting reasons differ. Exodus says we are to keep a Sabbath because God kept it (Exod 20:8–11). God did his work in six days and then rested. If God sets apart one day to rest, we can, too. There are some things that can only be accomplished, even by God, in a state of rest.

The rest/work rhythm is built into the very structure of God’s interpenetration of reality. The precedent to quit doing and simply be is divine. Sabbath-keeping is commanded so that we internalize the being that matures out of doing.

The reason given in Deuteronomy for remembering the Sabbath is that our ancestors in Egypt went four hundred years without a vacation (Deut 5:15)—never a day off. The conse­ quence: They were no longer considered persons but slaves, work units—not persons created in the image of God but equipment for making bricks and building pyramids.

Lest any of us do that to our neighbor or husband or wife or child or employee, we are commanded to keep a Sabbath. The moment we begin to see others in terms of what they can do rather than who they are, humanity is defaced and community violated. It is no use claiming, “I don’t need to rest this week and therefore will not keep a Sabbath”—our lives are so interconnected that we inevitably involve others in our work whether we intend it or not.

Sabbath-keeping is elemental kindness. Sabbath-keeping is commanded to preserve the im­ age of God in our neighbors so that we see them as they are, not as we need them or want them to be.

Don’t avoid the Sabbath.

Every profession has sins to which it is especially liable. I haven’t looked closely into the sins that endanger physicians and lawyers, woodworkers and potters, but I’ve had my eye on the snare from which pastors need deliverance: I call it the sin of reversing the rhythms. Instead of grace/work, we make it work/grace.

Instead of working in a world in which God calls everything into being with his word and redeems his people with an outstretched arm, we rearrange it as a world in which we preach the mighty work of God and, as an afterthought, ask him to bless our speaking; a world in which we stretch out our mighty arms to help the oppressed and open our hands to assist the needy and then desperately petition God to take care of those we miss.

That, of course, is why so few pastors keep a Sabbath: we have reversed the rhythms. How can we quit work for a day when we must redeem the time? How can we pause when we have a fire in our mouth? How can we do nothing for a whole day when we have been commanded 387

06-17_Jos-Est_Ministry-NIV_THIRD.indd 387

3/6/14 1:17 PM

SPIRITUAL THE LE ADER’S LE ADERSHIP SPIRITUAL LIFE to be urgent in season and out of season, and there is never a season in which the calls for help do not exceed our capacity to meet them? Perhaps that is why the Sabbath is commanded—not suggested—for nothing less than a command has the power to intervene in the vicious, accel­ erating, self-perpetuating cycle of faithless and graceless busyness.

Of all the commandments, not one is treated with such disregard by pastors as this one.

We are capable of preaching good sermons on it to our congregations, and we take great care to provide them with good worship and holy leisure, but we exempt ourselves. It’s curious: not many of us preach vigorously on the seventh commandment and then pursue lives of active adultery. But we conscientiously catechize our people on the fifth commandment, and then, without a blush, flaunt our workaholic Sabbath-breaking as evidence of an extraordinary piety.

Keep the Sabbath.

Sabbath is uncluttered time and space to distance ourselves from the frenzy of our own activi­ ties so we can connect with what God has been (and is) doing. If we do not regularly refrain from work for one day a week, we are taking ourselves far too seriously. The moral sweat pour­ ing off our brows blinds our eyes to the action of God in and around us.

Sabbath-keeping is not complex. We simply select a day of the week (Paul seemed to think one day would do as well as any other—see Rom 14:5–6) and refrain from our work. Having selected the day, we also need to protect it, for our workday instincts and habits will not serve us well. It is not a day when we do something (anything!) useful. It is not a day that proves its worth or justifies itself. Entering into empty time, nonfunctional time, is difficult, because we have been taught that time is money.

The Discipline of Fasting Richard Foster In a world dominated with pizza temples and the shrine of the golden arches, fasting seems out of place and out of step with the times. We live in a culture that is often dominated by the philosophy that it’s a positive virtue to satisfy absolutely every human passion. The church has developed this outlook into a theology that we buttress with verses from Scripture.

Whole churches have been created around the little tin gods of good feelings and affluence.

And if fasting is used at all today, it is usually used to either lose weight or influence politics.

In other words, fasting functions for the purpose of vanity or manipulation. As a result, fasting as a Christian spiritual discipline has had tough sledding in our day.

There is a history of famous fasters.

But if we take a look at the biblical tradition, it should stop us long enough to reevaluate these popular assumptions. The list of biblical fasters runs like a who’s who of Scripture: Abraham’s servant when he was seeking a bride for Isaac; Moses on several occasions; Hannah as she prayed for a child; David on multiple occasions; Elijah after his victory over Jezebel; Ezra 388

06-17_Jos-Est_Ministry-NIV_THIRD.indd 388

3/6/14 1:17 PM

Spiritual Disciplines for Leaders when he was mourning Israel’s faithlessness; Nehemiah when he was preparing the trip back to Israel; Esther when God’s people were threatened with extermination; Daniel on numer­ ous occasions; the people of Nineveh; Jesus when he began his public ministry; Paul at the point of his conversion; the Christians at Antioch when they sent off Paul and Barnabas on their mission endeavor; and Paul and others when they appointed elders in all of the churches.

Not only that—many of the great Christians throughout church history have fasted: Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, John Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, David Brainard, Charles Finney, and many, many others. The fact that people both in and out of Scripture fasted certainly ought to stop us long enough to look at this matter again.

Fasting is an act of obedience.

Why should we fast in the first place? Ultimately, the only adequate answer is an urging from God, a sense of being called to it, a prompting, a sense of rightness. We have heard the call from God, the voice of the Lord, and we must obey.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: “When you pray,” “When you give,” “When you fast.” Notice that Jesus did not say: “If you pray,” “If you give,” “If you fast.” He assumed that children of the kingdom would be doing these things, and he gave instruction about how it could be done with spiritual success. It has always amazed me that we will unquestionably ac­ cept giving as a Christian discipline but not fasting. There is at least as much evidence for fast­ ing in the New Testament as there is for giving—perhaps even a bit more. I wonder if it’s easier to give because we live in such an affluent culture. It would require a bigger sacrifice to fast.

Fasting reveals what controls us.

We fast because it reveals the things that control us. It’s easy to cover up what is inside of us with food and other good things, but when we fast all these things come to the surface. When I fast, one of the first things I learn about myself is that I have a deep lust for good feelings. So when I’m hungry and don’t feel good about it, I quickly realize that I’d do just about anything in order to feel good again. Of course, there’s nothing inherently wrong with feeling good, but feeling good should never run our lives.

When I fast, I also see my anger rise to the surface. Most of the time I can get people to think that I’m a nice, easygoing kind of fellow. Nothing ever bothers me. People assume that I love to work under pressure. But all I have to do is pray, “Lord, I’d so appreciate it if you would reveal to me what is inside of me,” and the Lord will say, “I’d be delighted. How about a little fast?” And pretty soon I’m exploding with anger. And all of a sudden I think, I’m angry because I’m hungry.

Yes, I understand the physical consequences of low-blood sugar, but fasting also exposes the fact that there’s a spirit of anger within me that I have to deal with. Of course, fasting ex­ poses a whole legion of other vices in addition to anger: pride, hostility, bitterness. These are the kinds of things that begin to surface whenever I fast.

Follow these practical steps for fasting.

The following steps can help you when you practice the spiritual discipline of fasting: 389

06-17_Jos-Est_Ministry-NIV_THIRD.indd 389

3/6/14 1:17 PM

SPIRITUAL THE LE ADER’S LE ADERSHIP SPIRITUAL LIFE 1. Start with small steps. Try a shorter fast, such as fasting over your lunch hour. Attempt this once a week for a few weeks.

2. Try a 24-hour fast. Drink only water (lots of water!).

3. Follow Jesus’ counsel to refrain from drawing attention to what you are doing (see Matt 6:16–18). In other words, do not go public with your fasting.

4. Remember that the major work of fasting is its spiritual impact. You will engage in spiri­ tual warfare, but fasting isn’t just struggle and warfare. It is also “righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 14:17). Fasting can bring breakthroughs in the spiritual realm that will never happen in any other way.

The Discipline of Community Henri Nouwen The disciplines of solitude and silence don’t stand alone. They are intimately related to another essential spiritual discipline: the discipline of Christian community.

“Community” is a discipline.

It may sound strange to speak of community as discipline, but without discipline, community becomes a “soft” word, referring more to a safe, homey, and exclusive place than to the space where new life can be received and brought to its fullness. Wherever true community presents itself, discipline is crucial. It is crucial not only in the many old and new forms of the common life but also in the sustaining relationships of friendship, marriage, and family. To create space for God among us requires the constant recognition of the Spirit of God in each other. When we have come to know the life-giving Spirit of God in the center of our solitude and have thus been able to affirm our true identity, we can also see that same life-giving Spirit speaking to us through our fellow human beings. And when we have come to recognize the life-giving Spirit of God as the source of our life together, we too will more readily hear his voice in our solitude.

Friendship, marriage, family, religious life, and every other form of community is solitude greeting solitude, spirit speaking to spirit, and heart calling to heart. It is the grateful recog­ nition of God’s call to share life together, and the joyful offering of a hospitable space where the recreating power of God’s Spirit can become manifest. Thus all forms of life together can become ways to reveal to each other the real presence of God in our midst.

Community is grounded in God.

Community has little to do with mutual compatibility. Similarities in educational background, psychological make-up, or social status can bring us together, but they can never be the basis for community. Community is grounded in God, who calls us together, and not in the attrac­ tiveness of people to each other. There are many groups that have been formed to protect their own interests, to defend their own status, or to promote their own causes, but none of these is a Christian community. Instead of breaking through the walls of fear and creating new space 390

06-17_Jos-Est_Ministry-NIV_THIRD.indd 390

3/6/14 1:17 PM

Spiritual Disciplines for Leaders for God, they close themselves to real or imaginary intruders. The mystery of community is precisely that it embraces all people, whatever their individual differences may be.

Community includes silence and listening.

I would like to describe one concrete form of this discipline of community: the practice of lis­ tening together. In our wordy world we usually spend our time together talking. We feel most comfortable in sharing experiences, discussing interesting subjects, or arguing about current issues. It is through a very active verbal exchange that we try to discover each other. But often we find that words function more as walls than as gates, more as ways to keep distance than to come close. Often—even against our own desires—we find ourselves competing with each other. We try to prove to each other that we are worth being paid attention to, that we have something to show that makes us special. The discipline of community helps us to be silent together. This disciplined silence is not an embarrassing silence, but a silence in which together we pay attention to the Lord who calls us together. In this way we come to know each other not as people who cling anxiously to our self-constructed identity but as people who are loved by the same God in a very intimate and unique way.

As with the discipline of solitude, it is often the words of Scripture that can lead us into this communal silence. Faith, Paul says, comes from hearing. We have to hear God’s word from each other. When we come together from different geographical, historical, psychological, and religious directions, listening to the same word spoken by different people can create in us a common openness and vulnerability that allow us to recognize that we are safe together in that word. Thus we can come to discover our true identity as a community; thus we can come to experience what it means to be called together; and thus we can recognize that the same Lord whom we discovered in our solitude also speaks in the solitude of our neighbors, whatever their language, denomination, or character. In this listening together to the word of God, a true creative silence can grow. This silence is a silence filled with the caring presence of God. Thus listening together to the word can free us from our competition and rivalry and allow us to recognize our true identity as sons and daughters of the same loving God, and brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus Christ, and thus of each other.

Listening together is just one way to experience the discipline of community. Celebrating together, working together, playing together—these are all ways in which the discipline of community can be practiced. But whatever its concrete shape or form, the discipline of com­ munity always points us beyond the boundaries of race, sex, nationality, character, or age, and always reveals to us who we are before God and for each other.

Community and solitude are connected.

Through the discipline of solitude we discover space for God in our innermost being. Through the discipline of community we discover a place for God in our life together. Both disciplines belong together precisely because the space within us and the space among us are the same space.

It is in that divine space that God’s Spirit prays in us. Prayer is first and foremost the ac­ tive presence of the Holy Spirit in our personal and communal lives. Through the disciplines 391

06-17_Jos-Est_Ministry-NIV_THIRD.indd 391

3/6/14 1:17 PM

SPIRITUAL THE LE ADER’S LE ADERSHIP SPIRITUAL LIFE of solitude and community we try to remove—slowly, gently, yet persistently—the many ob­ stacles that prevent us from listening to God’s voice within us. God speaks to us not only once in a while but always. Day and night, during work and during play, in joy and in sorrow, God’s Spirit is actively present in us. Our task is to allow that presence to become real for us in all we do, say, or think.

Solitude and community are the disciplines by which the space becomes free for us to listen to the presence of God’s Spirit and to respond fearlessly and generously. When we have heard God’s voice in our solitude we will also hear it in our life together. When we have heard him in our fellow human beings, we will also hear him when we are with him alone. Whether in solitude or community, whether alone or with others, we are called to live obedient lives, that is, lives of unceasing prayer—“unceasing” not because of the many prayers we say but because of our alertness to the unceasing prayer of God’s Spirit within and among us.

392

06-17_Jos-Est_Ministry-NIV_THIRD.indd 392

3/6/14 1:17 PM