What is a Spiritual Rule?

Transcription

1 What is a Spiritual Rule? A Spiritual Rule is a rule of life that has clear structure to help you get to where you want to be. It encompasses every aspect of your life from home, work, play and spiritual growth; you develop clear goals and a structured schedule to help you achieve these goals. You would never wake up one morning and go run a marathon without training, so why would you expect your life to suddenly change or get better without working hard to maximize the good and cut out the bad? Creating a spiritual rule helps you decide what is most important in your life, and acts as a paper accountability partner in your journey towards a better you. As you develop your own spiritual rule, consider the following questions: THE THREE KEY QUESTIONS 1. Are you growing? Examine your life in the following areas: Spiritually = are you taking personal time with God each day? (Reading: SOAP- Scripture, Observation, Application, & Prayer), Do you have a mentor? Professionally =what does your job look like? Are you working to better yourself in the work place? Socially/Physically = Are you exercising and spending time with people that build you up? Personally & Emotionally= Do you take a Sabbath? Need a Sabbatical? 2. Are YOU intentionally investing in someone else? 3. Are you developing systems that will help people grow? Some examples of spiritual rules follow on the pages below. Don t let format dictate function work on a style and layout that is helpful to your spiritual journey.

2 Spiritual Rule Seek God Share what He shows me & Serve where He sends me! I. MENTAL - A CONSTANT STUDENT A. SEEK - cultivating sources for new insight 1. View every person as someone from whom I can learn something. 2. Read at least 20 minutes each day. 3. Take at least one academic class for structured learning objectives. B. SHARE - learning by leading 1. Teach at least one regular weekly Bible study 2. Have at least one person to whom I intentionally pass on insights gained C. SERVE - learning and leading for transformation not information 1. Put into practice what I learn. Casting off that which proves ineffective and personalizing that which proves useful. 2. Resist the temptation to become too far removed from people by becoming scholarly. But seeking to use new insights to help the people with whom I walk to experience God. II. PHYSICAL - BECOMING A HEALTHY PERSON A. Nutrition - Input determines output. 1. Eat Regularly 2. Take protein supplement 3. Drink lots of water each day B. Rest - Sleep lost can never be found 1. Go to bed early 2. Take one day of rest per week 3. Take a vacation each year. C. Exercise - it makes you look better, feel better, and preform better. 1. Work out 3x per week 2. Run 2x per week III. EMOTIONAL - BECOMING A WHOLE PERSON A. SEEK - pay attention to who I am 1. Pay attention to my emotions and how I feel 2. Take note of my responses to people and circumstances B. SHARE - allow others to know who I really am 1. Share openly and honestly with my wife- allow her to know my hopes and fears. 2. Journal - as insights regarding who I am and where God is leading me emerge, jot them down in a journal. C. SERVE - be who I am where I am 1. Live in the moment as who I am at that moment.

3 IV. SPIRITUAL - COMMUNING WITH GOD A. LISTEN - the active process of following 1. Lectio Divina - spiritual reading which allows God to speak to me through the authors writings. Annually read at least one classic. 2. Prayer - Learning to hear the conversation with God which is already going on within me. Discipline my self to pray regularly: weekly prayer cards, daily prayer time. Weekly prayer block. Seasonal prayer retreat. 3. Solitude - simply being with God. Spend weekly time alone in silence B. SHARING - passing on what I hear 1. Be more and do less - simply practice being in the presence of God more and attempt to bringing that presence into the each encounter of which I am apart. Visiting the hospitalized helps develop this practice. 2. Live in the moment - Look for Christ in others and attempt to be Christ for others. C. SERVING - Responding to God 1. Worship - Cultivate an appreciation of God at all times and allow my spirit to whisper a thanks to him for each new dimension of himself that he reveals to me. V. RELATIONAL - FELLOWSHIP WITH OTHERS A. SEEK - all lasting relationships must be intentionally cultivated. 1. Kim - My marriage is the most important human relationship I have. Therefore it deserves the most cultivation. In addition to daily time together we shall have a special time set apart for us each week. We shall take an annual retreat together for the sole purpose of establishing our marriage goals for the year. This retreat is to be taken as near our August 5 anniversary as possible. 2. Kids - Cole and Summer need time with me. 3. Others - be intentional in being with whomever I am with. Be where you are. B. SHARE - The best way to make a friend is to be one. 1. To love and accept on the basis of worthiness is not worthy of being called love or acceptance. 2. Give what you have to those who are ready to receive and wait patiently on those who are not. 3. Allow others to lead you in the way as much as you try to lead others in the way. A good leader is first and foremost a follower of Christ. C. SERVE - no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care. 1. Earn your right to be heard 2. A gift opens the door easier than a kick VI. PROFESSIONAL - SERVING GOD FAITHFULLY I am where I am, wherever I am, because God has placed me here. He has ME here because He desires to do something in me through my being here. He can accomplish His task without me, yet he has decided to use me because it will mature me.

4 A. SEEK - to discover what God is doing in me through what He is doing with me. B. SHARE - what God is doing in me with those around me C. SERVE - Serve where I am whomever I m with however I m able at the moment VII. ADDITIONAL GENERAL RULES TO LIVE BY: 1. Be an equipper not simply a teacher. 2. INVEST AS MUCH AS YOU CAN Money, time, talent, new ideas 3. Increased Impact - attempt to maximize the impact of all the effort you put out. Whatever you do, do it well enough to be done again and save it. 4. Every adult needs a kid to teach, because that is how adults learn. 5. Marriage is like buying stock. You make the most money when you buy low and sell high. Loving your wife when she deserves it is easy. Loving her when it is hard is what eventually pays big dividends. 6. Never make a decision until it has to be made, but always make it when it does. 7. People are more important than task. 8. Balance is not always stationary. 9. Remember God wins. 10. No one ever says on their death bed they wish they had worked more. 11. Spend most of your time doing what you alone are especially equipped to do. 12. There is no accomplishment you can achieve that will out weigh the collective achievements of your descendants. Raise them well. 13. You will be amazed at how quickly you are replaced by those for whom you spent your life serving and how deeply you are missed by those to whom you often said, not right now, I am busy. 14. You re less important to the world than you think, and more important to God than you know. 15. Reflection is not a waste of time, because a lesson not realized is a lesson not learned.

5 Spiritual Rule God is on a mission and I am called to be a part of it. I am a disciple Remember the Gospel Gospel Reminders Sabbath (Fridays) Gospel walk Alone time Daily Bible reading and prayer Prayer retreats (quarterly) and fasting (monthly) Intense Accountability group (2x per month) I am a steward Taking care of my body Regular workout schedule Lowering my cholesterol Drinking water at the office Eating more fruits and vegetables Sleeping 7 to 8 hours per night Annual physicals (find a physician) Moderate entertainment reading Financial stewardship Regular tithing to TC Regular support outside TC Grow in giving I am a husband/son/ brother/friend Marriage: Weekly date Extended times alone (twice per year) Prayer and deeper discussion Regular scheduling and communication One way to grow as a husband (annual) Weekly phone call to parents Bi- weekly to brother and sister Make effort to attend close family functions Social: Guy friends (LBC and once per month outing) Family friends (twice per month seeing another family) Family outings (once per month)

6 I am a father Praying regularly for my daughters Education and reading (reading category) Parenting class or small group (one per year) Focus on quality times (mornings, evenings, weekends) Family vacations (2 per year) Daddy dates (1/week alternating) Cultivate a spirit of gentleness I am a student Studying at work Study retreat (1/year) Devotional reading Academic Reading Continuing Education conferences Language learning/semlink I am a minister Teaching Pastoral care Including prayer and visits Leadership Including mentoring Outreach Everything else (minimal) I am a homeowner Car care Budgeting Lawn and yard maintenance Home repairs and projects I will be intentional Regular time for scheduling (monthly, quarterly, annually) Long term financial goals o Giving increases (GCTS, IJM) o Retirement planning Make a will

7 Spiritual Rule Be an example to all believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity. An example in speech: 1 Timothy 4:12 1. Speak encouragement into others lives 2. Boldly proclaim Christ to those I meet 3. Teach Bible truth to kids and adults 4. Empower parents to leave a legacy of faith for their children An example in life: 1. Live what I believe 2. Lead a balanced life- family, work, play 3. Be healthy (be active and eat healthy) 4. Take a weekly Sabbath 5. Stay at peace in all circumstances as a demonstration of God s faithfulness in my life An example in love: 1. Love God- worship Him daily 2. Love Others- seek to see others the way God sees them 3. Love Corey- Constantly work on enriching our marriage 4. Love Family- Love and appreciate Rosalyn and Jacob An example in faith: 1. Daily quiet time with God (5:15-6:00am) 2. Spend time journaling each morning 3. Scheduled solitude once a month 4. Pray constantly throughout the day 5. Be consistently mentoring someone else in their faith An example in purity: 1. Read books that build up my mind and are food for my soul 2. Watch TV that supports my values