GrowLife

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A compassionate, practical eight-step kit for Christians who are having a bad day and wondering what to do next.

Having a bad day does not mean you have failed as a Christian. If you feel flat, frustrated or overwhelmed,

Andrew Chapman offers eight small steps you can take without pretending everything is fine. You can begin with just one step; you do not need to complete a checklist or make yourself feel better on command.

Save this episode for a difficult day, or share it with someone who could use encouragement.

To request the accompanying free emergency-kit PDF, follow the resource link in the show notes: https://www.lssm.org.uk/badday

Notes/takeaways:

1. Stop treating a bad day as a judgment on your faith.
2. Pray, “Father, I turn my heart's affection back to you.”
3. Make room for joy and ask God for peace without demanding instant relief.
4. Worship or pray honestly, including in tongues if that is part of your practice.
5. Ask what is true about you and about God in this situation; weigh impressions against Scripture and Jesus' character.
6. Identify a harmful belief and speak what is true.
7. Contact a friend and ask them to pray.
8. Go for a walk if you can.

Scripture: John 14; Acts 14:17.

This week's activation: Pick one step now; save the list where you can find it again.

Resource: Free emergency-kit PDF — https://www.lssm.org.uk/badday

Host: Andrew Chapman, Growlife.

Tags: Grow Life, Andrew Chapman, Christian discipleship, bad day, Christian encouragement, prayer, self-condemnation, worship, joy, identity in Christ, hearing God, friendship, spiritual growth, Growlife.

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Healthy discipleship creates relationships safe enough for us to take risks, receive honest feedback and mature together.

What kind of relationship actually helps someone grow?

In the first episode of Grow Life, Andrew Chapman explores why safety and trust are foundational to healthy Christian discipleship. Through a recent testimony of a student taking a risk and sharing what she sensed God saying to her massage therapist, Andrew looks at what becomes possible when people are encouraged to listen to God, think for themselves and grow together.

But safety doesn't mean avoiding challenge. Real maturity also requires relationships in which we can invite honest, life-giving feedback without withdrawing when somebody disagrees with us.

Andrew finishes with a simple challenge for the week: find someone you trust and ask them what strength they see in you and where they believe you could grow.

Detailed show notes

Welcome to the first episode of Grow Life.

Andrew introduces the vision behind the podcast: helping Christians grow towards maturity through practical discipleship.

This episode begins with a recent testimony of a student who took a risk and shared prophetic encouragement with her massage therapist. The encounter became part of an ongoing conversation about Jesus and demonstrated what can happen when discipleship gives people permission to practise what they are learning.

Andrew then explores another side of safety: being secure enough in relationship to receive honest feedback.

Many Christians have experienced either very little intentional discipleship or environments where discipleship became controlling. Healthy discipleship should look different.

It creates room to think, question, disagree, practise, make mistakes, receive encouragement and invite correction.

Proverbs 15:31–32 provides the biblical foundation for Andrew's invitation to receive life-giving correction as part of growing in wisdom.

Key takeaways

• Discipleship should produce mature people rather than dependence.
• Trust takes time and should not be demanded.
• Safe relationships make taking healthy risks easier.
• Disagreement does not have to result in disconnection.
• Correction can be life-giving when it happens inside trusted relationships.
• Mature people intentionally invite feedback.
• Christian growth happens together rather than around a spiritual “guru”.

Bible references

Proverbs 15:31–32

Activation

Ask one trusted person:

“What is one strength you see in me, and what is one area where you think I could grow?”

Listen without becoming immediately defensive. Take what they say to God and consider what you can learn.