Welcome back! It’s been quite a year, and it’s been nine months since I posted a podcast. That has a lot to do with the title of this podcast and what I am doing moving forward. When I started Spiritual Teamwork in 2007, it was a coaching website, then it moved to a discipleship website, then I shut it down. Then I switched to pinnaclebalance.com. Then I switched back to spiritual teamwork. This went on for four or five years. Also, during this time I was trying to get ordained, so I took a pastorate at a church no one else wanted to prove I could do it. That lasted three months. This all went on for about five total years, then I got out of pastoring all together. And now someone else owns pinnacle balance.

I didn’t have direction. I had no idea what I really wanted to be or do all because I didn’t have a focus or a purpose. I had no idea where I wanted to be or how to get there. I was a certified coach for a certain career company and I still couldn't stay focused on what I wanted. I knew all the tips and tricks, but I couldn't make it work. In the end, i started blaming everyone else, but it was just me all along.

After we left the pastorate in 2014, I became deeply depressed. I knew for 15 years that I was supposed to be a pastor. I believed in my innermost depths that God had called me to be a pastor. Apparently, I was wrong. Which is okay. I gave it a shot. I followed my dream, and it didn't pan out. It didn't pan out, not because God wasn't in it. It didn't pan out because I had no purpose and no real direction. I wasn't willing to do the work because there was no plan.

Why am I doing this? When you can answer this question with every ounce of honesty you can muster, I believe you will be on a road to success. The problem is most people I know don't have a why.

Purpose

Why Am I Doing This? Our purpose for doing something can be fairly wide ranging. Our purpose can be simple, like I want to save money, or it will make me feel better. To grand like I want to help save baby turtles in Guatamala. What our purpose does is give us a motive. The underlying why to our trip we are about to take. Having a purpose that will make us want to conquer the world will help draw people to us. When they see that our purpose drives us, they will want to take part in what we are doing. People will come alongside us and provide support and encouragement.

I had no real purpose for becoming a pastor other than I believed God called me. Which, in the grand scheme of things, is a vague purpose at best. I didn't develop a purpose beyond that initial calling, so I couldn't see past any problem that came up. Not having a defined purpose was the reason I kept flip flopping back and forth between websites and the message I was trying to convey. I created problems that would have never come up if I had defined my purpose.

Having a purpose keeps us focused when the cares of life creep in. Problems will always pop up, and having a purpose will keep us focused on the bigger picture so we can get through the problem. Having a purpose helps us prepare. When we have a purpose, we can set goals and make plans that give us direction for our cause.

Direction

We have to look at where we are going before we start. I wanted to be a pastor. That was where the center of my goal target was. The problem was that I did not know what all the steps were to become a pastor. When you use Google maps, there is a section that shows you every step from your location to your destination. That's what we need to have in our lives. If we want to achieve "X" we need to figure out what every step from where we are is to "X".

Let's say one of my goals is to have a deep relationship with God.

Welcome back. This week we’re going to be talking about surrender to Christ. The idea for this podcast comes from the book, Becoming a Healing Presence by Dr Albert Rossi. (Amazon Link) And chapter 6 is on Surrender. Specifically, surrender as it relates to becoming a healing presence to others, but I want to touch on surrendering to Christ with our whole lives and by doing this, we will become a healing presence to others. 

Surrendering to Christ.

One of the most profound verses on surrender comes from St John the Baptist, “he must increase and I must decrease.” John 3:30

We live in a world of increase. Everything we watch and listen to is telling us we need to obtain more. Even many of our Christian leaders are telling us that we can get more stuff if we just trust God. A pastor bought his wife a Lamborghini and gave it to her on stage to show how God will bless us if we are faithful. And St John the Baptist said, “He must increase and I must decrease.”

We talk about surrender as Christians today in a way that belittles the early church, or the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives.We talk like surrendering is something THEY did back then. We’re too sophisticated, or too intelligent. We can manage on our own. And in most things we can manage on our own. I can tie my shoes without Christ. I can drive my car without Christ. But should we?  

1 Corinthians 3:18-20 says , 

'Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” '

Surrender is what we are all called to do on a regular basis. It isn’t something you do at an alter once then get up and walk away saying I gave my life to Christ 30 years ago. Surrender is something we do on a daily, hourly, minute by minute basis. 

Because of my volunteer work, I talk to alcoholics and addicts on a regular basis. If you want to talk about us as Christians not being able to surrender, ask an addict how much of their life is surrendered to drugs. Ask an alcoholic how much time he or she spends thinking about alcohol. Addicts and alcoholics are completely surrendered to their drug of choice. 

We as Christians have the same choice. We can surrender to Christ and let him rule our life or we can continue to give in every day to the world. 

God Will Let Us Go

Because of free will, God will let us go on our own. God wants all of us, See Matthew 22:36ff, but he will let us go to the bitter end if we wish. God will not make us surrender to him, that has to be a choice. Dr. Rossi shares this from St Theophan the Recluse,

Seek God: such is the unalterable rule for all spiritual advancement. Nothing comes without effort. The help of God is always ready and always near, but it is only given to those who seek and work, and only to those seekers who, after putting all their own powers to the test, then cry out with all their heart: Lord, help us. So long as you hold on to even a little hope of achieving something by your own powers, the Lord does not interfere. It is as though He says: ‘You hope to succeed by yourself -very well, go on trying! But, however long you try you will achieve nothing.’ May the Lord give you a contrite spirit, a humble and a contrite heart.”

Let’s go back to my friends in the half-way house.  Their victory over their addictions came after they surrendered to God. They had surrendered to their addictions for so long that they had lost all hope,

I know I said I wouldn’t do another podcast before 2021, but I got back from vacation and decided to do an end of the year episode about goal setting because there are thousands of year-end episodes about goal setting in the new year. So what’s one more? Well, I want this one to be different. I’m not against goal setting. I have goals. I have goals for myself; I have goals for my family, and I have goals for my writing and this podcast. We can’t see the future, and God doesn’t reveal everything to us all at once. So these types of goals will change as we grow closer to Christ. 

What I want to do today is encourage us to take a step back and instead of just setting goals we want to accomplish for ourselves; we set goals that bring us closer to Christ. In fact...these aren’t just goals, they can become our way of life.

1. Spend a little more time with Christ

I say spend a little more time with Christ because for me, spending time with Christ seems to take a back burner when I get busy, or just find something else to do. Our growth isn’t automatic! If we genuinely want to be mature Christians, we have to spend time with Christ. So one of the things I have recently adopted is the attitude that I can do anything for two minutes. And what I’ve found is that if I do something for two minutes, I will continue longer, but you don’t have to.

Another way to spend more time with Christ is to set an alarm for a couple of times a day to remind you to just say a quick prayer like, “Thy Will be done” or a simple “thank you” just to keep Christ centered in your mind.

What I don’t want to encourage you to do is start an extravagant prayer rule that will take an hour or so to complete. If you want to start spending time alone with God, start small so that you will have more success and not burn yourself out trying to keep it up every day. Two minute is easy and you can do it even if you get up late. Look at it this way. If your goal is two minutes and you spend 30 minutes, you will feel great and want to continue, but if your goal is an hour and you only spend 2 minutes, then you feel like you failed and will possibly give up.

One of the most beautiful lines of scripture is Psalm 42:1 'As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. ' That’s how I want my life to be, and I hope you do as well, but unless we’re called by God to do long sessions of prayer starting small will give us the momentum to grow.

2. Go to Church Regularly

When we miss church, the body of Christ isn’t complete. I mentioned this in the 3rd part of the Didache series. The virus has shown people that they don’t really need to go to church. They can stream it in their living room or just skip it all together. Many times people make the mistake of thinking that we go to church to receive a blessing. That we go to church to be filled. And while those things are accomplished when we go to church, they are not the reason we go to church. We go to church to Worship God because we love him for what he has done for us. We go to church to share in the life of Christ with other believers.

For the listeners who are Orthodox Christians you don’t actually go to a church service you go to Liturgy which actually translates to “The Work of The People.” Making it all the more accurate to say that we need to be there so the body of Christ is complete. 

Father Thomas Hopko said

You go to church to work. You don’t go to church to be entertained. It’s not food for thought. It’s not rest and relaxation. It’s not a trip into some escaping world of childhood, where it’s all pretty and nice; it’s hard work: to come to church, to stand there, to pay attention, to listen,

Welcome Back today we’re going to focus on the last 6 chapters of the Didache. These last few chapters focus on Teachers, Prophets, and Apostles. While some people argue that because the author uses the term apostle, that means it was written early enough for the Twelve apostles to still be traveling sharing the gospel. I don’t necessarily agree with that thought. There were 70 Apostles in the bible see Luke 10. The church also recognizes others through history as Apostles to certain groups Like St Columba Apostle to the Scots and Sts Cyril and Methodius apostles to the Slavs. What I think the author is teaching is to test those who call themselves apostles by giving these guidelines.

Heresies Were Prevalent Through History

The first thing the author says in this section is that if someone comes and teaches you everything layed out in this teaching, then let them stay with you. If they try to teach something else don’t listen to them.  

Heresies were already creeping into the church as the bible was being written in the first century. We see Paul and John both tackling heresies in their writings. So it’s not going to change by the time the Didache  was written.  Or even today. Heresies are still prevalent in the church today. We have to be aware of what scripture says, and what the church has taught through the centuries, so we are not led away from Christ’s teachings. Remember, every heresy starts with a grain of truth. For instance, there is a group who calls themselves Trinitarian Christians who baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and The Holy Spirit. But they don’t believe the Holy Spirit is anything more than a messenger for God. Not an active person of the Trinity. That is a very subtle heresy most people will never see. It’s a subtle misstep most people won’t notice. Unlike more prevalent heresies, like not believing Jesus is God or that We can become equal to God that most people can spot a mile away.  

Heresies are also why the church gave us the Nicene Creed 200 years after they wrote the Didache. It is a short, memorable statement that lays out most of the teachings of the church. Having teachers who teach us the truth is a blessing. According to the author, we should lift these people up in prayer and give them honor.

True Apostles And Prophets

Now, if an apostle or prophet comes, we receive them like we would the Lord. They can only stay one day and we can only give them enough bread to make it to the next stop. This seemed extreme to me, but as I looked at the reasoning, it really isn’t. This teaching goes back to the teaching in Luke 10 when the Lord sent out the 70 Apostles.  He told them to only take their clothes and a walking stick. They were to travel from town to town sharing the Gospel They were to rely on God to provide for their needs. So the author of the Didache followed that teaching when he was giving guidance on what to look for in an Apostle or a prophet.

The author tells us how to judge a prophet. They won’t call for the Eucharist while speaking in the Spirit and then receive it. They won’t ask for money while in the spirit. A prophet will act like the Lord, so that is how to tell them from false prophets. 

We should support any prophet who decides to live among us because they are our high priests. This goes back to Paul's teaching to Timothy 

'Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching; for the scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves to be paid.” 

1 Timothy 5:17-19

Support Your Pastors and Priests

Welcome Back! We’re continuing our overview look at the Didache. Last week we talked about the first 6 Chapters of the Didache which are an early church catechism. This week we are going to look at the second part, which is directions on how to do church stuff like fasting, prayer and the Eucharist. Next week well get into the later chapters that deal with itinerant prophets and pastors. This makes up chapters 7 - 16. While this may sound like a lot, the Didache is only 20 pages total, but each thought is laid out in the translation as a chapter which isn’t found in the original text but makes it easier to find subjects or heading like the translations of the bible.

Again, I’m not going to go line by line, but there is a lot of good stuff in here. I just want to hit some highlights of each section and try to relay how we can use the Didache today. 

Let’s Get To It!

Chapter 7 is on Baptism

After the person had been taught everything in the first six chapters, they are ready to be baptized. That is another point we fall short on today. We either rush people to get baptized out of fear of eternal damnation, or teach them the history of our church and basic beliefs. The teaching in the Didache was a requirement. The early church wanted to make sure people understood what they expected of them before they were baptized. I don’t even qualify to be baptized by their standards. 

They weren't interested in numbers. They were interested in the truth of the gospel and making sure the community would last. If Jimmy got baptized, he stood a good chance of being killed, or at least ostracized by his family and friends. 

I also love this section on baptism because it starts out with a strict, ”Baptize in cold running water,” then goes to you can use lukewarm water and if you don’t have running water pour it over their head.  Finally, just use what you have because how you baptize isn’t as important as why. Make sure they know the gospel and then baptize them.

Chapter 8 fasting and prayer

While fasting is prescribed still by the Orthodox and Catholic churches, most protestant churches don’t have set guidelines for fasting and some church bodies reject it completely. The writer of the Didache presumes people in the church fasted and gives the guideline of fasting on Wednesday and Friday instead of Tuesday and Thursday like the Pharisees.  The author gives no other restrictions and I assume this is because anyone who read the document would know how to fast because they did it regularly.  

What he does do is give some direction on praying. He says we should pray the Lord’s prayer three times each day. This could be the first establishment of what the church calls today, praying the daily cycle, or the hours, or the watches. All of which are a set time throughout the day. Some churches have set prayers for the daily cycle, and the Lord’s Prayer is included in these set prayers.

Chapters 9 and 10 The Eucharist

The Eucharist is only for those baptized into the church. Orthodox and Catholic churches still follow this practice and maybe some protestants, but today just about anyone can show up to most protestant churches and receive communion. As a former protestant we did this, I think for two reasons. First, communion is not looked at as the Real Body and Blood of Christ. It is a symbol of what Christ did for us, and it is done in remembrance of his death on the cross. This remembrance view opens up to the second reason, which is inclusion.  Today most people in America believe they are Christians and when they go to church, they take communion if it is offered. We didn’t want to turn people away because there may be an opportunity for evangelism if the...

Welcome Back! It’s been a couple of weeks, but I wanted to do this podcast when the rewrite of the Didache in Modern English hits Amazon, which it has. So, if you don’t know what the Didache is or you don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s a little recap.  

So what is the Didache? 

The Didache is an early church document, also referred to as The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. It is thought to have been written in the early to mid-second century. However, with the title The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, some feel it may be an even earlier work and some church fathers thought it should be included in the biblical canon, so it held a lot of weight in the early church.  I was surprised when our men’s lunch group read it last summer that most copies are just reprints of 19th century books and not modern texts. I want to make sure everyone understands, I'm not translating from the original Greek, I have three public domain copies from the 19th century I am using to come up with a modern take on the document.  

It was mentioned by several early church fathers in their writings, but no copy of it had been found until a Greek Bishop named Philotheos Bryennios found it in a stack of other 11th century copies of early church documents in a monastery in Constantinople (Yes that’s still what the Orthodox Church calls Istanbul) in 1883.

The finding of the Didache is the completion of a circle for some scholars. It’s not on a level with the Dead Sea Scrolls, or the Gnostic Gospels found in Egypt, but it's a document that scholars knew was out there, but no one had found a copy.  The funny thing is that two teams of scholars passed this copy over a few years before Bishop Bryennios found and published it.  

Why Does it matter to us today?

The Didache is important to us because it gives us a glimpse into the early church.  One of the biggest takeaways I have from the Didache is that it was written to a group of people who were living a life separate from the world. It wasn’t written to a country or a state or a city. It was written to a group of people who were separated from the world. The Roman world was a harsh and unforgiving place for Christians, and the Didache was written to teach them how to live lives separate from that world.

Today we live for the world and go to church. These people lived in the church and participated in the world, but knew the world was not for them. They didn’t try to change the world; they let Christ change them. This is a lesson I think the church of today could learn from.   

Here is a short overview of the first five chapters, which are an early catechism of the church

There Are Two Ways!

The First Part of the Didache starts with the teaching of the two ways, one of life and the other of death.  And there is a great difference in the two.

“This is the way of life: First Love the Lord your God who made you, second Love your neighbor as yourself, third do nothing to anyone else that you wouldn’t like to happen to you.  To keep these teachings, bless people who talk bad about you, pray for your enemies, and fast for people who persecute you. What credit is it to you if you only love people who love you? Sinners can do that.”

This first part is very familiar to most people who have been in church for any length of time.  The Great commandment and the Golden Rule.  It’s not twelve ways to be a better Christian or 45 days to a more Godly life.  It’s love God, Love your neighbor, and pray for your enemies. Isn’t it amazing that 20 centuries later this is still the hardest teaching we as Christians have? We can’t figure these three things out and our best writers and scholars think we are...

Welcome back! This episode is a little different because I am sharing a little of my faith journey and tie it in with the story of St Moses the Black, whose name I took when I was Chrismated into the Orthodox church. I first shared this at St John the Divine Greek Orthodox Church in Jacksonville, Florida. I have changed it up a bit because there are things I wanted to share that I wasn’t able to the first time. 

So here’s some background... When individuals convert to orthodoxy they take on the name of a saint. This is usually someone they admire or with my children they just take the name of the Saint I gave them when they were born. When our family converted to Orthodoxy, I chose St Moses the Black because he was someone who I could identify with, but he was also someone I could look to in my walk of faith.

Lifestyle of a Saint

St Moses started out his life as a slave but was banished by his master because he, according to some accounts, murdered a man. Whether or not he did St Moses was an all around bad guy so his master didn’t want him around.  Soon after being banished, he became the leader of his own band of marauders.  What else could he do?

St Moses lived a life of excess whether eating, drinking or stealing. It is said that no man could stand up to him because of his strength. Once he was interrupted as he was trying to steal from a farm so he waited until night, swam the river to kill the farmer who had hid from him again so he stole two of his sheep and swam back across the river to kill and roast them for dinner.  

The church I grew up in only baptized people when they accepted Christ into their lives, and this is known as Believers Baptism. They baptized me at 13 years old.  I don’t remember what was said or what prompted me to go forward. I knew at that age I was filled with a blackness that needed to be cleansed. That’s where my connection to Abba Moses starts. Because when Abba Moses was ordained to the priesthood, someone commented that “now Abba Moses has become as white as snow.”  And Abba Moses retorted, “all but in his heart.”  

I understood at 13 years old exactly how he felt. 

Even as a child I knew God couldn’t forgive me because of the blackness in my heart. All I remember hearing when I went to church was that God was angry with me for my sin.  That I could do no right.  I don’t even know that was what was said, I just know that is what I heard.  Jesus was an insurance card to keep me out of hell, not someone I could have a relationship with or someone I could live like. I was a Christian in name only and believe it or not I was arrested within a year for breaking and entering. Church wasn't where I could fit in, but the guys I was arrested with they knew me. We were close. Except for when they would steal my stuff, but that’s the price you pay to have friends.

I left the church at age 16 because those same friends didn’t go to church, so why would I.  I walked out of church one Sunday and my best friend asked me why I went there because I cursed and smoked and did drugs, and he was right. Church was for people who were good, not people like me. Church was guilt driven and shame based, and I didn’t want to feel guilty or ashamed. My friends didn’t judge me, they encouraged me. 

I stayed away from church for the next 10 years. I became an agnostic, which means I assumed there could be a God, I just didn’t want him in my life. But, in my heart, I knew I needed God, but I wasn’t willing to accept him. One story says that St Moses would talk to the God he didn’t know and ask him to show himself to him. 

God has a funny way of getting through to people. 

After 10 years I had a conversion experience ironically...

Welcome back, this week we’re going to look at one of the misunderstood miracles that Jesus performed and how the early church fathers saw this miracle, and what we can learn from it.  I originally talked about the miracle of the fig tree in April of 2019 at St John the Divine Greek Orthodox Church in Jacksonville FL but I’ve had time to rethink it and expand on it a little.

I also want to say that most of my study on these verses come from the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. (Affiliate Link)  If you love the early church Fathers this is a great commentary to have. 

The Parable of the Fig Tree

18 On his way back to the city early next morning, Jesus was hungry. 19 He saw a fig tree by the side of the road and went to it, but found nothing on it except leaves. So he said to the tree, “You will never again bear fruit!” At once the fig tree dried up.

20 The disciples saw this and were astounded. “How did the fig tree dry up so quickly?” they asked.

St Augustine said, Isn’t there something absurd about Jesus literally cursing a tree for not bearing fruit out of season? Everything in Scripture is to be understood either in its literal sense, in its figurative sense, or in some combination of these.

St John Chrysostom said, When such things are done, whether to places, plants or animals, we do better not to be overly curious about the divine will. Do not inquire too far into whether it was just that the fig tree withered, or you will lose perspective. This sort of question is trifling.

So what Augustine says is this has to be understood in a way that makes sense and Chrysostom is saying the tree isn’t the point.

Today the Kids would call the fig tree a MacGuffin.  A MacGuffin is a device or object that serves to trigger the plot, in this case, a discussion about faith and the word MacGuffin was popularized by Alfred Hitchcock. It’s a great word that you can impress your friends with the next time you go to the movies.

Don’t get caught up in what he does to the tree, get caught up in what Jesus says next.

21 Jesus answered, “I assure you that if you believe and do not doubt, you will be able to do what I have done to this fig tree. And not only this, but you will even be able to say to this hill, ‘Get up and throw yourself in the sea,’ and it will. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

Jesus uses the fig tree to get the conversation started.  The disciples ask how this is possible.  And Jesus looks at them and tells them about faith.  This isn’t the first time Jesus has said this to the disciples.  He told them earlier and we can read it in Matthew 17:20 that is they have the faith the size of a mustard seed they can toss the hill into the ocean. 

(Chrysostom) He repeated this Lesson to enable them to cleave to prayer and faith. For you shall not only do this, but you shall also remove mountains; and many more things you shall do, being confident in faith and prayer.

Jesus repeated this lesson because he wanted them and us to get it.  He wanted them and wants us to understand that our faith is the key to everything, and through faith we produce fruit.  

Our Greatest Example

Mary gives us our greatest example.  One ordinary girl’s yes changed the course of human history.  We don’t sing “Greater in honor than the cherubim and beyond compare and more glorious than the seraphim.”  because she exhibited a little faith.  As Fr. Stavros Akrotirianiakis says, in his book, The Road Back to Christ,  

“Her “YES” was a yes to the greatest task ever given a human being—the respo...

Welcome back! This week we’re going to talk about letting God use us to make disciples. This episode was actually going to be a stand-alone episode on discipling others, but I realized that part of being a disciple, which is what the last two episodes were about, is letting God use us to make disciples. Jesus says that part of our being disciples is to make more disciples. This is called the Great Commission; it is found in Matthew chapter 28 verses 18-20 and is usually paired with the great commandment we talked about in the episodes on the Law of Love.  

'And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.'

One of the biggest misconceptions of this verse is that only people who are missionaries can do this.  You Don’t Have To Be A Missionary

When Christ says, “Go to all nations” he doesn’t mean the only way to make disciples is to go to other lands.  99.99% of all Christians in the early church, and since then I assume, never went anywhere but their hometown and the church multiplied. Yes, some people will go and start churches in other lands, but most will be witnesses in their own city, town, or even on their own block. If we all went somewhere else, no one would be here.  So please don’t think you have to be a missionary to make disciples.

Sometimes it’s easier to go and make disciples than it is to be a disciple. What we teach most of the time is our personal opinion or the tenants of our theology. While neither one of these is bad, neither of them has the power to change like a relationship with Christ does. Whether we go abroad or stay at home, when we begin to make disciples, we shouldn’t rely on our own knowledge and abilities. As with all parts of our lives, we rely on the guidance and leadership of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says that when we go out to make disciples he is with us always and forever. If we try to do it in our own power, we end up like the Pharisees and make children of hell (Matthew 23:15) because we are teaching them to follow us or a certain dogma and not Christ.

Disciples Want To Make Disciples

I talked about this in the last two episodes so I’ll just touch on it again. If we are not being disciples, we can’t expect Christ to use us in making more disciples.  We can’t give away something we don’t have. Start with the basics, read the bible, and pray every day. We have to start where we are.  Don’t start with 2 hours of bible reading and prayer because that will last about two days. Start where you are and grow from there. You may want to start learning about other spiritual disciplines. There are several great books you can find on spiritual disciplines. My three favorites are The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard.  Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald S. Whitney. The best, in my opinion, is Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline. (Affiliate Links)

When God is working in our lives through the Holy Spirit we will have a desire to walk the road of spiritual formation with other people. I used to get frustrated at pastors who would expect everyone to be out saving the lost.  They would say that you “MUST witness for Christ” or you “SHOULD share the gospel with everyone you meet.” It doesn’t work that way. We can’t  give away something we don’t have

I heard a pastor tell a story about leaving a church service and going out to witness to a person on December 31st because he had set a goal to witness to 301 people that year.

Welcome back! Last week we talked about being a disciple and I tried to make the case for being a disciple. I went through some of the things the bible tells us it takes to be a disciple like time, commitment, and self-denial. We talked about it being hard and not being something every Christian will choose to do. This week I want to go through some practical steps we can take to get us started on our journey. The one thing I have heard said by several different people is, the longer you are on this journey, the more you realize you are just beginning.

Paul talks about our part as disciples a lot, but a couple of the more noticeable places are Philippians 2

'Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. '

And 1 Corinthians 9

'Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.'

St John Chrysostom says it’s not enough to just show up and run. We have to train to box in a match or run in a race. We have to train to be the men and women we are called to be. He tells us to train our bodies so that when temptations arise we don’t give into them. Paul talks about those temptations in almost every letter he writes.

Paul also makes it clear that it is not because of what we want to do that we become disciples. It is always God working in us that brings us back to him. 

Here are some practical steps we can take to be disciples.

Have A Guide

Just like we see Paul being a guide for those who were trying to be disciples in the churches he started, we need to have a spiritual guide who can speak into our lives. In the Orthodox church, we are well aware that we do not just become spiritual apart from the leadership of a spiritual parent. Our church teaches that we need a guide for the spiritual journey.  This starts with our Father Confessor. Our priest knows us and knows our needs so he is our first guide. As we get started having someone to encourage us, who has been where we want to go, will help us stay on track when we start to get bored or lose focus.  

While our priest is the first person to hold our hand as we grow, God puts other people in our lives who can walk with us as well.  Most of the people I rely on for spiritual guidance aren’t ordained.  They are men and women who have been or are where I want to be spiritually. 

In order to be disciples, we have to be willing to listen to the people around us.  If we can’t listen to the people we can see, how can we listen to God whom we can’t see? For me, having a person in my life who genuinely cared for my spiritual growth was a game-changer in my growth. I talked last week about the fits and starts my spiritual life had gone through over the last twenty years.  Finally getting someone in my life who will walk me through the ups and downs of the spiritual life, someone to show me what I needed to do to take the next step got me out of just reading books and into the application of the spiritual life.

Have a Prayer Life

St. Nikon of Optina said, “Do not forget prayer─it is the life of the soul.”  Having a prayer rule will help us to not forget prayer.