Leading Yourself Spiritually

ASSIGNMENT # 1
Get You Thinking

How Would You Assess Yourself

1 More and more often, I notice that I am “going through the motions” of ministry— teaching things I am not currently experiencing in my own life, manufacturing emotion that I am not feeling, providing pastoral care but aware I don’t really care. 1 2 3 4 5

2 I am aware of a nagging sense that something is not quite right, but I don’t seem to be able to take the time or make the effort to look into it. The truth is, I’m not even sure I know how. 1 2 3 4 5

3 I find myself rushing from one thing to the next without time to really pay attention to what’s going on in and around me. 1 2 3 4 5

4 I am keeping up with what pastoral ministry requires but deep down, I feel that I have lost touch with who I am in God and what he has called me to do. 1 2 3 4 5

5 I am tired—not just physically but spiritually and emotionally. I don’t really know how to get rested. 1 2 3 4 5

6 I am aware of underlying irritability and restlessness just beneath the surface of my life. 1 2 3 4 5

7 I can’t stop working even when I know I need to. 1 2 3 4 5

8 I have become emotionally numb—unable to experience a full range of human emotion. 1 2 3 4 5

9 I find myself increasingly giving in to escapist behaviors (eating, mindless television viewing, substance abuse, shopping/spending, etc.) or escapist fantasies—dreaming about being somewhere else or having a different life. 1 2 3 4 5

10 I do not have time for attending to my human needs—exercise, eating right, getting enough sleep, doctors appointments and medical procedures, picking up dry cleaning, getting the car washed, and making home repairs. 1 2 3 4 5

11 I find myself hoarding energy—avoiding people in the grocery store, holing up at home or in my office—for fear that routine social interactions will rob me of that last bit of energy. 1 2 3 4 5

12 My spiritual practices have slipped. Even though I know that practices such as solitude, prayer, personal reflection on Scripture, etc., are life-giving, I find I don’t have time or energy for them. 1 2 3 4 5

13 I feel isolated with no one to fully confide in and no one who fully understands my situation. 1 2 3 4 5

14 My staff team/elders and I are very good at strategic planning and “thinking our way” into solutions, but we do not have a clearly articulated process for discernment at the leadership level. Aside from perfunctory prayers to book-end our meetings, we don’t have a way of seeking God together. 1 2 3 4 5

15 It has been a long time since I have felt connected with the presence of God in my own life beyond what I am doing for others. Sometimes I suspect that my vision for ministry has become more important to me than my own relationship with God. 1 2 3 4 5

ASSIGNMENT # 2
The Biblical Foundation

Read Matthew 16:24-28

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

28 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Reflective Questions

  • It is easy for leaders to lose our soul care because of the pace and demands of ministry.  What are the effects of losing your soul because of ministry?

  • What are some personal spiritual rhythms to help you keep your soul healthy?

  • How do you remain aware of your personal and leadership limits and fight for margin in the midst of fast-paced ministry?

  • As a leader how do you handle criticism?  (Honestly) (How does it affect you? How do you move through it? How do you rise above it?)

ASSIGNMENT # 3
The Opporunity

Watch Part of Zach’s Sermon
Start at 15:25 Stop 22:35

We all know that a picture is worth a thousand words.  So let me give you an image that will help you better grasp an essential concept in this book.  As we’ve seen, God forms us into His leaders in the Soul Room and the Leadership Room.  I like to describe this process using the image of Pitcher/Cup...Saucer/Plate.  Let me explain.

  • The pitcher represents all that God is and all that He longs to pour into the cup of my life: His very being, His existence as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, His character, and His desire for my life.

  • The cup represents my life.  It is the unique and distinctive cup of who I am -- of who God created me to be and of all that God longs for me to become.  God desires to continually pour Himself into the cup of my life until it overflows with His character and grace.

  • This divine overflow onto the saucer.  The saucer represents relationships, the network of people my life touches, however frequently or infrequently.

Finally, the plate represents events, places, and organizations where God’s gracious presence in my life can further overflow through me and, at times, through my leadership responsibilities.

Reflective Questions

  • How important is your personal spiritual formation and development to your leadership responsibilities and decisions?  Look, for instance, at how much time in a typical week you devote to your personal spiritual growth.

  • Is your spiritual foundation to your effectiveness as a godly leader and disciple-maker, or is your spiritual health a peripheral enhancement to your leadership? And does your calendar support your answer?

  • Do you consider spiritual formation a good thing to attend---when you have the time?

  • Or is your solitude with God and your silence before Him the primary source of energy and guidance for your leadership as well as a dynamic part of your daily life and, therefore a key item on your leadership schedule?

ASSIGNMENT # 4
When Leaders Lose Their Souls

Listen to this podcast from Ruth Haley Barton, titled “When Leaders Lose Their Souls.”

Reflective Questions

  • What stood out to you from this conversation?

  • What challenge you from this conversation?

  • Usually we separately what we do in ministry different and our relationship with God.  Why is this dangerous to our soul?

  • How can we help strengthen your soul as you step into this role?

ASSIGNMENT # 5
So What

  • Do you know people in ministry whose priorities between ministry and family are out of order? What is the impact on their relationships (friends, family, marriage, self)? 

  • Do you know people in ministry who are balancing the tension between ministry and family well? How are they doing this? 

  • How is your relationship with God right now?  What needs to change?

  • How is your relationship with others right now?

  • How does stepping into ministry affect your relationship with God and others?

ASSIGNMENT # 6
Put It Into Practice

  • What would it look like to reorganize your ministry from pitcher to saucer/plate to pitcher to cup? Is this what you want?

  • What do you want your relationship with God to look like on a:

    • Daily

    • Weekly

    • Monthly

    • Quarterly / Yearly

  • What needs to change to have this type of rhythm with God?