Morning practices, pt. II

Allow me to return to the subject of my quest for good morning practices.  By these, I mean morning practices which foster spiritual formation, faithfulness, and peace; in other words, a way to start my day holy, healthy, and happy (so far as it depends on me).

When last I wrote on this subject, I was in the midst of a transition in morning practices, having come through a period of heavy stress combined with a major shift in the habits of our very young children.  This, in the midst of more than a week away in California, forced a big transition in my morning habits.  To reiterate, here were my hopes and dreams for a particular morning:

• Breakfast
• Coffee
• Prayer
• Engagement with the Scriptures
• A GTD daily review
• Exercise
• Writing

Not all of these are created equal:  Breakfast and coffee are not disciplines at all--I simply don't miss them, ever.  It's easy to make and eat breakfast (cereal) and coffee is almost as quick.  On a rushed morning, the whole process takes less than 15 minutes, less if I'm grabbing coffee on my way somewhere.  I include them here more for the sake of completeness. 

The practice of prayer and engagement with the Scriptures are disciplines for me.  How I feel on a particular morning influences how difficult it is to actually begin these processes.  It is a rare morning when I forget, but often I remember and avoid.  Excuses make themselves available and I find myself sidestepping these practices, promising myself I'll get to them "after I'm done with such-and-such."  Rarely happens.  That's why they call these disciplines; when I am tired, drained, stressed out, locked in struggle with sin (or struggling to ignore sin), or exerting myself emotionally in any other way, spiritual practices become difficult.  The discipline part of these spiritual practices take over in a trusted rhythm, leading me to begin these practices in spite of stiff resistance.  Even better, these rhythms also carry me through the practice, very often leaving me refreshed, restored, and filled in the process.  In fact, I cannot remember an occasion when I have defied the forces which push against these spiritual practices and then felt worse after going through with them.  What else should I expect from an encounter with the Author of Life?  But I always seem to forget that part at the beginning of the struggle.

The GTD daily review goes in a slightly different category than the spiritual practices.  Doing a daily review is not emotionally draining for me; in fact, once I begin the process, it threatens to run away with me.  The daily review sparks something that inspires me to gain perspective on my day, resulting in a sense of purpose and action which, properly harnessed, catapults me into my work day.  This has a lot to do with the fact that I love my "job", and as long as I don't feel too overwhelmed, I can't wait to get started on the tasks for the day.  My problem with the GTD daily review is to keep it sharply honed so it doesn't eat my morning, bleeding seamlessly into a task-attack, email-fest, or blog-reading sinkhole.  There is also a danger in the review becoming a source of idolatry, granting me a false sense of control or self-importance about my place in the world that day.

And lastly, exercise and writing fall into a fourth separate category, since they require a much larger time investment and are therefore more difficult for me to cram into a particular morning.  My goal is a 15-20 minute period of exercise and 1000-1500 words per writing period.  Less than these amounts for either goal bring about little in terms of results for which the goals are intended, so they stand as bare minimums.  You might be forgiven for wondering what exercise and writing have to do with spiritual formation, faithfulness, and peace.  Exercise properly undertaken invigorates the body in the short term.  Over longer periods, exercise increases energy overall levels and adds to emotional health.  In short, it allows me to undertake those things to which I am called with vigor and energy.  As far as writing goes, it is something which I deeply enjoy.  I find restoration and a renewal of my creative spirit in such an activity.  It is also something which I consider a gift from God, and in that gift, I find a calling.  Living into my calling enlivens my passion, fulfills part of the purpose for which I was made, and brings me joy in the act of co-creation with God for the benefit of others.

These are the elements that I hope to use to begin my day in spiritual formation, faithfulness, and peace.  (I'll write soon on the specific forms each of these will take, and then exactly how it's going...)

Morning practices for a good day

Our routines shape so much of who we are, both for the good and the not-so-good.  I'm one of those people who loves his morning routine, and I love even more to fiddle with it, chasing the perfect beginning to that elusive "good day."  With years of experience in such fiddling, I have discovered that how you begin the day has a lot to do with your perceptions of that day at its end.

Here are the things with which (ideally) I'd begin my day:

• Breakfast
• Coffee
• Prayer
• Engagement with the Scriptures
• A GTD daily review
• Exercise
• Writing

When leaving my morning routine and beginning whatever that day holds, I'd like to feel unhurried, fully submitted to God's purposes for my life in general and for that particular day.  I'd like to have the echo of God's voice following me as I heard it in His Scriptures.  I'd like to feel confident about what needed doing that day, as well as feeling confident I was moving toward my larger goals for the week, month, year, and lifetime.

For the sake of contrast, here's how I've been starting my day:

• Breakfast
• Coffee
• Google Reader, catching up on various blogs/sites while shoveling cereal in my face
• Rushing off to start my day, often (but not always) getting in one or more of the following:
  • Prayer (sometimes including some time in the Scriptures) -- usually happens 4-5 days per week.  Less often on non-work, non-week days.
  • GTD daily review -- usually happens 3-4 days a week.  Never on non-work, non-week days.

I have rarely been getting at all to exercise or to writing.

My big pitfalls lately have been:

• Tiredness.  This kills exercise first.  When I'm blasted at the end of the day and have a few spare minutes, I hardly feel like climbing on the treadmill or busting out pushups.  Also drains the goodness from otherwise good mornings; prayers seem dry, Scripture reading hard when I'm tired.
• Creatively spent.  Preaching every week as well as constant attention to envisioning the future tends to drain your batteries on creativity.  I face a blank page now and then, and decide to just surf blogs instead of writing.  Input instead of output.
• No home office.  I love my youngest daughter dearly.  But she stole my office.  In order to have a semblance of a contiguous morning, I often have to leave the house for a coffee shop or something similar.  This adds transit times and distractions, not to mention paying "rent" by buying coffee.
• Feeling overwhelmed with to-do's.  This has the effect of pressing on my morning time, and I find myself wading into the email or task storm earlier than I should, rather than spending adequate time gaining prayerful, godly perspective or giving time to things which energize and sustain me.

I've got a few ideas of things to do to take my morning routine to the next step.  But before I share, any of you have any creative ideas that you use to get your day started off right?

Making decisions with discernment: A simple, practical approach for all Christians

A few weeks ago, we came together as a church to approach the future together, wondering where God may be taking us as a people. It is an act of worship to approach the future expectantly, staying in step with the Spirit of God and prayerfully considering the choices which might lead us toward God's preferred future.

It proved helpful to remind ourselves of the nature of decision making in the context of the Christian life. This is the core of the sermon supporting this future-orientation. It centers on the idea of making decisions in partnership with God, looking forward with the expectation that His presence is active in guiding His people, whether individually or collectively.

The X-Factor: the Holy Spirit

Rather than ending with a disclaimer about the Holy Spirit and God's prerogative in interrupting or drastically changing our direction, perhaps we should begin with the "X-factor" of the Holy Spirit. It is true that the Spirit will sometimes intervene in dramatic ways, and we should be open and prepared for that to happen in our midst as we seek God's hand in the decision making process. But it is also helpful to remind ourselves the Holy Spirit works vigorously and continually within the seemingly mundane processes of planning, wise thinking, and prayerful discussion.

Converse with God in prayer

Having begun with the understanding of God's presence through and in our decision making, we approach the future as a conversation with God. By conversation, we imply a 2-way interaction rather than the list of concerns often associated with the practice of prayer. We ask ourselves the question, if I were talking with Jesus about this decision right now, what would he say to me? In this conversation, we cultivate a posture of humility, yielded to God and ready to hear the counsel of His Scriptures, the Words of His Son, the moving of His Spirit, regardless of where that counsel may take us.

And we remain quiet enough (and long enough) to listen. Very often we are too busy to stop long enough to listen. We find ourselves unwilling to be let go of control of the situation which rightly belongs to God. But we remain hopeful, humble, and expectant: God has promised to lead us, to speak to us in various ways. In our conversation with God, we expect to benefit and find guidance from God.

Align with the Scriptures

As we converse with God, we involve Scripture as a conversation partner, trusting its authority and wisdom. Overall, we seek to align our decisions with the narrative of Scripture. This does not mean looking for identical parallels and simply following the outcomes; as the outcomes of many passages of Scripture describe, this can be a shaky prospect. Rather, we seek to align with the character of God we see in Scripture as He shapes a people for His purposes.

Specifically, as we consult the Scriptures in our decisions, we ask ourselves, which is the wise choice? What aspects of down-to-earth wisdom seen in the Scriptures applies to this choice?

But more than this, we approach Scripture as Christians. We must ask ourselves, which choice aligns with gospel? For whom is this choice good news? How does this affect the people around me for their good? Which choice demonstrates and announces God's intention for the world in Jesus, even in subtle ways? How does this choice find alignment in God's purposes for restoring wholeness in the small part of the world we find ourselves?

Seek wise counsel

As we converse with God in prayer and seek alignment in the Scriptures, we listen also to the voices of those who are also listening to God. We open ourselves the counsel of other godly people who have experience in the practice of spiritual decision making. We submit ourselves to the wisdom of people who can ask good (hard) questions and remind us of both the big picture and point the way which experience has illuminated. We are often afraid of going to people who will ask hard questions; we have been burned by people telling us what to do, or we simply are afraid they will confirm where we sense God is leading us because of the sacrifice involved. But these fears can be given to God, whom we trust with our lives (and therefore decisions). God's most profound activity is very often displayed in community; seeking godly counsel is a pathway to this wisdom.

Watch for opportunities

Once we have attuned ourselves to the vision of God, we begin to expectantly watch for the play of circumstances around us. This is a learned discipline. We form habits of responding to God's direction in the midst of circumstances out of a character increasingly conformed to Christ. We begin to see doors opening or closing around us. We humbly trust that God is at work in the circumstances around us, and we learn to read the landscape. It is difficult to remain clear-eyed about the landscape, either because we don’t take the time to look around or because we desperately wish the situation was different. There is nothing wrong with wanting different circumstances and praying that they will change; but we must not pretend that reality isn’t reality. As we watch for opportunities around us, we train ourselves to trust in God's firm control of the events around us, and there is nothing we cannot face with His strength; there are people here to stand with us. We trust that if we stop to look, God will open our eyes to the opportunities within immediate reach that will lead us closer to Him, that will lead to blessings for us and others we serve.

Move forward boldly

Lastly, as we move organically through these steps, we begin to gain a confidence born of God's guidance. We hold the decision loosely, heeding Pauls wisdom to say “if it is the Lord’s will”, but we move forward boldly. Again we find ourselves resting in the character of God, knowing that He rewards fearful boldness. As we approach our decisions with a bold spirit, we find ourselves becoming people of radical faith, sold out to God's purposes in the world. We begin to see that each choice we make can be a part of God's unfolding story of redemption.

That is a future worth joining.

Discerning the landscape of our journey: Activating our "spiritual GPS"

In a conversation with some friends at Cascade Hills, I was trying to explain the core of each of the three movements in spiritual formation.

When we were discussing the first movement and asking the question "where am I now?", one person said, "it's like breaking out our spiritual GPS." I thought, what a great analogy for this stage in the process! GPS tools keep track of trustworthy external reference points high above the terrain we're facing, giving us a better knowledge of exactly where we stand. What's more, the tool provides the ability to input an end goal, helping us to keep track of our progress toward that goal. Knowing where you are in relation to your destination is an invaluable part of navigating difficult terrain. Anyone who has tried to follow a map while driving in fog knows this truth all too well.

In the process of spiritual formation, it is wise for us to pause frequently and give some attention to the spiritual landscape in which we find ourselves. Of course, we immediately run into trouble with the word "spiritual". The term conjures up moods, temperaments, attitudes, mystery, and ambiguity. When I am using the term here, I mean it to refer to those aspects of our lives in which God is involved.

And of course, by that I mean just about everything. We are used to calling our prayer times and church gatherings "spiritual", but it is essential to God's restoring purposes in creation that we recover a sense of God's involvement in everything: our interactions with our spouse, cleaning out the garage, paying the guy behind the counter for our french fries, sleeping soundly after a day of frantic activity, and every other corner of our busy lives.

The first step to activating our spiritual GPS is to recognize that God is active in and around us. As we acknowledge and invite His presence into more areas of our life, we find new strength to approach struggles, new directions open that were previously invisible or closed to us, we discover a shift in attitude toward self-giving in our relationships, and we experience new passion and joy in the activities for which God made us.

Looking at our Spiritual Landscape

With this new sense of God's presence in all we are and do, giving attention to the spiritual landscape around us in our lives is a larger task than it sometimes first appears. Let's explore some ways we can begin this task.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind..." (Luke 10:27a)

We might begin by looking at the center: our relationship with God and our history with Him. Are we exploring a relationship with God for the first time, asking questions and wondering? Have we decided to enter into covenant with God, becoming a part of His people and participating in His mission in the world? Do we have a long history with Him or are we new to the life of following Christ? Is there a breach in the relationship, something we've done or something we feel God has done that has made the relationship difficult? Is our experience of God in our lives characterized by obligation or impulse, dryness or passion, mystery or clarity?

"...and love your neighbor as yourself." (Luke 10:27b)

Next we might explore our significant relationships that shape our lives. Are we married? Are we raising children or being raised under parental authority? Who are our friends and family, and what relationship do we have with them? Who are our neighbors, co-workers, or classmates, brothers and sisters in our faith community? What responsibilities and connections do we have that involve them?

"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might." (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

We might also explore our vocation, the daily activities and sphere of influence, those things to which we feel responsible or even a sense of calling. Do we find ourselves with an occupation that requires the use of our skills and energy? Do we find ourselves with the task of caring for and raising children? Are we gaining an education that will serve one or more of these purposes? Have we reached the point of retirement or a second career?

"We have different gifts, according to the grace given us." (Romans 12:6)

What are the passions and ambitions which drive us? Do we long for creative expression, for a sense of accomplishment in a specific pursuit? Do we experience a sense of giftedness accompanied by a desire to use that gift in a way that impacts the people or neighborhoods around us? What other intangible factors regularly exert their influence on us?

"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens." (Psalm 68:19)

There are many more: what is our health situation? Our financial situation? Are there major struggles that otherwise make a significant impact in our daily lives? Actions of our own or of others for which we are suffering consequences? Other major events in our lives or in the lives of people around us that make themselves known in our hearts and minds?

Gaining the Perspective of Altitude

No list we make can pretend to be exhaustive. Let the previous list serve the function of reminding us or bringing to the forefront of our thinking the major features of our spiritual landscape.

Now is the time to start sketching out a map. Can you list two or three major features of your spiritual landscape from each category (relationship with God, human relationships, vocation, gifts and passions, human factors) that help you map out the landscape of your daily life? The list might be four or five items long, or much longer, depending on how long you want to spend on this process of discernment and what level of detail you want to achieve. Give it the time which seems appropriate to you now and don't feel you have to capture such a shifting, changing thing in one perfect list; you will return to this movement in the process again and again.

For right now, let your list grow for a time and then let it sit. Return to it after a few minutes and see if you can identify a handful of items that seem to consume a large share of your resources. Can you identify a few major concerns that you find occupying your thoughts? What would Jesus say if you asked him to help you discern the major dimensions of your life? Jot them down in a list and then engage in a time of prayer over them. Consider the following components to this time of prayer:

• An acknowledgment of God's presence with us and in the midst of each of these concerns
• A prayer for clarity as we look at our spiritual landscape; have we missed something which Jesus would remind us of if he were kneeling with us in prayer?
• An offering of willingness to listen for God's guidance and wisdom as we approach each of these areas of our lives

At this point, we might prayerfully return to the list of categories again to see if any new ones pop out at us or if God has rearranged any of our priorities. This would be an excellent time to involve faithful friends in this process, asking them to help us see what's happening in our life and the major features of our spiritual landscape.

The Outcome of Discerning Our Spiritual Landscape

The best outcome of this movement in the process of spiritual formation is a sense of clarity in what most concerns us, how our responsibilities line up and compete with each other in our lives, and the need we have to walk with God as we navigate these features of our spiritual landscape. Having a written, tangible list of these things (1) can help us as we listen carefully for God's calling in our lives (2) and as we seek to put into practice the things which God is calling us to do (3).

May God lead us graciously in the discernment of our lives, giving us confidence that no matter what we discover, He loves us, is with us, and will never forsake us. May God grant us passion to pursue his helping hand, an willingness to attend to His leading, and an eagerness to act on what we know!

An ongoing process for spiritual formation: Where am I? To where is God calling me? What is my part in this process?

As we think and dream about following Christ together in a faith community, we begin to discern a series of recurring movements in our spiritual formation.

We begin somewhere in the process (not necessarily one place or the other). Perhaps we face a crisis or opportunity in our lives and enter into a time of prayer, asking for God's guidance and help through this time. Or perhaps in the daily practice of Bible reading or in the midst of conversation with a trusted friend, we hear the call of God toward some new place in our faith. Or perhaps we've decided to try something new in our faith walk: a new way of serving our co-workers, a new practice of prayer, or a new way of interacting with and blessing our spouse.

No matter where we begin, we find these three related and interconnected movements:

• Asking "where am I now?", looking around ourselves to discern our "spiritual landscape", being observant about our orientation to God and His purposes, the relationships shape us, the things which demand our time and energy, our gifts and talents, and the struggles which we face.
  
• Asking "to where is God calling me?", hearing the call of God into new territory and trusting Him to lead us into a future of His purposes for our blessing.
  
• Asking "what's my part in this process?", looking for concrete ways we can participate with God right where we find ourselves in the midst of our daily lives.
  

Surrounding and filling each of these movements is the activity of God, calling us into conversation with Him, revealing Himself to us, empowering and guiding us. The Spirit is at work in our discerning process, opening our eyes to the reality of where we stand now. The Spirit is at work in calling us to a renewed vision of the future, what God intends for our own wholeness and restoration in every aspect of our lives. And the Spirit is at work in us as we put into practice those things we learn from Jesus.

And as we move through these phases, we find that the whole process is itself dynamic, not caught in an endless loop but rather moving in the direction of Christ. As we attend to each movement in the process, we find that our general movement is toward Christ. We may certainly fall, be caught for a time in foolishness or even outright sin. But is not our hope that though we struggle, Christ bears our burdens and delivers us? Do we not look forward to a foretaste of new life now, though our fullness awaits Christ's return?

Christian Spiritual Formation: Beginning a journey together toward the image of Christ

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Romans 12:1-2)

At Cascade Hills, we are preparing to enter into a nine-month cycle of spiritual formation together in the context of small groups (which we call Home Communities). This will be the first year that we'll use Home Communities for the purpose of intentional spiritual formation.

In the past, we've focused on creating loving community and on teaching, both of which bore fruit. We now find ourselves in a position to put the things we know into practice in the context of loving community. This will be a journey of discovery for all of us.

Let us begin with an attempt at clarity.

• Christian spiritual formation is the ongoing process of being conformed to the image of Christ.
• The goal of spiritual formation is restored wholeness: a healed fellowship between God, humanity, and creation.
• Spiritual formation is primarily the work of the Holy Spirit, but involves the participation of the individual person.
  
• Spiritual formation is nurtured and supported in the context of covenant community.

Spiritual formation is an ongoing process, one that is undertaken over a lifetime of following Jesus. It passes through different stages as we mature, though we will often revisit similar terrain. Eugene Peterson once called this process "a long obedience in the same direction," a thoroughly countercultural prospect in the age of fast food and faster information. We ought to expect results, but not perhaps in the timing or the form which we would like.

The goal of spiritual formation is to be conformed to the image of Christ. Christ is the image of God and at the same time the picture of human wholeness: what we would look like restored, reconciled, renewed, whole. As we are conformed into the image of Jesus, we find ourself being healed. Part of this healing includes a return to a radical other-centered way of life, one in which we pour ourselves out for the sake of others. To be conformed to Christ is to cease to be the center of our world, allowing God to send us as bearers of love and grace to all within reach. As we attain to maturity in Christ, we increasingly experience restored fellowship with God, one another, and with creation itself. We become part of God's restorative presence in the world (just as is Christ), a sent people that point beyond ourselves to God.

We are not the primary actors in spiritual formation. This process occurs as the mysterious and powerful work of the Holy Spirit. The image of Christ is not something that can be attained by rigorous self-control, a multi-step program, or frenzied activity. We are conformed by the breath of God which dwells within us, the gracious life-giving gift received upon the occasion of our baptism and reception into the covenant community of God's people. And yet this transformation does not occur without our knowledge or permission, but rather as a divine-human cooperation: a yielding of human will to the subtle direction and power of the Spirit.

And lastly, spiritual formation is nurtured and supported by the presence of others on a similar journey. As we undertake this lifelong process of being conformed to the image of Christ, we find that others we encounter along the way become part of the shaping process. We learn to love, to forgive, to share, to work, to give. We find that the more that we resemble Christ, the more we seek out community and the more community forms around us as fruit of the Holy Spirit. Together we learn the truth about ourselves and celebrate the joy of fellowship with God, others, and creation.

Next, we'll look at the nature of Cascade Hills Home Communities and look for ways of participating together with others and with God in the process of spiritual formation.

Cultivating self-control, pt. II: Preparing to begin a 21-day discipline

In the previous article, we discussed the role intention and will play in the cultivation of self-control. I suggested that if you repeat a specific behavior in its appropriate daily context for 21 days, then it has the potential of becoming an ingrained habit. This new habit is then an ally rather than an obstacle in the establishment and maintenance of self-control.

Let us look at the preparations that are helpful before setting out on a new 21-day discipline.

First, we wait on God. To begin is not to choose at random some habit which we covet or fancy; rather, it is to come before God humbly, allowing the perspectives and wisdom of Scripture to inform our self-understanding. Then, immersed in prayer, we wait for guidance. The mere act of stopping and waiting (a rare enough event in our crowded world) can often reveal a misplaced priority or an important insight in plain view. The intent of this initial silence before beginning is intended to keep us from bandaging a scratch while a more serious wound goes untended. How long is long enough? A little practice ought to reveal what is appropriate for each person. Three days, perhaps, is the least we ought to devote to waiting on God for such an important endeavor, but neither should we wait too long; longer than five days and we are stalling.

Second, we must clearly and accurately define the behavior we shall address. We must be specific. Do we wish to become more generous with our money, trusting God to provide? Then make it specific: is this discipline about spending less or giving more? Is it directed toward stopping a behavior in progress, such as impulse spending? Or is it directed toward creating a new behavior, such as setting aside money with which to be generous? In this part of the process, we must take care not to try to do too much. Especially at first, it is better to embark on a 21-day journey with a simple goal and to emerge victorious than to attempt a much more difficult one and fail. One other note at this stage: the structure of the 21-day discipline is directed toward behaviors which occur or should occur at least daily. Otherwise, we would not have opportunity to practice the behavior in a way that causes it to become ingrained.

Third, we must arm ourselves. The 21-day discipline properly undertaken is more than just an application of the will. There is frequent witness in the writings of Paul (and elsewhere) that there are forces at work within us which oppose positive growth in the fruits of the Spirit. What's more, Paul warns us in Colossians that mere application of will and harsh discipline of the body will fail because of its powerlessness in opposing these forces. It is the Spirit of God which alone has the facility to overcome the elemental forces which oppose our growth. Part of our work during this 21-day discipline then is to "feed the Spirit", to remain in intimate fellowship with God through prayer and time in the Scriptures. The best practice is to "bracket" the day with a short time of prayer specifically devoted to the discipline. We thus begin the day with a prayer asking for empowerment, approaching our task in expectation of the difficulties we will face. Similarly, we end the day with a reflective posture, prayerful relinquishment, and thanksgiving. In addition, for particularly difficult struggles, we might choose a scripture passage to memorize to have at the ready for when the path turns difficult.

Fourth, we ought to enlist the prayerful support of our brothers and sisters. The Christian life cannot be properly lived alone, and the critical task of introspection and active discipleship must always have a public dimension. Before we begin our 21-day discipline, we should lay our plan before a wise friend who can advise us, pray for us, and to whom we will make ourselves accountable. We might also consider entering into a 21-day discipline with another person or group with whom we can share the journey.

Fifth, and lastly, we should choose an appropriate time to begin. The pursuit of a change in behavior can be a tiring task, so we must be sensitive to the other needs in our lives. It would be wise to anticipate times in which new behaviors will be needed, and to put them in place before that time. We ought not to attempt more than one 21-day discipline at the same time; one brings enough difficulty on its own.

In forthcoming articles, we'll discuss:

• Beginning, sustaining, and finishing the 21-day discipline
• Nourishing the behavior over the long term

Cultivating self-control, pt. I : A practical guide to the 21-day discipline

Self-control is rare fruit in our culture these days. It cannot be called a celebrated virtue in a society whose economy is structured around the principle of instant gratification. That is not to say that the desire for it is lacking: witness the flood of interest in diets and the ubiquity and irony of visually impressive magazines with "simple" in the title.

And yet self-control is not often sought with success.

Christ-followers are frequently exhorted to self-control in the Scriptures:

• Proverbs 25:28: Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.
• Galatians 5:23: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:6: So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.
• And quite a few others: search Bible Gateway...

We know from his comments in Colossians that these are not intended to be heard as a call to the ascetic practices of monks, but rather a reminder that strict behavioral rules (no matter how harshly enforced) won't get us anywhere because they do not address the root problem: the need for total transformation of the person. Elsewhere (Philippians 2, 1 John 2:3-6, Galatians 5:16-26), we learn that this sort of transformation is not only possible but that followers of Jesus ought to expect such transformation to be an ongoing part of their discipleship.

The Holy Spirit has charge of the more difficult part of the process: making new our minds and hearts, reorienting them toward their original purposes in God's gracious ordering of His Creation. What part then do we play in this process?

Our part is the intentional application of our will toward forming new patterns of behavior that correspond to our new identity in Christ. Put another way, we must decide to change our current behavior and habits of mind with behavior and habits of mind appropriate to a disciple of Jesus.

Of course this is much harder to put into practice than it is to describe. For any behavior worth addressing, it is nearly impossible simply to decide to change. "From now on, I'll stop thinking those thoughts forever." Hardly. But that is not to say that the will is helpless in the face of such behaviors and habits of mind. What is needed is to use the will in conjunction with the rational mind, applying what we know of the human creature and his nature to create new habits that honor Christ.

It has long been known that repetition of a specific behavior over a span of several weeks can result in the establishment of that behavior in the subconscious. Recent studies have shown that this period reaches its highest potential at 21 days. This means that if you repeat a specific behavior in its appropriate daily context for 21 days, then it has the potential of becoming an ingrained habit.

In forthcoming articles, we'll look at the 21-day discipline in more detail:

• Choosing a behavior to address and preparing to begin the 21 days
  
• Beginning, sustaining, and finishing the 21-day discipline
• Nourishing the behavior over the long term

Have any experience with intentionally forming habits you'd like to share? Describe them in the comments!