The things that helped me the most in time management are…
1) I worked on a job description. I had coffee with Pat and we went
over what Darrin had given to me and what I have been or would like to
be doing. Then we prioritized them according to what was most
important and with this we set goals for how many hours I should be
spending in each broad category of work such as youth group,
hospitality stuff, Alpha, etc. I made sure to account for clean up
times, emails time, and many of the random tasks that can take up
hours of my time each week.
2) Then I traced how many hours that I spent doing each area of
ministry. I was able to see how many hours I had worked in each area
of ministry and also how many more hours I either should or should not
spend working. I could check in the middle of the week where I was
at. On average it is important to spend the most time in the priority
areas.
This was good for me to see how much I was working because ministry is
so ambiguous and this can be confusing. I think it is important not
to work too much and burn ourselves our and also to not work too little.
3) Having a schedule book that I can take with me everywhere because
if I don't write it down right away then I usually won't.
Goals
1) Be flexible to the seasons of ministry but disciplined through all the quick and slows.
2) Continue to meet with Tasha and plan our weeks, budget, and big upcoming events.
3) Set some goals for the summer time. Try to figure out how much time I want to spend doing French, youth group, Alpha, fall prep, neighbors, etc. Dream for the fall. Get together with the University team and talk about how the new team and ideas that come along with that go.
4) Figure out an exercise routine with Jay. Stick with it.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
adam's apest
Adam’s APEST Test
STPEA
Shepherding: 21
Teaching: 20
Prophetic: 19
Evangelistic: 15
Apostolic: 4
APEST ASSESSMENT INTRODUCTION:
APEST is a ministry assessment emerging from the most comprehensive statement of ministry structure, that of
Ephesians 4:7,11-12. Within this passage we find the fivefold ministry of APEST: apostolic, prophetic, evangelist,
shepherd and teacher;
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it... It is he who gave some to be apostles,
some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be shepherds and teachers, to prepare God's people
for works of service, so that the body of Christ.
All five ministries are needed to engender, call forth, and sustain a full ministry in the Jesus movement. In fact, all
five ministries in dynamic relation to one another are absolutely essential to vigorous discipleship, healthy
churches and growing movements. Ephesians 4:7,11-12 assigns APEST ministries to the entire church, not just
leadership. All are to be found somewhere in APEST – a leadership model characterized by a servant-inspired
dynamic.
Copyright © 2007 Alan Hirsch, Forge Mission Training Network and Leadership Vision Consulting. All rights reserved. The Forgotten Ways is available at
Amazon.com and local book retailers. More information at: www.theforgottenways.org and www.leadershipvisionconsulting.com
Evaluating unlicensed DynamicPDF feature. Click here for details. [1:0:s1]
Primary 1: Shepherding 21
Definition:
Characteristics
Shepherding leadership influence by nurturing, protecting and caring for people. Shepherd leaders primary function is as the care-givers of individuals. Shepherding leadership is the people–oriented motivator who develops and supports healthy relational systems. In a leader, he or she has the unique ability to know and understand the needs of people and the ability to develop others. Shepherd leaders focus on the needs of today and manage people through meaningful and personal contact. Often the Shepherd leader has a unique understanding of other’s feelings and emotions, creating a sincere relational bond. He or she will seek to create
safe environments for meaning spiritual growth and discipleship. A Shepherd leader believes in the need to seek to resolve the needs of today at the expense of the focusing on needs of tomorrow. He or she is a humanizer, they provide the emotional glue for the caring of individuals within an organization. The Shepherd leader impacts the community through nurture. The Shepherd leader influences others by their deep love, care and protection of those in their care.
Humanizer of care and concern
Caregiver to people in need
Unifier of an organization
Patient and timely with care
Cultivates loving and mature relationships
Aware of the spiritual network within a community
Core issue if love for people
Desire to see people cared for, connected and understood
Expresses God’s love through creating healthy communities
Seeks the dignity and respect of each person
Primary 2: Teaching 20
Definition:
Characteristics
The genius of Teaching leadership is their ability to reveal and communicate the wisdom of God. Teaching
leadership inspires others to learn and obey the Truth of Christ’s teachings and commands. In a leader, he or she
is the one who explains and seeks explanation of the truth. The Teacher leader focuses on the integration of truth
into the personal and social elements of the community. He or she can be seen as a systematizer, seeking to
organize various intellectual and practical parts into a working unity. With this type of understanding, the Teacher
leader advances a cause through clear and simple communication. Teaching leadership articulates organization
and structure to others for the fulfillment of a cause or task. The Teacher leader impacts the community through
understanding. The teacher leader influences others by clarifying the mind and will of God so people gain wisdom
and understanding.
Communicator of Truth
Philosopher of ideas and principles
Translator of great complexities
Systematizer for solutions
Guides others through wisdom and understanding
Encourages exploration in thinking toward solutions
Core issue is understanding
Have a curiosity to know more and to explain this knowledge
Strong desire for people to understand teachings and wisdom of God
Willing to take the time for people to understand for themselves
Prophetic: 19
Evangelistic: 15
Apostolic: 4
Secondary 1: Prophetic 19
Definition:
The genius of Prophetic leadership is the ability to discern the spiritual realities in a given situation or community.
He or she is a questioner, freely disturbing the status quo and challenging individuals and organization to move in
a different direction. The Prophetic leader impacts communities through integration.
Evangelistic: 15
Secondary 2: Evangelistic 15
Definition:
Evangelistic leadership communicates the gospel message in a way that people respond by having greater faith
in themselves and their purpose. In a leader, he or she is a communicator / recruiter, taking the organizations
message to the outside, and convincing them of it. The Evangelistic leader impacts the community through
expansion.
Apostolic: 4
Secondary 3: Apostolic 4
Definition:
The uniqueness of Apostolic leadership is the ability to pioneer new, innovative and mission minded works. He or
she is an entrepreneur, a groundbreaker and strategist seeking to initiate an organization or individual’s purpose
and mission. The Apostolic leader impacts communities through extension.
STPEA
Shepherding: 21
Teaching: 20
Prophetic: 19
Evangelistic: 15
Apostolic: 4
APEST ASSESSMENT INTRODUCTION:
APEST is a ministry assessment emerging from the most comprehensive statement of ministry structure, that of
Ephesians 4:7,11-12. Within this passage we find the fivefold ministry of APEST: apostolic, prophetic, evangelist,
shepherd and teacher;
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it... It is he who gave some to be apostles,
some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be shepherds and teachers, to prepare God's people
for works of service, so that the body of Christ.
All five ministries are needed to engender, call forth, and sustain a full ministry in the Jesus movement. In fact, all
five ministries in dynamic relation to one another are absolutely essential to vigorous discipleship, healthy
churches and growing movements. Ephesians 4:7,11-12 assigns APEST ministries to the entire church, not just
leadership. All are to be found somewhere in APEST – a leadership model characterized by a servant-inspired
dynamic.
Copyright © 2007 Alan Hirsch, Forge Mission Training Network and Leadership Vision Consulting. All rights reserved. The Forgotten Ways is available at
Amazon.com and local book retailers. More information at: www.theforgottenways.org and www.leadershipvisionconsulting.com
Evaluating unlicensed DynamicPDF feature. Click here for details. [1:0:s1]
Primary 1: Shepherding 21
Definition:
Characteristics
Shepherding leadership influence by nurturing, protecting and caring for people. Shepherd leaders primary function is as the care-givers of individuals. Shepherding leadership is the people–oriented motivator who develops and supports healthy relational systems. In a leader, he or she has the unique ability to know and understand the needs of people and the ability to develop others. Shepherd leaders focus on the needs of today and manage people through meaningful and personal contact. Often the Shepherd leader has a unique understanding of other’s feelings and emotions, creating a sincere relational bond. He or she will seek to create
safe environments for meaning spiritual growth and discipleship. A Shepherd leader believes in the need to seek to resolve the needs of today at the expense of the focusing on needs of tomorrow. He or she is a humanizer, they provide the emotional glue for the caring of individuals within an organization. The Shepherd leader impacts the community through nurture. The Shepherd leader influences others by their deep love, care and protection of those in their care.
Humanizer of care and concern
Caregiver to people in need
Unifier of an organization
Patient and timely with care
Cultivates loving and mature relationships
Aware of the spiritual network within a community
Core issue if love for people
Desire to see people cared for, connected and understood
Expresses God’s love through creating healthy communities
Seeks the dignity and respect of each person
Primary 2: Teaching 20
Definition:
Characteristics
The genius of Teaching leadership is their ability to reveal and communicate the wisdom of God. Teaching
leadership inspires others to learn and obey the Truth of Christ’s teachings and commands. In a leader, he or she
is the one who explains and seeks explanation of the truth. The Teacher leader focuses on the integration of truth
into the personal and social elements of the community. He or she can be seen as a systematizer, seeking to
organize various intellectual and practical parts into a working unity. With this type of understanding, the Teacher
leader advances a cause through clear and simple communication. Teaching leadership articulates organization
and structure to others for the fulfillment of a cause or task. The Teacher leader impacts the community through
understanding. The teacher leader influences others by clarifying the mind and will of God so people gain wisdom
and understanding.
Communicator of Truth
Philosopher of ideas and principles
Translator of great complexities
Systematizer for solutions
Guides others through wisdom and understanding
Encourages exploration in thinking toward solutions
Core issue is understanding
Have a curiosity to know more and to explain this knowledge
Strong desire for people to understand teachings and wisdom of God
Willing to take the time for people to understand for themselves
Prophetic: 19
Evangelistic: 15
Apostolic: 4
Secondary 1: Prophetic 19
Definition:
The genius of Prophetic leadership is the ability to discern the spiritual realities in a given situation or community.
He or she is a questioner, freely disturbing the status quo and challenging individuals and organization to move in
a different direction. The Prophetic leader impacts communities through integration.
Evangelistic: 15
Secondary 2: Evangelistic 15
Definition:
Evangelistic leadership communicates the gospel message in a way that people respond by having greater faith
in themselves and their purpose. In a leader, he or she is a communicator / recruiter, taking the organizations
message to the outside, and convincing them of it. The Evangelistic leader impacts the community through
expansion.
Apostolic: 4
Secondary 3: Apostolic 4
Definition:
The uniqueness of Apostolic leadership is the ability to pioneer new, innovative and mission minded works. He or
she is an entrepreneur, a groundbreaker and strategist seeking to initiate an organization or individual’s purpose
and mission. The Apostolic leader impacts communities through extension.
fo2 life assignement
Project Purpose
The aims of the projects are:
• To help you maintain important priorities affecting your effectiveness and longevity
• To integrate into your life and practice
• To help you reflect on your life and experiences and find the lessons God would have you learn
Elements
• Timeline (Where have I come from?)
o Boundary Events/Critical Incidents
o Influential people (mentors)
o Key lessons (values)
o Social base history
o Calling & Giftedness
o Other important threads (eg. Physical history, if health issues have been prominent)
• Inventory (Where am I now?)
o Personality & Gifts
o Values
o Social base
o Spiritual Practices & Pathways
o Mentors
o Issues
• Life Purpose Statement
Inclusion of these elements, along with timely completion of weekly assignments, is the basis for evaluation of your project.
• Personal Mission
o An inventory of your cultural learning: strategies for language learning, cultural mentors, other learning strategies & opportunities
o Relational inventory of people that you are getting to know
o Personal time and work management strategies and what you are learning about how you work best
o Goals for the next 6 months/one year for each of the above
Posting Date: Friday, February 8, 2008
Reply Date: Monday, February 11, 2008
1. Spend at least one hour continuing this work by adding new elements to your timeline, and/or by fleshing them out with brief narrative descriptions.
• Start with these four elements:
o Boundary events: events that mark a major change of phase in maturity and/or ministry (see definitions and types in notes and electronic worksheet)
o Critical events: other events that impacted your life in important ways—negative and positive
o Influential People
o Key Lessons: truth recognitions that have formed your values
• Then add other significant factors to your timeline:
o Social Base History: chart how your social base has changed through moving out of home, changes in family of origin (divorce/death), marriage, having children, etc. (some of these may coincide with events you have already recorded)
o Calling and Giftedness: chart your first awareness of your various gifts and your calling into ministry (some of these may coincide with boundary events or key lessons)
o Other important personal factors: determine for yourself if there are other parts of your timeline (such as your health or financial history) that would be important to trace in order to have a complete understanding of where you have come from
• Note: you are not trying to get this material into its final form—just compiling all of the information
1. Read through Notes on Personality, Giftedness, and Values
• Fill out your own Personality and Giftedness Profile in the LLD worksheet (tab: Giftedness), or create your own in the format you have chosen
2. Look over the materials you have already created to begin to discover your own values:
• Personality/giftedness profile
• Timeline incidents, influences and lessons
• Prioritizing Core Values Worksheet answers that you wrote during FO1 (fill this out if you have not already done it; update any answers with new thoughts if you have)
3. Write between four and ten values that you see as being key to you personally.
• Write not only the value, but a description of that value (for examples, look at the end of the Notes on Values)
• Cross-reference these with where you see them coming from in your timeline or giftedness profile
• Note any scriptural basis for the value you have written (references)
• Mark any values that you find are more aspirational that real
1. Read through notes on Social Base, Spiritual Pathways, and Mentors. You may want to also refer to a book on spiritual disciplines.
2. Write a description of your present social base using the following questions (also contained in the LLD Excel worksheet):
• Married: What is your present social base pattern? (Refer to notes for descriptions.) Do you see this as temporary or evolving (and if evolving, into what)? How do you feel you are doing at balancing marriage, family, and work? How does your spouse feel about your social base pattern?
• Single: Who are your functional substitutes for family/spouse? How do you feel about your singleness at this time? Do you sense any gifting for singleness?
• Also read back through your timeline concerning your social base history and note any past issues that may be affecting your present experience.
3. List spiritual disciplines you are currently practicing and any current mentors that you have. (You may want to refer to the notes on mentors or the LLD Excel worksheet to remind yourself of various types of mentors.) Also note 1-2 other disciplines or spiritual practices you would like to add to your present ones.
4. Refer to the work you have already done (timeline, values, and personality/giftedness profile) as well as the descriptions you have just written and come up with a list of 3-5 principal personal issues that you are currently facing, plus a possible mentor for each that could help you address them (either a current or potential mentor. This list should not include work issues per se (except for such things as balancing work and family).
• Possible issues might include such things as:
o A past painful incident/chapter that keeps surfacing and needs healing
o Issues with parenting or marriage
o Spiritual journey
o Financial issues
o Persistent character issue/weakness
o Physical/mental health
• Note: If you have an issue with another person, such as a spouse, a child, or a team member, attempt to address or describe it in terms of your part of the problem rather than theirs, since this is for you to hold the mirror to yourself rather than to analyze them.
• It may also be interesting for you to “map” these issues in a graphic way to see how they interrelate and overlap—in what way each issue affects and touches the others.
1. Read through notes on Cross-Cultural Adjustment and Hospitality.
2. Make an inventory of your cross-cultural learning thus far:
• Language learning so far
• Cultural mentors or guides
• Classes or books you have read on your country or city, or cultural understanding in general
• Other ways you are continuing to investigate culture
3. Make a relational inventory of people you are getting to know inside and outside your community. Divide them into categories that will help you to map your relationships, such as:
• National or expat
• Good friend vs. acquaintance
• Believer or pagan
• In church community or outside
• Source of contact (school, neighborhood, class, park, pub, etc.)
4. Go through the work you have just done and set some goals:
• Make plans for future language and cultural learning, noting specific objectives for the next 3 months and 12 months.
• Mark those relationships that you particularly want to pursue further and note how you will do this.
• Also note places that are particularly fruitful for relationships, and note how you can continue to emphasize your contacts there.
5. If you are working with a group from the same city on the City Tour: set a time for next week to get together to discuss your format and division of content.
6. Post online:
• One of your cultural learning objectives AND
• A description of one or two people that you are most excited about getting to know currently
7. Read all other posts and respond to at least one of them.
1. Read through notes on Work Issues.
2. Record your approaches to time and work management over the last few months, including:
• Guidelines or principles that you have adopted
• Strategies that you are using
• Scheduling practices
• Accountability structures
3. Evaluate these approaches and set some goals on how you would like to improve them in the next six months.
4. Set an appointment with a leader within the next week or two to discuss material you have compiled so far in your Personal Mission and Personal Profile.
There are a few weeks allowed between the end of the Week 6 assignment and FOw for you to finish the projects on your own. During this time you will not be required to post except to respond to logistics questions for FO2.
You should use this time to:
• Get your Personal Profile (Timeline and Inventory) in its final format
o You should also use this information to write your Life Purpose Statement, which is the final element of your Profile (see notes on Timelines for materials on and examples of Life Purpose Statements).
• Format your Personal Mission
The aims of the projects are:
• To help you maintain important priorities affecting your effectiveness and longevity
• To integrate into your life and practice
• To help you reflect on your life and experiences and find the lessons God would have you learn
Elements
• Timeline (Where have I come from?)
o Boundary Events/Critical Incidents
o Influential people (mentors)
o Key lessons (values)
o Social base history
o Calling & Giftedness
o Other important threads (eg. Physical history, if health issues have been prominent)
• Inventory (Where am I now?)
o Personality & Gifts
o Values
o Social base
o Spiritual Practices & Pathways
o Mentors
o Issues
• Life Purpose Statement
Inclusion of these elements, along with timely completion of weekly assignments, is the basis for evaluation of your project.
• Personal Mission
o An inventory of your cultural learning: strategies for language learning, cultural mentors, other learning strategies & opportunities
o Relational inventory of people that you are getting to know
o Personal time and work management strategies and what you are learning about how you work best
o Goals for the next 6 months/one year for each of the above
Posting Date: Friday, February 8, 2008
Reply Date: Monday, February 11, 2008
1. Spend at least one hour continuing this work by adding new elements to your timeline, and/or by fleshing them out with brief narrative descriptions.
• Start with these four elements:
o Boundary events: events that mark a major change of phase in maturity and/or ministry (see definitions and types in notes and electronic worksheet)
o Critical events: other events that impacted your life in important ways—negative and positive
o Influential People
o Key Lessons: truth recognitions that have formed your values
• Then add other significant factors to your timeline:
o Social Base History: chart how your social base has changed through moving out of home, changes in family of origin (divorce/death), marriage, having children, etc. (some of these may coincide with events you have already recorded)
o Calling and Giftedness: chart your first awareness of your various gifts and your calling into ministry (some of these may coincide with boundary events or key lessons)
o Other important personal factors: determine for yourself if there are other parts of your timeline (such as your health or financial history) that would be important to trace in order to have a complete understanding of where you have come from
• Note: you are not trying to get this material into its final form—just compiling all of the information
1. Read through Notes on Personality, Giftedness, and Values
• Fill out your own Personality and Giftedness Profile in the LLD worksheet (tab: Giftedness), or create your own in the format you have chosen
2. Look over the materials you have already created to begin to discover your own values:
• Personality/giftedness profile
• Timeline incidents, influences and lessons
• Prioritizing Core Values Worksheet answers that you wrote during FO1 (fill this out if you have not already done it; update any answers with new thoughts if you have)
3. Write between four and ten values that you see as being key to you personally.
• Write not only the value, but a description of that value (for examples, look at the end of the Notes on Values)
• Cross-reference these with where you see them coming from in your timeline or giftedness profile
• Note any scriptural basis for the value you have written (references)
• Mark any values that you find are more aspirational that real
1. Read through notes on Social Base, Spiritual Pathways, and Mentors. You may want to also refer to a book on spiritual disciplines.
2. Write a description of your present social base using the following questions (also contained in the LLD Excel worksheet):
• Married: What is your present social base pattern? (Refer to notes for descriptions.) Do you see this as temporary or evolving (and if evolving, into what)? How do you feel you are doing at balancing marriage, family, and work? How does your spouse feel about your social base pattern?
• Single: Who are your functional substitutes for family/spouse? How do you feel about your singleness at this time? Do you sense any gifting for singleness?
• Also read back through your timeline concerning your social base history and note any past issues that may be affecting your present experience.
3. List spiritual disciplines you are currently practicing and any current mentors that you have. (You may want to refer to the notes on mentors or the LLD Excel worksheet to remind yourself of various types of mentors.) Also note 1-2 other disciplines or spiritual practices you would like to add to your present ones.
4. Refer to the work you have already done (timeline, values, and personality/giftedness profile) as well as the descriptions you have just written and come up with a list of 3-5 principal personal issues that you are currently facing, plus a possible mentor for each that could help you address them (either a current or potential mentor. This list should not include work issues per se (except for such things as balancing work and family).
• Possible issues might include such things as:
o A past painful incident/chapter that keeps surfacing and needs healing
o Issues with parenting or marriage
o Spiritual journey
o Financial issues
o Persistent character issue/weakness
o Physical/mental health
• Note: If you have an issue with another person, such as a spouse, a child, or a team member, attempt to address or describe it in terms of your part of the problem rather than theirs, since this is for you to hold the mirror to yourself rather than to analyze them.
• It may also be interesting for you to “map” these issues in a graphic way to see how they interrelate and overlap—in what way each issue affects and touches the others.
1. Read through notes on Cross-Cultural Adjustment and Hospitality.
2. Make an inventory of your cross-cultural learning thus far:
• Language learning so far
• Cultural mentors or guides
• Classes or books you have read on your country or city, or cultural understanding in general
• Other ways you are continuing to investigate culture
3. Make a relational inventory of people you are getting to know inside and outside your community. Divide them into categories that will help you to map your relationships, such as:
• National or expat
• Good friend vs. acquaintance
• Believer or pagan
• In church community or outside
• Source of contact (school, neighborhood, class, park, pub, etc.)
4. Go through the work you have just done and set some goals:
• Make plans for future language and cultural learning, noting specific objectives for the next 3 months and 12 months.
• Mark those relationships that you particularly want to pursue further and note how you will do this.
• Also note places that are particularly fruitful for relationships, and note how you can continue to emphasize your contacts there.
5. If you are working with a group from the same city on the City Tour: set a time for next week to get together to discuss your format and division of content.
6. Post online:
• One of your cultural learning objectives AND
• A description of one or two people that you are most excited about getting to know currently
7. Read all other posts and respond to at least one of them.
1. Read through notes on Work Issues.
2. Record your approaches to time and work management over the last few months, including:
• Guidelines or principles that you have adopted
• Strategies that you are using
• Scheduling practices
• Accountability structures
3. Evaluate these approaches and set some goals on how you would like to improve them in the next six months.
4. Set an appointment with a leader within the next week or two to discuss material you have compiled so far in your Personal Mission and Personal Profile.
There are a few weeks allowed between the end of the Week 6 assignment and FOw for you to finish the projects on your own. During this time you will not be required to post except to respond to logistics questions for FO2.
You should use this time to:
• Get your Personal Profile (Timeline and Inventory) in its final format
o You should also use this information to write your Life Purpose Statement, which is the final element of your Profile (see notes on Timelines for materials on and examples of Life Purpose Statements).
• Format your Personal Mission
work on...
I wanted to clarify the difference between justification and sanctification.
Justification is to be freed from guilt or blame. It is the way God sees us. And it is set about through the cross. Justification is a one time event (seen or unseen) that allows us to have access to God through the Holy Spirit and sanctification is the process that takes place when that Spirit conforms us to the image and likeness of Christ ending somehow in glory.
Pneuma (pnyoo'-mah) /Ruwach (roo'-akh)
spirit, ghost
From pneo; a current of air, i.e. Breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively, a spirit, i.e. (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, demon, or (divine) God, Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit -- ghost, life, spirit(-ual, -ually), mind.
Psuche (psoo-khay')/ Nephesh (neh'-fesh)
soul, life, self
From psucho; breath, i.e. (by implication) spirit, abstractly or concretely (the animal sentient principle only; thus distinguished on the one hand from pneuma, which is the rational and immortal soul; and on the other from zoe, which is mere vitality, even of plants: these terms thus exactly correspond respectively to the Hebrew nephesh, ruwach and chay) -- heart (+ -ily), life, mind, soul, + us, + you.
Zoe (dzo-ay') (Greek)/chay (khah'-ee)(Hebrew)
lifetime
From zao; life (literally or figuratively) -- life(-time).
Soma (so'-mah)
body
From sozo; the body (as a sound whole), used in a very wide application, literally or figuratively -- bodily, body, slave.
Sozo (sode'-zo)
heal, be made whole
From a primary sos (contraction for obsolete saos, "safe"); to save, i.e. Deliver or protect (literally or figuratively) -- heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole.
We are limited
There is only so much we can do. We have a capacity, a range. We need to choose where we put our time.
/ can't do
/ can do ok
{ can do well
\ can do ok
\ can't do
We have a spectrum unique to ourselves. Some narrow and focused others wider and shallower some both. In Christ we can do all things. Do the things that Christ would do.
Justification is to be freed from guilt or blame. It is the way God sees us. And it is set about through the cross. Justification is a one time event (seen or unseen) that allows us to have access to God through the Holy Spirit and sanctification is the process that takes place when that Spirit conforms us to the image and likeness of Christ ending somehow in glory.
Pneuma (pnyoo'-mah) /Ruwach (roo'-akh)
spirit, ghost
From pneo; a current of air, i.e. Breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively, a spirit, i.e. (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, demon, or (divine) God, Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit -- ghost, life, spirit(-ual, -ually), mind.
Psuche (psoo-khay')/ Nephesh (neh'-fesh)
soul, life, self
From psucho; breath, i.e. (by implication) spirit, abstractly or concretely (the animal sentient principle only; thus distinguished on the one hand from pneuma, which is the rational and immortal soul; and on the other from zoe, which is mere vitality, even of plants: these terms thus exactly correspond respectively to the Hebrew nephesh, ruwach and chay) -- heart (+ -ily), life, mind, soul, + us, + you.
Zoe (dzo-ay') (Greek)/chay (khah'-ee)(Hebrew)
lifetime
From zao; life (literally or figuratively) -- life(-time).
Soma (so'-mah)
body
From sozo; the body (as a sound whole), used in a very wide application, literally or figuratively -- bodily, body, slave.
Sozo (sode'-zo)
heal, be made whole
From a primary sos (contraction for obsolete saos, "safe"); to save, i.e. Deliver or protect (literally or figuratively) -- heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole.
We are limited
There is only so much we can do. We have a capacity, a range. We need to choose where we put our time.
/ can't do
/ can do ok
{ can do well
\ can do ok
\ can't do
We have a spectrum unique to ourselves. Some narrow and focused others wider and shallower some both. In Christ we can do all things. Do the things that Christ would do.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Bible Reading Resources
The Essential 100 Challenge is a great way to see the big picture of the story of God and his people. It is a manageable way to get to know God, ourselves, truth, and our spiritual ancestors better.
The link includes free resources such as.. the planner the discussion guide, helpful habits, a reading method, and teaching outlines
My favorite resource to study the bible is biblos.com
blue letter bible concordances (Greek and Hebrew word studies), commentaries, dictionary aids, word searches, passage searches, audio bibles, devotionals, video teachings and multiple translations.
Study light dictionaries, commentaries, concordances, etc
Cross walks- illustrations, and bible searching tool
BST great for easy research including a large reference library
Bible Gateway great for key word and passage searches.
Christian Classics Library has all kinds references. Read books from the church fathers , bible study or look up classic commentary on specific bible passages.
The link includes free resources such as.. the planner the discussion guide, helpful habits, a reading method, and teaching outlines
My favorite resource to study the bible is biblos.com
blue letter bible concordances (Greek and Hebrew word studies), commentaries, dictionary aids, word searches, passage searches, audio bibles, devotionals, video teachings and multiple translations.
Study light dictionaries, commentaries, concordances, etc
Cross walks- illustrations, and bible searching tool
BST great for easy research including a large reference library
Bible Gateway great for key word and passage searches.
Christian Classics Library has all kinds references. Read books from the church fathers , bible study or look up classic commentary on specific bible passages.
Bible Reading Methods
Christians in every century have held the bible in high esteem and have accepted it as the word of God written. But few have made the rash claim that it is easy to understand. Yet, since the Bible was given to reveal truth and not obscure it, God surely intends that we understand it.
Methodology
Methodology in Bible study is concerned with the proper path to take to arrive at Scriptural truth."
Of course, proper methodology is essential to many fields of endeavor. A heart surgeon does not perform open heart surgery without following proper, objective methodology. Improper methodology in interpreting Scripture is nothing new.
It sometimes seems almost anything can be proved by the bible, for there is scarcely a religion, sect, or cult in Christendom that does not use scripture texts to “prove” its doctrine. In that respect the bible may well be most abused book in the world.
Even in New Testament times, Peter about "Some things in his (Paul’s) letters are hard to understand. Ignorant people and people who aren't sure of what they believe distort what Paul says in his letters the same way they distort the rest of the Scriptures. These people will be destroyed." (2 Peter 3:16, insert added).
The solution to this problem of widely different interpretations is to employ the correct method of biblical interpretation. It means taking the scriptures at face value in an attempt to know what God meant by what he said.
A Foundational Truth: God Created Language for a Purpose
God chose to use human language as a medium of communication with himself.
The purpose of God's originating of language was for Him to communication with human beings as well as to enable human beings to communicate with each another. The Bible as a body of literature exists because human beings need to know certain truth which they cannot attain by themselves. These truths must come from without - that is, via special revelation from God (Deuteronomy 29:29).
Seeking the Author's Intended Meaning
A text’s meaning is determined by the author and is discovered by readers. Our goal must be to draw the meaning out of the text and not to superimposing a meaning onto the text. Our method of interpreting Scripture is valid or invalid only if seeks out the meaning (or meanings) a statement had for the author and its first hearers or readers. Instead of superimposing a meaning on the biblical text, the objective interpreter seeks to discover the author's intended meaning.
There can also be related implications for a text or related sub meanings. Much meaning can be taken from the types that point to Jesus in David’s psalms but it is important to look first at the author’s original intended meaning first and to test these additional meanings against other places in scripture.
First we determine the meaning of the passage and then we can ask ourselves how this passage and the principles behind it apply to our lives.
Bible study could (and perhaps should) be broken into this method:
Observation – what do you see?
Interpretation – what does it mean?
Correlation – where does it fit?
Application – how does it work?
In keeping this approach, I think it allows someone to grasp the text in a full way before moving ahead too quickly to Application (or allegories).
The Importance of Context
Seeking the biblical author's intended meaning necessitates interpreting Bible verses in context. Every word in the Bible is part of a verse, and every verse is part of a paragraph, and every paragraph is part of a book, and every book is part of the whole of Scripture.
No verse of Scripture can be divorced from the verses around it. Interpreting a verse apart from its context is like trying to analyze a Cezanne painting by looking at only a single square inch of the painting, or like trying to analyze Handel's "Messiah" by listening to a few short notes.
The context is absolutely critical to properly interpreting Bible verses. In interpreting Scripture, there is both an immediate context and a broader context. The immediate context of a verse is the paragraph (or paragraphs) of the biblical book in question. The immediate context should always be consulted in interpreting Bible verses.
The broader context is the whole of Scripture. The entire Holy Scripture is the context and guide for understanding the particular passages of Scripture.
This is why the E100 can be so valuable. It gives us the bigger picture for the broader context of God’s story. When we understand this we can even understand where we fit into the broader context of God’s story so we can interpret events in our lives.
N.T. Wright uses the analogy of the five act play to not only interpret scripture but to interpret our lives. The vast majority of Scripture consists not in a list of rules or doctrines, but in narrative: it tells a remarkably consistent story about God’s plan to restore the world back to God.
Act One: (Creation). Whatever means God uses to create the world it’s a crucial feature of the play that creation is good and that humans are in God’s image.
Act Two: (Fall) God’s good creation is full of rebellion: evil and idolatry become real features of the world.
Act Three: (Israel) The story of Israel as the covenant people of God for the world. This act begins with the Abrahamic covenant and ends with the Jewish anticipation of an event in which God will liberate Israel from spiritual exile and reveal himself as the world’s true King. We must realize that there is an important sense in which many of the laws of ancient Israel have fulfilled their intended purpose.
Act Four (Jesus) The story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. As the climax of the narrative it represents the inauguration of a new kingdom in which death and sin are being reversed throughout all of creation.
Act Five: (New Testament and the people of God). The New Testament forms the first scene of this act. The church is the people of God, in Christ, for the world; their job is to act in character: to live out Act Five by showing the world the true way of being human and to bring about God’s victory over evil on earth. This largely involves improvising and retelling of God’s story and gospel – namely that Jesus is Lord and that God raised him from the dead to put the world to rights.
Notice that for Wright the five-act play is not just the grand narrative of Scripture, but also the true story that we are living out – more accurately, we are living out Act Five, which has yet to be completed.
As J. I. Packer puts it, "if we would understand the parts, our wisest course is to get to know the whole." We must keep in mind that the interpretation of a specific passage must not contradict the total teaching of Scripture on a point. Individual verses do not exist as isolated fragments, but as parts of a whole. Scripture interprets Scripture.
The Importance of Literary Meanings
We must be aware of different literary genre. The bible includes many writing styles such as literal, symbolic, types, parables, allegories, prophecy, poetry, history, law books, letters, eye witness accounts, figures of speech, and indescribable revelations. It’s important to understand and identify figures of speech in the Bible and seek out God’s message in them.
The Importance of Historical Considerations
Historical considerations are important in properly interpreting the scriptures because the scriptures are written in specific times and places. We consider the circumstances of the writings and the cultural environment.
Ask who wrote the book?
What were the circumstances?
What were the cultural norms at the time?
What were the current problems, situations, or needs?
To whom was the book written?
What were their customs?
What did people of that place and time believe, think, say, do, or make?
Making a Correct Genre Judgment
A "literal" approach to Scripture recognizes that the Bible contains a variety of literary genres, each of which has certain peculiar characteristics that must be recognized in order to interpret the text properly.
Biblical genres include the historical (e.g., Acts), the dramatic epic (e.g., Job), poetry (e.g., Psalms), wise sayings (e.g., Proverbs), and apocalyptic writings (e.g., Revelation).
Obviously, an incorrect genre judgment will can lead us astray in interpreting Scripture. A parable should not be treated as history, nor should poetry or apocalyptic literature (both of which contain many symbols) be treated as straightforward narrative.
The wise interpreter allows his knowledge of genres to control how he approaches each individual biblical text. In this way, he can accurately determine what the biblical author was intending to communicate to the reader. The Bible contains a variety of literary genres and many figures of speech, but the biblical authors most often employed literal statements to convey their ideas.
Interpret the Old Testament in Light of the New Testament
God gave revelation to humankind progressively throughout Old and New Testament times. He didn't just give His entire revelation for all time to our first parents, Adam and Eve, or to Moses, the Lawgiver.
Rather, as time went on - as the centuries slowly passed - God provided more and more revelation that became progressively full so that by the time the New Testament was complete, God had told us everything He wanted us to know. In view of this, a key interpretive principle is that one should always interpret the Old Testament in view of the greater light of the New Testament. The Old Testament may be likened to a chamber richly furnished but dimly lighted.
The introduction of light brings into it nothing which was not in it before; but it brings out into clearer view much of what is in it but was only dimly or even not at all perceived before.
The Old Testament revelation of God is not corrected by the fuller revelation which follows it, but only perfected, extended, and enlarged. Again, then, the Old Testament should be interpreted according to the greater light of the New Testament. The Old Testament is much clearer when approached through the lens of the New Testament.
Dependence on the Holy Spirit
Scripture tells us that we are to rely on the Holy Spirit's illumination to gain insights into the meaning and application of Scripture (John 16:12-15; 1 Corinthians 2:9-11). It is the Holy Spirit's work to throw light upon the Word of God so that the believer can assent to the meaning intended and act on it.
The Holy Spirit, as the "Spirit of truth" (John 16:13), guides us so that "we may understand what God has freely given us" (1 Corinthians 2:12). Full knowledge of the Word of God is impossible without prayerful dependence on the Spirit of God, for He who inspired the Word (2 Peter 1:21) is also its best interpreter. Illumination is necessary because man's mind has been darkened through sin (Romans 1:21), preventing him from properly understanding God's Word.
Human beings cannot understand God's Word apart from God's divine enablement (Ephesians 4:18).
This aspect of the Holy Spirit's ministry operates within the sphere of man's soulful capacity, which God Himself gave man. Illumination comes to the minds and hearts of God's people.
Since the Holy Spirit is "the Spirit of truth" (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13), He does not teach concepts that oppose scripture. In other words, "the Holy Spirit does not guide into interpretations that contradict each other or fail to have internal consistency."
The Example of Jesus Christ
Jesus consistently interpreted the Old Testament characters as being real people and not just fictional characters, including
The Creation account of Adam and Eve (Matthew 13:35; 25:34; Mark 10:6),
Noah's Ark and the flood (Matthew 24:38-39; Luke 17:26-27),
Jonah and the great fish (Matthew 12:39-41),
Sodom and Gomorrah (Matthew 10:15), and
The account of Lot and his wife (Luke 17:28-29).
In his book The Savior and the Scriptures, theologian Robert P. Lightner notes - following an exhaustive study - that Jesus' interpretation of Scripture "was always in accord with the grammatical and historical meaning. He understood and appreciated the meaning intended by the writers according to the laws of grammar and rhetoric."
Jesus affirmed scripture’s divine inspiration (Matthew 22:43),
Its indestructibility (Matthew 5:17-18), infallibility (John 10:35), final authority (Matthew 4:4,7,10), historicity (Matthew 12:40; 24:37), factual inerrancy (Matthew 22:29-32), and spiritual clarity (Luke 24:25).
Moreover, he emphasized the importance of each word of Scripture (Luke 16:17). Indeed, he sometimes teaches rich truths from only a single line of Scripture (Matthew 22:32,43-45; John 10:34).
Methodology
Methodology in Bible study is concerned with the proper path to take to arrive at Scriptural truth."
Of course, proper methodology is essential to many fields of endeavor. A heart surgeon does not perform open heart surgery without following proper, objective methodology. Improper methodology in interpreting Scripture is nothing new.
It sometimes seems almost anything can be proved by the bible, for there is scarcely a religion, sect, or cult in Christendom that does not use scripture texts to “prove” its doctrine. In that respect the bible may well be most abused book in the world.
Even in New Testament times, Peter about "Some things in his (Paul’s) letters are hard to understand. Ignorant people and people who aren't sure of what they believe distort what Paul says in his letters the same way they distort the rest of the Scriptures. These people will be destroyed." (2 Peter 3:16, insert added).
The solution to this problem of widely different interpretations is to employ the correct method of biblical interpretation. It means taking the scriptures at face value in an attempt to know what God meant by what he said.
A Foundational Truth: God Created Language for a Purpose
God chose to use human language as a medium of communication with himself.
The purpose of God's originating of language was for Him to communication with human beings as well as to enable human beings to communicate with each another. The Bible as a body of literature exists because human beings need to know certain truth which they cannot attain by themselves. These truths must come from without - that is, via special revelation from God (Deuteronomy 29:29).
Seeking the Author's Intended Meaning
A text’s meaning is determined by the author and is discovered by readers. Our goal must be to draw the meaning out of the text and not to superimposing a meaning onto the text. Our method of interpreting Scripture is valid or invalid only if seeks out the meaning (or meanings) a statement had for the author and its first hearers or readers. Instead of superimposing a meaning on the biblical text, the objective interpreter seeks to discover the author's intended meaning.
There can also be related implications for a text or related sub meanings. Much meaning can be taken from the types that point to Jesus in David’s psalms but it is important to look first at the author’s original intended meaning first and to test these additional meanings against other places in scripture.
First we determine the meaning of the passage and then we can ask ourselves how this passage and the principles behind it apply to our lives.
Bible study could (and perhaps should) be broken into this method:
Observation – what do you see?
Interpretation – what does it mean?
Correlation – where does it fit?
Application – how does it work?
In keeping this approach, I think it allows someone to grasp the text in a full way before moving ahead too quickly to Application (or allegories).
The Importance of Context
Seeking the biblical author's intended meaning necessitates interpreting Bible verses in context. Every word in the Bible is part of a verse, and every verse is part of a paragraph, and every paragraph is part of a book, and every book is part of the whole of Scripture.
No verse of Scripture can be divorced from the verses around it. Interpreting a verse apart from its context is like trying to analyze a Cezanne painting by looking at only a single square inch of the painting, or like trying to analyze Handel's "Messiah" by listening to a few short notes.
The context is absolutely critical to properly interpreting Bible verses. In interpreting Scripture, there is both an immediate context and a broader context. The immediate context of a verse is the paragraph (or paragraphs) of the biblical book in question. The immediate context should always be consulted in interpreting Bible verses.
The broader context is the whole of Scripture. The entire Holy Scripture is the context and guide for understanding the particular passages of Scripture.
This is why the E100 can be so valuable. It gives us the bigger picture for the broader context of God’s story. When we understand this we can even understand where we fit into the broader context of God’s story so we can interpret events in our lives.
N.T. Wright uses the analogy of the five act play to not only interpret scripture but to interpret our lives. The vast majority of Scripture consists not in a list of rules or doctrines, but in narrative: it tells a remarkably consistent story about God’s plan to restore the world back to God.
Act One: (Creation). Whatever means God uses to create the world it’s a crucial feature of the play that creation is good and that humans are in God’s image.
Act Two: (Fall) God’s good creation is full of rebellion: evil and idolatry become real features of the world.
Act Three: (Israel) The story of Israel as the covenant people of God for the world. This act begins with the Abrahamic covenant and ends with the Jewish anticipation of an event in which God will liberate Israel from spiritual exile and reveal himself as the world’s true King. We must realize that there is an important sense in which many of the laws of ancient Israel have fulfilled their intended purpose.
Act Four (Jesus) The story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. As the climax of the narrative it represents the inauguration of a new kingdom in which death and sin are being reversed throughout all of creation.
Act Five: (New Testament and the people of God). The New Testament forms the first scene of this act. The church is the people of God, in Christ, for the world; their job is to act in character: to live out Act Five by showing the world the true way of being human and to bring about God’s victory over evil on earth. This largely involves improvising and retelling of God’s story and gospel – namely that Jesus is Lord and that God raised him from the dead to put the world to rights.
Notice that for Wright the five-act play is not just the grand narrative of Scripture, but also the true story that we are living out – more accurately, we are living out Act Five, which has yet to be completed.
As J. I. Packer puts it, "if we would understand the parts, our wisest course is to get to know the whole." We must keep in mind that the interpretation of a specific passage must not contradict the total teaching of Scripture on a point. Individual verses do not exist as isolated fragments, but as parts of a whole. Scripture interprets Scripture.
The Importance of Literary Meanings
We must be aware of different literary genre. The bible includes many writing styles such as literal, symbolic, types, parables, allegories, prophecy, poetry, history, law books, letters, eye witness accounts, figures of speech, and indescribable revelations. It’s important to understand and identify figures of speech in the Bible and seek out God’s message in them.
The Importance of Historical Considerations
Historical considerations are important in properly interpreting the scriptures because the scriptures are written in specific times and places. We consider the circumstances of the writings and the cultural environment.
Ask who wrote the book?
What were the circumstances?
What were the cultural norms at the time?
What were the current problems, situations, or needs?
To whom was the book written?
What were their customs?
What did people of that place and time believe, think, say, do, or make?
Making a Correct Genre Judgment
A "literal" approach to Scripture recognizes that the Bible contains a variety of literary genres, each of which has certain peculiar characteristics that must be recognized in order to interpret the text properly.
Biblical genres include the historical (e.g., Acts), the dramatic epic (e.g., Job), poetry (e.g., Psalms), wise sayings (e.g., Proverbs), and apocalyptic writings (e.g., Revelation).
Obviously, an incorrect genre judgment will can lead us astray in interpreting Scripture. A parable should not be treated as history, nor should poetry or apocalyptic literature (both of which contain many symbols) be treated as straightforward narrative.
The wise interpreter allows his knowledge of genres to control how he approaches each individual biblical text. In this way, he can accurately determine what the biblical author was intending to communicate to the reader. The Bible contains a variety of literary genres and many figures of speech, but the biblical authors most often employed literal statements to convey their ideas.
Interpret the Old Testament in Light of the New Testament
God gave revelation to humankind progressively throughout Old and New Testament times. He didn't just give His entire revelation for all time to our first parents, Adam and Eve, or to Moses, the Lawgiver.
Rather, as time went on - as the centuries slowly passed - God provided more and more revelation that became progressively full so that by the time the New Testament was complete, God had told us everything He wanted us to know. In view of this, a key interpretive principle is that one should always interpret the Old Testament in view of the greater light of the New Testament. The Old Testament may be likened to a chamber richly furnished but dimly lighted.
The introduction of light brings into it nothing which was not in it before; but it brings out into clearer view much of what is in it but was only dimly or even not at all perceived before.
The Old Testament revelation of God is not corrected by the fuller revelation which follows it, but only perfected, extended, and enlarged. Again, then, the Old Testament should be interpreted according to the greater light of the New Testament. The Old Testament is much clearer when approached through the lens of the New Testament.
Dependence on the Holy Spirit
Scripture tells us that we are to rely on the Holy Spirit's illumination to gain insights into the meaning and application of Scripture (John 16:12-15; 1 Corinthians 2:9-11). It is the Holy Spirit's work to throw light upon the Word of God so that the believer can assent to the meaning intended and act on it.
The Holy Spirit, as the "Spirit of truth" (John 16:13), guides us so that "we may understand what God has freely given us" (1 Corinthians 2:12). Full knowledge of the Word of God is impossible without prayerful dependence on the Spirit of God, for He who inspired the Word (2 Peter 1:21) is also its best interpreter. Illumination is necessary because man's mind has been darkened through sin (Romans 1:21), preventing him from properly understanding God's Word.
Human beings cannot understand God's Word apart from God's divine enablement (Ephesians 4:18).
This aspect of the Holy Spirit's ministry operates within the sphere of man's soulful capacity, which God Himself gave man. Illumination comes to the minds and hearts of God's people.
Since the Holy Spirit is "the Spirit of truth" (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13), He does not teach concepts that oppose scripture. In other words, "the Holy Spirit does not guide into interpretations that contradict each other or fail to have internal consistency."
The Example of Jesus Christ
Jesus consistently interpreted the Old Testament characters as being real people and not just fictional characters, including
The Creation account of Adam and Eve (Matthew 13:35; 25:34; Mark 10:6),
Noah's Ark and the flood (Matthew 24:38-39; Luke 17:26-27),
Jonah and the great fish (Matthew 12:39-41),
Sodom and Gomorrah (Matthew 10:15), and
The account of Lot and his wife (Luke 17:28-29).
In his book The Savior and the Scriptures, theologian Robert P. Lightner notes - following an exhaustive study - that Jesus' interpretation of Scripture "was always in accord with the grammatical and historical meaning. He understood and appreciated the meaning intended by the writers according to the laws of grammar and rhetoric."
Jesus affirmed scripture’s divine inspiration (Matthew 22:43),
Its indestructibility (Matthew 5:17-18), infallibility (John 10:35), final authority (Matthew 4:4,7,10), historicity (Matthew 12:40; 24:37), factual inerrancy (Matthew 22:29-32), and spiritual clarity (Luke 24:25).
Moreover, he emphasized the importance of each word of Scripture (Luke 16:17). Indeed, he sometimes teaches rich truths from only a single line of Scripture (Matthew 22:32,43-45; John 10:34).
Spiritual Pathways with the link
Spiritual Pathways Service Description: Christians don't always access God in the same way. In fact, there are various ways in which we can feel God's presence in our lives. Some of us experience God relationally--in the presence of other believers. Or our spiritual development may come about in intellectual pursuits. People may find God in service to others. Some may have to be alone and contemplative. The opposite of contemplatives are the spiritual activists, those who like to get others going into Kingdom action. Other spiritual pathways include those who find God in His creation and those who experience Him strongest in worship. It is important for each one of us to develop and use our spiritual pathway, but also respect the pathways of others.
To take the Sacred Pathways test assessment click here.
Sacred Pathways: Loving God According to the Way He Made You
by Gary Thomas
Spirituality is not a "one size fits all" deal. Humanity was created as diverse, so it makes sense that we were designed to love God in different ways.
Do you ever feel guilty because the traditional quiet time just doesn't cut it for you? Are you increasingly frustrated by a "one size fits all spirituality" that most definitely does not fit you?
Don't despair! Scripture and the history of Christian tradition reveal a remarkable diversity of personal devotion. Here are nine spiritual pathways for you to consider as you seek to love God according to the way He's designed you.1
The Naturalist
In Psalm 19:1, David extols nature's ability to awaken our cold hearts to God's warm presence: "The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork" (NKJV). The apostle Paul spoke of a similar reality in Romans 1:20a when he wrote, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made." Both writers testify to the reality experienced by naturalists — being outdoors does something to awaken our hearts to God.
Most of God's appearances in Scripture occurred outside: Hagar in the desert, Jacob beside a river, and Moses on a mountain. In fact, the very picture of heaven on earth was the Garden of Eden — not a cathedral! Not a Starbucks. And certainly not a shopping mall. Adam and Eve enjoyed a close walk with God in a garden. Of course, others met God inside, in the holy of holies, but naturalists find more spiritual stimulation in a natural setting rather than in a cleverly crafted human one.
If you find that you can't sit still at your desk without falling asleep, or that you're bored by trying to comb through devotional books while lying on your bed, consider getting outside and using nature to help you see and experience God's glory.
The Sensate
The best avenues for some believers to commune with God are the five senses: taste, touch, hearing, seeing, and even smelling. Just as naturalists are spiritually awakened while walking through a forest, so sensates become spiritually attuned when their senses are brought into play. Your most powerful spiritual aids might be majestic music, symbolic architecture, outstanding art, or the sensory experience of communion.
God designed our bodies, so it shouldn't surprise us that he made them in such a way that what we experience through our bodies can awaken our hearts to His presence.
The books of Ezekiel and Revelation reveal a God who comes in a very sense-oriented way: There are loud sounds, flashing lights, even sweet tastes. God designed our bodies, so it shouldn't surprise us that he made them in such a way that what we experience through our bodies can awaken our hearts to His presence.
The Traditionalist
For you traditionalists, religion isn't a dirty word — it's an outgrowth of your relationship with God. You're designed to appreciate the role of ritual, which builds on the power of reinforced behavior. There is something profound for you in worshipping God according to set patterns — your own, or history's. You may organize your life around scheduled times of prayer, and may even choose to carefully observe the Christian calendar, aligning yourself with centuries of faith. According to Acts, both Peter and John had set times for prayer. And Paul followed the custom of praying by the riverside on the Sabbath.
In addition to establishing rituals, you may choose to make good use of Christian symbols. We tend to quickly forget even convicting insights and soul-searing truth, but carefully chosen symbols help to remind us of those truths we want to live by. Types of symbols are limited only by your imagination. Some singles wear a purity ring; others wear a cross necklace. More sophisticated forms of symbolism include people decorating with colors that coincide with the Christian calendar: White is used on Easter and Christmas as a color of joy; purple is used for Lent, Holy Week and Advent; black symbolizes Good Friday.
The Ascetic
The best way to picture an ascetic is to think of a monk, or John the Baptist — someone who goes off on his own, in an austere environment, to get his spiritual batteries charged. You like to meet God internally; you don't want the distractions of a museum or a group meeting, as you prefer to shut out the world and meet God in solitude and austerity. Your preferred environment for personal worship is silence, without any noisy or colorful stimulants.
It's likely that you're part ascetic if you sense the need to have alone time on a regular basis.
It's likely that you're part ascetic if you sense the need to have alone time on a regular basis. You may even prefer solitary retreats, or at least a quiet place with a rather orderly environment. You and your fellow ascetics are often advocates of all night prayer vigils and many of the classical disciplines, such as fasting and biblical meditation.
The Activist
Activists follow in the footsteps of Moses, Elijah and Habakkuk; you love to meet God in the vortex of confrontation. If you're an activist, you want to fight God's battles. Church is primarily a place to collect signatures and sign up volunteers for the "real work" of the Gospel that takes place outside the church building.
As an activist, you're one of the movers and shakers of the Christian community. You may have a political bent or adopt an evangelistic emphasis, but what marks you as an activist is that you feel most alive spiritually when you are in the midst of God's active work. That's when God seems most real, most immanent and most exciting.
The Caregiver
Caregivers love God by loving others. You're the Mordecais to the world's Esthers; the Dorcas's (Acts 10:36) to the local church. Providing care and meeting needs in Jesus' name spiritually energizes you, drawing you ever closer to the Lord. For you, caregiving isn't an obligation as much as it is a threshold to intimacy with God.
Caregiving extends well beyond nursing sick people to include fixing a widow's car, serving as a volunteer firefighter, or researching a cure for a disease. A caregiver is comforted by Jesus' words, "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40, NIV). God seems nearest to you when you are looking at Him through the eyes of a sick child or hurting friend.
The Enthusiast
An enthusiast, walking in the footsteps of David, loves excitement and celebration; you probably buy far more worship CDs than books. Enthusiasts tend to be more relational, and therefore favor group worship. You feed off the excitement of other believers praising God.
As an enthusiast, you also revel in God's mystery and supernatural power. You like to take spiritual risks, and wake up hoping God will do something new and fresh. You don't want to just know scriptural concepts; you want to experience and be moved by them. Your exuberance tends to lead you to explore the livelier elements of worship, such as dancing, music, drawing, singing and other creative forms.
The Intellectual
You're an intellectual if your heart is awakened when you understand new concepts about God. Your mind is probably very active, with the result that new intellectual understanding literally births affection; it creates increased respect for your Creator, which leads to worship.
You're an intellectual if your heart is awakened when you understand new concepts about God.
Intellectuals are usually the ones stressing Bible study as the mainstay of their devotion. But some of you, like the biblical Solomon, may also have curious minds in areas beyond the Bible — biology, astronomy, even physics. The more you understand about truth and God's universe, the more in awe of God — and therefore in love with Him — you become.
Just as the naturalist can't wait to get out of doors, the sensate is eager to visit the cathedral, and the ascetic scurries off into his inner world, so the intellectual seeks God in the pages of a book, the shelves of a library, or the vast ruminations of your mind.
The Contemplative
Contemplatives are marked by an emotional attachment and even abandonment to God. Like Mary who sat at Jesus' feet, you see yourself first and foremost as God's lover, and you want to spend your time in God's presence, adoring Him, listening to Him, and just enjoying Him.
You resemble ascetics in that your passion for God often leads you into solitude, where you can sit still and enjoy being in God's presence. Your watchwords are desire and relationship, as affirmed by Jesus in John 15:15: "I no longer call you servants … Instead, I have called you friends."
As a contemplative, you enjoy doing the things that couples like to do: Demonstrating your love for God through secret acts of devotion, giving gifts to God like a poem, or offering an anonymous act of charity. You often favor the discipline of journal writing, where you can intensely explore your heart's devotion.
Most of Us Are Blends
Intellectuals want to understand new things about God; activists want to fight God's battles; enthusiasts want to experience God; naturalists want to meet God in nature; sensates want to see and touch things that remind them of God; traditionalists want to faithfully remember God; ascetics want to be alone with God; caregivers want to be God's hands and feet; contemplatives want to adore God and to know Him better.
The important thing is to understand how you best connect with God so that you can more deliberately and consciously cultivate an increasing affection for your Creator.
Do you see yourself in any of the above categories? Please don't feel that you have to choose just one; most of us are blends, and many of us will move in and out of certain temperaments as we age. The important thing is not to find the right "label," but to understand how you best connect with God so that you can more deliberately and consciously cultivate an increasing affection for your Creator.
One caveat is in order, however. Every Christian, regardless of their temperament, needs to spend appropriate time being shaped by God's Word. Some of you might join group Bible studies, others of you may sit alone with your word dictionaries, concordances, and lexicons, and others of you might regularly listen to the Bible on tape — but interacting with the Word on a daily basis should be a given. The same goes for prayer and times of worshipful adoration. How and where you pray may differ; but every Christian is called to spend time with God.
The good news is that God crafted you with a specific design. You will certainly bear similarities to certain other believers, but you most celebrate the creative quality of God when you give yourself permission to seek His face in a way that honors His creative genius — beginning with your own spiritual makeup.
To take the Sacred Pathways test assessment click here.
Sacred Pathways: Loving God According to the Way He Made You
by Gary Thomas
Spirituality is not a "one size fits all" deal. Humanity was created as diverse, so it makes sense that we were designed to love God in different ways.
Do you ever feel guilty because the traditional quiet time just doesn't cut it for you? Are you increasingly frustrated by a "one size fits all spirituality" that most definitely does not fit you?
Don't despair! Scripture and the history of Christian tradition reveal a remarkable diversity of personal devotion. Here are nine spiritual pathways for you to consider as you seek to love God according to the way He's designed you.1
The Naturalist
In Psalm 19:1, David extols nature's ability to awaken our cold hearts to God's warm presence: "The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork" (NKJV). The apostle Paul spoke of a similar reality in Romans 1:20a when he wrote, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made." Both writers testify to the reality experienced by naturalists — being outdoors does something to awaken our hearts to God.
Most of God's appearances in Scripture occurred outside: Hagar in the desert, Jacob beside a river, and Moses on a mountain. In fact, the very picture of heaven on earth was the Garden of Eden — not a cathedral! Not a Starbucks. And certainly not a shopping mall. Adam and Eve enjoyed a close walk with God in a garden. Of course, others met God inside, in the holy of holies, but naturalists find more spiritual stimulation in a natural setting rather than in a cleverly crafted human one.
If you find that you can't sit still at your desk without falling asleep, or that you're bored by trying to comb through devotional books while lying on your bed, consider getting outside and using nature to help you see and experience God's glory.
The Sensate
The best avenues for some believers to commune with God are the five senses: taste, touch, hearing, seeing, and even smelling. Just as naturalists are spiritually awakened while walking through a forest, so sensates become spiritually attuned when their senses are brought into play. Your most powerful spiritual aids might be majestic music, symbolic architecture, outstanding art, or the sensory experience of communion.
God designed our bodies, so it shouldn't surprise us that he made them in such a way that what we experience through our bodies can awaken our hearts to His presence.
The books of Ezekiel and Revelation reveal a God who comes in a very sense-oriented way: There are loud sounds, flashing lights, even sweet tastes. God designed our bodies, so it shouldn't surprise us that he made them in such a way that what we experience through our bodies can awaken our hearts to His presence.
The Traditionalist
For you traditionalists, religion isn't a dirty word — it's an outgrowth of your relationship with God. You're designed to appreciate the role of ritual, which builds on the power of reinforced behavior. There is something profound for you in worshipping God according to set patterns — your own, or history's. You may organize your life around scheduled times of prayer, and may even choose to carefully observe the Christian calendar, aligning yourself with centuries of faith. According to Acts, both Peter and John had set times for prayer. And Paul followed the custom of praying by the riverside on the Sabbath.
In addition to establishing rituals, you may choose to make good use of Christian symbols. We tend to quickly forget even convicting insights and soul-searing truth, but carefully chosen symbols help to remind us of those truths we want to live by. Types of symbols are limited only by your imagination. Some singles wear a purity ring; others wear a cross necklace. More sophisticated forms of symbolism include people decorating with colors that coincide with the Christian calendar: White is used on Easter and Christmas as a color of joy; purple is used for Lent, Holy Week and Advent; black symbolizes Good Friday.
The Ascetic
The best way to picture an ascetic is to think of a monk, or John the Baptist — someone who goes off on his own, in an austere environment, to get his spiritual batteries charged. You like to meet God internally; you don't want the distractions of a museum or a group meeting, as you prefer to shut out the world and meet God in solitude and austerity. Your preferred environment for personal worship is silence, without any noisy or colorful stimulants.
It's likely that you're part ascetic if you sense the need to have alone time on a regular basis.
It's likely that you're part ascetic if you sense the need to have alone time on a regular basis. You may even prefer solitary retreats, or at least a quiet place with a rather orderly environment. You and your fellow ascetics are often advocates of all night prayer vigils and many of the classical disciplines, such as fasting and biblical meditation.
The Activist
Activists follow in the footsteps of Moses, Elijah and Habakkuk; you love to meet God in the vortex of confrontation. If you're an activist, you want to fight God's battles. Church is primarily a place to collect signatures and sign up volunteers for the "real work" of the Gospel that takes place outside the church building.
As an activist, you're one of the movers and shakers of the Christian community. You may have a political bent or adopt an evangelistic emphasis, but what marks you as an activist is that you feel most alive spiritually when you are in the midst of God's active work. That's when God seems most real, most immanent and most exciting.
The Caregiver
Caregivers love God by loving others. You're the Mordecais to the world's Esthers; the Dorcas's (Acts 10:36) to the local church. Providing care and meeting needs in Jesus' name spiritually energizes you, drawing you ever closer to the Lord. For you, caregiving isn't an obligation as much as it is a threshold to intimacy with God.
Caregiving extends well beyond nursing sick people to include fixing a widow's car, serving as a volunteer firefighter, or researching a cure for a disease. A caregiver is comforted by Jesus' words, "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40, NIV). God seems nearest to you when you are looking at Him through the eyes of a sick child or hurting friend.
The Enthusiast
An enthusiast, walking in the footsteps of David, loves excitement and celebration; you probably buy far more worship CDs than books. Enthusiasts tend to be more relational, and therefore favor group worship. You feed off the excitement of other believers praising God.
As an enthusiast, you also revel in God's mystery and supernatural power. You like to take spiritual risks, and wake up hoping God will do something new and fresh. You don't want to just know scriptural concepts; you want to experience and be moved by them. Your exuberance tends to lead you to explore the livelier elements of worship, such as dancing, music, drawing, singing and other creative forms.
The Intellectual
You're an intellectual if your heart is awakened when you understand new concepts about God. Your mind is probably very active, with the result that new intellectual understanding literally births affection; it creates increased respect for your Creator, which leads to worship.
You're an intellectual if your heart is awakened when you understand new concepts about God.
Intellectuals are usually the ones stressing Bible study as the mainstay of their devotion. But some of you, like the biblical Solomon, may also have curious minds in areas beyond the Bible — biology, astronomy, even physics. The more you understand about truth and God's universe, the more in awe of God — and therefore in love with Him — you become.
Just as the naturalist can't wait to get out of doors, the sensate is eager to visit the cathedral, and the ascetic scurries off into his inner world, so the intellectual seeks God in the pages of a book, the shelves of a library, or the vast ruminations of your mind.
The Contemplative
Contemplatives are marked by an emotional attachment and even abandonment to God. Like Mary who sat at Jesus' feet, you see yourself first and foremost as God's lover, and you want to spend your time in God's presence, adoring Him, listening to Him, and just enjoying Him.
You resemble ascetics in that your passion for God often leads you into solitude, where you can sit still and enjoy being in God's presence. Your watchwords are desire and relationship, as affirmed by Jesus in John 15:15: "I no longer call you servants … Instead, I have called you friends."
As a contemplative, you enjoy doing the things that couples like to do: Demonstrating your love for God through secret acts of devotion, giving gifts to God like a poem, or offering an anonymous act of charity. You often favor the discipline of journal writing, where you can intensely explore your heart's devotion.
Most of Us Are Blends
Intellectuals want to understand new things about God; activists want to fight God's battles; enthusiasts want to experience God; naturalists want to meet God in nature; sensates want to see and touch things that remind them of God; traditionalists want to faithfully remember God; ascetics want to be alone with God; caregivers want to be God's hands and feet; contemplatives want to adore God and to know Him better.
The important thing is to understand how you best connect with God so that you can more deliberately and consciously cultivate an increasing affection for your Creator.
Do you see yourself in any of the above categories? Please don't feel that you have to choose just one; most of us are blends, and many of us will move in and out of certain temperaments as we age. The important thing is not to find the right "label," but to understand how you best connect with God so that you can more deliberately and consciously cultivate an increasing affection for your Creator.
One caveat is in order, however. Every Christian, regardless of their temperament, needs to spend appropriate time being shaped by God's Word. Some of you might join group Bible studies, others of you may sit alone with your word dictionaries, concordances, and lexicons, and others of you might regularly listen to the Bible on tape — but interacting with the Word on a daily basis should be a given. The same goes for prayer and times of worshipful adoration. How and where you pray may differ; but every Christian is called to spend time with God.
The good news is that God crafted you with a specific design. You will certainly bear similarities to certain other believers, but you most celebrate the creative quality of God when you give yourself permission to seek His face in a way that honors His creative genius — beginning with your own spiritual makeup.
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