{"id":8506,"date":"2012-07-16T02:09:00","date_gmt":"2012-07-16T02:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/2012\/07\/16\/biggertoolbox\/"},"modified":"2012-07-16T02:09:00","modified_gmt":"2012-07-16T02:09:00","slug":"biggertoolbox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/biggertoolbox\/","title":{"rendered":"A Bigger Toolbox"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tCan you help with a riddle? How is it possible for someone to go to church year after year, listen to great sermons, read the Bible, absorb Christian classics, find ways to serve, and even attend ministry conferences—and change very little?<\/p>\n

\n\tStrange question, I know, but not hypothetical. In fact I ask it with someone specific in mind, someone whose minimal spiritual progress I've watched with mounting frustration.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat person is me.<\/p>\n

\n\tDon't get me wrong. The activities above have spurred growth in my life, especially early on. It was reading through the Gospels as a teen that fueled my nascent spiritual journey. Great Christian literature has deepened my faith. And preaching has profoundly shaped the way I see God.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut in recent years I've detected a troubling phenomenon, a sort of law of diminishing returns. The Christian life isn't a self-improvement program; it's all about God, not us. I get that. Still, as we examine ourselves, shouldn't we see a pattern of increasing maturity, less selfishness, fewer besetting sins, and more and more resemblance to Christ? So it's unsettling to see practices that once produced growth now seem to be less capable of creating change, leaving those garden variety yet serious foibles—envy, sloth, apathy, pride—hanging around like unwanted houseguests.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat's going on?<\/p>\n

\n\tI think I've been overly reliant on certain modes of spiritual transformation. It happened innocently enough. I'm a verbal person; I love the written and spoken word. So naturally I gravitate to spiritual practices that center around verbal engagement. For instance, I'd rather read a great book about community than participate in one. I'd prefer to listen to (or deliver) a sermon about service than get off my butt and serve! Theory is clean; people are messy. But lately I've sensed God showing me that I need a bigger toolbox, filled with more tools than the verbal ones so that he can shape me into the likeness of his Son.<\/p>\n

\n\tPastor Peter Scazzero recalls a similar experience. Early in his ministry, he felt spiritually stunted, even though he was disciplined about Bible reading and prayer. For him finding a bigger toolbox meant examining his emotional health and integrating spiritual disciplines from the monastic tradition into his life and the life of his church.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat about you? And how about the people you lead?<\/p>\n

\n\tWe all have preferred methods of connecting with God. But if we're not careful, we can lean too heavily on those methods and end up shortchanging what the Holy Spirit might do through other avenues. Scripture and history provide us with a rich diversity of spiritual disciplines. Take a look at your toolbox and ask what may be missing. Are you, like me, relying on too few tools? Could it be that God is prompting you to seek out other ways to grow in him?<\/p>\n

\n\tIf we allow God to enlarge our toolbox, we just might find that we, and the people around us, start looking and living differently.<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\tAt the most recent convention of the Evangelical Press Association, Leadership Journal<\/em> received a number of awards for editorial and design excellence in 2011.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tMatt Woodley's article "Church 2 Church" about North American churches partnering with churches globally to serve their communities won first place in the Evangelism category.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tJohn Ortberg's "What Does God Think of Entertainment?" won an award in the Biblical Exposition category.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tOur conversation with Tullian Tchividjian on "War and Peace" placed in the Interview category.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tThe journal also received awards for Titling, Typography and Lettering, and Website Design.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tAnd the publication as a whole earned the top Award of Excellence in the Christian Ministry category.<\/p>\n

\n\t

\n\t\tPositive Peer Review<\/h2>\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n

\n\tCopyright © 2012 by the author or Christianity Today\/Leadership Journal<\/em>.\n\tClick here<\/a> for reprint information on Leadership Journal<\/em>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Can you help with a riddle? How is it possible for someone to go to church year after year, listen to great sermons, read the Bible, absorb Christian classics, find ways to serve, and even attend ministry conferences—and change very little? Strange question, I know, but not hypothetical. In fact I ask it with someone Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"tax_ctp_authors":[1474],"tax_ctp_books":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[142],"tax_ctp_field_guide_subcategory":[],"tax_ctp_field_guides":[],"tax_ctp_format":[131],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[728,156,731],"tax_ctp_tags":[4882,5043,5046,5049],"tax_ctp_topics":[],"class_list":["post-8506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tax_ctp_authors-drew-dyck","tax_publications-2012-leadership-journal","tax_publications-leadership-journal","tax_publications-summer_2012-leadership-journal","tax_ctp_tags-sanctification","tax_ctp_tags-spiritual-discipline","tax_ctp_tags-spiritual-formation","tax_ctp_tags-spiritual-growth"],"acf":{"scripture_references":null},"yoast_head":"\nA 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