Praying Psalm 23–Soul Training

With a team of leaders from Los Altos Grace, I’ve been reading The Good and Beautiful God: Falling in Love with the God Jesus Knows by James Bryan Smith. It has been a delightful read–confirming many things and challenging many more.

One of the things I’ve enjoyed the most is that he talks about “Soul Training” — or exercises to grow the spiritual aspect of our lives. Often in Christian circles these are called “spiritual disciplines,” but maybe because of my love of sports I like “soul training” much better.

One of the Soul-Training exercises is “Praying Psalm 23” which followed an excellent chapter on the generosity of God.  I’ll share Smith’s exercise as we are seeking to do it this week as a church family as well:

Psalm 23 is a beautiful expression of the kingdom of God, in which God is with us, caring and providing for us, and blessing us, even in trying circumstances. The God of Psalm 23 is generous. Because of God’s gracious provision, protection and care, we lack nothing. God invites us to rest, to be refreshed and to be restored. God leads and guides us, even in our most painful situations. And because God is with us, we can live without fear. God even prepares a “table” for us in the presence of those who would harm us. God not only provides what we need, he gives us more than we need—our cup is overflowing. When we walk with God as our Shepherd, we see our entire life—even our trials and suffering—as goodness and mercy. This psalm is read at nearly every Christian funeral because it provides comfort, especially the verse about walking in the valley of death and not being afraid. But this psalm is not primarily for funerals but for everyday life. As you go about your week, carry this psalm with you and recite it as often as you can:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside still waters;
He restores my soul.

He leads me in right paths For his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil;
For you are with me;
Your rod and your staff— They comfort me.

You prepare a table before me In the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life,
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord My whole life long. (Psalm 23)

Try to recite this psalm before you fall asleep each night, and again when you awake. Before your feet hit the ground, try to have slowly meditated on each word. Recite it so often this week that it becomes second nature to you, as natural as breathing. You will notice yourself beginning to pray it at odd times.

An excerpt from: The Good and Beautiful God
by James Bryan Smith (Pages 90 & 91)

 

 

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Our Role & God’s Role in Disciple Making by Gavin Duerson

Can you cause a person to grow spiritually?  When it comes to disciple making, what is our responsibility?  At a Greenhouse Training event hosted by CMA Resources, we examined the following text from Mark 4:

26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

 

 

 

From the text, we see that a farmer can cultivate the ground and plant seeds, and even put the sickle to the plant once mature, but can do nothing to cause a seed to grow!  In simple/organic church planting, the church planter (or disciplemaker) cultivates and plants, but realized that Kingdom growth is God’s work.

When we plant good seed in good soil, growth and multiplication naturally happen as they receive rain and sunlight.  This is true of plants and it’s true of the Kingdom as well.  The only thing that can stop this natural process is failure to sow good seed generously on good soil or farming in such as way to impede the natural process that God has in place.

At the Greenhouse training, the leaders made the following comparison between an organic/simple church approach and a traditional church approach to sowing, growing, and harvesting.

  Cultivating Sowing Growing Tending Harvesting
Institutional Approach Passive Passive Active Active Passive
Organic Approach Active Active Passive Passive Active

 

Do you agree that the traditional church focuses most of its energies on growing and tending the garden (flock) while being passive with regards to sowing and harvesting?  What would it look like for you to cultivate and sow good seed more generously? What does it mean for us to be actively involved in the harvesting—putting a sickle to the “ripe plant?”

Enjoy this great video that was at the greenhouse training event to illustrate the teaching on the Kingdom.

6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. – 1 Corinthians 3:6

To learn more about attending a Greenhouse Training event visit www.cmaresources.org/greenhouse

—-

Originally posted on Kentucky Simple Church Alliancehere

The Truth, Adventure & Mystery of Evangelism by Ed Waken

For too long the truth, adventure, mystery and joy that comes with giving away the life of Jesus has been stolen from the ordinary believer.  We have been taught methods of sharing Jesus that feel more cold, distant and dutiful than life giving.  We have heard that just a few gifted ones will really be successful at evangelism.  This is yet another blow designed to sideline the ordinary person from engaging in the supernatural work of sharing the life of Jesus with those thirsty to taste the goodness of God.

Truth

The Truth
The great commission is often seen as Jesus’ marching orders to make disciples, which must include ongoing sharing of Jesus’ good news with those who have not yet heard.  The great commission and Jesus’ similar instructions to the twelve in Acts 1:8 were delivered directly to His twelve Apostles.  This has caused some to believe that not every follower of Jesus is responsible to engage in giving away the life of Christ; it simply is not their gift.  This is not the truth.  An often overlooked statement in the great commission instructs the Twelve to be teaching their disciples “to obey everything I have commanded you.”  The Twelve were to teach the ordinary believer to obey everything Jesus taught them including the making of disciples or being a witness to all the world.  Everyone is responsible to be intentionally sharing the life of Jesus with the world.

The truth is that the ordinary person is a competent minister of the good news (2 Cor. 3:6).  The truth is that success in evangelism should be measured by conversations about Jesus not conversions to Jesus.  Ordinary people are only responsible to tell about and demonstrate the love of Jesus.  Only Supernatural beings are responsible for the results, “I planted, Apollos watered but God was causing the growth.” (1 Cor. 3:6-7).  Everyone is an evangelizer and success is measured by obedience to share.

Adventure

The Adventure
The church needs to rediscover what has been stolen from her.  We need to give back the cold, distant and dutiful methodologies* of evangelism for the more adventurous, risky and romantic renditions that only Jesus can create and place in our souls.  The church needs some fresh adventures in understanding how Jesus is getting the message into the souls of people.  When we think about engaging people with the truth, we should capture the understanding that Jesus is a customizer of methods, not a cookie cutter.

Jesus will take a believer, with all their experiences and fears, and have them cross the paths of not-yet-believing people who are a perfect fit for the customized approach Jesus gives the believer.  This requires trust and obedience, but it is exactly what Jesus promised.  Jesus said He will give us the right words at the right time, every time (Luke 21:13-15).  This takes our faith and evangelism to a whole new level of adventure.

Mystery

The Mystery
I can count fifteen people who shared Jesus with me in some form or fashion before Ralph shared the same truth with me and my life was transformed.  Who was more important in my choosing to follow Jesus, the fifteen or Ralph?  Was Ralph more gifted or skilled or persuasive than the others?  Did Ralph ‘close the deal‘ because he has an anointing?  I believe that all sixteen who told me about Jesus were equally vital to my process of turning to Jesus.  All salvation experiences are mysterious.  Some are dramatic, some are mundane, others cannot be marked by an event.  Salvation is always a supernatural event where the God of the universe enters the life of a human being permanently.  When the rich young ruler heard what was required by Jesus to gain eternal life, he became very sad.  Jesus’ disciples asked him if a rich man can’t be saved “…then who can be saved?”.  Jesus answered, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.” (Luke 18:18-27).

Enjoy the freedom of not knowing what God is doing in another soul. Enjoy that it is a mystery.  Be assured, however, that God is doing something in the souls of those with whom you share His truth.  Trust in His perfect and powerful ability to draw people to repentance in the way they need.  Obediently follow His lead, even when it doesn’t make sense; because most mysteries don’t make sense.

The bottom line regarding evangelism is to enjoy it (weird huh?).  Jesus is an artist of the soul.  He created you specifically to engage the people He brings in your life with His truth.  Enjoy His adjusting the delivery of the message to fit the current need of the one listening to your words.

If we learn to enjoy sharing the life of Jesus with others as He leads us, we will most assuredly share that life more often and with more passion.  The Scriptures teach that the more we sow, the more we will reap.  The power behind people coming to Jesus is not in any delivery, method or medium.  The power behind people coming to Jesus is always in message (Rom. 1:16).  Give away the message often and with joy and enjoy watching God at work!

 

* God can, has and will continue to use a more formal, methodological approach to giving out the Gospel.  It is not wrong to do so, however, it has robbed the fun of spiritual reproduction from the ordinary believer.  The giving out of the Word will never return without effect on the one hearing the truth.

I would love to hear your thoughts. Let me know if this is helpful to you and your church.


©2012 Ed Waken

Originally posted on Ed’s Blog here
Ed tweets @EdWaken
Used with permission.


See also:
Conversations Not Conversions – Ed Waken
Who Is In Charge?: ReTooling Leadership 1
Jesus’ Example: ReTooling Leadership 2
The Leader’s Priority: ReTooling Leadership 3
Organic Evangelism Principles
The Deal on Disciple Making – Video

Newforms National Gathering by Mission Britain

Newforms Resources

Newforms National Gathering with Neil Cole

Neil Cole will be with us at the Newforms National Gathering from 13-15 April. Neil will be sharing about organic church, mission principles and sharing from his experience in seeing the multiplication of disciples and churches.

Neil works with Church Multiplication Associates  and is the author of “Organic Church”,“Church 3.0″ and “Journeys to Significance”

There are a limited number of places available at this conference so book early to avoid disappointment

When

  • Friday 13th April (6:30pm-9:30pm)
  • Saturday 14th April (10am-5pm)
  • Sunday 15th April (10am-4pm)

Where

St Saviour’s Community Hall, St Saviour’s Gardens, Meadows, Nottingham, NG2 2JU

Cost

£90 (Early Bird Rate – Book before Friday 2nd March)
£110 (Weekend Rate – All 3 sessions)
Cost includes refreshments and lunch on Saturday and Sunday
Concessions available for unemployed or those in financial hardship

Booking

  • Please download the “Newforms National Gathering Booking Form” (click here to download)
  • Print off and complete the booking form OR complete it online
  • Indicate on the Booking Form which method of payment you are selecting
  • Return completed booking form and cheque (or just form if making a direct payment into Newforms Account) to the address on the booking form
  • Places can only be secured upon receipt of a completed booking form and payment in full
  • Please make cheques payable to ‘Newforms Enterprise Ltd’

Details

  • Train/Bus – Nottingham Train/Bus station are within walking distance of the venue
  • Plane – East Midlands Airport is 30-40 mins from the venue. Buses run regularly to the city centre
  • Car – There is free parking available around the venue
  • Information about reasonably priced accomodation in the area can be provided upon request
The Newforms National Gathering is faciliated by Newforms Resources.  Newforms Resources is part of  Mission Britain

Click here to download booking form

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