Stations of the Cross: Lent Week Two

Stations of the Cross: Lent Week Two

Welcome to the second week of Lent and our series on the Easter story. This season is a great opportunity for reflection–to check in with yourself, your relationships, your work and your faith. Lent can be a powerful time of the year to slow down, focus on the health of your soul, and become more aware of the voice of the Holy Spirit in your life. 

If you caught last week’s blog, I invited our readers to do one of three things:

  1. Continue your spiritual rhythms as you have been so far this year
  2. Reintroduce lapsed practices you have let lie dormant or make them a more regular part of your daily routine
  3. Foster a new sense of curiosity you’ve been desiring by introducing new disciplines into your daily routine

We are following the Stations of the Cross, particularly the seven most relevant to our series. Last week, we examined how Jesus was forced to carry his own cross, and means of death, to the place of his execution. This is where he physically began the journey towards his purpose here on earth.

This week we’re examining when Jesus falls for the first time as he carries the heavy cross toward the site of his execution. This is a reminder to us of Jesus’s very physical limits. Jesus came to earth fully human, with the same capabilities as you and me. It must have been a humbling moment, full of pain and exhaustion for Jesus. It was his strong calling and perfect love that pushed Him to get up again. 

I find comfort in the words of the psalmist: But as for me, I almost lost my footing.

    My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone...” (Psalm 73:2 NLT )

In our own lives we face moments of “loose footing.” It’s rarely something as drastic as Jesus falling while walking towards his own death, but we all have hundreds of moments where we fail, suffer, and face all kinds of setbacks and obstacles. From a flat tire on our way to work to a life-altering event, we face difficulties we must overcome. In these moments, it can feel tempting to give up. The more challenging the situation is, the more we often want to escape–find any road that will get us away from where we are so we may find peace again. It is much harder to push on as Jesus did, yes it is necessary to accomplish what must be done. If you never pushed through moments of difficulty, think about where you would be now! And as you look ahead to difficulties on the horizon, knowing what you have overcome in the past, knowing what Jesus overcame, can give us the confidence to keep going. Jesus faced this ultimate hardship to show us that we all can get back up again. 

Last week I shared my dark night of the soul journey from last year at this time. One lesson I learned, relearned, and took a remedial course on, was how to get back up when I stumbled. I experienced some very difficult emotional and spiritual challenges that led me down dark paths with seemingly no exit. It wasn’t until I began integrating new spiritual disciplines that I was able to navigate The Wall, which I describe as a “spiritual fog.”

I share these practices with you so that maybe you, too, can have added tools to help you navigate the inevitable “Wall” that we all experience from time to time.

Three practices to help you navigate difficult times:

  1. Gratitude – start my day by writing out things for which I am grateful.
  2. Centering Prayer (also called clearing prayer or meditation) – ask the Lord for a word and focus on that word only in order to clear my mind.
  3. Intercessory prayer – ask the Lord what and whom to pray for and the best way to pray for them. 

These new habits are helping me strengthen the spiritual muscles that keep me moving forward.  

When reality is too painful

When times are tough we have choices to make. From my vantage point, when times are rough the typical evangelical church is not prepared to help people navigate those moments well. You have probably had times–or know someone who has– when you have experienced difficult moments and lacked the ability, strength or intuition to know what to do. Here are three reasons why we find ourselves in pain and do not often see a way forward.

  • Incompatibility: the current evangelical pathway of spiritual formation does not take into account The Wall (difficult, life-altering experiences)
  • Inability: leaders are not equipped to help others down a pathway (especially if they themselves have not journeyed this way before)
  • Avoidance: the intensity of the pain is so great that the solution seems unbearable (this can lead the individual believer to avoid The Wall altogether) 

Because of the above, many people never reach the later stages of spiritual formation. This is a sad reality and one reason why, in my humble opinion, the church in the West has not matured spiritually. My encouragement to you is to press on (or should I say “stand up”) when you stumble. Do not take the easy way out!  Do the hard work and “heavy lifting” required to pick yourself up when you are down.

Questions for reflection: 

  • Where do you feel you have overcome obstacles before?
  • What helped you to push through those difficult moments? 
  • What have you learned from your failures and difficulties? 
  • How have your own obstacles helped you to become a better leader? 
  • What obstacles are you facing today? 
  • What is the result you are hoping for and why does it matter? 
  • What do you need to do to set yourself up for a fruitful season during Lent? 

I’ll close with a quote from Jeremiah 6:16 (NLT)

“Stop at the crossroads and look around.
Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it.
Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.”

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Stations of the Cross: Lent Week One

Stations of the Cross: Lent Week One

Welcome to the first week of Lent and the first part of our series on the Easter story. 

This year, I have felt this season could be a helpful time to study the Stations of the Cross. What can we learn from Jesus as he takes the final steps in the journey towards his own calling? 

This is a great opportunity for reflection–to check in with yourself, your relationships, your work and your faith. Lent can be a powerful time of the year to slow down, focus on the health of your soul, and become more aware of the voice of the Holy Spirit in your life. 

Take a moment now to check in with yourself. How are you feeling as Lent begins? What are you hoping to gain throughout the coming seven weeks? How do you feel the Holy Spirit is guiding you? 

This year, I invite you to do one of three things:

  1. Continue your spiritual rhythms as you have been so far this year
  2. Reintroduce lapsed practices you have let lie dormant or make them a more regular part of your daily routine
  3. Foster a new sense of curiosity you’ve been desiring by introducing new disciplines into your daily routine

If you are looking for new disciplines, let me suggest two I’m especially fond of:

  • Lectio Devina – This might be a new way of reading and reflecting on scripture to start your day.  
  • Prayer of Examen – I have incorporated a noontime Examen to “interrupt” my day, as well as an evening Examen, to lean into the rhythms of reflection and prayer.

Now, on to the focus of the first week of Lent.

Following the Stations of the Cross (we are focusing on the seven most relevant to our series), after Jesus is condemned to death by crucifixion He is forced to carry his own cross–and means of death–to the place of his execution. This is where he physically begins the journey towards his purpose here on earth:

Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus away. Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). John 19:16-17 (NLT)

Carrying a cross at the time of Pontius Pilate was meant to humiliate and torment those condemned to death. To us these many years later, it has come to mean something very different.

In Luke 9:23-24 Jesus said to the crowds following him, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it”.

Carrying a cross is symbolic of surrender and submission to our Lord. It is laying down what the world tells us is important and instead taking up the burden of our faith. Carrying our cross requires deep trust in our Lord, and, like Jesus’s trek toward the Place of the Skull, it can feel harrowing, overwhelming and even hopeless at times. However, we also know that Jesus did not carry it alone; Simon of Cyrene was made to carry his cross once Jesus’s body began to fail him. 

Every human needs the help of others to bear our cross. 

Last year at this time I was going through a difficult moment. The details of the journey I went through is worth sharing. 

It’s hard to describe when you’re in a spiritual fog – it casts a dark shadow over everything. In spiritual direction they call this The Wall (read The Critical Journey by Hagberg and Guelich). I needed help. Specifically, I needed help picking up my cross and, under the weight of the burden, I needed to be willing to invite people to help me stand up and take the next step. In the beginning they were baby steps, and over time they became childlike steps, then adolescent steps…you get the idea. I needed to lean into the Spirit and the people already in my life. Some of these were people I didn’t know but needed to get to know, like wise men, a counselor and spiritual director. Through the loving support of my wife, family and friends, I find myself in a much different place this year. My encouragement comes from Simon of Cyrene who was made to carry his cross once Jesus’s body began to fail him. 

I certainly can’t relate to the pain and agony Jesus felt under the burden of His cross – but He relates to you and me. 

Five practices that will help you carry your cross:

  1. Observe the Sabbath
  2. Fasting 
  3. Prayer
  4. Community 
  5. Mentors

Questions for reflection: 

  • What does it mean to take up your cross in this season?
  • Where have you felt you needed help with your cross? 
  • Who, what, or by what means have you found help? 
  • What type of support do you need at this time?
  • Who do you know who might need help with their cross? 

I’ll close with a quote from the mystic, Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582):

“We always find that those who walked closest to Christ were those who had to bear the greatest trials.”

Coming Soon!

Our latest book, Christian Coaching Essentials is currently at the printers! This book is truly as titled—the essentials you need to learn to become a quality Christian Coach. It’s laid out to help you learn and includes bonus links to dozens of resources to help you get started. We are really excited about it and can’t wait to get the resource in your hands! Keep an eye out for its release in the next couple of weeks!

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How Are You Preparing for Lent?

How Are You Preparing for Lent?

Once again, we find ourselves entering the season of Lent! This is a bittersweet season on the Christian calendar–and for some of us, a fairly new observance and that may feel unfamiliar. Growing up, I was aware of Lent with Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday being the primary focus. (I wonder how some brothers and sisters within the Protestant camp view Lent–e.g., as a primarily Catholic tradition–though I realize a large percentage of Protestants have observed Lent over the centuries). When I first graduated seminary and served on a mainline church staff I was introduced to a liturgical expression of the Lenten season. Then, when my wife Gina (who has a charismatic, Anglican background) and I married, we took a more intentional approach to fasting, prayer and learning more about how other Christians around the world observe Lent.  

I appreciate Lent. It offers you and I a chance to slow down and reflect, identifying what things need to be part of our lives and how to remove obstacles to give more space to our spirituality. Lent can introduce new rhythms in our spiritual lives that can enhance our faith and the communities we serve. In my coaching and training with liturgical church leaders, my friends come from a wonderful depth of tradition that the evangelical church could and should learn from. There are many ways to embrace this season: some fast, taking the 40-day period as a solemn and serious retreat from ordinary life. More importantly, it’s an invitation to invite the Holy Spirit into your day-to-day life to intentionally reflect, grieve and rejoice in the story of Christianity. 

Through the next seven weeks leading up to Easter, I will be using the classic stations of the cross. We will follow Jesus on his journey through death, highlighting the significant events that led to our salvation. This year I want to invite you to use this time not only to think about Jesus and His sacrifice, but also to discover what we can learn from Lent, specifically as leaders who multiply disciples, groups and churches. The season of Lent can breathe new life into your dry bones.

Questions for your reflection: 

  • What is your experience with Lent? 
  • What does Lent mean to you? 
  • How could you benefit from engaging with Jesus this Lenten season? 

For me, the reasons to slow down are very personal. In the past I’ve had seasons when I’ve been willing to engage in Lent more fully than other seasons. It probably was the combination of stage of life, family rhythms, church orientation to Lent, etc. This year, I am in a different place. I find myself wanting and needing to slow down. Life has been busy. Gina and I are now fully in the “empty nest” season of life. After having both of our young adult children home through their final year of university, they are now truly living on their own.  

Back in the fall of 2021 I began my journey with a cohort into spiritual formation and enlisted the services of a spiritual director. I didn’t know then how timely this would become. Gina and I are now part of a new church startup in our community, and 2023 is a different season altogether. The fruit of that spiritual journey has been invaluable, and the season of Lent is a great opportunity for me to delve deeply into reflection and communion with Jesus during the start of a new chapter of our lives.

Where do you find yourself? If you are like me, coming out of lockdown has presented many challenges. The isolation we experienced and the artificial nature of human interaction over the internet has taken a toll on us all–whether we’re aware of it or not. Upon returning to the airport for the first time pre-Covid, it felt oddly familiar yet also subtly different. Everyone acted as if nothing had changed, yet people are now hyper-aware of things like personal space and cleanliness. Minor things but notable.

This is my invitation for you to pause and reflect–not as a one-time act, but throughout the entire 46 days of Lent. Use these questions to help you prepare as we approach this special season:

  • What would you like your focus to be during Lent?
  • How will you engage?
  • What is one area of your life that needs attention?
  • What are you willing to give up to give this area the attention needed?
  • Describe your intention throughout Lent to draw closer to Jesus.

I’ll close with a quote from the poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning:

Earth’s crammed with heaven 
And every common bush afire with God; 
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes; 
The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries. 

Coming Soon!

Our latest book, Christian Coaching Essentials is currently at the printers! This book is truly as titled—the essentials you need to learn to become a quality Christian Coach. It’s laid out to help you learn and includes bonus links to dozens of resources to help you get started. We are really excited about it and can’t wait to get the resource in your hands! Keep an eye out for its release in the next couple of weeks!

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Slow Your Roll! When You Launch Small Group Matters

Slow Your Roll! When You Launch Small Group Matters

One of the pitfalls of launching small groups after the corporate gathering is established is that the DNA of disciple making can become secondary rather than primary.  

Over the last three decades, I have observed many church planters who, in their compulsion to “go public”, have found themselves relaunching two years later. I want to address this gently for those who are in the pre-planting process (commonly known as the prenatal phase) so as not to discourage anyone who has already launched. 

If you have already launched public worship services, the reflection questions at the end of this blog might be of interest.

Can disciple making DNA be established after public services have been launched? 

Absolutely! The reality is, though, that most new church planters invest so much time, energy, and resources into the public gathering that when it comes to creating disciple-making communities, their bandwidth for giving that same energy is severely diminished. Remember that old illustration of putting the big rocks in the vase first, then filling in the smaller rocks around them? That describes the tension church planters experience often. 

Nearly every planter feels this tension, which then becomes intrinsic in the DNA of the congregation. To establish small groups with the purpose of making disciples, you will be asking people who have become accustomed to attending the public gathering to make a second commitment.  For some, the corporate gathering is the extent of the commitment they are able to make. For others, the connectivity smaller gatherings provide is compelling enough. A healthy percentage of people who participate in public gatherings and who are engaged in small groups is 80 percent. This is a metric that defines a church of small groups as opposed to a church with small groups. 

Let’s unpack this a bit more.

Why are planters compelled to start corporate gatherings first?

Three common drivers to launch a public gathering:

  1. Theological – planters are compelled by the mandate to make more and better disciples
  2. Internal pressure – the planter intrinsically senses the need to start public gatherings to justify their hard work (to make something happen)
  3. External pressure – from a funding partner, denominational supervisor, or the community, because that is their metric of success

Slow your roll

We often feel compelled to start with gathering corporately, but Jesus put his attention to orient, prepare and equip His disciples as he prepared to launch His public ministry. I imagine He anticipated and knew as soon as He performed His first miracle that word would spread quickly. This man from Galilee had a small gathering of apprentices who were following Him and spent time together to get to know Jesus and each other. During this time they were learning what it meant to follow Him. As they were becoming disciples they began making disciples. This is the motif I like to use for the process of church planting: beginning with the conception of a vision, leading to multiplication of disciples who make disciples. That is the backdrop for what follows.

To combat this drive to go public, in some cases prematurely, I like to challenge planters to “Slow your role!”  Instead of giving into the internal and external pressure to go public, channel your energy to begin with the end in mind – make more and better disciples first.  Once you have embedded that DNA into a 2nd and 3rd generation movement of disciple making, invite those groups to come together and experience the corporate gathering with a strong foundation of disciple making.

Benefits of starting with the end in mind:

  • Making disciples takes time, and the time you give it at the very beginning will solidify that DNA into the life of the newest disciples
  • It will give you a real sense of who God is already working in and who is most responsive to the gospel
  • It will provide a fishing pool to recruit volunteers to launch public gatherings
  • It will give you insight into who your future small group leaders and future church planters may be
  • Service in the community you serve can become a value in the lives of small group participants as they discover their gifts
  • Making disciples will shape the corporate gathering

Challenge the Status Quo

My view is that the way churches have been planted–with the idea of launching a corporate gathering as the primary means of making disciples–has attracted the low-hanging fruit. To get different results–mature disciples with a Kingdom vision to make disciples–different approaches have been tested, resulting in different results. 

Imagine you are 3-6-9 months into your public gathering and you already are seeing people come to Christ. Now, consider the effort it has taken. Compare and contrast that to the amount of energy that you have invested to make disciples who reproduce.

Questions to consider:

  • What are the irreducible minimums that you need to do to make more and better disciples?
  • What are the essential environments required to accomplish these things?
  • Who are the people you need now to move your vision forward?
  • What kind of people will you need later to launch a public gathering?
  • What are the essential next steps you must take to move your vision forward?

New Resources
Christian Coaching Essentials

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