Selling Ancient Disciplines to Moderns

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Here are five tips to help re-educate your church and group members.

Paul Anderson | posted 3/26/2008

Topics:	Culture, Spiritual disciplines, Spiritual formation, Spiritual growth, Transformation
Filters:	Facilitator, Group Leader, Train, Worship groups
Purpose:	Worship
References:	Romans 12:2 , 1 Timothy 4:7
Date Added:	March 26, 2008

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Trying to convince computer-age people to practice spiritual disciplines—such as regular prayer, Bible study, and giving—is like trying to sell hair restorer to a bald man. He might accept that he needs the stuff, but he's not convinced your product can deliver. In response to an article I'd written on fasting, a lady wrote, "You don't really believe we're supposed to do that in the twentieth century, do you?"

Yes.

The trick, for those of us who are pastors and church leaders, is finding ways to minimize the obstacles and give people the joy of discipline. Here are some ways our congregation has found to do that.

Present Disciplines as Normal

Most Christians wish they were more disciplined. They know they should pray consistently, read their Bibles more regularly, and give generously—just as they should exercise more faithfully and spend their time more wisely. But their guilt about their lack in these areas causes them to dismiss the disciplines, considering them only for the spiritually elite. After all, how many people besides Martin Luther and John Wesley get up early for an hour of prayer? As a result, many people accept the notion, "I'm just not a disciplined person," and leave it at that.

It's vital for a church to talk about Christian disciplines as a normal part of the believer's life, not an add-on for the spiritually elite. Churches can introduce the spiritual disciplines in the new member's class so that people hear about them right from the beginning. Churches should stress that they don't endorse one set of principles for normal folk and another for the all-stars.

Model Them Through Leadership

As we all know, the Christian life is more caught than taught. Parishioners follow our lives more than our words. So the leaders of our congregation are constantly reminded that they set a standard for the people.

I was in the home of a former member who is now a pastor. He said that when he was a member of our congregation, he knew the leaders were giving quality and quantity time to prayer. It made him want to do the same thing. One young father told me recently, "As I saw leaders applying various disciplines to their lives, I desired to grow in Christ with them."

Move in Slow Motion

On the other hand, the commitment of leaders can, for some people, be too intimidating a model. My predecessor, for instance, rose at 4 A.M., jogged eight miles while praying for the church, worked on memorizing books of the Bible, had his personal prayer time, made entries into his journal, and daily met for prayer with a group of men—all before family devotions at 7:15 sharp! He was careful not to make his program normative, but his example brought challenge to some and groans to others.

We've learned to go slow. Before we called the congregation to a fast a year ago, we discussed it among the elders for several weeks. I then taught on the subject for several weeks. Then we issued the invitation to join us in fasting.

People appreciate moving deliberately. Moving slowly and steadily gives our members a sense of peace and security. They know we aren't going to pull any fast ones on them.

Start Young

Our through-the-Bible confirmation program starts in fourth grade and teaches children prayer, Bible study, and memory work. We now have teachers who went through the program as children.

We also encourage parents to start their children in personal and family devotions. A young man on our church council attributes his interest in regular Bible study and prayer to his father's persistence. "We were sometimes grumpy when he called us together early in the morning for devotions," he says, "but he kept on doing it. His consistency made it a major priority for me now."

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