I am not sure about you, but I find life full-on—it just keeps coming at me. Stimulation and ‘noise’ peck away at my quietness from the moment my alarm goes off in the morning, until my mind seeks rest and I place my head on the pillow at the end of the day. I believe that you may find this as well.
There can be so much that needs to be done in each day, no matter what age you are or occupation or ministry you are involved in. We are being overwhelmed by the many pressures we face. We rise each day to get on the treadmill of our daily activities feeling compelled to run the race marked out for us, to only fall exhausted and drained at the close of each day and feeling powerless to do anything about it. Burnout and a feeling of being overloaded can overcome us, displacing joy and fulfilment in our work and life. I wonder if we are chasing after fulfilment at the expense of what is important.
Powell and Barker in their book Unloading the Overload suggest that when our Reformation forebears were busy re-forming an understanding of the Christian faith, and they were tossing overboard everything they could not find in the Bible, they inadvertently made the mistake of thinking that activity was sanctified by God but rest was not. They did a pretty good job of snuffing out the contemplative life, and now we are reaching a mad spiral of hyperactivity, raising great clouds of dust for God, hoping He will be impressed.
My mind turns to what Jesus said to Martha and Mary in Luke Chapter 10. One was franticly busy, while the other turned to what was really important and the better way. I think we are missing out on something here.
Mindy Caliguire in her article in Christianity Today asked the question ‘What are the signs of soul neglect?’ or, to put it another way, ‘What tends to emerge in the life of a person who neglects his or her soul?’ The answers are surely anxiety, self-absorption, shame, apathy, lack of confidence, isolation, drivenness, loss of vision and no desire for God. When we run for God in the mission and calling He has for us, and yet neglect our soul’s health, a sense of ‘being weary from well doing’ can arise, along with a strong desire to put these things aside and take a break, or even leave ministry altogether. The truth is we can neglect the care of our own souls in our attempt to care for others.
On the other side of the coin, we could ask the question: What emerges in your life when you're deeply connected with God, when your soul is healthy? Surely a life like this would produce love, joy, compassion, the giving and receiving of grace, generosity of spirit, peace, ability to trust, discernment, boundlessness, creativity, vision, balance and focus. The fruit of the Spirit comes out of the overflow of our life with God.
Which list would you prefer to be representative of your life?
There is work to do, so we need to abound in the work of the Lord without losing the ability to abide, and there is tension in that. There is tension between mission focused and being rooted in Christ, not going beyond our capacity in God. The rhythm is different for each person, and though it is not legalistic or a yoke that is heavy, it involves a disciplined approach.
Scazzero in his book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality helps our understanding when he writes, ‘Our activity for God can only properly flow from a life with God. We cannot give what we do not possess. Doing for God in a way that is proportionate to our being with God is the only pathway to a pure heart and seeing God.
‘Jesus is our example here. Fully God, and yet fully man, He did not heal every sick person in Palestine. He did not raise every dead person. He did not feed all the hungry beggars or set up job development centres for the poor of Jerusalem. He didn’t do it all, and we shouldn’t feel we have to. But somehow we do.
‘Why don’t we take appropriate care of ourselves? Why are so many Christians, along with the rest of our culture, frantic, exhausted, over-loaded, and hurried?’
While we are called to consider others more important than ourselves (Phil 2:3), we first of all need a self to lay down.
As Parker Palmer said, ‘Self-care is never a selfish act—it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others.' Her point is sound when you consider Proverbs 4:23, ‘Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.’ (NIV)
A question we should be asking and reflecting on is this: Is the life I’m inviting others into the life I’m leading? A life where we take notice of our soul’s health and prioritise spiritual disciplines to nurture and renew the life of God in us?
This is about a whole lot more that a daily quiet time. It is about knowing and connecting with God in transformational ways that change us, release us, quiet us, and engage us. Ways that utterly convince us of His goodness, and free us from fear, giving us a lightness of spirit in the midst of the burden of service and daily living. Ways that help us to be deeply connected to Him.
When we move beyond the traditional quiet-time approach, we realise that all of life is a spiritual formation, and that it takes a lifetime of work and Grace for Christ to be formed in us (Gal. 4:19; Phil. 1:6). There is a realisation of the need for us to slow down as we meet with God, and the most intentional way for us to do this is through the classic spiritual practices of solitude, journaling, simplicity, examen and lectio divina.
Through these disciplines we heighten, and, in some cases, recover, our ability to be attentive to the heart of God and understand that our core or soul needs to be deeply connected to God.
What is the definition of soul? I have always heard it as my ‘mind, will, and emotions’.
Jerrell Jobe is a teaching pastor at Palm Valley Church, Mission, Texas and a friend of mine. He believes ‘the soul is a combination of our mind, emotions and will’. However this condensed definition makes it challenging to apply concepts such as ‘soul health’ or ‘soul neglect’. In his understanding, the soul is comprised of our mind and emotions, but this also has to do with our mental outlook and even our current perspective on situations, circumstances, events and relationships. Our perspective is often influenced by past experiences, good or bad.
These past and present experiences can often be accompanied by some sort of baggage or wounding, which propel us into certain dispositions, ways of seeing the world, beliefs, responses and life-cycles. Once we begin to follow Christ, these areas aren’t fully or automatically updated to be Christ-like. This is where the ongoing renewal comes in that is referenced in Romans 12.
Therefore, the questions become ‘how is my level of awareness of the state of my soul?’ ‘How am I doing at discerning where God is already at work within me (Phil. 2)?’ ‘Am I too busy or preoccupied to be attuned to what the Spirit is doing, prompting and inviting me in to?’
All of this influences the condition and health of my soul.
So what is the current state of your soul? The question asks not of salvation but of your soul’s health. In the midst of accomplishing ministry tasks and meeting people’s needs, it is vital that we’re connected with God and getting alone with him.
John 15:5 remind us, ‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.’(NIV) What part of ‘nothing’ do we not understand? It seems this verse speaks less of the fruit of our work, and more about our need to be deeply connected to God. We need to re-discover the contemplative stream and the spiritual disciplines that help Christ be formed in us, because we cannot lead people where we have not gone, and we cannot give to people what we do not possess. We can love with a human love, but not with the love of Christ unless it is overflows out of us.
Unless I have a deep interior life with God I cannot give God, I can only give what is inside of me.
Acknowledging this, ask yourself these questions: What is my current routine, if any, and howeffective is it at connecting with God and caring for my soul? What areas of my life would I most like my experience of God to increase?
I am on a journey in understanding spiritual and Christian formation. I share these thoughts about spiritual disciplines so you may join in the journey.
Brett Allchin
There can be so much that needs to be done in each day, no matter what age you are or occupation or ministry you are involved in. We are being overwhelmed by the many pressures we face. We rise each day to get on the treadmill of our daily activities feeling compelled to run the race marked out for us, to only fall exhausted and drained at the close of each day and feeling powerless to do anything about it. Burnout and a feeling of being overloaded can overcome us, displacing joy and fulfilment in our work and life. I wonder if we are chasing after fulfilment at the expense of what is important.
Powell and Barker in their book Unloading the Overload suggest that when our Reformation forebears were busy re-forming an understanding of the Christian faith, and they were tossing overboard everything they could not find in the Bible, they inadvertently made the mistake of thinking that activity was sanctified by God but rest was not. They did a pretty good job of snuffing out the contemplative life, and now we are reaching a mad spiral of hyperactivity, raising great clouds of dust for God, hoping He will be impressed.
My mind turns to what Jesus said to Martha and Mary in Luke Chapter 10. One was franticly busy, while the other turned to what was really important and the better way. I think we are missing out on something here.
Mindy Caliguire in her article in Christianity Today asked the question ‘What are the signs of soul neglect?’ or, to put it another way, ‘What tends to emerge in the life of a person who neglects his or her soul?’ The answers are surely anxiety, self-absorption, shame, apathy, lack of confidence, isolation, drivenness, loss of vision and no desire for God. When we run for God in the mission and calling He has for us, and yet neglect our soul’s health, a sense of ‘being weary from well doing’ can arise, along with a strong desire to put these things aside and take a break, or even leave ministry altogether. The truth is we can neglect the care of our own souls in our attempt to care for others.
On the other side of the coin, we could ask the question: What emerges in your life when you're deeply connected with God, when your soul is healthy? Surely a life like this would produce love, joy, compassion, the giving and receiving of grace, generosity of spirit, peace, ability to trust, discernment, boundlessness, creativity, vision, balance and focus. The fruit of the Spirit comes out of the overflow of our life with God.
Which list would you prefer to be representative of your life?
There is work to do, so we need to abound in the work of the Lord without losing the ability to abide, and there is tension in that. There is tension between mission focused and being rooted in Christ, not going beyond our capacity in God. The rhythm is different for each person, and though it is not legalistic or a yoke that is heavy, it involves a disciplined approach.
Scazzero in his book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality helps our understanding when he writes, ‘Our activity for God can only properly flow from a life with God. We cannot give what we do not possess. Doing for God in a way that is proportionate to our being with God is the only pathway to a pure heart and seeing God.
‘Jesus is our example here. Fully God, and yet fully man, He did not heal every sick person in Palestine. He did not raise every dead person. He did not feed all the hungry beggars or set up job development centres for the poor of Jerusalem. He didn’t do it all, and we shouldn’t feel we have to. But somehow we do.
‘Why don’t we take appropriate care of ourselves? Why are so many Christians, along with the rest of our culture, frantic, exhausted, over-loaded, and hurried?’
While we are called to consider others more important than ourselves (Phil 2:3), we first of all need a self to lay down.
As Parker Palmer said, ‘Self-care is never a selfish act—it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others.' Her point is sound when you consider Proverbs 4:23, ‘Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.’ (NIV)
A question we should be asking and reflecting on is this: Is the life I’m inviting others into the life I’m leading? A life where we take notice of our soul’s health and prioritise spiritual disciplines to nurture and renew the life of God in us?
This is about a whole lot more that a daily quiet time. It is about knowing and connecting with God in transformational ways that change us, release us, quiet us, and engage us. Ways that utterly convince us of His goodness, and free us from fear, giving us a lightness of spirit in the midst of the burden of service and daily living. Ways that help us to be deeply connected to Him.
When we move beyond the traditional quiet-time approach, we realise that all of life is a spiritual formation, and that it takes a lifetime of work and Grace for Christ to be formed in us (Gal. 4:19; Phil. 1:6). There is a realisation of the need for us to slow down as we meet with God, and the most intentional way for us to do this is through the classic spiritual practices of solitude, journaling, simplicity, examen and lectio divina.
Through these disciplines we heighten, and, in some cases, recover, our ability to be attentive to the heart of God and understand that our core or soul needs to be deeply connected to God.
What is the definition of soul? I have always heard it as my ‘mind, will, and emotions’.
Jerrell Jobe is a teaching pastor at Palm Valley Church, Mission, Texas and a friend of mine. He believes ‘the soul is a combination of our mind, emotions and will’. However this condensed definition makes it challenging to apply concepts such as ‘soul health’ or ‘soul neglect’. In his understanding, the soul is comprised of our mind and emotions, but this also has to do with our mental outlook and even our current perspective on situations, circumstances, events and relationships. Our perspective is often influenced by past experiences, good or bad.
These past and present experiences can often be accompanied by some sort of baggage or wounding, which propel us into certain dispositions, ways of seeing the world, beliefs, responses and life-cycles. Once we begin to follow Christ, these areas aren’t fully or automatically updated to be Christ-like. This is where the ongoing renewal comes in that is referenced in Romans 12.
Therefore, the questions become ‘how is my level of awareness of the state of my soul?’ ‘How am I doing at discerning where God is already at work within me (Phil. 2)?’ ‘Am I too busy or preoccupied to be attuned to what the Spirit is doing, prompting and inviting me in to?’
All of this influences the condition and health of my soul.
So what is the current state of your soul? The question asks not of salvation but of your soul’s health. In the midst of accomplishing ministry tasks and meeting people’s needs, it is vital that we’re connected with God and getting alone with him.
John 15:5 remind us, ‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.’(NIV) What part of ‘nothing’ do we not understand? It seems this verse speaks less of the fruit of our work, and more about our need to be deeply connected to God. We need to re-discover the contemplative stream and the spiritual disciplines that help Christ be formed in us, because we cannot lead people where we have not gone, and we cannot give to people what we do not possess. We can love with a human love, but not with the love of Christ unless it is overflows out of us.
Unless I have a deep interior life with God I cannot give God, I can only give what is inside of me.
Acknowledging this, ask yourself these questions: What is my current routine, if any, and howeffective is it at connecting with God and caring for my soul? What areas of my life would I most like my experience of God to increase?
I am on a journey in understanding spiritual and Christian formation. I share these thoughts about spiritual disciplines so you may join in the journey.
Brett Allchin
For an understanding of the practice of praying examen, you may desire to look at this web page; http://ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-examen/
lectio divina; http://www.gotquestions.org/lectio-divina.html
Peter Scazzero, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, (Thomas Nelson, 2006) P32
Parker Palmer, Let your life Speak: Listening for the voice of vocation (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000), p30—31.
