THE DISCIPLINE OF INTENTIONALITY IN A BIG BAD WORLD




Well, dear readers, beloved friends in Christ (for that is how I think of you all), I'm going to take a break in the current series to talk about something I haven't had the time to touch on, and frankly, I don't have the time to do it in a Sunday sermon (although this will probably make the next newsletter).

And that is:  the discipline of intentionality.

In Wesleyan theology, we're taught that we're expected to participate with God's grace.  It's not, like "ZAAAPPP!" and your life is producing goodness and love.  No, grace is given to transform us, but we have to accept it and apply it in our daily life.  It's a lot like 4-H:  learning by doing, or in this case, learning and changing by doing.

Just a friendly reminder, we can't do it all on our own.  We have to apply this discipline with the help of Christ and with the help of others.  Remember, even the Lone Ranger had Tonto (more on this next week).

#1.  Taking Account.  From Ignacian spirituality we get the practice of reviewing how things went at the end of the day.  Here's my version of it.

  • Open with prayer inviting God in for a chat.
  • Prayerfully, take note of the times you were an agent of God's goodness and Christ's love.  Offer those up to God as a bouquet of sweet smelling sacrifices of praise.  (Yeah, I know that imagery is pretty girly, but I can't help it.  It's in the genes.  Blame my dad.)
  • Prayerfully, note the times when you fell short and confess them.  Ask for forgiveness.  Meditate upon each instance and decide what you will do differently next time.
  • Pray specifically for the ways you'd like to change, according to God's will.
Did I mention this works even better if you journal it?

#2.  How is it with your soul.  This traditional Wesleyan question deals with intentionally and willingly being accountable to a person or persons for your spiritual growth. 
  • Choose someone or a small group of people you trust and who are also interested in being more intentional about living as disciples of Christ.
  • The question, "how is it with your soul" is asked to each person.  In other words, how are things going on the journey?
  • Truth and transparency is required on the part of the one who answers.  You are expected to also share how you plan to do things differently.  If you'd like suggestions from the group, ask. 
  • The rest of the group listens and may ask clarifying questions.  Unless the one who answers ask for suggestions, don't give them, but ask how you might pray for the person.
  • Write down the prayer requests so you can ask how it is going next time.
  • It takes time for trust to develop and deeper issues are brought up.  So, be patient.
  • CONFIDENTIALITY is a must.  Notice that I put it all in caps and both bolded it and italicized it -- it's that important! 
  • Plan meeting at a regular time and place at least once a month.  
#3  Establish a relationship with a spiritual director for guidance, spiritual counseling and accountability.  If a certified spiritual director is not available, talk to your pastor about meeting regularly for spiritual direction.

#4  In the blog, "Rules of Engagement,"  I introduced the General Rules of the United Methodist Church.  The third rule is a must in the practice of intentionality:

"Rule #3:  Stay connected with God through Christ by the spiritual practices of worship, prayer and bible study (both personal and in small groups) and experience the presence of Christ through the sacraments of Holy Communion and baptism."  

Being intentional in our Christian living is not living passively.  It requires that we participate with the work of grace in our lives.  Anything that involves disciplining our behavior, thinking and habits is never easy.  The gift of discipline, however, is freedom.  Intentionality frees us to be the people Christ has called us to be -- people who shine the light of Christ against the darkness of evil in this big, bad world through acts of goodness and love.
Want to share your own insights; be in conversation with me and others about this and other topics; have questions?  That's what "Comment"  is for.  Try it out; make sure it still works.  :-)

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