I have been reading a book by my mentor and friend, Dr. Troy Jones, titled “Recalibrate Your Church”. The book is good for every leader and pastor to do just that, but his final chapter especially captured my heart as he asks the question, “How is your soul doing?” His premise is simple; you can recalibrate every area of your church, but unless you recalibrate your soul, you’ve missed what is most important! Here are the key highlights I’ve taken from this chapter that I think you will benefit from as well. I pray your soul is well!
“God cares more about your love for Him than about your work for Him. And that means the greatest thing you need to recalibrate is your spiritual health. If you can’t take care of yourself, then nothing else really matters. Christ Himself reminded us, ‘For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?’ (Mark 8:36)”
“Some of us need a spiritual awakening! We need to recalibrate our souls. We need a fresh, bracing encounter with the living God. We need an intimate, loving union with God at the core of our being. Don’t lose sight of the radical truth; Go cares more about you than He does about your ministry.”
“We need God to breathe into our nostrils the breath of life. We all need to fall flat on our faces and hear from God. While you need to get a divine assignment for your church, your deeper and continual need is to get a divine breath for your life.”
Four Guiding Principles to Recalibrating your S.O.U.L. (Search, Obey, Unplug, Let Go)
- Search your Heart
- Spiritual formation is a renovation of the heart
- Davids prayer “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (psalm 139:23-24)
- Proverbs 4:18 “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” This is the very core of what happens in my life.
- Our culture is all about image; God cares what’s on the inside!
- Obey the still, small voice of God
- If we listen to God’s still, small voice, it will protect us and help us to navigate the fierce winds of change that threaten to blow us over. That voice…protects us from temptation, teaches us personal character and holiness, guides our decision making, instructs us on wise timing, provides us with providential direction for our churches
- Unplug from noise and chaos
- Noise and chaos is the primary enemy that prevents us from hearing God’s voice.
- Our world is full of noise and makes it hard to hear God’s whisper
- Jesus daily unplugged from the noise and chaos- “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35)
- Hearing God’s voice requires us to pause long enough to just listen
- Rick Warren suggests a simple model to unplug
- Divert Daily
- Withdraw Weekly
- Abandon Annually
- Let go of things that poison the soul
- Hurt and bitterness rot the soul more than anything else
- Your response to those offenses, hurts, and disappointments is what will make or break you- you have to let them go.
- You must guard your soul against offenses, hurts and bitterness.
- Forgive quickly. Unforgiveness is like a cancer that rots and eats away the best part of you. It clouds your vision and your love for people