SPIRITUALITY

How are you deepening your relationship with God?

John 15:4-8 (GNT)“‘Remain united to me, and I will remain united to you. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it can do so only if it remains in the vine. In the same way you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“‘I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me. Those who do not remain in me are thrown out like a branch and dry up; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, where they are burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, then you will ask for anything you wish, and you shall have it. My Father’s glory is shown by your bearing much fruit; and in this way you become my disciples.’”

ENCOUNTER

How do you hear God’s voice in your spiritual journey? How do you ensure your walk with God reflects continued openness to hearing God’s voice in your life over the cacophony of other human voices?

ENGAGEMENT

Share how, in your spiritual practices, you experience the following:

Reflect and relate daily: What does daily connection with God and the Word look like for you? (Psalm 42:1-2, 63:1-4, 119:10-16)

Refresh weekly: How do you respect a sense of sabbath in your own life? How does that bring refreshment to your heart and life so you can continue to carry out your leadership responsibilities? (Matthew 11:28-30)

Restore regularly: How does your schedule provide opportunity to get away for silence, solitude, and study to deepen your intimacy with God and bring restoration to your soul? Is this a quarterly, triannual, or annual experience? (Psalm 23:1-3)

What adjustments do you need to make in your life and schedule to move you to a more fulfilling place of deeper intimacy with God to help you draw from it in your leadership challenges?

EXPERIENCE

How are you currently experiencing God’s grace in your life? As you recognize it, what response does it evoke from you?

How is the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit at work within you? Where are the places of challenge or pain in that work? Where is there room for rejoicing and celebrating how you are becoming more and more like Jesus Christ? How are you becoming more holy?

EXPRESSION

What direct connections can you draw from your intimacy with God to your external actions of living and loving like Jesus? How are you expressing your faith by putting it into action?

How does your listening to the voice of God allow you to be God’s voice in the lives of people who are far from God? What discipline could you envision that would include regular spiritual conversations with those who may be spiritual seeking or disconnected?

IMPACT

What next steps do you need to take to increase your desire for God and foster a greater hunger and thirst for righteousness?

J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership“One last thing must be said, a kind of warning. If those who hold influence over others fail to lead toward the spiritual uplands, then surely the path to the lowlands will be well worn. People travel together, no one lives detached and alone.”1

1 J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence for Every Believer (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1994), 20.