As a Church Planter, I am well aware of the fact that my own day-to-day life sets and example for what it means to follow Jesus. There is more to following Jesus than making the right decision when the time comes. It’s means becoming the kind of person who is in the routine of making the right decision.

So my lack of self-discipline is a problem. Nowhere was I feeling this more acutely than in my lack of spiritual discipline.

One key to becoming a person of discipline is laid out in Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit. According to Duhigg, some habits are better than others, because they enable other habits to form. For instance, it’s easier to quit smoking if you are taking up running because you’re building on one healthy habit. Duhigg calls these “Keystone Habits.” As a freelance content and social media marketer, I have no outside enforced schedule. Most mornings, I would wake up grab my computer and start checking emails in bed.

I wanted to be the kind of person that dedicated time daily to prayer and scripture meditation. But most days I’d just get busy and it wasn’t happening.

I had to admit something embarrassing: I needed something more tangible than a vague desire to be godlier actually to become a person of spiritual discipline.

So I enrolled in a local Crossfit gym. My thought was that the regularly scheduled classes and the social pressure would actually inspire me to get out of bed and do something with my day.

Once out of bed, then I’d worry about “being spiritual.”

Here are five lessons I’ve learned six weeks into this experiment.

1. You can’t just roll out of bed

The first time I went to class, I rolled out of bed, grabbed some leftover cold pizza and drove to the gym.

Two-thirds of the way through, I excused myself to throw up in the alley.

Before the next session, I woke up an hour early, which gave me the opportunity to drink a cup of coffee, practice Lectio and eat a handful of almonds. This was good, because it is closer to my actual goal.

The thought that I would be able to roll out of bed and complete a grueling workout was naive to say the least. Developing discipline will require some R & D, the right gear, and a few opportunities to fail.

2. Plan ahead

A few mornings, I was late because of the time I spent frantically looking for my workout shoes. More than a few days, I ended up commando because I forgot to put my boxers in my gym bag.

Pulling off the now two hour commitment of coffee-Lectio-commute-workout requires some planning ahead. This is the beauty of a keystone habit. I’m now getting better at consistently doing my laundry and packing my lunch.

3. I don’t know how to listen to God (or anyone else)

I use the Jesuit Pray as You Go podcast to help me practice Lectio Divina because I wasn’t sure I’d actually be able to read right after I wake up. However, I quickly find my mind wandering or occasionally drifting back to sleep.

It’s no easier in the gym. Crossfit is all about technique, so you have to pay attention to what the coach says.

I want to become the kind of person who naturally listens to the Holy Spirit and the reading of God’s word.

This process is reminding me just how much work listening requires.

Just acknowledging that listening doesn’t come naturally has already helped. When listening to Lectio (or the coach at the gym), I try to remain aware of my own attention. When my mind wanders, I gently remind myself about the task at hand.

4. Don’t expect to like it.

It should be said that I am not a natural morning person. Nor an athlete. Nor a good listener.

At first, what we value and what we like don’t lineup. Why would they? How could we possibly like something we’re unaccustomed to?

To develop discipline we need “carrots and sticks” that are more immediately powerful than our likes and dislikes. For me, this is the financial investment at the gym (stick) and the social opportunities of working out in class (a carrot for extroverts).

5. Be nice to yourself.

In The Willpower Instinct, Kelly McGonigal makes the point that when developing willpower, we should be nice to ourselves. Since we are doing something new, we are essentially a “child” in that area of our life. Instead of beating ourselves up for not doing well, we should sooth the child.

When I wake up too late for the gym and miss Lectio, my natural reaction is to beat myself up. These days, I’m trying to talk a little nicer to myself. I’ll say something like “That wasn’t the right thing to do. But it’s okay. You’re new at this, and you are getting better every day!”

I’m still not sure where this experiment will lead. I may or may not stick with either of these two practices. But I know that I’m capable of developing discipline.

So are you.

The post What I’ve Learned in a 40-Day Experiment with the Spiritual Discipline of Crossfit and Lectio Divina appeared first on Chris Morton.

High School and College had provided a clear framework of how life was supposed to work. I just had to show up for class, do my work, and not do anything too stupid. But now I was in the real world. I had to find a job and pay my bills and find my place in community.

Unfortunately, there are no printed guidelines telling us how the game of life works. We have to figure it out, more or less on our own. Scriptures, and most plainly, the Sermon on the Mount, provide an ethical framework of how Christians interact in the world. But how do do you deal with disappointments, find a job, talk to people and get stuff done?

Andy Stanley says that it’s not experience that’s the best teacher, but other people’s experience. Here are five of my favorite resources from other people who have already figured out what it means to act like an adult.

The Road Less Traveled – M. Scott Peck

M.S. Peck’s classic will help you grow up by admitting that life is tough, love is hard, and then getting over it.  Peck was not a Christian at the time he wrote it, and it is fascinating to see his thinking on psycho-spiritual issues taking shape.  I think of this book everytime I run into a difficulty, or have to fix my car.

Life is Difficult.

This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths.  It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it.  Once we truly see that life is difficult – once we truly understand and accept it – then life is no longer difficult.  Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.

You can read my full review here.

Spirit of the Disciplines – Dallas Willard

Dallas Willard’s most practical read.  He explains what it means to be a disciple, and more specifically, how people change.  The basic idea is that Jesus really meant us to live out all the things he said. Change happens through Vision, Intention and Means.

A discipline is an activity within our power – something that we can do – which brings us to a point where we can do what at present we cannot do by direct effort.

Let Your Life Speak – Parker Palmer

There are some wonderful, cheerful people in this world.  They may have bad days, but they seem to always be surrounded by silver linings.  Then there is the rest of us, for whom life just feels heavier.  We are realists and melancholics, capable of seeing past the lies of the world, but prone to get caught up in our own.  Life is a constant search for purpose, meaning, and vocation.

Parker Palmer is a teacher and a Quaker.  He has stared into the depths of his soul, and come out, with a knowledge of his true self on the other side.

Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you. Before you tell your life what truths and values you have decided to live up to, let your life tell you what truths you embody, what values you represent.

A Severe Mercy – Sheldon Vanauken

How do you shelve this book? Memoire? Romance? Apologetics?  The story of two Ivy League pagans who fall in love, travel the world, get to know Jesus and hang out with C.S. Lewis. It also stares death in the face. The book tells of a truly great romance. In doing so, it deconstructs the very idea of romantic love.

Lewis had been his mainstay in this half-year of sounding the depths of his grief. He it was who had said that Davy’s death was a severe mercy. A severe mercy — the phrase haunted him: a mercy that was as severe as death, a death that was as merciful as love. For it had been death in love, not death of love.

Read my entire review here.

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
– Stephen Covey

While not the first, Covey’s classic is the definitive self-help book.  I often find myself relating to his story about the kids in the subway at the beginning of the book.  The term “tyranny of the urgent” appears in my mind whenever I get stuck taking care of unnecessary emergencies. Of all the organizational tools I’ve encountered, none are as straight forward and applicable as his four quadrants.  And of course, there’s his legendary saying, “Start with the end in mind.”

Until a person can say deeply and honestly, “I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday,” that person cannot say, “I choose otherwise.”

What books have helped you handle life as an adult?

The post 5 Books to Help You Grow Up appeared first on Chris Morton.

Take some time to think about your day.  Then talk to God about it.

How often have you felt guilty because you don’t know what to pray about?  Crazy, but normal.  Examen is so obvious it hurts.  Remember your day then tell God about your day.  As you do, you’ll see:

Ways God has blessed you.
Ways he seems to have failed you.
Things you don’t understand.
Things you want more of.
Thing you regret.
Things you didn’t realize were there.

Then you talk to God about it.

You can learn about the Examen at IgnatianSpirituality.com, or you might just play this audio file instead.  Here’s Iggy’s Five Steps to Praying the Examen.

1. Become aware of God’s presence.
2. Review the day with gratitude.
3. Pay attention to your emotions.
4. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it.
5. Look toward tomorrow.

Here’s a cheesy catholic PSA to help.

The post Wednesday Spotlight: Iggy’s Five Steps to Praying the Examen appeared first on Chris Morton.

Spiritual

Read the Gospels every day. When I read Ed Dobson’s The Year of Living Like Jesus, I was struck by a comment the Ed received from his Jewish friends, basically along the lines of “how can you call Jesus your rabbi and not study his words daily?”  So this year, I hope to start each day by reading a chapter or two of the gospels every day.  Once I get through all four, I plan to mix it up with different translations and maybe some word studies.

Journal daily. Writing’s a big deal for me, but it’s kind of haphazard.  Journaling is where I put my thoughts in order, or at least where I force myself to think through what I’ve been ignoring.  Journaling is also the main way I pray.  As I get better at this, I hope to develop other daily writing rhythms.

Physical

Keep a clean work area. I’ve never been a tidy guy.  My hope is, that by changing that, I can create a personal culture of organization that flows into other areas of life.

Work out every day. Right now this isn’t too tough because I’m biking everywhere.  But I’m in desperate need of some core training and flexibility.

Social

Go deeper with what you’ve got. I’m a part of a great church community, have co-workers I love, some great roommates and even a few old friends.  However, I have lacked the intentionality of really developing those relationships.  Let the happy hours and dinner parties ensue.

Drop in. One area of my life that is lacking is “drop in” relationships.  The kind where you just make a quick phone call or knock on the door for dinner.  My goal is to spend regular time “dropping in” on the people around me.

Romantic. I don’t plan on being single for life.  This means meeting more ladies who love Jesus.  Which probably means mixing up my rhythm and trying new things.  I’m not sure how to make this a “practice.”

Academic

Stay ahead. Have you ever tried working full time and going to graduate school?  It’s not ideal.  To make it happen, I’m trying to devote one day a week to completing the following week’s work, always staying a week ahead.

Personal

Sabbath. I love Sundays,  When I stay ahead, Sundays become monumentally lazy times of sleeping in, worshipping with my church community, eating too much, napping, and playing games.  When I miss a Sunday, the following week is almost unbearable.

Read. This is going to be a tough one, since so much of what I am doing for school is made up of reading.  But I fully intend to throw in books of personal interest and unashamed escapism.

Do new fun things. Most of my free time in Austin has been spent running and biking, swing dancing and eating at new places.  All of these are good, but I desperately need to mix it up.  On my to do list is: see more independent films, and take in a Roller Hockey game.

What practices keep you going and growing?  What suggestions do you have to develop a rhythmic life?

The post Rhythms for February appeared first on Chris Morton.