Spiritual Life

Jesus said that our union with Him is to be the source of everything in our lives and ministries. We are to live by His indwelling life in the same way that He lived and ministered out of the indwelling life of His Father.

Jesus lived in continuous fellowship with His Father, and through that fellowship He drew from, and lived by, His Father's life. Thus, Jesus' leadership came from His union with His Father. And, just as Jesus' continuous inward fellowship with His Father was the source of everything in His life and ministry, so our inward fellowship with God is to be the source of everything in our lives and ministries!

God is able to do awesome and amazing things. Why can’t you and I as believers of Christ look at our vision with so much passion? We have the greatest story to tell because the story points to a greater story of God. We need to rise up because God is great and we need to share His message.

Jesus has given Himself to you, and He’s called you to know Him. In a manner of speaking, this is all He’s called you to do: to look at Him, to hear Him, to touch Him, to know Him. Everything else – every part of the Christian life and holiness and compassion for the world and vision and ministry work – everything else comes out of this. Everything else comes from Him. This is the core reality of the Christian life and of Christian ministry. And this is the meaning of staff development in a Christian organization.

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:23-24)

Over the past twenty years, I have studied, written, and taught about spiritual warfare. Based on that work, here are some warfare reminders for church leaders.

My prayers are usually quite self-centered. But one time, whilst assisting on an Organizational Development job, I believe God uniquely used my intercessory prayer to contribute to his redemptive work in the life of an organization.

I am a third generation painter. My father is a painter, as was his mother before him. Painting has always played an important role in my life. My training in art came along side life training. I remember learning about points of perspective, and proportions of the human body, just as I remember learning to ride my bike and dancing ballet.

Sometimes, God will tell you to do things that make no sense in the short distance between your nose and the rocks of obstacles and defeats. Once in a while we can get a glimpse of the big picture and see how it makes perfect sense.

A lighthouse stands firm when storm waves crash over treacherous rocks along the shoreline. It shines a light of encouragement over the dark waves toward wary seafarers. Christian leaders can feel tossed about in the storms of trials and troubles, and the truths Brittney shares can be the same beacon of encouraging light as a lighthouse on a dark night.

Wouldn’t it be great if life had a delete button? We could easily erase all of our mistakes. Then again, would it be so great? How would we experience the Father’s great love and mercy?

Sometimes life moves quickly like fast-moving traffic. Sometimes we make a wrong turn and get stuck in a life traffic-jam, and then choose to stay there. We aren’t caring for others because we are too busy coddling ourselves. We are (and are choosing to be) ineffective in God’s Kingdom.