I was recently interviewed by Leslie Maddox in a post on Sunday School Blog entitled Teacher Interview: Darryl Wilson. She asked some great questions. One of them got me thinking: “What do you feel has contributed the most to your spiritual growth?” To read the complete answer, check out her post. I gave three responses to this question:
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difficulty,
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intentional seeking, and
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accountability.
In addition to these, I would add faithful attendance in Sunday School and worship. The computer maxim is also true of our spiritual growth: garbage in, garbage out. If we fill our lives with garbage, that is what will show. Instead, we must fill our lives with God and His Word. We must intentionally invest in our relationship with God and spiritual growth. That is why I want to suggest leading your class on a short spiritual retreat.
I realize that time is a precious commodity, but for many the jump that results from a spiritual retreat is huge! I remember my first spiritual retreat in South Carolina in 1987. It was three days of silence. The only time we were allowed to talk was at dinner each day. That left lots of time for me to pray, read the Bible, listen to God, and be with Him. Like others who were there, I was anxious about what I would do all that time. I was sure I would run out of things to say and do. In fact, the opposite was true: as the time went by I realized there would not be enough time to get it all done. That was one of the times when I was intentionally seeking Him and growth was the result.
I read a great article by John Ortberg entitled How to Spend a Day Alone. In the article, he outlines a great plan for an eight-hour spiritual retreat. I want to encourage you to get away and try it. Getting away is important so you can remove yourself from distractions. After you have experienced your spiritual retreat, you will be an even better promoter for encouraging your class to set aside time for a class retreat to do the some!
I want to encourage you to read all of Ortberg’s article, but here is a quick summary of the eight hours which he adapted from Glandion Carney’s book The Spiritual Formation Toolkit:
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8:00 Prepare your mind and heart, take a walk or do whatever will help you set aside concerns over other tasks. Try to arrange your morning so you can be in silence from when you first wake up.
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9:00 Read and meditate on Scripture, taking time to stop and reflect when God seems to be speaking to you through the text.
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11:00 Write down your responses to what you’ve read. Speak to God about these.
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Noon Lunch and walk, reflecting on the morning.
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1:00 Rest or nap.
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2:00 Think about goals that emerge from the day.
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3:00 Write down these goals and any other thoughts in a journal. You may want to do this in the form of a letter to God.
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4:00 End
Want your class to experience a sudden spiritual increase? Want them to clear their minds and agendas and listen to God? Want them to slow down and listen to that still, small voice? Want them to recharge and get motivated about living for Him? Take time for a personal spiritual retreat and then lead them to do the same as a class. Make sure you debrief the experience. Learn from each other. Warning: the experience will make you want to do it again! Be revolutionary!
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