6 Disciplines for Soul Care (Part Two)
Soul-care can be described as being mindful of your limits and needs so that you can ensure your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. Soul-care primarily focuses on the inner self, taking care of your soul. Christian soul-care emphasizes developing personal habits and practices to manage stress, reduce anxiety, repent of idolatry, and rest in the gospel.
The Discipline of Self Awareness.
The single most important piece of information a leader possesses is self-awareness. The dictionary uses a variety of words to portray the meaning of awareness: knowledge, mindful, vigilance, conscious, alert, to note a few. When you add the word self to these, you get a good idea of what self-awareness includes: self-knowledge (knowing who you are), self-mindfulness (understanding your motives for doing what you do), self-vigilance (knowing what makes you tick and what ticks you off!), self-consciousness (knowing how you come across to others), and self-alertness (maintaining your emotional, physical, and spiritual condition). The discipline of self-awareness, then, is the leader's intentional quest for self-understanding.- Reggie McNeal
"Who has permission to adjust your self-perception?"
The Discipline of Spiritual Disciplines.
The Spiritual Disciplines are those personal and corporate disciplines that promote spiritual growth. They are the habits of devotion and experiential Christianity that have been practiced by the people of God since biblical times. The Spiritual Disciplines are the God-given means we are to use in the Spirit-filled pursuit of Godliness. Godly people are disciplined people. In my own pastoral and personal Christian experience, I can say that I've never known a man or woman who came to spiritual maturity except through discipline. Godliness comes through discipline. - Donald Whitney, "Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life"
"But have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness." (1 Timothy 4:7, CSB)
The Discipline of Primary Pathways.
One of the best personal tools I have found to help understand Soul Care was the Spiritual Pathway Assessment by John Ortberg. The short assessment enables you to answer the question, "How do you connect with God best?"
Relational – I connect best to God when I am with others
Intellectual – I connect best to God when I learn.
Worship – I connect best to God when I worship.
Activist – I connect best to God when doing great things.
Contemplative – I connect best to God in silence.
Serving – I connect best to God while completing Kingdom tasks.
Creation – I connect best to God in nature.
You can also find a free Spiritual Pathway Descriptions sheet to help you understand and identify pathways to help shepherd your soul.
The Discipline of Solitude.
I have a friend who makes yearly visits to a silent monastery for several days; his stories are amazing and convicting. Everyone may not be able to spend days in silence, but we can cultivate the habit of solitude. The discipline of solitude appreciates the depth of soul-making possible only when alone with God and undistracted from the world.
Your inability to cultivate and model solitude manifests the rule and reign of busyness and conveys a deep problem within your soul.
The Discipline of Physical and Emotional Wellness.
Study after study shows the relationship between physical health overall wellbeing; there is no debating; people who care for their bodies physically have better overall spiritual and emotional health. To shepherd our soul faithfully, we need to care for our bodies; this means being mindful of regular exercise and practicing healthy eating habits.
Our understanding of identity influences our emotional well being. When your identity is firmly rooted in Christ, we display gospel confidence and gospel courage. Gospel confidence is the fruit of our identity in Christ. Gospel Courage is the action from our identity in Christ. Our motivations for emotional acceptance are not driven by man but fulfilled in Christ.
"Don't you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own," (1 Corinthians 6:19, CSB)
The Discipline of Rest.
I view rest in a two-fold way:
1. Daily Rest- This is the rest I need. Early in my ministry, I thought it was a badge of honor and pride to work long hours and sleep very little. However, as I grew in self-awareness and realized the motivation and foolishness behind that thought, sleep became more important. I need at least 8 hours a sleep a day, or I cannot function. Soul care means I go to bed early so I can get up early.
2. Dedicated Rest (Sabbath). The Bible commands to treat the Sabbath as holy; it is a command. Biblically, that was one particular day a week, where you did not work, but rested in God's goodness, provisions, and character. This is where my pathway of connecting with God often comes into play. Creation is a pathway of dedicated rest for me; being outside, doing just about anything, allows me to rest. I know that may sound crazy, but it is life-giving, as I can reflect and rest in God's goodness and creation. We all need times of dedicated rest; hopefully, this happens weekly as part of soul care.
