Developing a Spiritual Growth Plan
By Pastor Gabe Turner
The only guarantee that tomorrow will be better than today is that you grow. And who you are becoming matters to God. You’re not going to bump into growth. AND you can’t bypass how God develops our souls: Intimacy THEN Activity.
Mark 3:13-14 (NIV)
13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him.
14 He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach
“That they might be with him” – being with Jesus happens through what we call spiritual disciplines, and it is the spiritual disciplines that lead to our spiritual growth, our spiritual formation.
Years ago, I began leaning into a simple truth that has radically changed my life. It’s changed who I am as a follower of Christ, who I am as husband, as a father, as a pastor and as a leader. It’s changed how I view my time.
In fact, if I could go back and tell the 22-year-old version of myself anything, when I was teaching, and coaching, and dating, this is what it would be:
And I believe this statement is true for all of us.
Everything in life flows out of my relationship with God, therefore the most important thing that I will do on any given day is spend time with Him.
There was a season in my life when I got upside down spiritually where I was rolling out of bed at the last minute. God might get a little time in the evenings before I drifted off to sleep. I had a relationship with God, but I was neglecting intimacy. And it’s in daily intimacy with God that our souls truly get formed and that we grow.
We all need an intentional Spiritual Growth Plan to develop our souls – our hearts, minds, and bodies. Think about it – you have a business plan, you have a game plan, you have a lesson plan – we have plans for anything and everything… why would we not have a plan to develop the most important aspect of our lives – our souls?
For myself, there are three basic questions that I answer to set up a plan, and then I execute that plan:
Three Questions to Develop a Spiritual Growth Plan
1. When will I spend time with God?
My daily routine is that I am usually up by 4am. No alarm clock- so if I sleep longer, I needed it. Brush teeth, brew coffee (prepared the night before), and sit at my desk by 4:10.
Don’t let 4am discourage you. My first spiritual growth plan that I ever developed had a 6am wake up time. It’s just after we planted The Point, and then our children came along, I needed to adjust that time earlier to get ahead of the day a little more.
The biggest adjustment that I made was going to bed earlier so I could get up earlier. I no longer stayed up watching Law and Order, but went to bed, and now we’re usually in bed and asleep by 9:30.
2. Where will I spend time with God?
My desk. I have everything I need for my quiet time laid out the night before. I also prep the Keurig machine.
3. What disciplines do I need to incorporate for growth?
Here are my areas of focus for this coming quarter:
1. Bible reading – Bible reading and journaling together – this has been a habit of mine for at least 15 years now.
2. Journaling – My Bible reading and journaling go hand in hand and I will do this for at least 30-40 minutes daily. I say, “God, this is where my heart is. Speak to my heart. This is what I read in your Word. This is what I believe you’re saying to me today.”
“As I write, I am aware that what I am writing may actually be what God wants to tell me. I dare to presume that His Spirit is often operative in the things I’m choosing to think about and record. And it becomes important to search my heart to see what conclusions He may be engendering, what matters He wishes to remind me about, what themes He hopes to stamp upon my private world.”– Gordon MacDonald (Ordering Your Private World, 202-203).
3. Prayer – I begin with praying over my soul, then Kari, then our children, and then work out from there in terms of circles...our families… our staff and their families… our campuses and individuals, marriages, and families… I’ve also started praying The Lord’s Prayer daily as well, and even multiple times a day. My prayer time generally lasts around 30 minutes.
4. Scripture Memorization – I have a goal of memorizing 52 verses this year… this is an area that after evaluating last year, I felt I needed to get more intentional with in 2022.
“I memorize and meditate on scripture that the order of God’s kingdom would become the order and power of my mind and my life.” – Dallas Willard
I’m starting with the Lord’s Prayer, and then next up is Isaiah 26:1-4. I’m still trying to figure out the best place to stack this. Maybe while I’m driving home from work? Sitting in traffic? In Atomic Habits, James Clear calls this “habit stacking.”
5. Sabbath – Fridays are my Sabbath. This was the most critical new discipline that I implemented in 2021. I believe it’s this discipline that’s going to keep me in the game for the next 30 years.
“Six days a week we wrestle with the world, wringing profit from the earth; on the Sabbath we especially care for the seed of eternity planted in the soul. The world has our hands, but our soul belongs to Someone Else. Six days a week we seek to dominate the world, on the seventh day we try to dominate the self….”
– Abraham Joshua Heschel
6. Exercise – This goes back to our bodies being temples of the Holy Spirit, and along with running daily, are steps I’ve taken in the new year to be more mindful of eating. While running, I will usually always listen to a podcast as well (again, habit stacking).
Do not feel overwhelmed by these factors. This is a plan that I have been building on for at least 14 to 15 years now. For you, I’d like to give you this takeaway…
Next Step
Develop a Spiritual Growth Plan for the next quarter with these questions… and keep it simple.
So, I want to encourage you to answer these three questions in the next few days, develop a plan and then execute that plan. I’ll give you a few examples.
Maybe you’ll read Oswald Chambers’ book My Utmost for His Highest everyday- like the chapter of the verse that’s at the top, jot down a few thoughts, and then pray for yourself, those closest to you, and those you lead?
Maybe you’re going to read through two to three Psalms a day for the next quarter and journal how you think it applies to your life? 150 Psalms divided by two is 75 days.
For prayer time – I just taught a series on the Lord’s Prayer – use it as an outline for your prayer time. Maybe you’re going to pray the Lord’s Prayer every day?
Develop a simple plan and then execute the plan. As the saying goes, “if you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.”
For those of you leading here at The Point, your leader or staff member that you report to are going to be asking you in your next meeting these three questions:
1. What is your plan?
2. Have you started yet?
3. How’s it going?
Why would we do that? Because we care about your soul. We see you not as a means to an end, but an end in yourself. And we have a responsibility to lead you well in caring for your soul.
And, next quarter we’ll begin with the question on how you would rate yourself as a leader. I guarantee that regardless of your context for leading, if you develop and execute a growth plan, your rating is going to be higher next quarter.
In his book Million Dollar Habits, Robert Ringer says this:
“Remember life is nothing more than the subtotal of many successful years.
Successful years are nothing more than a subtotal of many successful
months.
Successful months are nothing more than a subtotal of many successful
weeks.
Successful weeks are nothing more than a subtotal of many successful days.
That is why practicing successful habits day in, and day out, is the most
certain way to win over the long term.
Habits either make or break us.”
– Robert Ringer
And there is no habit more important than spending time with Jesus daily.
This is where Leading Well begins.