• For the Discipleship Journal plans (including the 5 x 5 x 5): http://www.navpress.com/dj/content.aspx?id=138
• For the Bible Eater plan:  http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/01/01/bible-eater-a-plan-for-feeding-on-christ-in-2012/ 

One of the values of fasting is the value of spiritual discovery. What I mean is discovery about the need for Grace to have more full control over your daily life, and especially over your character. The work of Grace in you activates and makes alive the fruits of the Spirit. The fruits: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) are character qualities that emerge from your life when you surrender control to the Spirit of God.

But, these fruits or character qualities can also be temporarily imitated by the flesh. Your flesh can present with goodness for periods of time. It can sustain faithfulness with effort for a time and under good conditions. You can muster self-control sometimes, with a certain amount of effort as well. But when you fast, your flesh takes a hit, gets angry, and stops cooperating with the production of any false spiritual fruit. As a result you begin to discover where the soft spots are in the Spirit's work of bringing about His lasting fruit in your life.

By this point, you may actually feel less spiritual as you've fasted for a number of days. You've thought, "this is crazy--i thought if I fasted I'd grow closer to God. But I've been more short-tempered, harsh, and distracted the last few days than when I was eating normally." If that's you take a deep breath and be grateful. You just learned that a portion of the fruit in your life has been propped up, supported and upheld by the flesh. Now you can see where the work of Grace--the merciful work of Jesus in you--needs to go deeper in order to produce lasting fruit that depends on Christ and not on food.

One prayer you could pray in response would be, "Lord, as I fast unto You, replace the source of my joy, peace and gentleness with You. Purify my character so that I rely on continual surrender to Jesus instead of the contentment of the flesh."

Everything that's living is growing. And everything that's growing is fed and watered. Healthy disciples take responsibility for their own spiritual growth by having a plan. Now is a great time to make a spiritual plan for the new year. Here are some helpful links to get you moving: Bible reading plans:

• From Zondervan: http://www.zondervan.com/Cultures/en-US/Product/Bible/Plans.htm?QueryStringSite=Zondervan. I'm using the 3 year reading plan with the kids beginning on Friday. Love that it keeps going back to the Gospels as it takes you through the whole Bible.
• If you use YouVersion on your smart phone (which I HIGHLY recommend), it comes with a great 1 Year Bible reading plan built in.
• From NavPress: http://www.navpress.com/dj/content.aspx?id=138

Guidance on making spiritual plans:

• http://jrvassar.posterous.com/planning-an-intentional-devotional-life-for-2

Help with memorizing Scripture:

• http://www.discipleshiptools.org/apps/articles/default.asp?articleid=57761&columnid=4184

And when you fast...

In Jesus' mountainous sermon he utters this simple phrase to introduce some brief teaching on the spiritual discipline of fasting. Speaking into an especially religious culture where fasting (abstaining from food for a set period of time) was regularly practiced among the spiritual "elite" he gives concrete direction about how to fast.

But what is easily missed is that short introductory phrase "and when you fast". By that simple phrase Jesus expresses fasting as a practice that his followers would engage in.

As a church we practice fasting both privately and together. Beginning on January 3rd we'll be fasting together for 21 days.

If you'd like to get your heart, mind and body ready for this fast, I'd encourage you to read a free pdf edition of John Piper's book A Hunger For God. I'm reading it (off my Blackberry) and its stirring my heart to be ready for the fast.

After our evening worship gathering at Lincoln Park last night I had a great chat with a bunch of guys about Twitter, Facebook, blogs, emails and the role of technology in fostering community life.  These men were all 20 something and had been somewhat shaped by technology in their formative years.  All of them were open to and appreciative of technology as a tool to connect.

Here's my conviction--the faster technology moves, the more important it is for spiritual leaders to harness it as a tool to slow down and feed relationships for interconnectedness.  Mark Batterson calls this "digital discipleship" and that's how I view my participation in tweeting, blogging, Facebooking and texting.

Some naysayers say, "status updates, instant messaging, tweets and blogs are indulgent--nobody cares about the minutae of your life."  I disagree.  In fact, the minutae of life forms the mortar of close relationships.  Some of my most treasured pieces of knowledge about my wife are the little bits about her that are mundane but precious to me. 

Connecting with the minutae of other peoples' lives makes me feel like I'm in a small town in the midst of a big city.  Urban life takes away many of our capillary-level relationship connections but technology gives them back.  Good tissue--living tissue--needs capillaries to feed it and make it fully healthy.  When I Tweet, I form a capillary between me and others.

I spent the morning with our concept team as we wrestled out our preaching calendar through the rest of the year. Because of the creative work involved and because I like hanging out with the guys on our team, this is one of my favorite occasional meetings.

Afterward, as I was driving down Lake Shore Drive in 70 degree whether with the sunroof open on my way back to the North side, a thought hit me--okay really it was more of a question: how did Jesus preach? And my initial reaction was, "he preached topically".

Usually Jesus was teaching concepts and topics that were grand and sweeping in importance, rooted in particular Scriptures, and powerfully practical while at the same time deeply spiritual. I can't think of an occasion where Jesus taught "exegetically"--straight through a section of Scripture. I also can't think of a time where Jesus' words weren't grounded in some Scriptural fragment or another.

"So what?" you say. Well, I think it just strikes a note of freedom. I think its good to teach exegetically--to tackle a book or section of Scripture and go right through. But there is also important value in attacking life issues with a kingdom-mindset, grounding the life issues in relevant Scriptures and then giving wisdom-for-life application. Its a legitimate form of preaching.

Anywho, just thinking out loud.

Today's Ignite Conference at our Midway campus was a big win!  Lots of new faces, a full Spanish language tract, Pastor Wilfredo deJesus, matches, the Jesse White Tumblers, powerful music, great sessions and a big turnout!  This is our third year doing the event and each time its happened because of the teamwork and hours put in by a whole bunch of people from different New Life locations.

Two people at the center of it all bear huge responsibility for the event and always deliver:  EJ Lyon and Vilma Arguelles.  EJ handles all the conference and session related logistics--sign in, registration, books, day-of problems, resources, volunteer recruitment and placement, performers like the JWT's and a whole bunch more.  Vilma oversees all the tech, graphic and design people, videos, building needs and workers, set up, sound/tech/video, day-of program and a whole bunch more.

Frankly, without these ladies handling the operations, the event wouldn't happen.  Alongside them are a host of great volunteers who serve in too many ways to list (but I'll try anyway).  Altogether, hundreds of work-hours are invested to make an event like Ignite happen. 

There are a bunch of other people who do big things to make Ignite happen: 

• Bobby Moss and Paco Amador serve on the planning team with EJ, Vilma and I and contribute a lot of ideas, guidance, planning, and laughs.  I think we have the most fun (and most caffeinated) meetings of any New Life group.
• Joshua and Nancy Holec are big time servants in the final run up putting a ton of hours and care into final prep and day-of management.  Nancy runs a lot of the back of the house and Joshua the front.  They're a great team.
• Marco and Christina Terrell and their incredible team of talented and hard-working foodies.  They don't just throw some food out on a table--they create magic!  And no one who wasn't fasting could have gone home today hungry.  They serve a constantly replenishing snack-meal and drink service that is unbeatable.
• The building team, led by Phil Flores and the tech team of Steve, Tino and crew who work with Vilma providing recording of every session and sound/tech/video in each session.  These crews make sure the rooms are set up with chairs, sound, video, empty trash cans, clean bathrooms, clean floors--you name it. 
• All the session teachers and facilitators.  We try to mix it up with new presenters and new topics each year as well as tapping into the strength of our pastoral team.  Each year our teaching team does a great job.
• The registration, ushering and greeting team.  They arrive early and make sure that everyone is welcomed, given resources, and helped wherever needed.  And don't forget the parking lot guys overseen by Mike Berry who keep cramming in "one more car".  
• Mike Vasquez, Alicia Holec and Roger Masa who video and photograph just about anything that moves.

We start planning this conference about 5 months before it happens.  But each year the effort and work of many pays off with an experience that equips and ignites a big cross-section of New Lifers. 

Thank you Ignite Peeps!  You're the best!

I've talked about it before but its illustrated powerfully when you are preparing to fast--you are at your best when you function within a spiritual squad.  Our pastoral team (my key squad) has been in conversation over email sharing our various fasting plans for the 21 day fast we began yesterday.  This conversation has done several things for me:

1. Hearing about other pastors' specific fasting plans caused me to create my own plan.  I've learned that what is left unsaid prior to a fast becomes a point for easy compromise during a fast.  A fasting plan keeps me from wiggling out of my commitments, indulging or unnecessarily struggling.  Its particularly helpful after I've shared my plans with others.
2. Knowing that others are fasting in the same way right along with me gives me an invisible sense of camaraderie.  I'm not alone.  That renews my sense of purpose because I'm in it together with brothers.
3. Practical helps like Dwayne's phrase, "water is a faster's best friend", remind me how to stay on track in practical things during the fast.  And it reduces the number of headaches I experience.

Our conversation really began by me simply asking, "hey, is anyone fasting the entire 21 days?"  From there most of the team shared how they are participating in the fast.  Don't be afraid to ask people in your squad about their fast.  A corporate fast is done together (duh) so you're not being unspiritual by sharing how you're fasting.

Haven't started fasting yet?  Start by making a plan.  Answer these questions as specifically as possible:

• How long will you fast? 
  
  • Example:  "sundown, February 26 to sundown, February 29"
• What will you fast from? 
  
  • Example:  "only 3 glasses/bottles of juice per day, no coffee, as much tea as desired, one cup of clear broth per day, no web-surfing, no television."
• What will you add to your spiritual practices during the fast?  
  • As my daughter Lena said yesterday, " a fast is not just stopping eating--it means praying when you would be eating."
  • Example:  30 minutes of worship and prayer for breakfast lunch and dinner, meditate on the book of Ephesians for the duration of the fast.
• Why are you fasting?
  • Now its not enough to answer this with, "because my church said to do it."  That's a good start but having personal spiritual goals during your fast will give your fast prayer purposes that bind it together and that allow you to praise God for what He does after your fast is complete.
  • Example:  "hear God more clearly, break out of spiritual dryness, receive direction on an important decision."

I'll give one more piece of advice--read a good fasting book before and during your fast.  It will motivate and inspire you.  I recommend Jentezen Franklin's book Fasting.  May your fast be fruitful.