I’ve been reading Emotionally Healthy Discipleship by Peter Scazzero.

A person who practices being before doing operates from a place of emotional and spiritual fullness, deeply aware of themselves, others, and God. As a result, their being with God is sufficient to sustain their doing for God.

Emotionally Healthy Discipleship by Peter Scazzero

I can usually finish a book in about a week or two, but I’m still reading through this book after 3 months. The reason is that after every half chapter or so, I have to stop and reflect on what I just read. Even the introduction caused me to stop and reflect for a long while. It spoke to me on such a deep level because it resonated with me in real-time.

The quote of being before doing struck me hard. I know so many, and myself have fallen into the trap of trying to get stuff done for church.

But as I was reflecting, even my devotional time was for the purpose of growing myself, for the purpose of ministering to the congregation. The real question I have to ask myself is: Do I enjoy simply sitting in the presence of the Lord? Not because of or for any other purpose but to simply enjoy His presence?

Is it a task, something to check off? Or is it a part of my day that I look forward to and enjoy?

If I am simply enjoying the Lord’s presence, then I will be able to engage in the messy frustrating work of the Lord. If I am enjoying the Lord’s presence, I won’t be looking for a systematized process, but love each individual for who they are.

“When we define success wrongly, it means our best energies will be invested in things such as cutting-edge weekend services, cultivating our brand, and preparing captivating messages. Little is left over for discipleship—our own or that of others—especially when it produces what appears to be such a small and slow return. With the little time left to invest in the messy work of discipleship, we do the next best thing. We standardize discipleship and make it scalable. Our approach resembles more of a conveyor belt in a manufacturing plant than the kind of relational discipleship Jesus modeled for us. We like standardization. Jesus preferred customization.”

Emotionally Healthy Discipleship by Peter Scazzero

We are the church, not a factory.

Let us learn to love simply being in the presence of the Lord.