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3 Gifts Every Leader Needs this Year

The pace of life in America is cancerous to people who want to deepen their faith.

We move at the speed of light, but we often miss the One who is, Himself, the Light.

We want instant transformation the way my daughter can instantly surf the web on her Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. Transformation takes time. It’s often forged in pain and patience.

Pastors want their churches to grow exponentially overnight. And if they don’t, we think something’s wrong.

So how do we pursue healthy spirituality in an unhealthy culture?

Let me introduce the 3 Gifts of Integration.

These ideas were generated as I read pages 47-60 in the book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Dr. Pete Scazzero.  

The 3 Gifts of Integration will help us slow down so we can we speed up our transformation.

The Gift of Marinating

Learn to marinate [i.e., stand, abide, focus on] in the presence of God in each and every situation in which we find ourselves.

How do we do this? In our fast-paced, superficial, over-hyped culture, we must learn to slow down and savor communion with Jesus. 

What this personally means to me is …

In staff meetings, I get to marinate in God’s goodness.

On a date with my wife, I get to marinate in God’s goodness.

In the midst stressful and unpleasant circumstances, I get to marinate in God’s goodness.

“I am the vine. You are the branches. Those who live in me while I live in them will produce a lot of fruit. But you can’t produce anything without me” (John 15:5 God’s Word Translation).