Spirituality That Fuels God’s Mission
Mission for God and intimacy with God can often become disconnected and seem like competing priorities and passions. But what if you could cultivate a vibrant and authentic spirituality that doesn’t draw you away from your neighbors, but propels you into the lives of others and the needs of your city?
In this episode of the Everyday Disciple Podcast, Caesar is joined by church planters Jeremy and Monica Chambers as they break down this divide in a way that helps you discover fresh joy in living as a Jesus-follower, and become more fruitful in your everyday mission.
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
- Why there seems to be a divide between deep spirituality and mission.
- Why focusing just on contemplation or just on the mission is incomplete.
- How to cultivate a vibrant spirituality that doesn’t draw you away from others.
- A practice where you’ll discover new ways in which God is truly amazing!
From this episode:
“Don’t get caught up thinking, Oh, if I do this practice, then God’s going to be more pleased with me, or whatever. No! These practices are about you making yourself available to God to connect with him and to be able to receive His goodness and his love.“
Each week the Big 3 will give you immediate action steps to get you started.
Download today’s BIG 3 right now. Read and think over them again later. You might even want to share them with others…
Thanks for Listening!
Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Join us on Facebook and take part in the discussion!
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of this page or right below.
Also, please subscribe and leave an honest review for The Everyday Disciple Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.
Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
Coaching with Caesar & Tina on Disciple-making and Missional Living
Missional Spirituality by Jeremy & Monica Chambers
Get Instant Access Now: Discipleship As a Lifestyle Workshop
Missio Publishing – More Missional Books and Resources
Transcript
There's been some times where we may have put the mission in front of the Lord of the mission, just a little, just a little, right?
Jeremy Chambers:It is, it's insidious.
Jeremy Chambers:You know, you think you're serving the Lord, but sometimes there's some other heart motives that get in the way.
Jeremy Chambers:And so a few times I've noticed that, that creeping in for me and in being in the missional circles, I've heard it and seen it in people's lives.
Jeremy Chambers:in the lives of others that I've teamed with and partnered with and it's become a growing concern.
Jeremy Chambers:We went through a season of burnout a number of years ago, very serious burnout, like on a scale of one to ten, ten being a heart attack, I was probably at a nine and had to take a few months off and get some counseling and coaching and work through a lot of stuff.
Jeremy Chambers:And when I came out of I recognized that the practices That rooted me in Christ.
Jeremy Chambers:The practices that reminded me of who our God is and who I am in Him.
Jeremy Chambers:Those practices had faded to the back burner.
Heath Hollensbe:Welcome to the Everyday Disciple Podcast, where you'll learn how to live with greater intentionality and an integrated faith that naturally fits into every area of life.
Heath Hollensbe:In other words, Discipleship as a lifestyle.
Heath Hollensbe:This is the stuff your parents, pastors and seminary professors probably forgot to tell you.
Heath Hollensbe:And now here's your host, Cesar Kalinowski.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hey.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hey.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay, back together again.
Caesar Kalinowski:Thanks for being here.
Caesar Kalinowski:I am feeling pretty great and excited.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'm still kind of on a buzz.
Caesar Kalinowski:from Cigars and Theology live here at the house just a few days ago.
Caesar Kalinowski:Depending on when you hear this, we dropped this episode on a Monday.
Caesar Kalinowski:Friday night and Saturday, we had a whole bunch of y'all fly in for Cigars and Theology here at Team K Ranch at the house with some of my local buds.
Caesar Kalinowski:And what a cool experience.
Caesar Kalinowski:It always is.
Caesar Kalinowski:We do it here on the regular, but it was great having some of you all come and join us here.
Caesar Kalinowski:And we got to have food and drinks.
Caesar Kalinowski:And then do the whole process and then on Saturday we unpacked it and all of that and sent you home with resources I loved it.
Caesar Kalinowski:So i'm going to thank everybody who came i'm not going to thank you by name You know who you are, but we had a great time By the way, we're planning to do it again coming up here in the fall So depending on when you're hearing this go ahead and check out everydaydisciple.
Caesar Kalinowski:com forward slash theology We're going to be doing cigars and theology and the whole process here at the house again coming up in the fall.
Caesar Kalinowski:So go to that link everydaydisciple.
Caesar Kalinowski:com forward slash theology.
Caesar Kalinowski:If it's live, that means there are spaces and you'll get all the information you need so you can go ahead and register.
Caesar Kalinowski:Be sure to do that right away because it is limited and we are offering a little early bird special right now coming off the other one.
Caesar Kalinowski:So anyway, hope to see you for that.
Caesar Kalinowski:I want to invite you to join us over on Facebook.
Caesar Kalinowski:We have the Facebook group Everyday Disciple in there and I ask questions and people ask me questions and I get ideas for new episodes and I hand out resources and drop videos and all that stuff in there.
Caesar Kalinowski:If you've not joined us, would you do so?
Caesar Kalinowski:Go to everydaydisciple.
Caesar Kalinowski:com forward slash Facebook or just look it up on Facebook.
Caesar Kalinowski:You'll find it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Love to have you join us there.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now I want to get to my guests.
Caesar Kalinowski:I want to bring them on here, Jeremy and Monica Chambers.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'm going to ask them to tell a little bit about themselves.
Caesar Kalinowski:They wrote an amazing book called the Art of Missional Spirituality, and they're going to unpack that a little bit and the importance of spiritual disciplines that lead us out on mission, not either, or not hiding from people and going deep, but then not making disciples or not just teaching people.
Caesar Kalinowski:Busy, busy, busy, but falling far short of our relationship with God.
Caesar Kalinowski:I love this book so much.
Caesar Kalinowski:I want to go ahead and bring him on right now.
Caesar Kalinowski:Jeremy and Monica, thanks for being on today.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'm really glad we finally got this worked out and we're able to be together here.
Jeremy Chambers:Yeah.
Jeremy Chambers:Grateful to be here.
Monica Chambers:Yeah.
Monica Chambers:Thanks for having us.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'm excited about this because I think you've found a little bit of a unique niche here with your book and we're going to talk all about that.
Caesar Kalinowski:I think this might be my most book forward episode ever.
Caesar Kalinowski:Generally we sort of talk around the edges, but I'm pretty enamored with this.
Caesar Kalinowski:We're going to talk about all that stuff, but I am really excited for this book and I think it's very needed.
Caesar Kalinowski:Let's start off by you just tell a little bit about yourselves a little bit about your life I'm guessing you guys are married.
Caesar Kalinowski:You have the same last name now, and I know you're not brother and sister So just tell us a little about your own life and what you're up to these days
Monica Chambers:I'm originally from Costa Rica and Jeremy's originally from Pennsylvania and my family moved from Costa Rica to Pennsylvania as missionaries to the US and And so, um, yeah.
Monica Chambers:Um, and we like, they, there's a lot of connections still with Latin Americans.
Monica Chambers:And my parents started a Latin American church in Pennsylvania and Lancaster.
Monica Chambers:That's connected also to a bigger, like
Caesar Kalinowski:Lancaster.
Monica Chambers:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:Home of Wilbur Buds.
Monica Chambers:It is.
Caesar Kalinowski:Is that crazy?
Caesar Kalinowski:And our listeners won't know at least Wilbur Buds.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hersey's chocolate kiss, but different and better.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah, it
Monica Chambers:is.
Monica Chambers:It's better.
Monica Chambers:So yeah, Jeremy grew up in Lancaster and so that's where we met.
Monica Chambers:Um, and his family had done a lot of missions work, um, throughout.
Monica Chambers:The, the world in a lot of different ways, different church planting stuff.
Monica Chambers:And so, um, we had a lot of connections in that sense.
Monica Chambers:And then we were called to go to Richmond, Virginia, and we did like micro church planting for 10 years there.
Monica Chambers:Um, and now we've been two years in, uh, Denver, Colorado area.
Monica Chambers:Um, especially connecting and resourcing missional practitioners with one another.
Monica Chambers:And also just.
Monica Chambers:Um, seeing ourselves as sent ones here in the city and allowing the Lord to connect us to neighbors and co workers and things like that.
Monica Chambers:And so we're just very, um, seeing how the Lord moves us here.
Caesar Kalinowski:Awesome.
Caesar Kalinowski:And you're picking up some slack from my friends, uh, the Halters who moved out of Denver several years ago.
Caesar Kalinowski:And so now you guys are picking up some slack there.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's awesome.
Jeremy Chambers:Yeah.
Jeremy Chambers:Yeah.
Jeremy Chambers:We're friends with them through, uh, Forge.
Caesar Kalinowski:I bet.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah, awesome.
Caesar Kalinowski:Great, great guys.
Caesar Kalinowski:Everybody in FORGE, I love them.
Caesar Kalinowski:We've worked over the years together many, many times.
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, Alan and Deb Hirsch, who are also really good friends of ours, Tina and I were just there at their home in Australia in the fall, like in November.
Caesar Kalinowski:They wrote of your book, The Art of Missional Spirituality, they wrote, to be missional, As many of us have come to realize, requires a dance between contemplation and action.
Caesar Kalinowski:And in this dance, many of us have felt the absence of deep contemplative rhythms that sustain our action and mission.
Caesar Kalinowski:I love this, and I completely agree.
Caesar Kalinowski:How well does this articulate your own missional journey?
Jeremy Chambers:Yeah, Al and Deb are great, aren't they?
Jeremy Chambers:They are.
Jeremy Chambers:They actually really encouraged us to move forward with our writing project, so like, we're grateful to them.
Jeremy Chambers:Good friends.
Jeremy Chambers:There have been like, abs and flows, I would say, in both of our journey where there's times where just the zeal and ambition to live a missional life drives you forward and you get really, really busy and it's great.
Jeremy Chambers:And you see awesome things happening and you see the Lord at work and, uh, it can almost become this like, kind of like a little bit of a habitual cycle of like, well, I'm doing all this stuff and all this, I'm making these things happen.
Jeremy Chambers:When we, and we start to actually lose perspective of what the Lord is actually doing.
Jeremy Chambers:And, and so the, then there's that, that pendulum swing back into, uh, yeah, there's that pendulum swing back into like, okay, wait, let's.
Jeremy Chambers:Let's rest, let's be with the Lord, the the one who's in charge of the mission.
Jeremy Chambers:Um, and so yeah, it is a dance.
Jeremy Chambers:Um, it's, it's easy to lose, get outta balance with it too.
Monica Chambers:And we see it almost like a breathing in and breathing out.
Monica Chambers:Like you, if you're always breathing out, you're gonna hyperventilate.
Monica Chambers:And if you're always breathing in, you're gonna suffocate in a lot of ways.
Monica Chambers:And so how, as we're doing.
Monica Chambers:the mission that we're called to or whatever work that God has called us to, how are we doing outflowing things that are also inflowing?
Monica Chambers:Um, and we are keeping a better balance between both.
Monica Chambers:And often people will lean towards one, end of the spectrum and stay there much more than on the different one.
Monica Chambers:And our goal with this book was to say, you don't have to be very far on each end.
Monica Chambers:You can actually have a better dynamic of doing both much more equally and it will promote better practices in general as you're doing both of these together.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah, I couldn't agree more.
Caesar Kalinowski:We, we use the phrase due to be, due to be a lot here on the podcast.
Caesar Kalinowski:This idea that what we do equals who we are, but we say that's the biggest lie.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's the, that's the original temptation to do something, to be who God created you to be, you know, and so I love this aspect of.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's, it's both and that we get to be and out of our being flows our doing, but I also know that as you live on mission, it changes how you dig into the word and spend time with the Father because you need it differently and all that.
Caesar Kalinowski:So I love that.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, what, what ultimately or originally, I guess, led you to write a book specifically about missional spirituality?
Caesar Kalinowski:and, and the in contemplative practices versus just writing about the spiritual end of it, like, but why missional spirituality?
Jeremy Chambers:That's been a big drive in our life is that, that missional thrust.
Jeremy Chambers:Uh, we're always thinking about context.
Jeremy Chambers:We're thinking about how are we being incarnational?
Jeremy Chambers:How am I loving the people around me in a way that they feel truly loved?
Jeremy Chambers:And how am I truly being a servant and participating in the missio day?
Jeremy Chambers:And so that, I mean, that's, One of our biggest priorities, uh, but there's been some times where we may have put the mission in front of the Lord of the mission.
Jeremy Chambers:Just a little, just a little, right?
Jeremy Chambers:It is, it's insidious.
Jeremy Chambers:You know, you think you're serving the Lord, but sometimes there's some other heart motives that get in the way.
Jeremy Chambers:And so, a few times we've, you know, I've noticed that.
Jeremy Chambers:that creeping in for me and in being in the missional circles, I've, I've heard it and seen it in the lives of others that I've teamed with and partnered with.
Jeremy Chambers:And, um, and it's, it's become a growing concern.
Jeremy Chambers:Um, we went through a season of burnout, uh, number of years ago, very serious burnout, like on a scale of one to 10, 10 being a heart attack, I was probably at a nine.
Jeremy Chambers:Um, and had to take a few months off and get some counseling and coaching and work through a lot of stuff.
Jeremy Chambers:And when I came out of that, I recognized that the practices that rooted me in Christ, uh, the practices that reminded me of, of who our God is and, and who I am in Him, those practices had, had faded to the back burner.
Jeremy Chambers:And so I wanted to bring them up to the forefront, but I noticed that in some circles.
Jeremy Chambers:you'll get spiritual formation only and they almost push out the mission.
Jeremy Chambers:And so I didn't want to like pendulum swing and be like, okay, now I'm going to, you know, be a hermit up in the mountain for the next 10 years and never help anyone.
Jeremy Chambers:Right.
Jeremy Chambers:So what does that balance look like?
Jeremy Chambers:Um, I'm, I'm big on church history.
Jeremy Chambers:So I mean, there's the number of people throughout church history who've brought together contemplation and action.
Jeremy Chambers:Um, and so John Cassian, Benedict of Nursa, right?
Jeremy Chambers:Like these are some of those old, like people from thousands of years ago, but they were, they were bringing both together and inspired me to think like, this can be done.
Jeremy Chambers:It doesn't have to be one or the other.
Jeremy Chambers:So that's, that was some of the force behind it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah, and I think that's what drew me to it because certainly while I have my own spiritual disciplines and practices, the way I'm wired at least, I've never wanted them to like lead me to just go live on a mountain alone and say, well, I look how close to God I am and no one else is getting to know him or find out about the love of Christ or any of that.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I think contemplation about these things that doesn't lead to action.
Caesar Kalinowski:A depth of learning or meditation that doesn't change some part of our understanding of who God is and what he's created us to be and do in the world.
Caesar Kalinowski:It seems, and this might sound strong, but it seems selfish to me a little bit.
Caesar Kalinowski:A little self motivated, a little self focused.
Caesar Kalinowski:If it doesn't lead to a different type of life, what's your thoughts on that?
Monica Chambers:Yeah, I think so.
Monica Chambers:And I think it becomes a bit incomplete, you know, so either one, I think if it, if the focus is just on the contemplation or if it's just on the mission, then it's incomplete.
Monica Chambers:And I think what, what we are then expressing to the world is not fully complete.
Monica Chambers:who we are created to be, but also not fully who we are wanting to communicate God being.
Monica Chambers:I think there is something to say with it of like there are still, um, like ebbs and flows.
Monica Chambers:I think for some people, like for us, when we did go through burnout, Because it was intense, uh, we were able to take three months off and like really heal and, and we got into a lot of these practices and it, they really helped.
Monica Chambers:But even after that, it was a, it wasn't like we went back to that full thrust that we had been in because we were still healing.
Monica Chambers:And so to be able to accept that sometimes our formation, even though we were still, You know, we were still technically church planting.
Monica Chambers:We were still, uh, doing mission with our neighbors and a lot of like very intentional friends that we had.
Monica Chambers:It was still something that we were having to go to accept that we were being formed by God in a different way there than we had before.
Monica Chambers:And so we had to accept some slowness.
Monica Chambers:We had to accept some, just having to be patient with the journey a little bit more than we were, um, leaning into before.
Monica Chambers:And so I think there's an interesting dynamic of then though, the cool thing that God does of even in our slowness, And in our times, maybe spending more time praying for our friends, we then saw God doing some amazing things that we never could have like done ourselves.
Monica Chambers:And yet, and it was because we were spending that time, let's say in prayer and intercession or whatever, um, or developing our own, You know, patience with other people.
Monica Chambers:And so then we could actually interact more graciously with someone who maybe had been pushing our buttons before and just like seeing those little changes that actually formed us in a way that we were also living out the good news in an even better and deeper way than we had before.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah, wow.
Caesar Kalinowski:Isn't it surprising to us?
Caesar Kalinowski:And why, and why is it so surprising that while we're doing all this ministries even and it's become so, you know, others focused, okay, good, you know, that we, we somehow assume that God's not just as much in love and at work and our hearts and lives exactly at the same time.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yes.
Caesar Kalinowski:Tina and I, we coach a lot of people in missional living and disciple making, and everybody's focused on the neighbors and all this and new relationships and making disciples and all.
Caesar Kalinowski:And it's, and we get to sit in a seat where we can see, hey, at least 50 percent of what we see going on is God working on your hearts right now.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know what I mean?
Caesar Kalinowski:Changing your lives.
Caesar Kalinowski:And some of it, some of it's not fun.
Caesar Kalinowski:Some of it's hard.
Caesar Kalinowski:Some of it's very painful at times.
Caesar Kalinowski:And yet you go, I don't know how you get forward without that.
Caesar Kalinowski:Isn't that love?
Caesar Kalinowski:Isn't that pruning?
Caesar Kalinowski:And pruning's hurtful.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know, my wife's a, Tina's a huge gardener and she loves it and she says, but whenever I have to go after like the fruit trees and I prune them back so far, I'm always like, that's it.
Caesar Kalinowski:I killed them.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know?
Caesar Kalinowski:And like, look at all the fruit the next year.
Caesar Kalinowski:So it's a, it's, it's a beautiful picture you paint there.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's a beautiful picture.
Caesar Kalinowski:I love it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Let, let me, uh, let's dive into a few of my favorite parts of the book.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, in chapter eight, you take us, uh, into, uh, a practice.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's called Acts of Kindness.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I want to read a paragraph from that, that chapter.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, it's in the reoccurring section of missional spirituality and, uh, that part of the focus of it.
Caesar Kalinowski:And so I love it.
Caesar Kalinowski:And, uh, let me just read this.
Caesar Kalinowski:It says, What witness is there without love?
Caesar Kalinowski:What witness is there without deeds that back up the claimed values of the doer?
Caesar Kalinowski:Oh, boy.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's so good.
Caesar Kalinowski:We can talk all day about generosity, but until people see tangible acts of love, they won't know we're sincere.
Caesar Kalinowski:The saying goes, actions speak louder than words.
Caesar Kalinowski:An action can clearly and potentially communicate a significant amount of our beliefs, values and convictions without requiring words.
Caesar Kalinowski:In mission, we must demonstrate the love of God and the coming of his kingdom as well as share words of his good news.
Caesar Kalinowski:Our words must be full of life, love and wisdom, but our actions must demonstrate character and integrity to back up our words.
Caesar Kalinowski:I love that.
Caesar Kalinowski:I love it so much.
Caesar Kalinowski:I really do.
Caesar Kalinowski:Can you share an example of how this has worked itself out with others in your own life?
Jeremy Chambers:Years ago, and I was just a teenager, I was doing some work overseas.
Jeremy Chambers:And, uh, there was a team of us, uh, we were in, you know, a small town in Santiago, Chile, and we were really doing some serious work, helping out with a small church plant there.
Jeremy Chambers:Connecting with all sorts of people in the neighborhood.
Jeremy Chambers:And, um, there was this lady, one of the guys in our group went and he was, he was preaching something to her.
Jeremy Chambers:And she said to him, I don't think you believe a word you're saying.
Jeremy Chambers:And he just froze.
Jeremy Chambers:And, um, yeah, she, she proceeded to say this message, this Jesus, everything.
Jeremy Chambers:I'm looking at you.
Jeremy Chambers:I'm reading your body language.
Jeremy Chambers:You look like you don't want to be here.
Jeremy Chambers:You look like you don't care about it.
Jeremy Chambers:I don't, I don't believe this message because you're, you don't seem very convicting, right?
Jeremy Chambers:So this guy comes back, he shares it with the group.
Jeremy Chambers:He's kind of panicked.
Jeremy Chambers:And he says, He had this moment where he was like, do I even believe this?
Jeremy Chambers:Right?
Jeremy Chambers:And so it was just a crazy faith check for him.
Jeremy Chambers:Someone else in the team went out.
Jeremy Chambers:Um, and you know, we, we all kind of took his lesson to heart.
Jeremy Chambers:So it was like the next day, um, And we said, let's just slow down with people.
Jeremy Chambers:Let's ask them how they're doing.
Jeremy Chambers:Let's get to know people.
Jeremy Chambers:Let's see if there's any way we can serve them.
Jeremy Chambers:Um, and then if so called preaching happens, uh, it's, it's being accompanied with acts of love and kindness and, and, and a tone and a body posture.
Jeremy Chambers:And we're looking people in the eyes and we're really trying to discern how we can care for them.
Jeremy Chambers:Um, and so that next day, many of us return with stories of of people who were in tears and sort of saying, wow, how, why are you serving me?
Jeremy Chambers:How are you, you know, what, what brought you to care about me?
Jeremy Chambers:We don't know each other sort of thing.
Jeremy Chambers:And so, I mean, man, I must've been, I was like 14 or 15 years old when that happened and it's never, it's never, um, left my, you know, convictions, right?
Jeremy Chambers:Like, and, and, and how we serve in our neighborhood, we try to be the same way.
Jeremy Chambers:We want to genuinely love, um, and for people to know that.
Jeremy Chambers:Whatever we're doing, it's not transactional, and it's not like a, oh, I need to get a notch on the belt, which a lot of people in our culture are fearful that that's what most people are pursuing, right?
Jeremy Chambers:Well,
Caesar Kalinowski:and that, like, just to be honest, that's what a lot of churches are actually doing as they turn out the bodies, like, this is, you're entering your mission field as you drive down the driveway and leave, you know?
Caesar Kalinowski:Because it's about measuring numbers and attendance, and who did you get to come to Easter?
Caesar Kalinowski:And that people think, Oh, come on, are people still doing that?
Caesar Kalinowski:Listen, I heard a sermon last, on Good Friday.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:So, you know, a little bit ago and, uh, it, the, the big wrap up was, so are you getting people here on Easter?
Caesar Kalinowski:Like, what are you doing?
Caesar Kalinowski:What do you need to lay down and sacrifice so you can get more of your friends?
Caesar Kalinowski:You know, it's like, if that doesn't turn people into a target, into a transactional relationship, right.
Caesar Kalinowski:Oh my goodness.
Caesar Kalinowski:Of course it does.
Caesar Kalinowski:And that's, That's just not the heart of God, I believe at all, and, and, uh, and for very good reason, people don't respond very well to it.
Monica Chambers:Right.
Monica Chambers:Yeah.
Monica Chambers:Yeah, and we've seen, like, we had this one moment where, um, there was like a shop close to where we lived, and we would walk by it often, and one of the days, we had something, like, it was like, a packaged food thing.
Monica Chambers:You know, I don't remember exactly what it was.
Monica Chambers:Um, and we just said, why don't we just go in and give this to the person who's like at the front desk?
Monica Chambers:And so we just go in and we're like, Hey, we walk by here a lot, like, hope you're having a good day.
Monica Chambers:Here's, we just wanted to give you this thing.
Monica Chambers:And the look on the person's face was just so shocked of like, almost like, Being like, what do you want from me or whatever?
Monica Chambers:And we were like, just really like, no, nothing.
Monica Chambers:Like literally we just had this and thought we would give it to you kind of a thing.
Monica Chambers:And then their, their whole body.
Monica Chambers:just changed to be like, really appreciative and just like, Whoa, this is really random, but like, thanks so much for actually caring about me.
Monica Chambers:And it was like a really small thing, you know, but it really meant something to them.
Monica Chambers:Um, and, and so I think that's like with that act of kindness, like chapter, it's focusing on that, like, how can we be people who are like, almost thinking ahead to being intentional about saying, I know I walk by this shop often.
Monica Chambers:Why don't I actually intentionally take this to this person?
Monica Chambers:Or I know this person really likes this thing and I can just grab it at, while I'm at the grocery store and then just give it to them or whatever.
Monica Chambers:And it's, it can be very simple, but those little acts of kindness actually mean a lot to people.
Caesar Kalinowski:They certainly do.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I think that our days are actually filled with those opportunities if we'd but have our hearts tuned.
Caesar Kalinowski:To the father's heart, it sees them all, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:One of the things that we practice and that we coach to and then we disciple the people to is living in a rhythm of blessing where we look to bless people, maybe three people a week in either, uh, you know, uh, words, actions, or gift.
Caesar Kalinowski:you know, small gift or a word blessing.
Caesar Kalinowski:And, and like the other day I had opportunity with someone who has a cash register, was at a sporting event and it's as busy as heck getting food and drinks and all that.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I seen this lady so many times and she was always calm about it, moving people really quickly.
Caesar Kalinowski:She's running two registers at once.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's amazing.
Caesar Kalinowski:And so I just took the time, even though the line was busy, just to tell her all this and say, you are a rock star.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like we need to do a TV show about how to do this.
Caesar Kalinowski:So you could see her whole countenance Just as she absorbed it.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I was like, so thanks.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'm gonna let you get back to work.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know, and off we went.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now I go there all the time because we have season tickets to this rugby and I can't wait to see Jane again.
Caesar Kalinowski:I got her name and looked her in the eyes.
Caesar Kalinowski:And so I can't wait to see Jane again.
Caesar Kalinowski:Just, you know, see how that goes.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know, now she doesn't live near me.
Caesar Kalinowski:I probably won't get a chance to disciple her any long term, but who knows what God's up to.
Monica Chambers:Right.
Monica Chambers:Right.
Monica Chambers:Yeah, and I think that's the beauty of those acts of kindness where we're just saying we're going to do something good and God can do the rest.
Monica Chambers:And it might be with someone that we might never see again, but that act.
Monica Chambers:is still, it still counts.
Jeremy Chambers:And we're, we're becoming the sort of, we're becoming the sort of people who love to do good things to others, right?
Jeremy Chambers:That's, that's part of the goal.
Jeremy Chambers:It's like we're forming into a person who just loves to do wonderful things to people.
Jeremy Chambers:Yeah, like,
Caesar Kalinowski:like our father.
Caesar Kalinowski:right?
Heath Hollensbe:Yeah,
Caesar Kalinowski:I know.
Caesar Kalinowski:I love it.
Caesar Kalinowski:I love it.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's great.
Caesar Kalinowski:Uh, what are some of your favorite practices that you've included in the book?
Caesar Kalinowski:And I know there's 31 just to let our listeners know, there's 31 different ones and it's all over.
Caesar Kalinowski:It really is very, I think, comprehensive in that sense.
Caesar Kalinowski:But, um, and I'm not going to read them all.
Caesar Kalinowski:They can go and get the book for sure.
Caesar Kalinowski:We're going to put a link in our show notes for, it'll make it real easy for folks to get your book.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, but.
Caesar Kalinowski:Uh, what are some of your favorite practices that over time, obviously these came out of your real life and all that.
Caesar Kalinowski:What are some of your favorite practices?
Jeremy Chambers:I mean, I would say for me, like silence and solitude is, uh, it's a, it's a practice that gives life, especially because I, I am inclined towards extroversion, so I can be out there and not alone and loud.
Jeremy Chambers:And so silence and solitude counters that.
Jeremy Chambers:I can't
Caesar Kalinowski:imagine a person like that.
Jeremy Chambers:It helps me to just get perspective.
Jeremy Chambers:Um, I mean, another, another practice that I really appreciate.
Jeremy Chambers:I practice it like at least a couple times a year.
Jeremy Chambers:It's so, I just call it an Ecclesiastes Day.
Jeremy Chambers:Um, where I kind of spend a day, um, reading through Ecclesiastes and getting perspective and, uh, it's, uh, most of these like really pivotal moments in my life, Ecclesiastes, the Lord has used to speak clarity and guidance in crazy ways, like almost every major decision.
Jeremy Chambers:I kind of read Ecclesiastes just to get my eyes off of myself and kind of think differently and um, it's a strange book because a lot of people kind of put it on.
Jeremy Chambers:It is a strange
Caesar Kalinowski:book.
Jeremy Chambers:Kind of too existential and pessimistic or, but actually it's, I would say it's, it's an extremely encouraging book for those who are really wanting to know the Lord and go deep.
Jeremy Chambers:And so for me, the Ecclesiastes days.
Jeremy Chambers:Awesome.
Caesar Kalinowski:How about you, Monica?
Caesar Kalinowski:What are some of your favorite practices that are included in the book?
Monica Chambers:Yeah, um, the praying or the like examine.
Monica Chambers:We have a modified examine.
Caesar Kalinowski:What is examine?
Monica Chambers:So examine is basically and how we have it is like there's a It's like a little prayer time, but you're really examining your day, especially.
Monica Chambers:And if you're doing it at the end of the day, it's, you're looking at the whole day, or if you're doing it at the beginning, you're looking at the past day.
Monica Chambers:And you're just, one, thanking the Lord for all the things that he has done in that day.
Monica Chambers:Um, two, you're asking him to like reveal, uh, where he was.
Monica Chambers:um and all of yourself that maybe you weren't aware of, and then you're taking a time, both to confess where you maybe didn't listen to him or didn't, you know, act in line with how you know he's calling you to to live, and then you confesses.
Monica Chambers:Spent some time saying, where were you?
Monica Chambers:And where did I see you?
Monica Chambers:Um, and that, especially that portion was just really helpful for me because it made me, when I first started it, I just noticed I didn't notice.
Monica Chambers:I was just like, where did I, where was God yesterday or this earlier today?
Monica Chambers:Where did I see him?
Monica Chambers:And it took me.
Monica Chambers:Um, I took a few days of doing it to really then be intentional of, of looking for him in my day and that then affected how I was living life.
Monica Chambers:It actually helped me to make some really helpful and important decisions that I needed to make that I was putting off just because I wasn't taking the time to really examine where I was with all of it.
Monica Chambers:And so that practice, um, I have found to be very, very important.
Monica Chambers:Um, the other one is actually.
Monica Chambers:One of my favorites is Communion and, uh, it's one that for me in the last several years, I just have, it's been such a helpful, tangible, which is why Jesus chose to make it this way, a tangible way of connecting.
Monica Chambers:For me recently, it's been a lot more of a like connecting with just all the Christians that have celebrated through this means.
Monica Chambers:What Jesus did.
Monica Chambers:And it's just been so amazing to me, even though I've been doing it since I was young, uh, it's been invigorated in many ways for me.
Monica Chambers:And so, um, yeah, I, I feel like those two are especially the ones that have been highlighted for me recently.
Caesar Kalinowski:I love it.
Caesar Kalinowski:I love it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Thank you.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hey, could you give us a picture, a bit of a, you know, the bigger picture of how the book plays out?
Caesar Kalinowski:I found it to be really interactive, actually, as you lead us through very specific process and a pattern.
Caesar Kalinowski:Each of the 31 practices, they are written out in with a bit of a pattern.
Caesar Kalinowski:Could you explain it to folks so they know?
Caesar Kalinowski:Because this isn't just a bunch of your ideas.
Caesar Kalinowski:It really is quite interactive.
Caesar Kalinowski:And that's another one of the reasons I loved it.
Jeremy Chambers:One of the central paradigms for this whole book is Psalm 37, 4, about delighting in the Lord.
Jeremy Chambers:And I think that gets quoted a lot and perhaps it gets quoted and everyone's thinking it's, oh, delight in the Lord and you'll get the desires of your heart.
Jeremy Chambers:And it's almost like a transaction.
Jeremy Chambers:It becomes a transactional thing because of how it's often.
Jeremy Chambers:Maybe overly quoted, but it hit me one day, you, you can't delight in something that's not delightful and the Lord is truly delightful.
Jeremy Chambers:How many of us live as if that's true?
Jeremy Chambers:Are we taking delight in the Lord or not?
Jeremy Chambers:That as a central paradigm is that these practices enable one to discover ways in which God is truly.
Jeremy Chambers:amazing and good and loving and delightful and invigorates then you and also your, the mission that you're called into.
Caesar Kalinowski:And each of the chapters though follows a pattern.
Caesar Kalinowski:There's, there's segments.
Caesar Kalinowski:Explain a little bit of how that's playing out.
Monica Chambers:We have it so that if you only had 10 minutes to really look over this to just get an idea of what the practice was and then go do it, you can do that.
Monica Chambers:So we have like the purpose of the, of the practice and then we have a portion that's like where you can understand a little bit more.
Monica Chambers:So it's like, it's says go deeper.
Monica Chambers:And so you get more of an explanation of what that is.
Monica Chambers:And if someone just wanted to get that idea and then go practice it, that's awesome.
Monica Chambers:They can go do that.
Monica Chambers:We do, we did try to make this so that it was less time reading and getting the theory and more, um, of like just giving enough so that the person can then just go and actually practice it, because that's really the point of this.
Monica Chambers:Do the practices, don't just read the book.
Monica Chambers:And so then we have a portion of the missional spirituality focus, which is a lot more focused on like, why is this practice helpful when you're on mission?
Monica Chambers:And then it moves into savoring the beauty, which we, it goes to the delight.
Monica Chambers:Yeah.
Monica Chambers:The delight part.
Jeremy Chambers:Yeah.
Monica Chambers:Yeah.
Monica Chambers:And then at the end we have like, again, the, a reaffirmation of like what the practice is and how a few suggestions of how you could go practice it.
Monica Chambers:Um, and then there's a bit of a portion where people could journal if they wanted to within the book.
Jeremy Chambers:And for each day we also provide key resources like there's a scripture, but also then there's additional, you know, someone's like, whoa, this was great.
Jeremy Chambers:I want to explore this.
Jeremy Chambers:There's plenty of resources.
Jeremy Chambers:So, yeah, amazing.
Jeremy Chambers:It can be a great launching point.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's so well thought out.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's a unique book in that sense.
Caesar Kalinowski:Also, you, you give away to use these 31 practices like, uh, across, uh, um, a month, or you have a 52 week plan.
Caesar Kalinowski:You even have a weekly rhythm.
Caesar Kalinowski:So there's all kinds of ways to engage.
Caesar Kalinowski:I also found it really helpful.
Caesar Kalinowski:You're clearly equippers because you've broken this down to make it with so many handles.
Caesar Kalinowski:And, and there again, that's unique because usually when you get into books about Contemplating, and Spiritual Disciplines, and all this, it is so lofty, and it's so uplifting.
Caesar Kalinowski:I have some authors that I actually love in that, but that doesn't get down, nearly the handles and the practicality, and I, so I love that.
Caesar Kalinowski:So, how are you hoping this book will affect the folks who go on this journey with you?
Caesar Kalinowski:In either, uh, the week long version, the 31, the 52 week, what are you, what are you hoping for effect on people?
Jeremy Chambers:We really are hoping that people can re discover, that the Lord is good and worthy to be enjoyed.
Jeremy Chambers:And we also want for people who are feeling called into the Lord's work in one way or another, we're hoping that they can be sustained.
Jeremy Chambers:And that people are recognizing that, like, they are loved.
Jeremy Chambers:You don't have to do all this work to earn something or, or prove yourself to God, rather than just receive from the Lord and then out of that overflow of His love, you can do the mission.
Jeremy Chambers:Um, so that, I mean, those are little paradigms, but they make a huge difference.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Jeremy Chambers:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's so good.
Caesar Kalinowski:Thank you.
Caesar Kalinowski:I want that for myself and our team and our people that we are coaching as well.
Caesar Kalinowski:I want them sustained, but in the love of the Father and not because look, our numbers are up or whatever, you know, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Monica Chambers:And We tried to remind people throughout the book, cause even different practices can lean somebody towards suddenly being like, Oh, if I do this practice, then God's going to be more pleased with me or whatever.
Monica Chambers:And we tried to really remind, like, no, it's not about what you're doing.
Monica Chambers:These practices are just you making yourself available to God, to connect with him and to be able to often in many of the practices receive.
Monica Chambers:His goodness and his love and in a lot of the practices also be able to share it with someone else too.
Monica Chambers:And so it's something where, yeah, we're wanting people to just come back to that realization and, and remember the shift of these practices are not for you to, uh, earn his favor, but they are ways for you to open up opportunities to connect with him.
Caesar Kalinowski:Great.
Caesar Kalinowski:Thank you.
Caesar Kalinowski:Unfortunately, I got to start to wrap things up a little bit for our time and today at least, but we like to wrap up with what we call the big three.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's the big three takeaways for everyone listening.
Caesar Kalinowski:If nothing else, we don't want you to miss these three.
Caesar Kalinowski:We always write these down.
Caesar Kalinowski:You can get these at everydaydisciple.
Caesar Kalinowski:com forward slash big three, make it pretty easy for you.
Caesar Kalinowski:Jeremy, Monica, what do you think are the big three things you'd want people to take away from our discussion today and, or, or Ultimately from your book,
Jeremy Chambers:the first would be that the Lord really is worthy to be delighted in.
Jeremy Chambers:And, uh, it's an adventure to pursue and explore the relationship with the Lord.
Jeremy Chambers:Um, I, I would hope that no one would miss.
Jeremy Chambers:That's that point.
Jeremy Chambers:Yeah.
Jeremy Chambers:Great.
Jeremy Chambers:How about you?
Monica Chambers:Uh, I would say that the, um, as you are doing these practices, allow them to be moments of shaping that you're allowing God to shape you in different ways.
Monica Chambers:And as we said earlier, to receive his love and to offer your love back to him.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:Those are both powerful.
Caesar Kalinowski:Got a third one.
Caesar Kalinowski:Third of the big three.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'm curious what you think.
Caesar Kalinowski:I think you said it almost in your wrap up, you said, doing these practices doesn't earn God's love for you, it's a privilege, it's an opportunity to be with Him, and out of that outflow your life changes.
Caesar Kalinowski:greatly, but with great joy and peace and knowing, uh, you know, having a center of what this really is all about and it's God and his glory.
Caesar Kalinowski:So I heard that and I was like, Oh, my heart needs to be reminded of that so often.
Monica Chambers:So
Caesar Kalinowski:I probably didn't say it just as well, but it is a, it's a summary.
Caesar Kalinowski:Big three is, Oh, there you go.
Jeremy Chambers:Perfect.
Jeremy Chambers:Cool.
Jeremy Chambers:Thank you so
Caesar Kalinowski:much.
Caesar Kalinowski:This has really been fun and I hope people will go and get the book.
Caesar Kalinowski:And again, we will put links to that in our show notes, make it very, very easy for people to find.
Jeremy Chambers:Yeah.
Monica Chambers:Well,
Jeremy Chambers:thank you too.
Jeremy Chambers:This is great.
Monica Chambers:Yeah.
Monica Chambers:Thank you for having us.
Caesar Kalinowski:Before you go, would you just stop for a second and subscribe to the podcast?
Caesar Kalinowski:I'd really appreciate that.
Caesar Kalinowski:That way you won't miss an episode.
Caesar Kalinowski:We've got so much coming.
Caesar Kalinowski:You're not going to want to miss that.
Caesar Kalinowski:Please join us again next week and we'll hopefully continue to help make discipleship and mission a whole lot easier for you.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's great
Caesar Kalinowski:doing this together.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'll talk to you soon.
Heath Hollensbe:Thanks for joining us today.
Heath Hollensbe:For more information on this show and to get loads of free discipleship resources, visit everyday disciple.com and remember, you really can live with a spiritual freedom and relational peace that Jesus promised every day.