Strategies To Beat Discipleship Procrastination
If you’ve felt like life just keeps getting in the way of living on mission—even with your spouse, kids, or those closest to you—there may be deeper reasons behind your lack of motivation.
This week on the Everyday Disciple Podcast, we’re digging into why we procrastinate and how that hesitation can quietly kill our efforts in discipleship and mission.
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
- The 3 major underlying causes of procrastination
- What procrastination looks like in discipleship and missional living
- How putting off action might be a form of not trusting God
- Ways the gospel speaks to this issue and how to get “unstuck.”
From this episode:
“Be honest with yourself when it comes to understanding if you have ever really intentioned to live a lifestyle of discipleship and mission. It may not be procrastination you’re suffering from; it could be that the gospel you understand, and live in light of, is too small and is primarily about your personal happiness.”
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!
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Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
Coaching with Caesar and Tina in discipleship and missional living.
Free Discipleship and Missional Resources
Transcript
So typically we think of procrastination as an intention action gap where those two aren't coming together.
Caesar Kalinowski:Our intentions aren't lining up with our actions or vice versa.
Caesar Kalinowski:If we intend to do something and we voluntarily and needlessly delay action.
Caesar Kalinowski:On our intention, well, that's procrastination, but what if we never make the intention in the first place?
Caesar Kalinowski:A lot of Christians have never made the intention of making disciples and living their lives genuinely focused on and reoriented around God's mission.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I wanna pause for a moment and ask our listeners.
Caesar Kalinowski:Have you ever intentioned to make disciples and have your life be focused on God's mission and his glory, rather than focused on your plans and your own glory and kind of fitting him in a little?
Caesar Kalinowski:Have you ever committed to that?
Heath Hollensbe:Welcome to the Everyday Disciple Podcast where you'll learn how to live with.
Heath Hollensbe: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 Heath, as always, good to be with you, my friend.
Heath Hollensbe:You too, man.
Heath Hollensbe:Today we're talking about how procrastination kills discipleship and mission and kind of the aspect of living an incarnation life, right?
Heath Hollensbe:Yeah.
Heath Hollensbe:And I've never really given too much thought as to how this would actually play out.
Heath Hollensbe:Yeah.
Heath Hollensbe:Maybe you can unpack where you came up with this concept and what was driving you to want to talk about it more.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, I think as thinking through why, you know, why do so many of us, you know, confessing professing Christians have such low engagement when it comes to discipleship.
Caesar Kalinowski:We don't really talk about it like being a discipleship crisis in the church a lot, but it really is.
Caesar Kalinowski:There's not a lot of discipleship going on and it's the number one thing, the church, which is us, you know, kind of get to do.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know?
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's what we've been commissioned by Jesus to do and why we exist.
Caesar Kalinowski:So some of the why really has to do with the church having, I think.
Caesar Kalinowski:A small gospel or a very little true gospel, uh, and an understanding of why we get to make disciples and live by mission with God.
Caesar Kalinowski:Huh.
Caesar Kalinowski:So accomplishing God's eternal purposes to fill the world with his glory, that's what's going on with the discipleship.
Caesar Kalinowski:And you can just listen to a million episodes where we talk about that and if we don't know and embrace this, and I'll expand on this in a few minutes.
Caesar Kalinowski:Sure.
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, I think that's, that's what's led to having such low discipleship engagement, but some of it.
Caesar Kalinowski:As I've seen in community and churches that I've helped lead and be a part of, really does have to do with procrastination.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:And so like these couple of bible verses sort of haunting, you know, come to mind like, Proverbs six, nine to 11, how long will you lie there?
Caesar Kalinowski:You sluggard.
Caesar Kalinowski:When will you get up from your sleep?
Caesar Kalinowski:A little sleep, a little slumber.
Caesar Kalinowski:A little folding of the hands to rest.
Caesar Kalinowski:And poverty will come on.
Caesar Kalinowski:You like a thief?
Caesar Kalinowski:Yep.
Caesar Kalinowski:And scarcity Like an armed man.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like, well, that might be talking about our work or jobs or whatever, but it, it doesn't exclude it from also being about like, oh, have we been asleep and sort of putting off.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like, like someone else will do the discipleship.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know, I don't know.
Caesar Kalinowski:Galatians six 10, uh, take advantage of every opportunity, be a blessing to others, especially to our brothers and sisters in the family of faith.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:Wow.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know, and I, I know that verse there in Galatians six 10 is generally the Greek imp complies about finances and, you know, being a blessing to others.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:Which is also part of discipleship.
Caesar Kalinowski:So I, I think this is where it's come from, is like, okay, why?
Caesar Kalinowski:Do, do we just have too small a gospel and people don't understand the implication of getting to live out of our identity and and fulfill the eternal purpose of God?
Caesar Kalinowski:Or does procrastination actually.
Caesar Kalinowski:Play into this a whole lot more?
Caesar Kalinowski:I think it does.
Caesar Kalinowski:I really do.
Heath Hollensbe:So one of the things I've thought about quite a bit is the, uh, I've been part of many missional communities and different groups that
Heath Hollensbe:would claim to be missional in, in the way that they wanna live, but they didn't have any sense of purpose or intentionality in what they were doing.
Heath Hollensbe:And so you'd have just a bunch of misses because there'd be no intention in moving people.
Heath Hollensbe:Let's hang out a bunch, but what are we doing?
Heath Hollensbe:Yeah, exactly.
Heath Hollensbe:So would you say that cra procrastination and a lack of intentionality.
Heath Hollensbe:Are brothers in the same camp, because I can see often that a lack of intentionality really hurts mission, but maybe you see differences between the two.
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, so let's look at the word intentionality, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:It says the fact of being deliberate or purposeful, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:Having a purpose.
Caesar Kalinowski:So that kinda speaks to what you're talking about.
Caesar Kalinowski:So that's the intentionality side, and.
Caesar Kalinowski:It also goes and say the, the, the quality of mental states are, you know, our thoughts and desires and hopes that consists in being directed towards some object or state of affairs.
Caesar Kalinowski:So yeah, you're right.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's hard to have.
Caesar Kalinowski:Uh, intentionality if we've never set out a goal.
Caesar Kalinowski:Sure.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:So, what, you know, what is the goal of making disciples?
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, it's, it's to make disciples of Jesus that we, we, he would live our lives through us.
Caesar Kalinowski:We would understand how we are now one with him.
Caesar Kalinowski:And increasingly, there'd be more and more disciples of Jesus, the glory of God filling the earth with his glory now.
Caesar Kalinowski:So we have to have intention.
Caesar Kalinowski:In other words, it consists of being directed towards some object or state of affairs.
Caesar Kalinowski:Sure.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now, typically we think of procrastination as an intention.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like action gap where our actions aren't lining up with our intentions.
Caesar Kalinowski:If we intend to do something and we either voluntarily and or needlessly delay action on our intention, that's procrastination.
Caesar Kalinowski:But what if we've never made the intention in the first place?
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:So a lot of Christians have never made the intention of making disciples and living their lives genuinely focused and reoriented around God's mission.
Caesar Kalinowski:And so I wanna pause for a moment and ask our listeners, have you ever in intentioned, like you personally, or your small group, or your missional community, have you ever intention to make
Caesar Kalinowski:disciples of Jesus and have your life be focused on God's mission and his glory rather than.
Caesar Kalinowski:Kind of focused on our own plans and our own glory.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:Have you ever committed to
Heath Hollensbe:that?
Heath Hollensbe:That's a really good question, man.
Heath Hollensbe:And as you're talk, even as, as you're kind of walking through this definitions, I'm thinking about how we constantly are tying things back to the thing behind the thing.
Heath Hollensbe:And so yeah, a lack of intentionality or procrastination, it's never just like, well, I forgot to get to it, but there's always some sort of hard thing going on a bit deeper.
Heath Hollensbe:Yeah, for sure.
Heath Hollensbe:What do you think are some of the reasons that we procrastinate in life in general, and maybe even more specifically when it comes to discipleship and mission?
Caesar Kalinowski:It is really important, Heath, when trying to move beyond procrastination in any area of life to first understand the possible reasons, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:So I want to go into 'em, uh, you know, what are the possible reasons, be behind, you know, my particular brand of procrastination.
Caesar Kalinowski:But I do wanna connect the dots as we go along to okay, then maybe this, we're procrastinating in this way.
Caesar Kalinowski:Making disciples and living on mission.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:So, but these apply.
Caesar Kalinowski:You're right.
Caesar Kalinowski:So reason number one, it's a big one, is perfectionism.
Caesar Kalinowski:In other words, it's this thinking that if I can't do it perfectly or at least really, really well and control both the outcome and people's perceptions
Caesar Kalinowski:of how I'm doing at something, then I'll avoid it and I'll put it off.
Caesar Kalinowski:Not wanting to expose any weakness in myself.
Caesar Kalinowski:I. Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yep.
Caesar Kalinowski:So I was, I was doing a little research on this and, uh, there's a Stanford University psychologist, Carol Dweck, and she details the power of one's mindset connected to this.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:And, and she, she relates successes in school and sports, or work, you know, your job or the arts and other areas of human endeavor to how one thinks currently about
Caesar Kalinowski:their own abilities and talents and a, you know, and, and how they're gonna do.
Caesar Kalinowski:Mm-hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:And so she, she explains that people either have a fixed mindset.
Caesar Kalinowski:Or they have a growth mindset, and those with a fixed mindset believe that their abilities are sort of set in stone.
Caesar Kalinowski:This is where they're at, this is how it'll go.
Caesar Kalinowski:And so they only focus on their current intelligence or insights or talents or skills, believing they cannot really be developed.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:So why, you know, can a fixed mindset be dangerous?
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, it hinders one's ability to grow and learn and make positive changes.
Caesar Kalinowski:And so how are we gonna make disciples if we are not both a disciple of Jesus?
Caesar Kalinowski:Meaning learning how to walk in his ways and obey all of his teachings, and then learning how to help others do the same.
Caesar Kalinowski:So if we have this fixed mindset, yeah, which is so much of it's connected to perfectionism.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like, I don't know if I know how to do this and I'm kind of stuck and I'm really worried about not doing it well.
Caesar Kalinowski:So I'll just put it off kind of forever.
Caesar Kalinowski:I won't say it's bad.
Caesar Kalinowski:Sure.
Caesar Kalinowski:I just won't do it.
Heath Hollensbe:Wow.
Heath Hollensbe:Yeah, it makes me too think of like the, you know, I know in my, my own pursuits of perfectionism, a lot of times I really have to check my heart
Heath Hollensbe:and go like, is there a fear of man thing if people see me screw up?
Heath Hollensbe:Or am I believing that these people are more glorious than even God is?
Heath Hollensbe:And so there's, if we wanna tie this even into the four Gs man, and it's really easy to go there with, with some of these underlying things we're talking about.
Heath Hollensbe:It's
Caesar Kalinowski:no kidding.
Caesar Kalinowski:And think about like, for, for a lot of people, they think discipleship is still, is like teaching a bunch of classes to somebody.
Caesar Kalinowski:Versus helping them learn how to move from unbelief to belief.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yep.
Caesar Kalinowski:In the gospel, in every area of life.
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, that requires time.
Caesar Kalinowski:That requires understanding the gospel, having a fluency at the gospel.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, it involves a lot of challenging people.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:And their thinking and their thoughts and why, you know, they're doing what they're doing.
Caesar Kalinowski:Are they considering that?
Caesar Kalinowski:And I. Are they living to God's glory or their own?
Caesar Kalinowski:And so, yeah, I think you're right.
Caesar Kalinowski:The thing behind the thing there does have to do a lot of fear of man issues.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yep.
Caesar Kalinowski:And, um, and my own personal comfort, like, I love me Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:More than you in God's glory.
Caesar Kalinowski:So if it's going to require time, effort, and, and there again, if I have sort of a fixed mindset where I don't, I don't even know if I could do it or whatever, or
Caesar Kalinowski:control that, well, I'm just, I'll leave that to the professionals or something.
Heath Hollensbe:Yeah, no, that makes sense ma'am.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:Reason number two.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:So fear of the unknown.
Caesar Kalinowski:So, so few of us have ever seen or experienced life on life, life and community discipleship, that it really is the unknown frontier and it freaks us out a little bit.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:And we don't fully understand or comprehend the life that Jesus came to give us all.
Caesar Kalinowski:So we fear it.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's just, it's too hard to believe that we get to live in light of the gospel in every area of life that the kingdom's come.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's just too hard.
Caesar Kalinowski:Sure.
Caesar Kalinowski:And like I mentioned a few years ago, so many within our, within our family, the church, have been sold a very small gospel, a very little, you know,
Caesar Kalinowski:gospel and not much truth in it, and an understanding of why we get to make disciples and live on mission with God and how that transforms our lives.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now.
Caesar Kalinowski:Here's what's interesting to me.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, you know, people research, procrastination, all that.
Caesar Kalinowski:Researchers from University of Michigan con conducted a study
Heath Hollensbe:okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:On the effects of allowing misinformation to linger in someone's mind.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay?
Caesar Kalinowski:So I'm tying this right now to like.
Caesar Kalinowski:Oh, that wasn't really the gospel that you say a Jesus in your heart prayer and then you wait for heaven and try to sin less.
Caesar Kalinowski:No, sure.
Caesar Kalinowski:But, but misinformation lingers, and the study notes that misinformation remains in one's memory and continues to influence their thinking, even if the person is aware that that was not even true.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:So the person is also likely to make use of this mis misinformation, especially if it fits with their existing beliefs.
Caesar Kalinowski:Sort of makes sense to others, huh?
Caesar Kalinowski:This then leads to spreading the inaccurate information to other people.
Heath Hollensbe:Isn't that funny, man?
Heath Hollensbe:'cause I, I do that in my own life too, where I know there's things that are not true that just habits that I've believed for a long time that have kind of car, but that's the
Caesar Kalinowski:narrative and everybody else is in, on
Heath Hollensbe:the, the, the, the gag or whatever.
Heath Hollensbe:Yeah.
Heath Hollensbe:And so then when you try to actually start like actually taking those thoughts captive, it's impossible 'cause that misinformation
Heath Hollensbe:is sat in there for so long that these trenches have been developed.
Caesar Kalinowski:And so you couple that with the fear of the unknown and I'm kind of sticking to the, you know, hey, doesn't everybody just
Caesar Kalinowski:go to church and we're kind of waiting for Jesus to get back and all
Heath Hollensbe:this, and.
Heath Hollensbe:Yeah.
Heath Hollensbe:So it turns out that what we don't know can actually hurt us and not only hurt us initially, but keep hurting us as well as hurting others.
Heath Hollensbe:Absolutely.
Caesar Kalinowski:Absolutely.
Heath Hollensbe:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I think the thing behind the thing there again, is that, that the fear of the unknown, and I've never seen this done.
Caesar Kalinowski:I've never seen people live in community this way.
Caesar Kalinowski:I've never seen people who can fight and forgive and speak the truth and love, and they give their lives away to each other in service and their neighbors, and we, we exist as family.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like I've never seen that.
Caesar Kalinowski:And, and so I think I'm pretty safe to just keep believing the old, sort of check the box Christianity, even though I, I kind of know there's way more to that than that.
Caesar Kalinowski:So Absolutely.
Caesar Kalinowski:Still self-love, if you think about it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah, it always comes.
Caesar Kalinowski:It really is.
Caesar Kalinowski:Come back to that like I know right now.
Caesar Kalinowski:So here I am, you know, over the, uh, internet poking people in the chest a little bit.
Caesar Kalinowski:But I know there are people who've listened to us a lot.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yep.
Caesar Kalinowski:And yet , they still haven't really made those changes in their family life.
Caesar Kalinowski:They haven't like do dove into community, even though if it's icky or weird, they're learning.
Caesar Kalinowski:They haven't, they haven't started to lead their churches in light of that.
Caesar Kalinowski:So it's a procrastination.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yep.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:They've intention, now they're listening to it, they're intention, but they're still kinda living within the umbrella of, well, the old way of thinking.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:And even though I know it's not right and everybody else is still in on that deal, I'm getting away with it.
Heath Hollensbe:Or So you think?
Heath Hollensbe:Yeah.
Heath Hollensbe:Oh
Caesar Kalinowski:yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:Alright.
Caesar Kalinowski:Reason number three, third reason, and this is a big one, is that you experience a lack of motivation connected to something, so that's why you procrastinate.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:So have you ever thought to yourself that life has just gotten like in the way of discipleship?
Caesar Kalinowski:Sure.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like, you know, even when it comes to your own family or spouse or kids, and so you haven't been able to do what you know you get to do.
Caesar Kalinowski:And have actually intentioned to do so this, but, but there's like, you don't have a great motivation connected to it.
Caesar Kalinowski:And this lack of motivation can come from all kinds of underlying causes.
Caesar Kalinowski:So, well I just pull a list together here.
Caesar Kalinowski:So maybe it's a lack of energy.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yep.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:You're not feeling well or fatigue or something like that.
Caesar Kalinowski:It could be stress in other areas of your life.
Heath Hollensbe:Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:So it's kind of zapping your motivation to like, I.
Caesar Kalinowski:I really do wanna make disciples.
Caesar Kalinowski:I do wanna start taking, you know, responsibility for discipling my own kids.
Caesar Kalinowski:Sure.
Caesar Kalinowski:And, you know, those I love and, and maybe my neighbors and all that.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:Uh, but I'm so stressed out or fatigued or lacking energy or, um, other priorities.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like I. In our life could just zap it, you know, for us.
Caesar Kalinowski:And, and so we don't, we lack motivation.
Caesar Kalinowski:'cause right now, well when this is done or when we get the house finished or when we, you know, get the kids into school or when we get a, the next raise or if I get a bigger house or
Caesar Kalinowski:you know, or whatever, we've always got another priority that's kind of getting in the way.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yep.
Caesar Kalinowski:And, and so we don't have the motivation to get started right now.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, you know, emergencies come up in life or sicknesses that are real and, and we, you know, we've gotta deal with them.
Caesar Kalinowski:Or maybe you're like, we intention to get something started and we're having a baby.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:Or something like that.
Caesar Kalinowski:So it changes our family schedule again.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, or people, uh, well can lose motivation 'cause they have trouble finding new ways and ideas to get started.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:And so they're like, I don't even know how to get started.
Caesar Kalinowski:Uh, so.
Caesar Kalinowski:We just keep thinking, well, I know and I, so I order a bunch of books and I download stuff and I'll even buy a course and never watch it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Sure.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know, or never read the book.
Caesar Kalinowski:I've done that a lot.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:Or you know, or maybe you're surrounded with negativity connected to something.
Caesar Kalinowski:So in this case, what we're talking about is discipleship and mission.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like no one gets what you're talking about.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:The church is not necessarily into it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Or maybe you are the pastor and you're into it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Sure.
Caesar Kalinowski:But you get so much negativity.
Caesar Kalinowski:People are like, what?
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:You expect, how many nights a week do you expect us to live our faith?
Caesar Kalinowski:Like, wait a minute.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's our identity, you know?
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:So that negativity keeps you from like really implementing new things and new discipleship in your church or in your community, wherever, or you've got a lack of
Caesar Kalinowski:confidence, which is sort of somewhat connected up to reasons one and two above, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:Yep.
Caesar Kalinowski:Where, you know, you're either perfectionist and you don't know if you're gonna be good at it.
Caesar Kalinowski:So I don't wanna start, or, or the fear of the unknown, like, where's this gonna lead to and how much time will it eat?
Caesar Kalinowski:So sometimes you have a lack of confidence, um, or you perceive you're working in the wrong environment.
Caesar Kalinowski:In other words like, well, that won't work here.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know, we're listening to Heath and Caesar talk about life on mission and in community, and it sure sounds messy, but it seems to be working for them, but.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's probably 'cause they live in Pacific, Northwestern, you know?
Caesar Kalinowski:Sure.
Caesar Kalinowski:It'll never work here in the east coast.
Caesar Kalinowski:It'll never work in the south.
Caesar Kalinowski:Or they probably live in the inner city and, and I live in a suburb or whatever.
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, that's not true.
Caesar Kalinowski:And we've talked about a lot of this stuff, so, you know, or like you mentioned, unclear goals.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:Can kind of like lead to a lack of motivation.
Caesar Kalinowski:And so, uh, there was a study there, again, I did a lot of research on this.
Caesar Kalinowski:There was a study done at, at Carnegie Mellon University revealed that people lack motivation when they find little value.
Caesar Kalinowski:In the projected outcome of their work.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:So you know how that is.
Caesar Kalinowski:If you know, if you just go like, why am I doing this?
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:I don't see a clear line drawn to.
Caesar Kalinowski:Goal accomplished.
Caesar Kalinowski:Sure.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:You just don't know it.
Caesar Kalinowski:We've had jobs like that.
Caesar Kalinowski:Oh yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:We've worked for people.
Caesar Kalinowski:We're like, this is how we do it, and this is how you're gonna do it, and we're never gonna change it and come in early and make sure you, and you're like, but I don't understand why.
Caesar Kalinowski:What we're, you know?
Caesar Kalinowski:Yep.
Caesar Kalinowski:And so we, and, and this makes sense, this doesn't sound like a big revelation to me, but people, people will lack motivation when they
Caesar Kalinowski:find little value in the projected outcome in the work, however.
Caesar Kalinowski:The study goes on and say, if people are able to clearly see how their work connects to their interests or goals and concerns, they are more likely to value
Caesar Kalinowski:their work and get started and be motivated to invest their energy into things.
Heath Hollensbe:Man, that is really funny 'cause I, as you were talking there, I was thinking about even when I wrote my last book, and I don't know if you have
Heath Hollensbe:the same situation, but you have something you really wanna see an outcome of.
Heath Hollensbe:Like, I wanna write this book and bless people.
Heath Hollensbe:And then you sit down to write it and it's like.
Heath Hollensbe:I did every single thing under the sun that I could to avoid actually having to get to what I wanted to do.
Heath Hollensbe:I mean, I checked websites I haven't been to in 20 years and, and reached out to old Facebook friends.
Heath Hollensbe:And so I think you're absolutely right when you lack motivation and you don't know, like you're, you're scared of the unknown that all piles up and causes you to procrastinate.
Heath Hollensbe:Yeah.
Heath Hollensbe:And think about it.
Heath Hollensbe:If, if we.
Caesar Kalinowski:If we're not accurately communicating to ourselves, to our spouse, to our kids, to our community, to the those that we
Caesar Kalinowski:lead at a, at a church, if we're not accurately helping them see that.
Caesar Kalinowski:Life on mission.
Caesar Kalinowski:Life in a community following after Jesus and reorienting our life around his life is the best possible life.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:And it's what we were created for.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's why God created us.
Caesar Kalinowski:This, you know, the angels long to look into this, you know, scripture says what?
Caesar Kalinowski:That God would fill the world with His glory.
Caesar Kalinowski:What he's like through humans.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's it.
Caesar Kalinowski:So like this idea of everything else gets in the way and everything else steps our motivation and now I'm fearful of this and I don't know how to do.
Caesar Kalinowski:I in light of wait a minute, are, do you understand like what this is really about?
Caesar Kalinowski:Sure.
Caesar Kalinowski:And are we connecting it to like, no, this is how you're gonna find true joy and peace and fulfillment and your what, what purpose is in life, and
Caesar Kalinowski:how you'll leave a legacy and how you'll pass on the gospel in every area of life to your kids and to those that God brings close to you in life.
Caesar Kalinowski:Oh, I mean, yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's so big and so I, boy, I'd hate for that to be, but, but boy, what a long list of things that zap our motivation.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Heath Hollensbe:Yeah, and, and I think sometimes it's like kind of an ethereal, like what we're talking about is like, yeah, we can kind of relate to that.
Heath Hollensbe:But I know that both you and I and and having lived this way for years, um, have actually seen this play out with some actual flesh on some boots on the ground for sure.
Heath Hollensbe:I would ask me, what are some examples of how you've actually seen procrastination?
Heath Hollensbe:Really, truly affecting the community of believers that are attempting to live on mission.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:For those who at least have intention to.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right?
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know, so then we can call it procrastination.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:Because call it what it's like we said at the beginning, if you, if you have any ever intention it, then you can't procrastinate it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right?
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:So, right.
Caesar Kalinowski:So, whoa.
Caesar Kalinowski:So that's so hard to really narrow down.
Caesar Kalinowski:There are so many reasons and it's so complex, but, but common things that I've seen that my fellow brothers and sisters, uh, of course never including me, I have procrastinated, are on things like.
Caesar Kalinowski:Moving their small group, say their traditional small group or their missional community beyond a weekly meeting.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like they kind of know that this kind of meeting once a week and sort of, kind of, sort of doing a study sometimes and eating some pie or whatever, that's not what this is about.
Caesar Kalinowski:Sure.
Caesar Kalinowski:This isn't really making disciples, this isn't moving outward to bless others, transform our community.
Caesar Kalinowski:So they just kind of put it off because of all the stuff we just said.
Caesar Kalinowski:Uh, other areas really focusing on having a healthy sort of up in out balance in their community life.
Caesar Kalinowski:So we're really worshiping us and being in community, it feels really rich, and that's kind of why I got into this.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's just kind of pick and choose my friends.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, but we're not really growing deeper in the gospel and we're not really out much at all with anybody else.
Caesar Kalinowski:So we.
Caesar Kalinowski:We kind of put off like, no, let's grow in our upward, inward outward balance as a community.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:Uh, other things I've seen, uh, failing to plan to intentionally serve others as a community.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yep.
Caesar Kalinowski:So maybe they, we've got a, you know, we've got an up in thing going on where we're like, we're really starting to live more like family
Caesar Kalinowski:and love each other and prefer one another, and, you know, all that.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, and we're growing in the gospel.
Caesar Kalinowski:But we're not, we, we just kind of put off that, like serving others thing.
Caesar Kalinowski:Sure.
Caesar Kalinowski:Or it's like a, it's an annual thing and hardly anybody makes it.
Caesar Kalinowski:And, but it's not a lifestyle.
Caesar Kalinowski:We're not living out of our servant identity.
Caesar Kalinowski:We're kind of putting that off,
Heath Hollensbe:right?
Caesar Kalinowski:And there's all kinds of ramifications there.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, planning predictable patterns that have, you know, high invitation, easy for people to step into your life, but low challenge.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right away so that you can, you know, your neighbors and potential persons of peace can actually start to walk in the ways of Jesus with you.
Caesar Kalinowski:So we just kind of get into our rhythm.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's like, well, we do this Wednesday night, small group thing and you know, call missional community now, but we're not adding another, say
Caesar Kalinowski:a brunch or a, you know, happy hour or just an open table or something.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's high invitation.
Caesar Kalinowski:Sure.
Caesar Kalinowski:Easy to step on, but it's slow challenge at first.
Caesar Kalinowski:It, you know, so we just haven't gotten around to it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Why?
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, procrastination.
Caesar Kalinowski:We're just preferring ours.
Caesar Kalinowski:Ourselves, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:In our current whatever that we're doing.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, here's another one that I've seen procrastination in that kinda screws us up, is consistently following up with people of peace.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now there's those people you go like, oh, I know this person, this neighbor's leaning in.
Heath Hollensbe:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like, they wanna be our friends and they're totally here.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'm guilty of this.
Caesar Kalinowski:I, I can think of people right now, like, man, they're leaning in harder than I am.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um.
Caesar Kalinowski:But we're not consistently following up with them and, and going like, what's next?
Caesar Kalinowski:Lord?
Caesar Kalinowski:You know, when it comes to gospel conversations and opportunities to be family together, so, you know, we could be inviting people into
Caesar Kalinowski:more of our normal family rhythms so we can treat 'em like family.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, or maybe instead of that we're resting on our organized rhythms and not really engaging organically.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's like, well, if they don't fit into my box, my weekly meeting, then I guess we won't be doing community with them.
Caesar Kalinowski:'cause our community group meets this night or whatever.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's like, hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:What if you, what if you told that to your kids?
Caesar Kalinowski:I can only be your dad.
Caesar Kalinowski:I can only be your mom.
Caesar Kalinowski:Mondays and Tuesdays.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah, Mondays and Tuesdays between these hours.
Caesar Kalinowski:But then after that, man, I'm, I'm kind of, it's me time.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I don't, this doesn't work.
Caesar Kalinowski:It might happen accidentally, but not intentionally.
Caesar Kalinowski:So, um, and then I'll just make this the last one that where I've seen procrastination really happen a lot is getting the help from others who have succeeded in making disciples.
Caesar Kalinowski:Huh.
Caesar Kalinowski:Which goes back to some of the reasons we lack motivation.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, 'cause, you know, we can't manage it and all this, I don't know what I'm doing, but, you know, we have, we've prioritized our time and money in
Caesar Kalinowski:other less important areas of life, and we're not willing to change our mind.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:Which is what repentance means.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:And trust God in this area of our life for the time, for the learning, for the resources to do that.
Caesar Kalinowski:So we're actually procrastinating on trusting God.
Caesar Kalinowski:Wow.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like we know we're kind of stuck and we know we can find help, but we won't.
Caesar Kalinowski:We won't do that either.
Caesar Kalinowski:We keep putting that off.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's like, oh, don't procrastinate and trusting God.
Caesar Kalinowski:He is faithful.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know,
Heath Hollensbe:I've never put that connection there, like actually procrastinating.
Heath Hollensbe:When your trust in Jesus that is, yeah, man, what a good call out there.
Heath Hollensbe:So, uh, maybe people are listening and they've been part of these groups or they've led groups and they're feeling like a bit of conviction, or maybe they
Heath Hollensbe:want to change their ways and, and be more intentional to stop procrastinating.
Heath Hollensbe:How would you encourage people who've either experienced this procrastination we've talked about today and, and beginning to change this and to get unstuck and where they're at?
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:Let me, let me kind of break our format slightly today.
Caesar Kalinowski:Let me address that.
Caesar Kalinowski:In the big three.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:I think this is really important, so, we'll, you can tell folks what the big three is.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah, sure.
Caesar Kalinowski:But then I'll answer that question of how to.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know, I wanna encourage people to, you know, kind of get unstuck
Heath Hollensbe:and get going.
Heath Hollensbe:Yeah.
Heath Hollensbe:So the big three is the three takeaways.
Heath Hollensbe:If nothing else from the show that we want you to walk away with this week, and you get 'em as a printable PDF that goes straight to your inbox as,
Heath Hollensbe:and they're free as a download by going to everyday disciple.com/big three.
Heath Hollensbe:You'll get 'em right now.
Heath Hollensbe:Print 'em out, download 'em, put 'em on your wall.
Heath Hollensbe:Caesar, what are the big three for this
Caesar Kalinowski:week?
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay, so first is be honest with yourself when it comes to understanding.
Caesar Kalinowski:If you've ever really intentioned.
Caesar Kalinowski:To live a lifestyle of discipleship and mission.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:It, it may not be procrastination you're suffering from.
Caesar Kalinowski:It could be that the gospel you understand and live in light of is too small and is primarily about your personal happiness.
Caesar Kalinowski:Wow.
Caesar Kalinowski:Or, or it may be that your Christian faith is focused on your afterlife and therefore discipleship and mission is kinda optional here.
Caesar Kalinowski:So it's taken a back seat in your life.
Heath Hollensbe:Huh.
Heath Hollensbe:I never would've connected that man.
Heath Hollensbe:Alright, number two.
Heath Hollensbe:So don't miss that.
Heath Hollensbe:Okay.
Heath Hollensbe:Yeah, that's
Caesar Kalinowski:great.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay, so, uh, number two, if you're feeling stuck or know you've been procrastinating is, let me ask you this.
Caesar Kalinowski:Do you believe that Jesus lived the best life of any human being ever?
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:Any wants that for you too?
Caesar Kalinowski:Like, did, did any other human have a better life than Jesus?
Caesar Kalinowski:It's a perfect God, man.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know, Nope.
Caesar Kalinowski:God has immense blessings and benefits in store for us when we live in community with others and trusting his spirit to guide us.
Caesar Kalinowski:As we make more disciples of Jesus.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:So, so we're all getting his life.
Caesar Kalinowski:Increasingly, our lives are meant to be part of God fulfilling his eternal purpose.
Caesar Kalinowski:Filling the world with his glory through us.
Caesar Kalinowski:This is the life you're created for.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's the most amazing life ever.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's Jesus life.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah, that's We're one with him now.
Caesar Kalinowski:And the good news is that there's no condemnation for those of us procrastinators.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:So if we have been dragging our feet with this, or like kind of hiding behind a small gospel, but everybody seems to let us get away with it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Or we know we've been procrastinating in a lot of ways.
Caesar Kalinowski:I please hear this, there's no condemnation.
Caesar Kalinowski:God's not going.
Caesar Kalinowski:I've been telling him, you know, when's he gonna get off his late?
Caesar Kalinowski:You know?
Caesar Kalinowski:So that's good news.
Caesar Kalinowski:So that's good news, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:And, and then the third of the big three is, I'd say make a list of the things that you have been procrastinating in when it comes to your family or community, and living on God's mission together.
Caesar Kalinowski:If wherever you're at, if it's like, I haven't even gotten started, or I've been listening to this show for a while, and I, I realize this is the life, but I'm not
Caesar Kalinowski:availing myself to learn and attempt or, or we, we do have a community, but we're kind of stuck, like you said, being more about us and not so much about anybody else.
Caesar Kalinowski:Sure.
Caesar Kalinowski:So like, kind of make a list.
Caesar Kalinowski:This takes a little bit of work and it'll only be for the bold of heart.
Caesar Kalinowski:That'll take us up on number three here.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like do you understand the thing behind the thing connected to each of the things that you're procrastinating around?
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:I just say repent now.
Caesar Kalinowski:Allow God to change your mind and to be your strength and, and your new motivation going forward.
Caesar Kalinowski:So pick one thing that you'll get started on this week.
Caesar Kalinowski:Put it in your calendar now.
Caesar Kalinowski:And get started.
Caesar Kalinowski:Trust God for the results.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:So like kill that perfectionism thing or, I don't know what I'm doing.
Caesar Kalinowski:He's perfect.
Caesar Kalinowski:So you don't have to be So we don't have to be,
Heath Hollensbe:yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:All right.
Heath Hollensbe:And it's kinda like writing training wheels, right?
Heath Hollensbe:Like this gets easier over time once you start, once you start taking these leaps and seeing that things work and that you're loved and
Caesar Kalinowski:it starts seeing the life that God starts to give us when we trust him.
Caesar Kalinowski:And we walk in the ways of Jesus.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:And we help others do the same.
Caesar Kalinowski:It is.
Caesar Kalinowski:There's no going back to checking the box once a week, there just isn't difficult.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Heath Hollensbe:Hey, next week we're talking about seven secrets to lifelong marriage, unity with your, your Bride.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yep.
Caesar Kalinowski:Tina's gonna join us next week and we're gonna lay some, uh, things on everybody that we've learned over, uh, [cough] years of marriage.
Caesar Kalinowski:A really long time.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Heath Hollensbe:Oh, such a long time.
Heath Hollensbe:But she, uh, she might actually be more interesting than you even next week.
Heath Hollensbe:She always shows you up, man.
Heath Hollensbe:I'm sure like I love you, but she always won up.
Caesar Kalinowski:She's way better.
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.
Heath Hollensbe:And remember, you really can live with a spiritual freedom and relational peace that Jesus promised every day.