How to Plan a Four-Hour Personal, Spiritual Retreat

In my last post, I described the benefits of carving out 3-4 hours for spending time with the Lord and caring for your soul. You might feel apprehensive as you consider such a “long time” alone. You might think, “I have trouble staying awake for my 20 minute quiet time each morning.” I want to help with that concern by providing a sample schedule and some practical advice. But first, I need to describe the various elements you should consider including in your plan.

Elements of a Personal Retreat

Worship in Song – Jonathan Edwards used to ride his horse the woods surrounding his town, dismount, and walk through the woods singing out to God. Maybe you will sit in your closet or your car or walk around a greenway. And perhaps you’ll use your phone to play some praise music (so it isn’t just you trying to carry a tune). I encourage you to use Together for the Gospel’s live albums for this purpose.

Bible Reading – If you are going to fellowship with the Lord, you need to hear from his Word. Maybe you should pick one epistle to read through like Titus or Colossians. After all, the New Testament letters were meant to be read in one sitting.

Meditation – Take a smaller section of Scripture and spending time thinking about its meaning and then making an application to your life. You might pick a verse that relates to a current need in your life, or you might pick a theme from your Bible reading.

   

Praying – Not only do we need to hear from God, but we also need to speak to him.  It is natural for a child to talk to his loving father. Maybe you get distracted while you pray. Consider praying through a Psalm. For example, read one verse of Psalm 23 and pray what comes to mind. When you run out of things to pray, move to the next verse. You might also consider walking while you pray.

Devotional reading – Pick a good Christian book and try to get a good start on it during this time. You might not be able to finish the whole thing, but you can get a running start that will help you finish it out later.

Journaling – Journaling is helpful because it aids the process of thinking, evaluating, and remembering.  What sort of things should you journal about?

• A list of things you thank God for.
• Evaluating your life in light of what you read in your Bible. List how you are doing and what you need to work on improving.
• Write out a prayer
• Write as you meditate on a verse (kind of like your own commentary and application).

As you can see, journaling brings together the other elements I’ve already mentioned.

Sample Schedule

Below is a sample schedule that reflects 4 hours. However, you could adjust it down to 2-3 hours if needed. The point of a schedule is to help you avoid wasting time (wondering what to do next). However, don’t feel like you have to stick to your plan blindly. If you find your time of prayer or reading is having a powerful effect on your soul, then keep at it. If you find you are growing weary, then move to the next thing.

:15       Worshiping the Lord in song (perhaps while playing an instrument or listening to music)

:30       Bible reading

:30       Praying the Bible, perhaps while walking.

:30       Journaling

:30       Devotional reading (an edifying Christian book you’ve wanted to read)

:20       Praying the Bible, perhaps while walking.

:30       Meditation on Scripture

:15       Journaling

:20       Praying the Bible, perhaps while walking.

:20       Worshiping the Lord in song (as above) and/or devotional reading (as above)

(This is taken from Dr. Don Whitney’s syllabus for Spiritual Disciplines in the Minister’s Life, Winter 2020).

Practical Advice

On mistake people often make, according to Dr. Whitney, is that they remain in one position (seated) for too long. Too much consecutive time in the chair can have a dulling effect. So, get up and walk while you meditate or pray. Stand to sing. Kneel to pray.  

A second piece of advice, put a retreat on the calendar. It’s like anything else in life – if you don’t schedule and plan for it, it will probably not happen (despite your best intentions). I am not sure if the Corona Virus has given you more discretionary time or not. If it has, now is a great time to do a personal retreat. Maybe you are just as busy as ever. Either way, get it on the calendar.

One more piece of advice. If you are married with young kids, plan to give your spouse time for this too. Maybe one Saturday morning you watch the kids, and a couple of weeks later, he or she watches them. It will take coordination, but it is worth it.

If you want to learn more about this topic, read chapter ten on silence and solitude in Don Whitney’s book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. 

Spend Extended Time Alone with God – The Value of "Short" Personal Retreat

Have you ever considered spending several hours alone for fellowship with the Lord and to grow spiritually? That might sound daunting to you. We live in a culture in which 10 seconds of silence is unnerving. Three or four hours of silence and solitude, away from other people, might sound wearying. I can assure you, however, that it does not have to be.

About six or so years ago, I began trying to have a pastoral retreat. This consisted of going out of town for about 2 or 3 days to spend time in the Word, prayer, listening to sermons, and working on long-range planning. I used some of the time to evaluate how I was doing in my vocations (as Christian, husband, father, pastor, friend). I read a good Christian book. I sang songs of praise to God. I always found clarity about what matters most as I fellowshipped with the Lord in prolonged solitude. I also found it spiritually refreshing.

Fast forward to this past December. I was taking a class with Dr. Don Whitney on the spiritual disciplines in the minister’s life, and one of the assignments opened up a new way to benefit more regularly in this area. This assignment called for me to spend four consecutive hours of silence and solitude (voluntarily withdrawing to privacy for spiritual purposes). To my surprise, I found even just four hours to be greatly refreshing to my soul and helpful to my walk with the Lord.

The new thing I learned was that one does not have to spend 2-3 days to gain this benefit (though that isn’t bad either, and I still recommend it). More specifically, I realized that this could be a more regular practice in my life and a gift I could give to my wife.  We couldn’t carve out two days very often, but we could do a few hours once a month.

Now, all this might seem like too much for you. You have work, the lawn, and kids to care for. It might be hard to make this a priority. It is true that we might not have this privilege in each season of life (like when you have a newborn). However, let me encourage you to try it (maybe once a year at first or once a quarter). We make time for what we most value and prioritize. So, make this a priority if at all possible.

The other reason you might be apprehensive about trying it is that you are afraid it will be boring. The thought of sitting for 3 hours with your Bible sounds wearying, and you don’t know what to do with 3-4 hours of solitude. So, what I want to do is give you some practical advice and a sample schedule.

Tune in to the next post for that.

Read a Book That Feeds Your Soul

Shifting schedules and routines are the norm these days. You may or may not have extra time (maybe you are not having to commute and gained an extra 40 minutes in your day). If you do have a bit of extra downtime, there are a few ways you can turn those extra minutes into a gain for your soul (instead of spending more time scrolling through news feeds). Over the next few posts, I’ll suggest a few ideas about how to do that.

Today, I want to encourage you to use some of that extra time to read a good book that feeds the soul.  Maybe you set aside 20 minutes in the evening to devote to reading. If that doesn’t work, start with 5 minutes of reading before bed. That doesn’t sound like much, but if you read 5 minutes each day that would be … let me calculate … 35 minutes a week … and over 30 hours in a year.

Below are some suggested books to consider.

• Trusting God by Jerry Bridges
• The Holiness of God by RC Sproul
• Knowing God by JI Packer
• Holiness by JC Ryle
• Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will by Kevin DeYoung
• Discipling: How to Help Others Follow Jesus by Mark Dever
• Desiring God by John Piper (should be available free at desiringgod.org)
• When People are Big and God is Small by Ed Welch
• Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Don Whitney
• A Little Book on the Christian Life by John Calvin
• A Good Christian Biography (Check out biographies by authors such as John Piper [Swans are not silent series] or Michael Haykin, Elisabeth Elliott, Iain Murray)

Fiction that feeds the soul

• The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
• The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis (yes I am aware the last book has a big problem).
• Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss

Don’t let this replace your Bible reading, but don’t be lazy either. One thing I remember from my internship days is that Rod always said, “Leaders are readers.” I think that should apply to all of us, even if it doesn’t rhyme as nicely.

What Dead Men Say about How Christians Should Think about COVID-19 (Part 3): Francis Grimke

This is part three in a series (click here for part one and here for part two)

Francis Grimke, a pastor in Washington D.C. during the Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918, preached a sermon entitled “Some Reflections, Growing out of The Recent Epidemic of Influenza That Afflicted Our City.” In this sermon, he reminds us that it is not wrong to suspend church gatherings in order to preserve life. He also reminds us that Christ’s people will intensely long for the gatherings to resume.

Suspending Gathering Is Not Necessarily Wrong

During the outbreak, the D.C. government wanted all gathering places, including churches, to suspend meeting. This “shut down” lasted for about 1 month. Grimke knew the priority of the church gathering. And if the government had just asked churches to close (and not theaters, etc.), he might have seen it as an effort to hinder religion. But since it was the government’s attempt to stop the spread of disease, and encompassed every area of life, it was proper for churches to help. Grimke said,

The fact that the churches were places of religious gathering, and the others not, would not affect in the least the health question involved. If avoiding crowds lessens the danger of being infected, it was wise to take the precaution and not needlessly run in danger, and expect God to protect us. [1]

Some may think that our current situation does not require this in every city, and that might be true. My point is not what the health policy should be. It is simply that suspending meeting is not wrong in very rare conditions.

God’s People Long to Gather Again

God’s true people love gathering, for they are, at a fundamental level, the people God has gathered into his family.

I imagine that for those with a shallow view of Christianity, the convenience of online “services” will tempt them not to return to church when the disease relents. Maybe they are not Christians and just attended out of habit. Now that the habit is broken, they will not return to it. However, for those who truly are God’s people, they desire to gather. That was the testimony of the church in D.C. in 1918. Grimke said,

The fact that for several weeks we have been shut out from the privileges of the sanctuary has brought home to us as never before what the church has really meant to us. We hadn't thought, perhaps, very much of the privilege while it lasted, but the moment it was taken away we saw at once how much it meant to us. One of the gratifying things to me, during this scourge, has been the sincere regrets that I have heard expressed all over the city by numbers of people at the closing of the churches. The theater goers, of course, have regretted the closing of the theaters. I do not know whether the children or the teachers have regretted the closing of the schools or not; I have heard no regrets expressed, but I do know that large numbers of people have regretted the closing of the churches. I hope that now that they are opened again, that we will all show our appreciation of their value by attending regularly upon their services.

While we find ways to connect digitally around the Word (and in small groups), let us humbly long to return to the privilege of corporate worship. Let’s pray that at the end of this, we will have the same attitude as the Christians had in D.C. in 1918, even if the kids are a bit sad to have to return to school.

(HT: Mark Dever and 9Marks.org for pointing me to this sermon)

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[1]Francis Grimke, “Some Reflections, Growing out of The Recent Epidemic of Influenza That Afflicted Our City,” delivered November 3, 1918, Accessed on 3/18/20 at: https://www.logcollegepress.com/authors-g#/francis-james-grimke/

What Dead Men Say about How Christians Should Think about COVID-19 (Part 2): Martin Luther

This is part of two in a series (the first post on CS Lewis is here).

Martin Luther, wrote a letter to Johann Hess entitled “Whether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague.” He wrote this when an outbreak of the Black Plague was taking the lives of many. Here are four things we can glean.

1. People Can Have Different Opinions

First, he notes that some think there is no need to flee, and others think they should escape (or close down events in our context). He points out that not fleeing for the sake of loving one’s neighbor is an “excellent decision” and can reveal “strong faith.” But he also points out that “one simply cannot place the same burden on everyone.” So, I take that to mean, we should not judge one another (especially on issues where motives make the difference). If you think you are strong in faith, do not judge those you deem weaker in the faith.  Furthermore, if you stay in the path of danger, it should be to honor God and serve your neighbor.

2. We Must Care for Neighbors and Fulfill Our Calling

It is not wrong to seek to escape a dangerous situation. Luther points out that Paul did in Acts 9:25 (in fact, Jesus even walked past a crowd that wanted to throw him off a cliff at one point). However, there is a type of fleeing that is sinful. It is wrong to leave a neighbor in need or to abandon one’s God-given post in a crisis.

Those who are doing spiritual ministry must “remain steadfast before the peril of death.” “However, where enough preachers are available in one locality and they agree to encourage the other clergy to leave in order not to expose themselves needlessly to danger, I do not consider it sinful” because the needs will still be met. The point is that we should not flee if we are needed. He applies the same thing to government officials.

When it comes to loving one’s neighbor, Luther writes,

Yes, no one should dare leave his neighbor unless there are others who will take care of the sick in their stead and nurse them. In such cases we must respect the word of Christ, ‘I was sick and you did not visit me ...' [Matt. 25:41-46]. According to this passage we are bound to each other in such a way that no one may forsake the other in his distress but is obliged to assist and help him as he himself would like to be helped.

He goes on to say that you can arrange for others to help (so you don’t always do it all yourself). In summary, it is not forbidden to “avoid destruction and disaster whenever we can, as long as we do so without detracting from our love and duty toward our neighbor.” If, however, we forsake our neighbor in a time of need, we become “a murderer in the sight of God” (cf. 1 John 3:15-17).

3. We Must Not be Rash But Seek to Preserve Life

While some give into sinful fear, and fail to love their neighbor, others sin with a disregard for others in the guise of “faith.” Luther is clear that it is not right to do things that needlessly endanger others.  

They are too rash and reckless, tempting God and disregarding everything which might counteract death and the plague. They disdain the use of medicines; they do not avoid places
and persons infected by the plague, but lightheardly make sport of it and wish to prove how independent they are. . . . This is not trusting God but tempting him.

He goes on to write that it is even “more shameful” when we pay no heed to how we might avoid the plague and “then infect and poison others who might have remained alive” if we had taken proper care. “He is thus responsible before God for his neighbor’s death.” Therefore, Luther says his own plan is to “avoid places and persons where [his] presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of [his] negligence.”

The point is not that we go into self-protection mode. The point is that we seek, as best we can, to protect ourselves and our neighbors while trusting God and loving others.

4. We Face Death and Danger with Confidence

There is one final point we can take from Luther’s letter. We have confidence in the face of danger. “If Christ shed his blood for me and died for me, why should I not expose myself to some small dangers for his sake and disregard this feeble plague?”

Next time, we'll look at Francis Grimke during the Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918.

(HT to Beth Khazraee for sending me the Luther booklet)

What Dead Men Say about How Christians Should Think about COVID-19 (Part 1)

Learning From Those Who Went Before Us

We live in the midst of a pandemic and panicked people. Some are crying that the sky is falling and others are grumbling that life has had to change. How should we think as Christians? Our guiding principle is always bound up in the questions, “How do I love God with all my heart, mind, and soul?” and “How do I love my neighbor as myself?” Practically speaking, however, we must work out the details in the specific situation we are in. This is complicated by our own emotions and sin.

One way to mitigate the effects of being caught up in the cultural moment is to look to the past. Hearing from dead authors and speakers can correct our myopic view of the situation. They had their own blind spots (as we all do). However, those blindspots are not likely to be the same as our own. Therefore, they can offer us a helpful salve that enables us to see our own situation more clearly.

So, I want to briefly “hear” from three dead men on our present situation: CS Lewis, Francis Grimke, and Martin Luther (Note, I heard about these from various sources…so I didn’t know about them on my own).  Today, we’ll look at CS Lewis.

CS Lewis, in his article entitled “On Living in an Atomic Age” (1948), would remind us that death is always at our doorstep (Present Concerns: Journalistic Essays). 

CS Lewis faced a time when people were panicked over the potential destruction from new atomic weapons. While this is different in some ways, it can easily be adapted to fit our circumstances. In one section, he writes,

It is perfectly ridiculous to go about whimpering and drawing long faces because the scientists have added one more chance of painful and premature death to a world which already bristled with such chances and in which death itself was not a chance at all, but a certainty.

This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb [or a virus we might add], let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies but they need not dominate our minds.

Here is what I take from his thoughts as I try to apply it to our situation. As Christians, we should recognize that death is a certain reality, and live like people who trust in God rather than in a life dominated by fear. For us, death is a defeated foe. It is still a foe. We do not go about seeking death. However, death, by whatever means, will only serve to bring us to the presence of the Lord. That type of thinking clears our minds from the wearying work of worry so that we can engage in living. Trust in God enables us to live rather than panic.

Now, to be clear, this does not mean we live as those with no fear at all. Fear is at times a proper motivator. It can rightly motivate us to flee from danger and death. The point is that we are not controlled by fear but by a fear of the Lord.

One more thing to point out. Lewis mentions hanging out with friends. In our situation, that might not be the loving thing to do (a disease is different than a bomb in that respect). For some thoughts on this, we'll turn to Martin Luther in the next post. 

Why Read "Old" Books?

Reading old books is often hard work. Mark Twain once quipped that a classic book is one "everyone wishes they have read but never takes the time to read." So, here is some encouragement from CS Lewis for us to prioritize reading "classics."

CS Lewis writes,

None of us can fully escape this [cultural] blindness [of our age], but we shall certainly increase it, and weaken our guard against it, if we read only modern books. Where they are true they will give us truths which we half knew already. Where they are false they will aggravate the error with which we are already dangerously ill. The only palliative is to keep the clean sea breeze of the centuries blowing through our minds, and this can be done only by reading old books. Not, of course, that there is any magic about the past. People were no cleverer then than they are now; they made as many mistakes as we. But not the same mistakes. They will not flatter us in the errors we are already committing; and their own errors, being now open and palpable, will not endanger us. . . . To be sure, the books of the future would be just as good a corrective as the books of the past, but unfortunately we cannot get at them. 

("On the Reading Old Books," in God in the Dock, pg. 202. I found this quote in The Devoted Life: An Invitation to the Purtian Classics, ed. by Kapic and Gleason, pg. 34.).