4 Problems for the Pastor. 2. Staleness

Here is how he frames the problem: “in the midst of all the pressures that are upon us, how can we not only overcome discouragement but maintain spiritual freshness?” So John Stott, in Problems of Christian Leadership (27).

Here is Stott birdwatching in Belfast, and it appears that’s Tyler to his left.

No specific passage, he admits, but a reflection drawn from experience and Scripture. “I am,” he confesses, “an impenitent believer in the importance of discipline. I believe that indiscipline is often at the root of staleness” (28).

So he advocates several disciplines that can help us deal with the problem of staleness.

Three important disciplines:

1. The discipline of rest and relaxation (hence the birding picture). Body and spirit are connected; when the body is tired so too the spirit. We need to take time off. He likes afternoon siestas. Time for families if one is a spouse or parent. One day off each week. Good to have hobbies. Time with family and friends.

2. The discipline of time. We need to have a daily timetable; Stott prayed through his day each morning. Time for Bible reading and prayer and reading.  Quiet days, and here again he tells about his own life. He learned early to take a quiet day each month.

3. The discipline of devotions. Bible reading. He used McCheyne’s Bible reading calendar, and he learned this from Martin Lloyd-Jones. He read three chps per morning and one per evening. Approach it with expectation. And prayer, too. He thinks the devil is at work in keeping people from praying. Battle at the threshold for the value of this time.