Integrating Emotional Health with Spiritual Mission
Summary
### Summary
Today, we embarked on a new sermon series titled "Emotionally Healthy Mission," which intertwines the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. The essence of this series is to explore how emotional health and spiritual maturity are inseparable. One cannot be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature. This means that despite outward religious practices, if we do not allow God into the emotional recesses of our lives—our anxieties, fears, anger, and addictive behaviors—we are not truly spiritually mature.
Emotionally healthy discipleship involves a combination of emotional health and contemplative spirituality, which leads to profound transformation. This transformation is akin to an iceberg, where the visible 10% is supported by the hidden 90% beneath the surface. We are invited to let God into the depths of our being, addressing our deepest fears, anxieties, and emotional struggles.
A common critique of emotionally healthy discipleship is that it may lead to excessive introspection, making us ineffective in the world. However, true emotional health does not negate mission; it enhances it. The Apostle Paul exemplifies this balance in his letter to the Philippians, where he speaks of progress and joy, mission and morale. Emotionally healthy mission means going slow, deep, and wide, ensuring that our mission is infused with joy, kindness, and love.
In our hyper-driven society, especially in a city like New York, there is a constant push for productivity and achievement. This drive has historical roots in concepts like Aristotle's "telos," utilitarianism, and the Protestant work ethic. However, the Christian mission, as outlined in the Great Commission, is to make disciples. This mission is further clarified by the Great Commandment, which calls us to love God and love others.
Ultimately, the mission is love. Our primary call is to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. This love should be the driving force behind our actions, whether in our careers, relationships, or daily interactions. The early church understood this, as seen in the writings of the Apostle John, who emphasized that love comes from God and that God is love. This love was demonstrated through Jesus Christ, who sacrificed Himself for us.
### Key Takeaways
1. Emotional Health and Spiritual Maturity: True spiritual maturity cannot exist without emotional health. This means allowing God into the deepest parts of our lives, addressing our anxieties, fears, and emotional struggles. Without this, our outward religious practices are hollow. [02:26]
2. Transformation Through Contemplative Spirituality: Emotionally healthy discipleship involves slowing down and engaging in contemplative spirituality. This allows us to hear from God and become aware of the gaps in our discipleship, leading to profound transformation. [03:35]
3. Balancing Introspection and Mission: While emotionally healthy discipleship involves looking inward, it does not negate our mission in the world. Instead, it enhances it by ensuring that our mission is carried out with joy, kindness, and love. [06:04]
4. The Great Commission and Great Commandment: Our primary mission as Christians is to make disciples, as outlined in the Great Commission. This mission is further clarified by the Great Commandment, which calls us to love God and love others. This love should be the driving force behind all our actions. [16:31]
5. The Mission is Love: The ultimate mission is love. Our primary call is to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. This love was demonstrated through Jesus Christ, who sacrificed Himself for us. [27:53]
### YouTube Chapters
[0:00] - Welcome
[01:24] - Introduction to Emotionally Healthy Mission
[01:54] - Emotional Health and Spiritual Maturity
[02:26] - Allowing God into Emotional Recesses
[03:35] - Contemplative Spirituality
[04:06] - The Iceberg Analogy
[05:04] - Invitation to Deep Transformation
[06:04] - Balancing Introspection and Mission
[07:02] - Paul's Example of Progress and Joy
[08:03] - Going Slow, Deep, and Wide
[09:23] - Task-Oriented vs. People-Oriented
[10:58] - Historical Roots of Productivity
[12:28] - The Concept of Telos
[13:26] - Utilitarianism and Protestant Work Ethic
[15:03] - Peter Drucker's Five Questions
[16:31] - The Great Commission
[18:18] - The Great Commandment
[20:11] - The Mission is Love
[21:08] - Recalibrating Our Hearts
[22:50] - Personal Story of Drivenness
[24:03] - Hosting Dinner and Missing the Point
[27:18] - The Early Church's Understanding of Love
[29:15] - Invitation to Fall in Love with God Again
Study Guide
### Bible Reading
1. Matthew 28:18-20 (The Great Commission)
> Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
2. Matthew 22:37-40 (The Great Commandment)
> Jesus replied: "‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
3. 1 John 4:7-10
> Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
### Observation Questions
1. What does Jesus command His disciples to do in the Great Commission? (Matthew 28:18-20)
2. According to the Great Commandment, what are the two greatest commandments that Jesus emphasizes? (Matthew 22:37-40)
3. How does the Apostle John describe the nature of God and His love in 1 John 4:7-10?
4. In the sermon, what analogy is used to describe the depth of emotional health and spiritual maturity? ([04:06])
### Interpretation Questions
1. How does the Great Commission relate to the concept of emotionally healthy mission as described in the sermon? ([16:31])
2. Why is it important to balance emotional health with mission, according to the sermon? ([06:04])
3. How does the Great Commandment inform our understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus? ([18:18])
4. What does the sermon suggest about the relationship between emotional health and spiritual practices like prayer and Bible reading? ([01:54])
### Application Questions
1. Reflect on your own life: Are there areas where you have focused more on outward religious practices rather than allowing God into the emotional recesses of your life? How can you begin to address this imbalance? ([02:26])
2. The sermon mentions the importance of slowing down and engaging in contemplative spirituality. What practical steps can you take this week to slow down and create space to hear from God? ([03:35])
3. How can you ensure that your mission and actions are infused with joy, kindness, and love, especially in a hyper-driven society? ([08:42])
4. Think about your current relationships and interactions. How can you better demonstrate love for God and love for others in these contexts? ([19:10])
5. The sermon discusses the tension between being task-oriented and people-oriented. In your daily life, how can you find a balance between achieving tasks and caring for people? ([09:23])
6. Reflect on a recent situation where you were driven by productivity or achievement. How could you have approached it differently with a focus on love and emotional health? ([27:18])
7. Identify one person in your life who might be struggling emotionally. How can you support them in a way that reflects the love of God as described in 1 John 4:7-10? ([27:53])
Devotional
Day 1: Emotional Health and Spiritual Maturity
Description: True spiritual maturity cannot exist without emotional health. This means allowing God into the deepest parts of our lives, addressing our anxieties, fears, and emotional struggles. Without this, our outward religious practices are hollow. Emotional health and spiritual maturity are inseparable; one cannot be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature. This involves inviting God into the emotional recesses of our lives—our anxieties, fears, anger, and addictive behaviors. Only by doing so can we achieve true spiritual maturity. #!!02:26!!
Ephesians 4:22-24 (ESV): "To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."
Reflection: What is one area of emotional struggle that you have been hesitant to bring before God? How can you invite Him into that space today?
Day 2: Transformation Through Contemplative Spirituality
Description: Emotionally healthy discipleship involves slowing down and engaging in contemplative spirituality. This allows us to hear from God and become aware of the gaps in our discipleship, leading to profound transformation. This transformation is akin to an iceberg, where the visible 10% is supported by the hidden 90% beneath the surface. We are invited to let God into the depths of our being, addressing our deepest fears, anxieties, and emotional struggles. #!!03:35!!
Psalm 46:10 (ESV): "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"
Reflection: Take 10 minutes today to sit in silence before God. What emotions or thoughts come to the surface, and how can you invite God into those areas?
Day 3: Balancing Introspection and Mission
Description: While emotionally healthy discipleship involves looking inward, it does not negate our mission in the world. Instead, it enhances it by ensuring that our mission is carried out with joy, kindness, and love. A common critique of emotionally healthy discipleship is that it may lead to excessive introspection, making us ineffective in the world. However, true emotional health does not negate mission; it enhances it. The Apostle Paul exemplifies this balance in his letter to the Philippians, where he speaks of progress and joy, mission and morale. #!!06:04!!
Philippians 1:25-26 (ESV): "Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again."
Reflection: How can you balance your time between personal introspection and outward mission this week? What practical steps can you take to ensure both are given attention?
Day 4: The Great Commission and Great Commandment
Description: Our primary mission as Christians is to make disciples, as outlined in the Great Commission. This mission is further clarified by the Great Commandment, which calls us to love God and love others. This love should be the driving force behind all our actions. In our hyper-driven society, especially in a city like New York, there is a constant push for productivity and achievement. However, the Christian mission, as outlined in the Great Commission, is to make disciples. This mission is further clarified by the Great Commandment, which calls us to love God and love others. #!!16:31!!
Matthew 22:37-39 (ESV): "And he said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"
Reflection: In what ways can you show love to God and others in your daily routine? Identify one specific action you can take today to live out the Great Commandment.
Day 5: The Mission is Love
Description: The ultimate mission is love. Our primary call is to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. This love was demonstrated through Jesus Christ, who sacrificed Himself for us. Ultimately, the mission is love. Our primary call is to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. This love should be the driving force behind our actions, whether in our careers, relationships, or daily interactions. The early church understood this, as seen in the writings of the Apostle John, who emphasized that love comes from God and that God is love. #!!27:53!!
1 John 4:7-8 (ESV): "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love."
Reflection: Think of someone in your life who needs to experience God's love. How can you be a vessel of that love to them today? What specific action can you take to demonstrate God's love to them?
Quotes
1. "Emotional health and spiritual maturity are inseparable. It's impossible to be spiritually, spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature. Now, what does that mean? It basically means this. It means that I can be someone who on the surface, I read the Bible for hours on end. I pray. I give sacrificially. I show up to church regularly. And yet, if I don't let God into the areas of my life, i.e. the emotional parts of my life, the parts underneath the surface, when it comes to my anxieties, when it comes to my anger, when it comes to my fear, when it comes to my addictive behavior, I could be a pastor who preaches amazing messages. And yet, if I'm someone who doesn't really know how to listen to my spouse really well, or if I'm continually distracted, and as a result, that distractibility actually leads me towards addictive behaviors, then I'm really not that spiritually mature." [01:54] (56 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "But meanwhile, what emotionally healthy discipleship is, it's an invitation to say, God, not only, please, will you deal with that 10%, but actually, will you deal with the 90%? Will you get into the guts of just all the longings, the fears, the anxieties that I often carry? Will you take all of me? Will you take my anger issue? Will you take my addictive behaviors? Will you take, my shame? Will you take some of the depression that I struggle with? And can I allow that? Can I give you that to transform?" [04:35] (30 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "Emotionally healthy mission is doing all of these things. It's going slow and deep and wide. High five your neighbor and say, go slow and deep and wide. Now here's what it looks like, right? Because it means then that the way that we do mission, so it doesn't mean that, right? In New York City is such a hyper-driven, mission-driven kind of place. And what we're saying, well, yes, we are supposed to be hyper-driven and mission-driven. That's why we're one of the greatest cities. That's why we are the greatest city in the world. But the way that we go about doing mission and advancement, hopefully the way the texture that we show up in the world has a certain kind of joy, morale, kindness, and love to it." [08:03] (49 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "What's the greatest commandment? It's to give away a certain amount of your fixed income and then to be even more generous with it. No, no, no, no, no. Wait, what's the greatest commandment? That you better obey God. Otherwise, he's going to smite you. No, no, no, no. What's the greatest commandment? Who is a disciple? It's someone who loves God. And who loves others well. Jesus defines what success and winning looks like. This is nothing against productivity and mission. But what Jesus is doing is he's recalibrating everyone to what is the most important mission for any of us? What does it mean to be a disciple?" [19:10] (68 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "The mission is love. How do we do the great commandment? How do we do the mission? It's actually by following the great commandment. By being a people who are fixated that when it comes down to our primary call, when it comes down to our secondary call, that whatever vocation we're in, whatever field or industry we might find ourselves in, that hopefully that what we are is we're a people who honestly before God and before others that we could say, you know, the first ambition of my life is that I would love Jesus more than anything or anything. that I would be a loving presence in the world." [21:08] (40 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
6. "Who or what do you love the most? You know, part of the task of gathering week in and week out is just for us to reach out to God. To recalibrate our hearts and to say, Jesus, I want your love to be central to my life. I want to be able to hear from you. I don't want to be drawn and swayed by my love for my career, by my love for people liking me, by my love for my own ambition. I want to be drawn by the voice of God himself. Who or what do you love the most?" [21:59] (45 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
7. "What's so amazing about the Christian good news, it's it's always with the mission is love. Now, is there progress? Is there doing things excellently? Of course there is. And we're going to be exploring that, but it's holding these tensions together. And at the end of the day, what does it mean for us to live out the great commission and the great commandment?" [27:18] (23 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
8. "Dear friends, let us love one another for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us. He sent his one and only son into the world that we might live through him. This is love. that we loved God. But that God loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. How different is this than the ways of the world? Then our mission driven societies, which is all about purpose and achievement. There's a God from heaven above who demonstrates that the most enduring quality of this God is love, a love that is demonstrated by a savior, who dies on a cross. The mission is love the God who first loves us this morning. Who do you love? What do you love? If this morning you're open to simply saying, God, I want to become right with you again. I want to fall in love with you again. He's always the God who first loved us." [27:53] (104 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
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