I’m on the leadership team of the New Canaan Society of Grand Rapids, a national mentoring ministry, www.newcanaansociety.org. Several times a year, three or four of us older Christian men “with mileage,” will invite a dozen young guys over to our house for an informal dinner and discussion. Most of these young men are Christians.

We don’t ever do a teaching. We just sit around two large tables and us older guys will tell a few stories of challenges we’ve had in our personal, spiritual or business lives. Those stories always provoke questions. And the real spiritual mentoring begins.

So last month, I quoted this passage from Romans 12:2.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2

One sharp young man asked, “how do you renew your mind?” In my business, that’s what I call a hot lead! So, here’s a brief summary of what I told him.
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Last week I wrote about the value of having your own Personal Mission Statement. If you’ve not yet read that blog, I think you’ll want to or this one may not make much sense.

Have you ever spent an entire day all alone with God?

While it’s possible to write a mission statement and set your goals by catching a few hours here and there, but why would you? Why rob yourself of the opportunity to be alone with God and by doing so telling him that you’re giving him your full attention. “Speak to me, Lord. I’m listening.” Hearing from God requires time alone with him to listen for his direction. It is his guidance you’ll need to truly live a life that blesses him and pleases you.

You say you just don’t have the time? Then skip church, take Sunday off, ask your spouse, a friend, or relative to watch the kids. People have reported that when they’ve asked their spouse for a day off to seek God to be a more godly man or woman, and not just to go to a game, fishing, or shopping, they were surprised at how excited they were to help out. Who wouldn’t want a spouse more deeply committed to them, their children and God?

So, what does a day alone with God look like?
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Decades ago I felt like my life was out of control. I was busy in ministry, we were raising five children, trying to keep our marriage fresh and I felt like I was not doing any of them well. Life was a blur.

So, I signed up for a time management course. I thought that was how I would find more balance: just be more efficient. The first words out of the seminar presenter’s mouth were two questions and then a quote.

“How many of you have a written Personal Mission Statement?”
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“Church committees are God’s way of slowing up change” – Garrison Keillor

I’ve been an elder on and off for almost 30 years and I’ve assisted the elders at a number of other churches. I’ve made this observation. Very few of the most successful businessmen in our community serve on church boards or on committees. When I’ve polled them as to why, invariably their reason was something like, “Churches and their committees are so inefficient, I just couldn’t take it!”

That’s a true observation but a very unspiritual answer.

I have to confess, when I was first elected to be an elder, there were times I almost wanted a glass of wine, or a Valium. We’d sometimes spend hours talking about stuff that I thought was just a waste of time, or discussing a problem that would have been solved in a business meeting in a few minutes. “Who cares?” I’d silently think to myself. I quickly found out that somebody cares about everything in a church. But why should that concern me?
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