Category: Christian Leadership

Inward Discipline #3: Fasting

In his book Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster lists Fasting as the third inward discipline.  Interestingly, he points out that fasting developed a bad reputation as a result of the excessive ascetic practices of the Middle Ages.

Therefore, Foster could not find a single book published on the subject of Christian fasting from 1861 to 1954—a period of nearly one hundred years!

Fast forward to today, when the constant propaganda fed to us convinces us that if we do not have three large meals each day—with several snacks in between—we are on the verge of starvation. This, coupled with the popular belief that it is a positive virtue to satisfy every human appetite, has made fasting seem obsolete.

But should it be?

Scripture has so much to say about fasting that we would do well to look once again at this ancient Discipline.

Click here to learn more from Richard Foster on Fasting

The Battle Plan for Prayer by the Kendrick Brothers

With February’s focus on the spiritual discipline of prayer, I am reminded of War Room—a 2015 American Christian drama film by Alex Kendrick and Stephen Kendrick. It was the Kendrick brothers’ fifth film, released in North American theaters on August 28, 2015.  The film received generally negative reviews from secular critics, while Christian critics received generally positive reviews; and it became a box office success and a sleeper hit, grossing $74 million worldwide

In the movie, pharmaceutical salesman Tony Jordan and his wife, realtor Elizabeth Jordan, appear outwardly successful; they have a large house, plenty of money, and a beautiful daughter named Danielle. Behind the façade, however, Tony and Elizabeth’s relationship is strained. Tony is callous, verbally abusive and thinking about cheating on Elizabeth. In addition, because his job requires frequent travel, he is almost never there for his daughter.

Elizabeth goes to work with an elderly woman, Miss Clara, to sell her house. Miss Clara senses the stress Elizabeth is under, and suggests that Elizabeth fight for their marriage by praying for Tony. Miss Clara shows Elizabeth a special closet she has dedicated to praying, which she calls her “War Room”; as she puts it, “in order to stand up and fight the enemy, you need to get on your knees and pray.”

Through her prayers in the ”War Room,” Elizabeth sees God at work in Tony and her family.  It’s a movie worth watching!

Click here for more from the Kendrick Brothers from Basic Training to Targeted Strategies for Prayer