Spotlight
Balance is Critical
By Josh Grimes
When life gets out of balance in any area, it causes an abundance of problems. However, when we get out of balance spiritually, it can be disastrous. Spiritual balance does not happen naturally; it can occur only through purposeful discipline!
God has called us to be and to make disciples of Christ, not just converts or believers (Matthew 28:19-20). Believers will believe as long as the belief fits their narrative, and converts will stay converted as long as it is convenient and not complicated. On the other hand, true disciples of Christ become new creations willing to die for their faith. Disciples are MADE, not born! It takes effort to become or to make a disciple.
Any habit of value must be a discipline before it becomes a delight. A great example of this is working out. At first, it is arduous. When you begin a physical routine, you become sore; you have to force yourself to do it. It takes lots of effort on your part for it to become a habit. But with continued discipline and time, the new routine adds health and value to your life, making it a delight. The same is true with spiritual disciplines. Spiritual discipline takes purposeful and dedicated effort on our part. It does not come naturally. But with time and dedication, spiritual discipline becomes a delight to our souls and adds tremendous value to our lives. True disciples of Christ value true discipline because they understand that with true discipline comes spiritual maturity.
For that reason, balance in the spiritual disciplines becomes imperative, and it is easy to get out of balance. The three main elements of our faith, meditating on the Word, praying, and worshiping, are not just required for us to grow and mature in our faith, they are essential to our faith itself. Balance with these three elements, or disciplines, of our faith is critical or we can become very unhealthy and even dangerous.
We will be drawn naturally to one or more of these elements than the others. One person might be drawn more to music, which would allow worship to be an easier discipline for them. Because of that, it would be more natural for them to focus all their attention on worship and thus neglect the other two disciplines of our faith. Someone else might be more drawn to learning, so the Word becomes of utmost importance to them. It would be easy for that person to give all their attention to the Word and neglect our faith’s other disciplines. Another person might be more drawn to experience because they love to experience things. It would be more natural for these people to give all their time to prayer and neglect the others. As you can see, it is easy to lean more toward one discipline. It is NOT a sin to have an affinity towards one discipline of our faith over another; it is natural. We are all made differently and will be drawn to different things. Yet we must work and discipline ourselves to remain in balance.
So what happens when we get out of balance?
This is something I have been meditating on for years, and I would like to share what I feel is a revelation from the Lord. Let’s look at the consequences of spiritual disciplines that are out of balance.
WorshiP:
Honoring God
Anything that exalts the Lord above all else humbles us and causes us to become more aware of Him (Psalm 100:1-5). We must remember, however, that music, instruments, and/or lyrics are not worship in and of themselves. They become worship only when we use them to worship, praise, and honor God, exalting Him above all others.
- When worship becomes the most important discipline and the others are neglected, you can get flaky, with your “head in the clouds.” The act of worship instead becomes more important than Whom you worship, the true God. This breeds worship of the worship and then becomes about entertainment. Be careful, as this can easily disguise itself as striving for excellence when it is just out-of-balance priorities. There is NOTHING wrong with excellence, but be certain that you are not neglecting our faith’s other elements and disciplines.
- When there is an insufficiency of true worship in your life, you can soon become unaware of God and His goodness around you. This causes ungratefulness, lack of reverence, and eventually, an absence of the fear of God altogether! A lack of true worship is more than a slippery slope; it is a sure way to lose your awe of God.
The WorD:
Discovering God
Reading the Bible, having devotions, listening to teaching/preaching, studying doctrine, getting the Word in you (Psalm 119:105).
- When meditating on the Word becomes the most important discipline and the others are neglected, you can quickly become legalistic, judgmental, and critical – one who is quick to point fingers at others. This can easily turn into a feeling of inadequacy or a sense of being unworthy because with time those fingers and critical attitudes get pointed back at you.
- When there is an insufficiency of the Word in your life, you remain shallow and immature. It causes a lack of faith, wandering, and spiritual drift. You cannot know the true voice of God if you do not understand the God of the Word.
Prayer:
Experiencing God
Petitions, meditation, waiting on and experiencing a move of God, such as a touch of the Spirit, along with fasting to heighten those experiences (Psalm 145:18).
- When prayer becomes the most important discipline and the others are neglected, you can quickly start to over-spiritualize everything. (For instance, you see a “devil behind every doorknob”; everything has a spiritual meaning.) This can develop over time into a grandiose complex with the feeling that “I have all the answers,” or “I am right, and everyone else is wrong.”
- When there is insufficient prayer in your life, it is easy to under-spiritualize things, stop hearing from God, and stop seeing or experiencing God (or a move of the Spirit) around you, which causes a lack of spiritual power and authority.
You can see how easy it is to get out of balance with our spiritual disciplines and the detrimental effects that imbalance has on our walk with God. Additionally, our lack of balance has unintended consequences for those around us as well. Balance in the elements and disciplines of our faith needs to be a significant priority in our walk with God. It is more than just important or imperative; it is CRITICAL for our growth, maturity, and fulfillment in our walk with God.
About the Author
Josh Grimes is the executive director for Open Bible’s East Region. He is a third-generation preacher who planted his first church in his early 20s. Though nestled in a very rural area, that church grew into a strong, healthy congregation that achieved county-wide influence. Pastor Josh went on to tackle a struggling church and nourished it back to fruitfulness. With a heart for pastors and the local church, Josh inspires others to greater levels of living and ministry. He loves spending time with family, studying the Bible, preaching, doing missionary work, wood whittling, hunting, and anything that could be fun!
Pastor Josh and his wife, Melissa, have two adult children, Hannah Joy and Caleb Joshua. Caleb and his wife, Alegra, are expecting their first child, making Josh and Melissa first-time grandparents! “Poppy” and “Lovey” are so excited!
On the fifth day of creation, our wonderful God showed himself in a brand new way. He began to create the living creatures that walk among us. This expression of His creation has shown itself throughout history; from Noah’s dove, to Balaam’s donkey, to Jonah’s whale and Daniel’s lions, God has continued to use animals in His grand plan and purpose.
We can still use these animals as a metaphor for God’s love and guidance. One notable example comes from Bob Sjogren’s book Cat and Dog Theology: “A dog says, ‘You pet me, you feed me, you shelter me, you love me, you must be God.’ A cat says, ‘You pet me, you feed me, you shelter me, you love me, I must be God.’”
As true as this may be, something wonderful happens when the molds break.
[God] certainly doesn’t want to drag us from one destination to the next. He would rather we follow Him willingly, eager to remain in His presence.
In our family, we recently experienced an interesting phenomenon when it came to our pets. To understand the story better, you need to understand our animals. Ralphie is our young, spirited Maltipoo. He has never met a stranger he didn’t love. He is sweet, loyal and in many ways the ideal companion.
Then we have our chihuahua, Sally. We found Sally roaming our neighborhood in 2014 with no tags and no microchip. She had obviously been mistreated, and when I took her to the vet, they found so many things wrong with her that I was advised, “Don’t be in a huge hurry to find her owner.”
We cleaned Sally up, and two weeks later she was legally ours. While she is affectionate to us and our kids, to this day, if I lift my hand to give her a pat on the head, she winces as if I am going to hit her (something I have never done and never intend to do).
Ralphie and Sally’s unique natures show themselves on our nightly walk around the neighborhood.
Ralphie tries his hardest to pull on the leash and run ahead. He so desperately wants to lead whoever is holding the leash that he nearly chokes himself on his collar. (We’ve had to switch to a harness.) He is unaware that he is only eight pounds, and his actions make little to no difference in the direction we are going.
Sally, however, must be practically dragged throughout the walk. She is timid and afraid to take a step that she isn’t sure is safe.
It’s quite a sight to have such different dogs reacting to the same thing.
Witnessing this phenomenon gave me pause, and I couldn’t help but think what a picture this is for the diverse ways we respond to the Holy Spirit’s leading in our lives.
So many people are like Ralphie. They try to tell God where they want to go without any regard to His guidance. They would rather choke themselves on their own will than listen to what He has to say. Others are like Sally and struggle to fully trust the Lord. For them to move, the Holy Spirit must practically drag them to the next place.
It sounds like a simple premise, but so many followers of God fall into these two opposite extremes. People miss their destinies when they act like Ralphie and Sally.
But there is another pet in our household whom I have not told you about. His name is Caesar, and he is an old, wise cat. We got Caesar the year we were married, and he lived up to his noble name every chance he got. Years ago, on our nightly walks with the dogs, Caesar began doing something amazing.
By his own free will, he would simply follow us on our walks. No need for a leash. No need for us to coax him. He just followed our gentle guidance every night for the mere purpose of being with us. Every now and then we would have to call his name, but he was always nearby.
I believe that in a world full of Ralphies and Sallys, God would rather we be like Caesar. The Lord doesn’t want us to tell Him where we are going rather than let Him lead, and He certainly doesn’t want to drag us from one destination to the next. He would rather we follow Him willingly, eager to remain in His presence.
In Matthew 8:18-22, two men express a desire to follow Jesus. The first is overly eager, not knowing what he is getting himself into. Jesus gives him a stern warning, explaining that he doesn’t know what he’s asking. The second man hesitates and says he needs to bury his father first. We never learn the fate of either man, but I hope they both abandoned their natural tendencies and learned to faithfully follow.
Whether you struggle with being too aggressive on your journey with God or whether you’re entirely too scared to take another step, I believe we can all grow in learning to be led
After sixteen years of being our cat, Caesar died peacefully this past March, but not before we had gotten a kitten named CJ. CJ is full of life and extremely playful. She was always so intrigued by our old friend Caesar that she started following him everywhere he went, even if it meant a walk around our neighborhood.
Caesar indirectly made a disciple with our young kitten, who now follows us on our walks every night. Despite how aggressive Ralphie wants to be or how timid Sally is, we now have CJ, just following along wherever we go.
Whether you struggle with being too aggressive on your journey with God or whether you’re entirely too scared to take another step, I believe we can all grow in learning to be led. If we will stay close to Jesus, we cannot help but fulfill His destiny for our lives.
About the Author
Bill Francavilla
Bill Francavilla is the lead pastor at Living Hope, an Open Bible church in Williamsburg, Virginia. Having lived in Virginia nearly his entire life, he attended Lynchburg College, where he studied history and theater. In 2017 Bill received his master’s degree in theological studies from Liberty University. He has been active in missions to Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Cuba. He and his wife, Jessica, have four children: Alex, Liam, Rita Grace, and Gino.
I am Shane Blackledge, and my wife Amber and I are the founding pastors of Cultivate Church in St. Louis, Missouri. My story is one of transformation and God’s grace, showing how He can use anyone to build His kingdom.
I was born in Colorado at the Air Force Academy Hospital. My father served in the Vietnam War, and while stationed in Taiwan, he met my mother and they got married. When I was six, my parents separated, and my mother moved back to Taiwan, leaving me devastated. As a kid, I faced racism and extreme poverty. I battled depression, anxiety, and thoughts of suicide. I started smoking and drinking at eight years old, joined a gang at age thirteen, and was using meth daily by the time I was fourteen.
At age seventeen, I was arrested and sentenced to thirty years in prison for selling drugs. I found myself in my jail cell wanting to end it all. On my night stand I found a Gideon Bible, and I opened it right to John 3:16. As I sat there reading, I realized I was a sinner, but that God created me and I had a purpose to live. I repented and asked Jesus to forgive me. I felt the Father’s love and the presence of the Holy Spirit in an indescribable way.
After my release, I struggled transitioning back into society (finding a job, paying rent, and finding a church that would accept me). I was discouraged and soon relapsed on meth. During the years of my addiction, I was sent to five prisons and was incarcerated for over six years. In 2006, after nearly dying from an overdose, I woke up from a coma and realized God had saved me from death. That day I fully surrendered to Christ, and that’s when my real transformation began.
In 2006, after nearly dying from an overdose, I woke up from a coma and realized God had saved me from death
God restored what addiction had taken from me. I have now been clean from meth for seventeen years. In 2013, I married Amber. We started attending Waverly Life Church, served as youth leaders, and eventually started a Celebrate Recovery program. In 2022, God called us to plant Cultivate Church in St. Louis, Missouri. We resigned from all ministries and jobs and sold our home. In April of 2023, we started house church gatherings which quickly grew in Christ and numbers. We launched our first Sunday gathering in October of 2023.
Today, we are a church without walls, modeled after the early church in Acts. We have regular church gatherings geared towards discipleship, street ministry, addiction recovery, Christian hip-hop events, prison ministry, and nursing home visits. We work with local treatment centers and recovery programs to support and mentor people. We have partnered with churches and ministries to organize monthly inner-city mission trips.
One way God has used my story is with my podcast: “Kingdom Minded,” which streams into 1000 prisons across the country on over one million inmate tablets. In partnership with the Edovo learning app, the podcast focuses on sharing testimonies and teaching Biblical principles.
Looking back, I am amazed at what God has done. In just a year our church has grown from a small group in our living room to a thriving community, passionate about sharing God’s love. Amber and I are excited about the future. We believe God is just getting started with Cultivate Church.
He can use anyone, even a former addict and convict like me, to build His kingdom.
My story and the story of Cultivate Church are really about God’s faithfulness. He can use anyone, even a former addict and convict like me, to build His kingdom. All the glory goes to Him.
To donate toward our prison ministry and homeless outreach, visit wearecultivatechurch.org or check out our Blessing Bags Gift Registry at HERE.
About the Author
Shane R. Blackledge
Shane R. Blackledge is the co-founder and senior pastor of Cultivate Church. He and his wife Amber started Cultivate Church in their home in 2023. Today, the church is known for spreading the Gospel and being the church without walls. Shane’s podcast, “Kingdom Minded,” is available in over 1000 prisons on inmate tablets on the Edovo Learning App. Through testimonies and Bible principles, the podcast aims to teach, inspire, and equip Christians to live their best life now. Shane is an author and speaker, and his books From Prison to Purpose and Overcoming Codependency are available on Amazon. Shane and Amber have four children and live in St. Louis, Missouri.
When my husband and I married in July of 2019, it was with a firm understanding of our shared life goals and dreams, and kids were a big part of our plans. In our minds we would have our biological children first, and then when we were ready, we would pursue adoption. But the Lord always has a better plan than ours, doesn’t He?
After we had been married for two years and still had not conceived, we discovered that I was having fertility issues. I saw multiple doctors and was prescribed several medications to help with conception. During this time, I remember telling my husband it felt like we were living in “limbo,” not getting anywhere closer to having a family. Because of our powerful desire to start a family soon, we decided to divert from our original plan and become foster parents.
“Had I conceived when I wanted to…we never would have met Noah and Leif, our precious sons.”
After an entire summer of preparation, our license went active, and we took a couple of short-term placements. These were our first experiences as parents and had us seriously questioning our parenting abilities! But in December of 2022 we got a call about a four-month-old boy named Noah. Noah was in the ICU with significant health concerns. We weren’t given any idea how long he would stay with us or what his life would look like, and we were scared to commit to taking on a placement that held so much uncertainty. After visiting sweet Noah in the hospital and spending considerable time talking and praying about it, we decided we wanted to take this baby and give him a loving, nurturing home — something he had not yet experienced in his short life.
Noah joined our family on December 16, 2022, and immediately, I became remarkably busy caring for him and taking him to all his appointments. We were so busy, in fact, that thinking of my own fertility was put on the back burner; it just wasn’t my priority anymore.
On January 18, 2023, after a routine follow-up for Noah at Blank Children’s Hospital, we got a call from a surgeon informing us that Noah’s brain was bleeding and we needed to rush him to the hospital for emergency brain surgery. The surgery was successful, and I stayed with Noah during his recovery in Iowa City, two hours from our hometown. We were finally discharged and returned home on January 22. During my time in the hospital with Noah, I did not have any of my fertility medications or supplements (but like I said, I wasn’t focusing on that so much anymore).
So many children have endured brokenness and trauma, and they need to be loved. If we as the church do not show them the Father’s love, who will?
Little did I know that the Lord had everything perfectly planned. On February 2, just eleven days after our hospital discharge, I found out I was pregnant. We were overjoyed!
But God wasn’t done surprising us. A few short weeks after discovering my pregnancy, we received word that Noah’s biological mother was pregnant as well, due to have a baby boy in a few months. We knew immediately that if this baby also needed to be placed in foster care, we wanted him to be with his brother, so we told our social worker we would care for him. Noah’s baby brother Leif was born in May, and just five months later, our son, Sven, was born in October. Overall, when we brought Sven home from the hospital, we had Noah (fifteen months), Leif (five months), and Sven (newborn).
In December of 2023, we were able to officially adopt Noah and Leif, ending their days of foster care and guaranteeing them a safe, loving family for a lifetime. It has been a crazy and chaotic year, but I would not trade it for the world. At the time of this writing, their ages are twenty months, ten months, and six months. Our days are filled with exploring new things and reaching new milestones, and our home is brimming with baby gear (think three car seats, three highchairs, a triple stroller…you get the picture).
I honestly believe God planned our entire story. I couldn’t see it at the time of infertility, but had I conceived when I wanted to, we never would have entered foster care, and we never would have met Noah and Leif, our precious sons. Going through this experience has given me so much assurance that God’s timing is always perfect.
If you are in the midst of infertility, I know it can be hard to hear “God has a plan!” But as someone who has seen His perfect plan come to fruition, I encourage you to go to God in prayer. Tell Him your desires, your frustrations, and your hurts, but also consider asking God what He wants from you in this season of waiting. Maybe He has called you to foster, adopt, or minister to the next generation through your church ministries.
Perhaps you haven’t experienced the struggle of infertility, but you do have a heart for the next generation. How might God use you to help disciple and love on kids around you? So many children have endured brokenness and trauma, and they need to be loved. If we as the church do not show them the Father’s love, who will?
About the Author
Natalie Larson
Natalie Larson has been a registered nurse at MercyOne in Des Moines, Iowa, for eleven years, working in both pediatrics and surgery. Her primary role now, however, is being mama to her three active sons. Free time has been hard to come by recently, but when Natalie finds a few moments of it, she enjoys baking, reading, and crocheting. Natalie and her husband, Alex, can be found at Journey Church in Urbandale, Iowa, on any given Sunday, where their boys are some of the most popular congregants.
