Andy Byrd: Personal Development Plan

So first I want to talk about this morning, and then I'm going to share for about 25, 30 minutes, maybe less than have a few questions, and then I'm going to give you an assignment for the rest of the morning to do in small groups. Everybody's in small groups now. Is that right? Do I have that right? Okay. Cool. And I think it'll be really fruitful. And all premise that with this is you're going to do, for those of you staffing the fall school, you're going to do this with your students. So one of our goals with our one-on-one discipleship or small group discipleship for the fall school is that every single student would have a personal development plan. So you would help them to create a plan for their own lives to be personally developed and to grow maturity. So that's what we're going to talk about this morning for you guys. And this is something you're going to be walking through with our students, with those that you're pouring into and discipling. So the premise to this is this guys. There's been a lot of work that's been done comparatively between John Wesley and George Whitfield. Both they were they were contemporaries. They worked together. They were both in the Holy Club together in college back in Oxford University. They were buddies. The Holy Club was committed to going to the prison every week. They were committed to fasting every week. They were committed to 5 a.m. prayer meetings every week or every morning. They just were this crazy, disciplined community that John Wesley and George Whitfield really started. Then they had differences in theology and they kind of went their separate ways. But Whitfield was also the one that provoked Wesley to stop just preaching in churches but to preach open air. George Whitfield was the first one to kind of popularize open air preaching. So he would go to these busy streets in London and just start preaching and saw thousands come to the Lord. And he was a catalyst to the first great awakening. Wesley was still kind of doing stuff in churches and Whitfield kind of made fun of him. It was like how long are you just going to sit in churches where people don't even come? When are you going to take it to the streets? So he provoked him and then Wesley for the first time open air preached in Bristol England and then Wesley exploded and his movement exploded across the Methodist movement across England and then into America. So there's been a lot of comparative work because they were contemporaries. Whitfield was the better preacher. Whitfield was known to preach to audiences of 20,000 without amplification. So he there was no amplification and he would without a sound system could preach to 20,000 people just by his voice. He was an orator before like you know just being a full-time revival preacher. So he just had this unbelievable ability for his voice to carry and he went up and down the east coast to America leading hundreds of thousands of people to salvation. I mean it was remarkable what Whitfield accomplished in both England and America. Wesley he was not as a dynamic of a preacher. He was a little bit more of a theologian but more than anything what made Wesley so dynamic in the long term as he was a strategist. And this is what I want to talk about this morning is Wesley took the first great awakening which the glory the Lord was being poured out. So many people were getting saved. Whitfield, Wesley many others were part of that the circuit riders but Whit Wesley had the wisdom to like imagine revival like oil being poured out. Imagine spiritual awakening and even spiritual hunger like an outpouring of oil like Elijah and the widow at Zarifath where he came to her and said hey you know cook me some bread she goes I don't even have oil he goes get containers and as many containers as you get they will get filled with oil every container she brings gets filled with oil and the oil stops flowing when she runs out of containers right so imagine hunger and outpouring and revival and the glory the Lord being like an outpouring of oil. Well Wesley had the wisdom to create containers for that outpouring and because of it it was sustained and because of it the Methodist movement exploded it was the fastest growing movement on the earth in the first great awakening was Wesley's movement. Whitfield never started a movement he doesn't have a legacy in terms of that he has a legacy in terms of his obedience radical preaching all of that but he never put structure to the outpouring and because of it there was no movement that resulted from Whitfield's incredible preaching John Wesley was not as good of a preacher but he created containers for the outpouring and it led to millions and millions being swept up into the Methodist movement which was a great you know really great revival movement so what I want to talk about just briefly then is how do we be you know Wesley's in terms of creating containers for our own hunger so that hunger lasts a long time creating containers for what God's pouring out right now so it's not just a great three months and we look back and go man that track was fire right and maybe we have a great school and we're like God moved and it was so crazy but how do we create containers so that what we are experiencing this season you carry for your lifetime like you you can never diminish in zeal the rest of your life like that's possible like what you're experiencing right now in terms of hunger and zeal you don't ever have to lose that in fact it could grow for the rest of your life I feel like my testimony is not one of being like super gifted honestly super talented at anything not being I'm not the person that anyone would have picked to lead anything my story is hilarious when you dive into my high school years people that did DTS with me still when they find out that I public speak they're like Andy they're like they're like really no they just I'm the least likely guy on the team my testimony is this is I feel like God gave me grace to sustain zeal never lose zeal and grow and zeal over decades that's my testimony is I'm 22 years in to go and after Jesus you know from DTS and I have never had a season of plateauing in my love for Jesus or my zeal for God that's my testimony right and I wouldn't say that's because of anything super special other than I feel like early on when I was 18 19 getting lit up I either had enough voices in my life or had read enough history that I naturally started to create containers for my hunger and because of it there was always a container for the oil that God wanted to pour out right I he wasn't ever like cut off because I was like well I don't have any more capacity it was like I if anything I was just out there getting another container like God you want to do more I got another container poured out right and so that for decades and years of your life you could raise your families in zeal for Jesus and zeal for God okay so that to me is the premise to a personal development plan like why would you grow what would you mature in why would you develop as an individual it's so that you can sustain the thing that God wants to do in your life or you guys with me okay real quick I want everybody to in the next five seconds change seats are you ready go for it change seats find a different seat different person to sit by and grab a seat tell them it's good to see you nice to sit next to you tell them happy friday and low off friday okay now pull out something you can write with and I'm going to walk you through what I would call a personal development plan this is to help you create containers okay personal development plan creating containers for your hunger number one in terms of creating containers if I here's here's what I wish I had time to do I was going to do this today but then like set a ran out of time is I would pull one of you up and I would walk with you through creating a personal development plan based on where you're really at right now so the first question that I would ask you sitting down is explain to me what your life in the secret place is like okay so creating a personal development plan number one is what does your life in the secret place look like and that conversation go lots of different ways but let's just say I'm sitting down with someone and they you know I just tell me no shame no condemnation no anything like just how's it going like when you get alone with God how regularly do you do it and you know I'm aiming if I want to see that person mature whether they're my own children or whether they're you guys as I'm like I'm aiming that five to six days of the week you're getting alone with God for at least an hour that'd be my goal I don't know how to it's like if you were training for a race I don't know how to get you ready for that race unless you're willing to train for an hour a day right you're gonna train for a marathon we're kidding ourselves the thing we can run a marathon if you don't least give an hour a day to training for that for five days a week then rest for two days a week right so I'd be the first thing I'd find out where you at are you regularly meeting with God because we can't be developed into our maturity and our potential without regularly consistently getting alone with God then I would dive in a little bit deeper and say tell me what you do they let's say they go yeah usually I spend an hour with the Lord somewhere between five thirty to six thirty or six to seven and and I go continue what you do they go well I you know I read a little bit of the Bible I'm like well how do you read the Bible like well kind of every day I just kind of pick somewhere to go I go okay let's start there we're gonna work with developing you in terms of a Bible study and Bible reading where you're really going somewhere over the next two three years of your life this isn't this isn't Bible roulette you know this isn't like where should I read today flip it open and see where the Holy Spirit leads me where are you going I want to see you developed in your Bible reading what's your plan for the next year is it to read through the whole Bible is it to really go deep in the new testament is it to study the gospels and just the gospels for a year what's in your what is God wanting to do in your life and and how do you develop yourself accordingly to what God wants to do? Secondly, I'd say, tell me about your life and prayer. And maybe that's like, well, I spend 10 minutes praying for friends and family to get saved, you know, I probably spend 10, 15 minutes praying over my own life. And then I would begin to work with you on your prayer life to go, okay, how do you want to develop your prayer life? Where are you going in the long term? And are you praying for the nations? Because that's who we're called to. So, you know, one or two nations that you ought to be praying for every single day. And I would just basically help you create a prayer plan. I would help you create a Bible reading plan. And then beyond that, you know, you might have your own things that you really press in on. You might pray in the spirit for 10 minutes. You might spend some time just worshiping. You might be spending some time journaling. But I would be concerned first and foremost, are you in the Word and are you in prayer? And are you doing that with a long term mindset? Because every time for me, I get alone with the Lord, and I dive into the Bible, I'm creating a container for my hunger to grow. Does that make sense? And if it's kind of laxidaisical and it could go anywhere, and I'm not really sure what I'm gonna read, that container is really small. So, for me right now, I'm studying the book of Luke. It will take me a year to get through Luke, the way that I study it. Reading commentaries, writing my own commentary, praying every single verse through the book of Luke, it'll take me a year. You don't have to do it the way I do it. But where are you going? For me, I know where I'm going. So, I never get up in the morning wonder what I should read. I'm in Luke chapter seven right now. I'll be in Luke chapter seven for probably the next three weeks, right? And when Luke chapter seven's done, guess what? Going to Luke chapter eight, you know? There's no question. If I get a little extra time on a flight, and I'm like, man, I got time to dive into scriptures, where am I going? Luke chapter seven. I know where I'm going, right? If I'm in a worship time, and I'm looking for the scriptures to aid in my worship, I'm tying it all together. Where am I praying during that worship time? Luke chapter seven, right? Because everything for me is creating a container for the Lord to move in my life, for him to pour out more hunger and pour out more of his presence. Same for your prayer life. If you won't pray, if you don't have a plan, we don't pray for a lack of desire. Everybody in here wants a great prayer life. 10 out of 10 prayer life, right? Nobody in here is like, I don't want to pray. Everybody's like, I want a great prayer life. What we're often lacking is just a plan to have a great prayer life. And so if I was sitting with you in your personal development plan, I would say, okay, talk to me about two or three people. You're going to press in for this whole year. Talk to me about two nations you're going to pray for for this whole year. And let's narrow down about two scriptures that you're going to pray over your own life, this entire year. Ephesians chapter one, spirit of wisdom and revelation. Philippians chapter one, verse nine, love would about more and more knowledge and depth of insight. And I would, in development with that mentality, I'd go create a container for God to land in. Pray these two verses over yourself for 12 months. And don't ask how it's going one time. Tell me how it went after you do it for 12 months. Don't over evaluate, don't be like, it doesn't feel very dynamic. It doesn't matter how it feels. Don't even worry about how it feels. Do it for a year and then ask how it felt. And I promise you it would be like, whoa, I built a container for the Lord to pour out his hunger. So number one is the secret place. And you're going to do this in small groups that want you to begin to talk through. And with real honesty and vulnerability, where are you at in their life in a secret place and where do you want to grow? No shame, no condemnation. You might be like dang, I might be like one or two mornings a week right now, I get time with the Lord, the other mornings I'm sleeping in, or some mornings I just, I get distracted, I'm on my phone, like be honest. There's no way to get breakthrough without being honest. And no shame, no condemnation. But let's create a container for God to land on and for him to pour himself out in the secret place, right? So what your goal is when you break up into small groups is to be able to share with, you know, maybe you in small groups, maybe even break into even smaller groups, whatever you need to do so that you can share, is where are you at? And then secondly, where do you want to go? Okay, this is where I'm at, two mornings a week. Where do I want to go? For sure I want to go to five mornings a week. You know, I just want to, like out of my own hunger, my heart, I want to go that five mornings a week. For me, I love doing something totally different on Saturdays. For me, I still like to get up fairly early, but I'm not afraid to sleep in a little bit more as well. But I like doing something totally different. I might to spend an hour reading and revival history. I might do something abnormal from what I would do on that normal Monday through Friday, pressing in and prayer in the word. So there's variety, there's creativity, but by all means, create a container. Okay, number two is I want you to ask through, and this is I want you to think in a discipleship framework. If I was sitting down with that person, I'd go, okay, great, we got a plan for your secret place. Let's go to the next topic. I want to ask you the question, what are the two primary things that you run into in your journey towards maturity right now? What are the two big things for you, you know? And that person might sit next to me and they go, well, number one, it's passivity, or they might go, it's laziness, or they might say it's distraction, or it might be fear. What are the two main blockers to maturity in your life right now? Because we're gonna create a plan around overcoming those two things, right? So if I'm sitting there and John marks my guy, and we walk through the secret place, I go, bro, what are the two things? If you just look back on the last year of your life, when you run into a ceiling, what are they? And John Mark might go, man, for me, it's like number one is distraction. Like I just feel like my appetite gets off, and I start getting distracted with all these other things, and next thing I know, I'm just watching endless YouTube videos of like science, and I get hooked on Bill Nye, the science guy, and then art gets me, and then I have to post it on Instagram, and I wonder how everyone else thinks of this art, and then typos, typos on my Instagram stories, another thing I get distracted with, and John Mark's gonna have his own set of things, right? And so I'm after John Mark just being honest, and saying, like identify him. No tears, I'm not looking for him to rip his shirt, and throw ashes on his head, and feel tons of tears and repentance, and I'm just going like, let's just have a bro conversation here, what are the two things that hold you back from maturing? And then we're going to create a development plan around overcoming those things. So if he says it's distraction, then I go, okay, bro, then for the next couple of weeks, let's walk together on this, I'm going to ask on a regular basis, this is the area that distracts you, and I want to see if we walking together, we're going to pray together, that you would overcome that distraction area, and let's just see if the next 10 days you can press in, undistracted to the presence of God, like never before. Then second, he says, fear. And we go, okay, let's unmask that fear, what's it really rooted in, and really get down to it, and it's like a fear of failure. Last time I really stepped out, I just feel like it didn't turn out, and it's okay, we're going to pray through that fear of failure then, because that's holding back your maturity right now. And it's holding back these containers you want to prepare for God. So what are the two things holding you back from maturity? And how are you going to overcome them? That's number two. Number three, okay, then I'm going to sit down with John Mark, okay, these two, this is great, these are part of your development plan. Number three, where do you lack in holistic maturity, okay? So I'm going to talk about John Mark's whole life at this point, and go, because we can over, we can overly make it about just the spiritual, and it's all connected. Every area of life is connected, right? So I'm going to sit down and go, okay, where do you feel like at a holistic level, where do you feel like you lack some maturity and want to grow in your development plan? I'd say, talk to me about your overall physical health. That'd be one thing I talk about, where you act with just exercise and just eating healthy. And hear me out on this, this is not about everyone achieving some level of athleticism or a certain body type. That has nothing to do with it. This is just, are you being healthy with who you are, right? Are you getting a little bit of exercise? Are you eating healthy? Or are there some goals here that you have because that's actually going to affect your spiritual life? It is absolutely going to affect your spiritual life. So we can have all the quiet times in our world, you know, over here, but if we're super unhealthy over here, we can't even get up in the morning to spend time with the Lord, right? Because of maybe our eating habits or lack of exercise. So I'm just going to move into some holistic areas. Might get a little more uncomfortable for John Mark at this point, right? We kind of dive into his life a little bit. Tell me where you're at here. And we might set some goals. Then I'm going to ask him, how are you on finances? You know, how are you stewarding your finances? I'm not looking for John Mark to get rich. I just want to know, are you stewarding your finances well? Are you giving regularly? Do you have enough support for what God's called you to? This is part of holistic maturity. Third, I'm going to ask him about his weekly rest. Are you resting well? Do you really take like a Sabbath? Because it's super biblical. And that doesn't mean you don't do anything and just lay in bed all day. But are you taking a week where you really don't work? That's what I'm looking for. Are you not answering emails, not doing work text messages, not having meetings? Maybe you're just hanging out at the beach. Maybe you're hanging out with my sheep. What are you doing? But are you resting? And some people rest actively. I'm an active raster. I don't know how to hold still. So my rest is a chainsaw and some trees. And I'm in glory land. I am salying with that chainsaw all day long. It's just me and the chainsaw. So people rest differently. But what I'm looking for is that we're not actively participating in our normal work on that day. We're trusting God by taking a day off that we're actually going to accomplish more, OK? So I'm going to ask him about that. I'm going to ask him about his daily work ethic. Write all these down. How are you in terms of just stewarding your daily time, your work ethic? And then I'm going to ask him about his recreation. Is it-- are you wisely using your recreation? Is it beneficial? And that's especially for this generation. I just think it's important. [BLANK_AUDIO] important things to dive into in a holistic discipleship development plan is 'cause some people recreate in really unhealthy ways, but you can recreate in super healthy ways. And so it's just helping in their development, 'cause if the goal is maturity, and everybody in this room wants to grow in maturity, then you want every area of your life to be lined up towards maturing in God, creating these containers for your hunger to last a long time. So that's number three, is where do you want to grow in holistic maturity? And there are probably other things in those categories that you could hit as well that I mentioned there, but I'm looking at the holistic. I'd say another one actually add to that is your relationships. How are you in general with your friendships? You know, your relationships in life, are you stewarding friendships? Do you have some broken friendships that need to be repaired? This is part of that holistic life of maturity, okay? We've talked through that. John Mark's super pumped now, 'cause he's loving this development plan, and he's already feeling like, he's already feeling like he's taking major strides. And then the last one, fourth one, I'm gonna give you, is I'm gonna sit down, John Mark, and go, how is what you're doing now, feeding into your long-term calling? What are you doing right now to build yourself and mature yourself for the long-term call of God in your life? And John Mark may go in that, like, well, I know, you know, long-term that I feel called to India, and to planting a community there that starts training and sending Indians all over the world as long-term missionaries, right? And so I'm like, okay, then that doesn't mean you need to go to India right now, but how is what you're doing now? How are you intentionally preparing yourself for that? And we're gonna talk through some development plan things on that, I go, well, maybe you should be, you know, why don't you get about three or four meetings with Danny Lehman, the guy pioneered bases all over Asia. You're really gonna benefit from hearing from him, right? And then I go, well, have you read me history on India? And he's like, no, never. I go, okay, why don't you, that you don't need to devour it, but why don't we over the next year read a couple books on the history of India? So you understand what you're jumping into. And I'm not looking for it to consume him, but I want every season of John Mark's life to feel like he's in preparation for where he feels God's taking him, right? And all it takes is a measure of intentionality. That's all it takes, a little more intentionality. And again, we're creating a container for God to pour out oil in. And the more you create those containers, the more oil he can pour out. That's how, for me, I view the spiritual disciplines. It's how I view reading, it's how I view physical, you know, health and holistic health. It's how I view generosity and sturdying my finances. When I steward my finances, I'm creating a container for God to pour out blessing in, right? And for me, then, to be able to pour out more blessing on other people. And so all of these things is about containers. And all of it is about lasting the long term and sustaining zeal the whole time, right? That you literally could just go decades of your life and go from glory to glory. We're in Psalm 84 in the prayer room, right? Blessed are those who set their heart on pilgrimage. As they pass through the valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs. They grow from strength to strength until each appears before God in Zion. And he's David is saying there, blessed is the person who is journeying towards God and growing from glory to glory. And they turn the dry places, the valley of Baka, they turn them into wet places. What happened? You created a container for God to pour out a spirit. So as we journey towards God, growing strength to strength as we're journeying on our way to him, he's able to pour out onto us and our deserts turn into fertile soil. They turn into places of growth. They turn into places of life and vitality. And that's the goal, okay? So any questions on this, this is, yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, just that you're asking the question, you're already there. Honestly, I've only found that it's people that aren't asking the question that are in danger of doing this stuff out of striving, right? If you're aware of it, you're good. You're totally good, right? So just to have the question in your heart is the safe guard itself right there. So you don't even need to worry about it 'cause you were so passionate to ask the question, it's not an issue for you. Yeah, so good, so good. So these four areas, was there four? Was that right? Okay, secret place, blockers to maturity, holistic maturity, and development into your future calling. Imagine sitting down with an 18-year-old DTS student that comes in and having someone who's willing to coach them at 18 into how to have vibrant life in the secret place, how to overcome obstacles, holding us back from maturity, how to live holistically, guys, this is the stuff that unfortunately parents are not teaching much anymore, right? Pending on what home you grew up in, but a lot of kids are coming from broken homes and they don't have a dad to teach them this stuff, right? So or a mom to teach them this stuff. So this is a game changer because we want to have dynamic, explosive, Holy Spirit moments, and then we want to create containers to take the Holy Spirit into every single area of our lives for the long term. Another question or two, before we let you guys up and your small groups to do this. So what I want you to do, I'm gonna give it to Crystal, she may have a few specific instructions, but I think it'd be best if you were in groups of like two or three, or three-ish, let's say, three is helpful. If you're in bigger groups, then that's gonna take a little bit too long. And I want you to help each other with development plans, like, so talk through where you at in these things. Share, where you at in the secret place, share your two biggest blockers, share where you want to grow in holistic maturity, and share as much as you know, and permission and not know anything about your long term calling. That is totally fine. Like, just as much as you may know right now. And then work together as a group of three to actually create a development plan for the rest of the leadership track for you. Now, I know some of it's already been dictated, like you're reading through the whole Bible right now. Great, just keep going on that, right? But some of these other areas could be really catered specifically to use an individual. And the whole time you're doing it, I want you to have in mind you are going to be doing this with those that come into our fall school to help them create the personal development plans for where God would take them during their entire six-month DTS. And hopefully is a framework for the rest of their lives to grow and never stop growing. Sound good? Yeah? Turn the person next to you and smile? There you go. Say it's good. It's good to go after maturity. Lydia. Yeah. So here's what I would say is that throughout this, Lydia asked, how often do you reassess this? This would be great. I didn't know you had small groups, so this is perfect. I would love it if every couple of weeks in your small groups, you guys would talk about how this is going. And for those that'll end up staffing the fall school, then this will be a regular part of your small group. But this gives basis to why to even have a one-on-one. I am not a big fan of like a Kumbaya coffee moment at the cafe that you don't really know why you did it, right? I just, to me, I can't find it in the Bible. I can't find Jesus sitting down at a cafe with Peter anywhere and calling that discipleship. So I'm OK with that for fun, have fun in doing that. But I don't know that that's one-on-one discipleship. Do you know what I mean? Do it for fun. Do it for fun a lot. But don't check the box and go, that's authentic discipleship because we share the coffee together. So to me, we need a basis for one-on-one discipleship. This is going to be your framework heading into those that staff the DTS is. You're going to be walking and talking through personal development and maturity, create a container for God to pour out His Spirit in. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Little steps. Yeah. Great question. I would say maybe baby steps in all categories. I'd get rid of number four right away. Future calling might just make them pass out. And maybe their idea of their future calling might be really bad right now, right? So I would just mix number four right away and I'd do a baby step in one, two, and three, right? To be like, oh, you've never exercised in your life. Why don't we start going for walks together? And that be your discipleship. And then that's a win. You're looking for victories. We're not trying to create super Christians. Just people are maturing pilgrimage towards Zion. That's what we're looking for, right? They'll set their hearts on pilgrimage. So I give them a baby step in that area. I'd give them a baby step in the Bible. Like, hey, you've never really read the scripture before. Man, let's start for the next two weeks. Let's do it together. And then from that point on, why don't you start with five minutes a day? Read a Psalm in the morning. And I'm going to call that a huge victory. I'm going to celebrate them. I'm going to champion them. I'm not going to tell them, like, I study Luke as much. I'm not even going to talk about it, right? I'm going to be like, your Psalm this morning was like literally like winning the freaking Super Bowl. That you won. You know, you're going to champion them in that breakthrough. So I just think in all three, the categories, secret place, personal breakthroughs, and then the holistic, I'm going to give them a little baby step. Just to really help them grow and feel victorious. People need to feel like they're winning to keep winning, right? OK, sound good? All right, enjoy this today. Dive in, have a ton of fun, and really let the Lord speak to you guys on some of these development plans for yourself. I just think we want to create a container for all the hunger you guys have stirred up in this place. I want it to last long term and keep stirring up the hunger, OK? All right, love you guys.