Signs of Soul Erosion

A do it yourself check up

A friend send me a link to this article which I found helpful so I thought I would re-publish it here.

You can find the original at: http://drbilldonahue.com/2010/10/signs-of-soul-erosion/

by BILL DONAHUE on OCTOBER 5, 2010

My friend Gordon MacDonald has great leadership insights. Some time ago, teaching our Willow staff, he warned of soul erosion and the attendant signs. I used this framework (an appropriately attributed it to Gordon) in a talk I gave this past weekend. It would make for a healthy devotional exercise to process these and attend to cracks in the soul.

1  Words without Action

“I’ll pray for you…we’ll do lunch…sure, I’ll work on this and we’ll get back together”  – Words that are empty may reflect a soul in the same condition.

2  Busyness without Purpose

Shuffling papers, cruising the net, re-organizing the files for the third time, running endless errands yet feeling like you are accomplishing nothing…these kinds of activities may reveal some disconnection at the soul level.

3  Relationships without Reciprocity

One-way relationships where it is all “give” and no “get” from another person can be draining over time. In leadership we find ourselves mostly on the give side. And if you fill your relational cup with only those who need a lot of care and attention, you are on your way to soul depletion. Find some people who will build into you in equal measure, or greater, than your output.

4  Calendars without a Sabbath

Welcome to the club. We are scheduled and organized, crammed full of meetings, teaching prep, and problems to solve. We are meeting every goal — except self-replenishment. Margin and boundaries are essential to maintaining Sabbath rhythms.

5  Pastoral Personality without Self-Examination

We spend hours discerning the condition of others’ souls, to the neglect of our own. A look inside is often scary and uncomfortable — and absolutely essential. Time to lift the lid and look under the hood? Need an oil change? A full overhaul?

6  Possessing a Natural Gift without Spiritual Power

Whether it is praying or teaching or leading or serving, we can do it on auto-pilot because we are “good” at it. Who needs God when we have it all figured out? Are you just hitting “PLAY” and running the same video clip over and over? Or is there a fresh wind of the Spirit blowing in and through you?

7  Having a Grand Theology without a True Spirituality

We know our systematics and can defend our positions on the key issues. Our Bibles are underlined and the pages are torn. Our shelves are filled with commentaries and our desks laden with periodicals.

Impressive.

But are we engaged in the disciplines that bring connection with God, life to our spirit, and capacity to truly serve others with energy and discernment?

Time to attend to that part of me that is hungry, broken and eager for the flow of grace. How about you?