The Three Bs of Discernment
GCD Newsletter – Monday, April 3, 2023
The size of my family and the age of my children means our lives get pretty full. For example, last Thursday I worked for GCD in the morning before working at church during the day. Then, in the afternoon, I drove to a nearby school and coached track and field practice. Then we had the “winter sports” awards at school, where various basketball players got awards. (My three oldest children were on three different teams, two on middle school teams and one varsity team!) Then I went back to church for a late-night pastoral search team meeting. Because we’re planting a church, we’ve been understaffed and are looking for a new pastor.
Sorry to wear you out just reading this. Most of my days aren’t like last Thursday. But these sorts of days caused me to find significant help in a recent post on our website. Staff writer Tim Shorey wrote about how Christians might think through all the opportunities we have before us. He opens the article, “I had an impulse this week to drive five to six hours (ten or twelve in all) to visit a hospitalized friend. Then I had an impulse to call a grieving widow to offer a friendly pastoral voice. I’ve also had impulses to mentor young men, not to mention an impulse to join hearts with fellow cancer fighters I know.”
Later in the post, he shares what he calls his “3-B counsel.” When he has competing impulses or other well-meaning people ask him to do something, he considers burden, bandwidth, and boldness. You have to read the post to see what he means by each. I can tell you that I found the article so helpful, I used it for the next installment of our Writers’ Coaching Corner videos, which comes out today. I talked through how these “three Bs” can help Christian writers discern how we spend our time and what projects we should pursue, and which we should pass over.
Whether you’re a writer or a busy new mother or in grad school, I think you’ll be helped by Tim’s counsel. It’s the very counsel Tim has to apply to his own life as he fights a battle with cancer.
Also, this week we announced the launch of our latest GCD book called Primed to Plant: The Overlooked Requirements of Church Planting by Dwight Bernier. If your church is considering planting a church or if you know a church planting pastor, grab a copy to give away.
Last Week at GCDiscipleship.com
Primed to Plant: Book Launch
Endorsement from GCD founder Jonathan Dodson
“It would be a great service to church planting movements to get this book into the hands of every aspiring church planter. It covers important topics often missed in church planting literature, such as unexpected planter requirements and tips on leadership development. The real gold is in Dwight’s insightful and direct questions, questions I wish every church planter would reflect on. I can also testify all of this is field-tested; Dwight lives everything he writes about in this book. I heartily commend it to you!”
Develop Your Leaders or Die
Dwight Bernier
“When contemplating planting a church, how many people dream about having a church that needs them? When I say ‘need,’ what I mean is that you are available to them all the time. You are ready to answer their every question. You are ready to be at every moment of celebration and mourning in each church member’s life. You are their spiritual ‘phone-a-friend.’”
Not Every Good Idea Is God’s Idea: Faith Reflections from a Cancer Oven (#9)
Tim Shorey
“I’ve got the heart for many impulses but the health for only a few. So it’s complicated. Maybe I need to heed the 3-B counsel I’ve given to others in my pastoring days: Through prayer and the counsel of pastors and others I need to discern what I have the burden, bandwidth, and boldness to do.”
Writers’ Coaching Corner (April 2023): Discernment and Perseverance
Benjamin Vrbicek
“This month is the fifth installment in the second season of the Writers’ Coaching Corner (S2:E5). Each month I take one paragraph from a GCD article to highlight some aspect of what makes for good writing. I’ll point out what made the writing work so well and how we can incorporate more of that writerly goodness into our craft. This month I use staff writer Tim Shorey’s article Not Every Good Idea is God’s Idea: Faith Reflections from a Cancer Oven to talk about the principle that good writing comes from discerning and persevering authors.”
Thanks for reading,
Benjamin Vrbicek,
Managing editor for Gospel-Centered Discipleship