40 Days of Intentional Ministry

One of the practices Teach One Reach One Ministries wants to encourage is intentional ministry. Too often, we just do what has been done before or what someone tells us to do. Taking the time to really examine how we teach young people the Bible and making intentional choices could lead us to more effective practices and methods.

When given the chance to review the new devotional journal 40 Days of Intentional Living by Ink and Willow, it seemed like it might be a good resource to also encourage intentional ministry. The format of the book is simple – five entries per week for eight weeks, with each week revolving around a theme. The themes – hope, faith, suffering, joy, surrender, rest, generosity and love could reflect ministry as well as life experiences.

Each day within the theme starts with a scripture reference. Most are relatively short – some only one verse. This is one of my biggest issues with the book. Instead of writing out the verses for you, they merely provide the reference. You will need to look them up yourself. Not a big deal for some, but for others I would imagine the scripture will never be read.

After the scripture reference, there are some thoughts on the day’s topic by a variety of Christian writers. Some names you may recognize, while others may be new to you. I appreciate that they include the source of the writing within the entry so you can read more by that author if it appeals to you. Because there are a variety of writers from various denominations, some of the theology is a bit off. Some of those are probably best described as different ways of looking at things, while at least one (about “asking Jesus into your heart” which implies baptism isn’t necessary, contrary to scripture) is more problematic for anyone who isn’t a Christian reading the entry. Most Christians have learned how to skip over those sorts of differences in a Christian book, but if that bothers you, there may be a better book for you.

After the reading, there is a page for journaling with a question to guide you for those who want it. The next page is a saying or scripture on a page that could be turned into an additional journaling page if needed. At the end of each week, there are some additional questions as well as encouragement to do something practical with what has been reflected upon that week. There are some additional pages in the back to use for some of these assignments. I’m not a huge journal writer in recent years, but I believe most people who enjoy the process would want a few more of those pages in the back.

Over all, I think this book could be a useful resource to help you slow down and reflect on being more intentional in your life and ministry. While it isn’t perfect, this book can you the flexibility in reading additional scriptures or writing about other topics or doing other exercises you want, while still giving you some direction you might need. It may be just what you need to encourage you to spend time focusing on intentionality.

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