“It is well, it is well with my soul!” This line closes the classic hymn, It is Well with my Soul”, by Horatio Spafford and Philip Bliss. It reflects the state we Christians hope to maintain in our walk of faith. To say that it is well with my soul is to say that I am walking day by day with God, communicating with God and in a state of grace as I live my life as a Christian.

            Yet, if we are honest, most of us have times when it is not well with our souls. All of us need to nourish our spiritual lives on a regular basis so that we do not get weary with our faith, stale with our practice of doing good works, and stunted in our growth as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

            Over the centuries Christians have found some practices that encourage our faith and feed our souls. They are sometimes known as spiritual disciplines. When practiced on a regular basis they help to keep our faith fresh and alive. They are not at all mysterious or esoteric; indeed, they are things most of us would expect. They involve such things as daily Bible reading, daily prayer, occasional fasting, regular worship, deeds of mercy and justice, and stewardship of our gifts. These Disciplines are all familiar to us, yet many of us find the practice of them to be sporadic and haphazard.

            During the season of Lent our church leaders are going to embark on a pilot project that encourages us to be more intentional about these disciplines of our faith. During this period the members of our Administrative Board and Council on Ministries will be invited to commit themselves to practicing these disciplines on a regular basis, and meeting weekly in a small group to encourage one another in this area. In a sense the people in the small group will ask one another, “How is it with your soul this week?” Our hope is that we will find this to be a source of personal growth and greater faithfulness in our ministry together. We also hope to learn from our experience such that we can then expand the program to the whole congregation.

            We ask that the congregation keep your church leaders in your prayers as we seek to encourage one another in our faith.