BUILT DIFFERENT WEEK 3: HARD LAUNCH
In the business world, new start-up stores will often do a soft launch before they fully open for business. One particular company that I know of does this every time they are going to open a new store. In doing this, they invite friends and family to stop by and place orders or purchase products before the store is officially open. This soft launch allows them to bring in their employees and to do a run-through of processes and policies. It allows them to check that all of their equipment is working properly, and it allows the employees to actually do the tasks they will have to perform once fully open (to make sure they know what to do and that the quality they want from their product can be fully trusted and accomplished). If they find problems with equipment, flaws in their process, or that old ways are still being used when they were supposed to be changed, they can make the necessary adjustments to ensure that when they open, they will be delivering the best product they can deliver. But eventually, they must go from a soft launch to a hard launch where everything is now expected to function well.
Just like this store, if we want a well-formed and functioning life, we must be willing to do the same thing. We must be willing to evaluate every aspect of our lives, our ways, our processes, our habits, and our practices to see if they are helping us or hindering us on our spiritual journey.
We must have good spiritual disciplines in our lives, but just adding more disciplines or increasing our current ones are not enough if there are still things we are doing that pull us away from Jesus. Things like old patterns that keep showing up in our lives (or emotions that keep rearing their heads that we avoid dealing with) can hinder our development. Wrongful desires or false identities can create barriers that keep us from growing closer to Jesus. So, what would it look like for you to bring all of this under the direction of Jesus?
Like the store that must go to the hard launch, we must be willing to put all these things under the scrutiny and the examination of God. Ask yourself, what am I still feeding that Jesus died to free me from? What old behavior patterns need to be brought into the light so that they can be dealt with? What steps must I take to bring my life into a fully devoted life that follows Jesus? Then if it needs to go away or be corrected, do it so that you can live a well-formed life under the authority of Jesus.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
As you think about the idea of a soft launch for a store, what are some of the benefits or things that they can work out by using this technique?
How does this idea of a soft launch before a hard launch apply when it comes to an examination of our own lives?
What do you believe are some of the common patterns or desires that Christians may find in themselves when they do this self-examination?
How can emotions, desires, or false identities affect our living a well-formed life?
What are some practices we can use in our lives to eliminate or combat these?