Paul implores: 'Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.' Not behavior modification. Mind transformation.
I was a pastor for ten years before I realized I was thinking like the world even though I was speaking like the church. I was driven by success metrics, worried about attendance, trying to grow our 'brand.' I was conforming to the pattern of corporate business, not kingdom values.
Renewing my mind meant actually thinking differently. About success, about failure, about what matters. It took classes in spiritual formation. It took therapy. It took reading people who thought differently—monks, mystics, prophets. Slowly, my mind was renewed. And then what God's will actually is became clear. Not in the big decisions—those almost resolved themselves once my mind changed. But in the daily choices. The renewed mind knows what matters.
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