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Serving Students through Ten Strategic Ministries

God is stirring up the hearts of men and women at some of America's leading universities, where Christian Union is working to develop Christian leaders. Involved students enjoy rigorous Bible courses, personal mentoring, coaching, leadership lecture series, and other events, and engaging outreach.



Christian Union's tailored approach serves in various ways that resonate with students at highly academic, deeply secular universities. Select a campus below to learn more.

The ministry provides biblical instruction and mentoring and resources for students to transform the culture of these campuses spiritually, intellectually, and socially. Christian Union's approach is designed specifically to connect with intellectually curious, highly motivated students and strongly emphasizes seeking God wholeheartedly.

The ministry currently serves students who attend the following institutions:

• Brown University
• Columbia University
• Cornell University
• Dartmouth College
• Harvard College
• Harvard Law
• Princeton University
• Stanford University
• The University of Pennsylvania
• Yale University

Christian Union emphasizes: a seeking-God lifestyle; high-caliber ministry fellows; engaged and networked leaders; and organizational excellence.

Developing Christian Leaders In Strategic Cities

In City of God, Saint Augustine argues that within every city, two cities are simultaneously emerging: the city of good and the city of evil. He argues that everyone, at all times, is contributing to the emergence of one or the other.

Unfortunately, in our nation’s most influential cities, the voice of those pursuing the city of good is a mere whisper. Those who more loudly lead in academia, business, entertainment, government, and legal institutions are predominantly secular.

This is why Christian Union launched its Cities ministry—to empower and equip Christian professionals in every field with a bold faith that steadily brings the city of good to bear. CU Cities helps professionals grow as godly influencers while expanding the network and impact of faithful believers.

Click here to learn more about Christian Union New York or here to read about how CU New York has been transforming lives. 

Alumni Panel

Brunch

Learn more

For questions about Christian Union Princeton Reunion 2013 activities, email Meghan.Foley@ChristianUnion.org. 

Visit the Princeton Alumni Association's Reunion 2013 website for the full schedule of events and activities.

Pursuing Leadership Impact ... Together

We are called not only to a new and transformed life - but to be part of the redemptive process of "making all things new." 

Are you interested in:

• Building a vibrant network of friends in a fast-paced, time-starved city?
• Experiencing the richness of abiding friendship, cultural engagement and seeking the Lord's presence with a group of like-minded leaders in NYC?
• Working with others to engage a complex and diverse city to make it a different and transformed place - a place that God intended it to be?

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Community Groups are small groups of Christian men or women pursuing leadership impact in three specific ways:

1. Community: Building a network of abiding friendships with other leaders in NYC;
2. Spiritual Cultivation: Developing an intellectually-satisfying and wholehearted pursuit of the God who made them;
3. Engagement: Actively engaging and changing the culture around them.

These groups meet every other week with an active Bible study component and periodic projects designed by the group.

Projects range from reimagining a particular vocation in light of the gospel to involvement in a critical social issue in the city.

The intellectually curious and those longing to assimilate their faith in the culture we inhabit will find these groups stimulating and life-changing.

For more information, or to join a Community Group, please  cunewyork@christianunion.org or call Scott Crosby at (347) 682-5653.

Professional & Spiritual Readings to Enhance the Effectiveness of CU New York Mentors

Professional

1. The Importance of Networks

• To Change the World, James Davison Hunter, Chapter 4 (especially pp 36-38)
• Tips For Building Stronger Networks
• How Leaders Create And Use Networks

2. Communication – Verbal and Written

• Elements of Great Communication
• Verbal Communication Skills
• Written Communication Skills
• Stories as Communication

3. Managing Up

• What It Means To "Manage Up"
   - Harvard Business Review
   - Wall Street Journal
• Communications Involved In Managing Up
• Managing Up In The Workplace

4. Problem Solving

• Problem Solving Process
• Nine Steps To Problem Solving
• Building a problem-solving culture that lasts

5. Career Planning

• Connecting To Other Key Leaders
• Leaning In To Power

6. Mentor's Choice

 

Spiritual

1. Daily Devotions – the how and why
Nothing teaches us about the preciousness of the Creator as much as when we learn the emptiness of everything else. – Charles Spurgeon

• Basics On Why Have Devotions
• Avoiding God

2. Community
Questions can make hermits out of us, driving us into hiding. Yet the cave has no answers. Christ distributes courage through community; he dissipates doubts through fellowship. He never deposits all knowledge in one person but distributes pieces of the jigsaw puzzle to many. When you interlock your understanding with mine, and we share our discoveries, when we mix, mingle, confess and pray, Christ speaks. – Max Lucado

• Building Healthy Relationships
• Redemptive Community 
• Life Together, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

3. Stewardship
Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment, is given you by God. If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His service, you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense His own already. – C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

• Principles Of Stewardship
• Bible References
• Law or Grace?

4. Integrating Faith & Work
The greatest tool God has given you to impact the world: your work. – Institute for Faith, Work and Economics

• A Biblical View of Work 
• Faithful Presence at Work 
• Rediscovering The Biblical Doctrine Of Work
• Calling and Presence 

5. Public Square
People fulfill their individual and collective destiny in the art, music, literature, commerce, law and scholarship they cultivate, the relationships they build, and in the institutions they develop...as they reflect the good of God and his designs for flourishing. – James Davison Hunter

• The Kingdom Story
• A Posture of Public Faith 
• The Gospel of New Life 

6. Mentor's Choice

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Get Involved

If you would like to participate as a mentor or mentee, please contact Christian Union New York Director Scott Crosby.

Calendar of Activities & Speakers

Events scheduled in 2017 are provided here. You can also find Christian Union New York on Facebook.
 

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July 

7.21.18 — Christian Union Summer Getaway. Registration for Summer 2018 is currently open. From July 21st-July 28th, professionals will come together for a week of water sports, teaching, and fellowship. Click here to learn more and to register.

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June

6.22.18— CU Cities Conference 2018. Join us from Friday, June 22nd through Saturday, June 23rd. Formerly known as Nexus Professionals, this conference will bring together influential professionals from across many industries for a life-changing weekend of dynamic worship and compelling ideas about faith and its relevance to our entire lives. Location and registration will be announced soon. 

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February 

2.20.18 —  Salon with Ken Fish. Ken is an honors graduate of Princeton University. He has also earned an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary and an MBA from UCLA's Anderson Graduate School of Management. Formerly a colleague of John Wimber, the late leader of the Vineyard Movement, Ken brings more than 30 years of academic study and practical experience in this discipline.

Join us on Tuesday, February 20th from 7-9pm. Location and topic will be announced soon.

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February 

2.15.18 — Salon with Ken Fish. Ken is an honors graduate of Princeton University. He has also earned an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary and an MBA from UCLA's Anderson Graduate School of Management. Formerly a colleague of John Wimber, the late leader of the Vineyard Movement, Ken brings more than 30 years of academic study and practical experience in this discipline.

Join us from 7-9pm on Thursday, February 15th from 7-9pm. Location and topic will be announced soon.

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February 

2.10.18 — Salon with Ken Fish. Ken is an honors graduate of Princeton University. He has also earned an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary and an MBA from UCLA's Anderson Graduate School of Management. Formerly a colleague of John Wimber, the late leader of the Vineyard Movement, Ken brings more than 30 years of academic study and practical experience in this discipline.

Join us from 7-9pm on Thursday, February 15th from 7-9pm. Location and topic will be announced soon.

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February 

2.5.18 — Forum with Dr. Os Guinness. Space is limited, but admission is FREE please RSVP here.

Join us from 7-9pm on Monday, February 5th in the Union League Club at the Library Room. The address is 38 E. 37th Street (at Park Ave) in New York City. 

Os Guinness was born during WWII in China where both his parents and grandparents were medical missionaries. He was expelled with many other foreigners in 1951 and returned to Europe where he was educated in England. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of London and his D.Phil in the social sciences from Oriel College, Oxford.

Os has written or edited thirty books on a wide range of themes, including , Time for Truth, The Call, Invitation to the Classics, Unspeakable, A Case for Civility, and A Free People’s Suicide: Sustainable Freedom and the American Future. Os divides his time between McLean, VA and Oxford, England and continues to write, speak and educate.

Dr. Guinness, author and social critic, will address the topic of "The Reformation at 500: The Forgotten Secret of American Freedom." In celebrating the Reformation most commentators have concentrated on the remarkable gifts to the church that it provided. We forget, however the impact the Reformation had on culture. In the context of the universal coherence and centrality of faith in all spheres, Os Guinness makes a case that this movement was also the single strongest set of ideas that made the modern world.

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January

1.23.18 — Salon with Dr. Jay Jakub, Senior Director of External Research, Mars Catalyst. Dr. Jakub will speak on "Jubilee Economics: Transforming Buisness for God.

For the past fifty years, business leaders have believed their sole responsibility is to maximize profit for shareholders alone, and that for business to do ‘good’ for society or the environment, there must always be a costly tradeoff of profit, thereby limiting scale of impact. This obsessive focus on profit nearly sunk the global economy in 2008, while the many Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives (CSR) emerging from business have shown limited results and are often more for reputational purposes than for transformation. From a Christian perspective, Jay Jakub offers a more complete form of capitalism called the ‘Economics of Mutuality,’ which focuses business on the needs of others (the means) rather than on maximizing shareholder value (the ends). 

Join us on Tuesday, January 23rd from 7-9pm. Due to the initmate nature of salons, space is extremely limited. Please RSVP through emailing Kate Gardner at Kate.Gardner@christianunion.org.

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January

1.19.18 — Salon with Phyllis Crosby, CORE Real Estate, New York and Sam Lawson Johnston, Managing Director, Real Estate division, LJ Partnership; London, UK. Friday, January 19th, 2018, from 12:30 - 1:30 p.m., the special guest speakers will explore the topic of "Does Space Matter: Faith and Real Estate." 

Do we have a theology of space - what space means for flourishing, for hospitality, for understanding our need for community, for forming family, for revitalizing neighborhoods and cities? Phyllis Crosby is a realtor in New York largely motivated by how we design and use space as people made in God’s image. Additionally, she has lived and worked extensively in Hong Kong and Shanghai, China addressing these same issues.

Sam Lawson Johnston is a commercial real estate investor and developer based in London and has recently completed a development in central Manchester devoted to building and leasing commercial space leading to flourishing in a community.

The event was held at Manhattan Christian Collaborative Center, Nayack College, 2 Washington Street, 17th Floor in New York City.

 

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September

9.30.17 — Christian Union New York's Fall Young Professional Event 2017. Attendees enjoyed an evening on the water aboard Manhattan II to hear more about what resources Christian Union offers to young professionals in New York City. 

 

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July

7.22.17 - 7.29.17 — Christian Union Summer Getaway. REGISTRATION IS CLOSED. Put summer 2018 on your calendar!

 

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May

5.06.17 — Salon with Bob Doll, Chief Equity Strategist, Nuveen Asset Management, LLC., Faith and Work in Finance. 

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April

4.05.17 — Salon with Dr. Christopher Hancock. The Very Rev'd Dr. Christopher Hancock, Chairman, Oxford House Research, will speak at the Union League Club on "Reading the World: Politics and the Science of Interpretation." 

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4.07.17 - 4.09.17 — Nexus: Professional 2017. Join us for two days of exceptional plenary speakers and seminars on what it means to engage and transform culture as Christians in the marketplace. Vibrant worship and connections with others round out a memorable weekend in Samford, Connecticut.

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February

2.07.17 — Forum with Dr. William Hurlbut. This month's forum takes on ethical considerations in biotechnology advances. Dr. Hurlbt will speak on "The Challenge and Opportunity of Gene Editing: Scientific and Ethical Considerations." Event is free but registration is required.

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For more information, to ask questions, or to join the Christian Union New York mailing list please contact Christian Union New York Director Scott Crosby.

Christian Union seeks a spiritually vibrant nation marked by Christian values permeating every corner of society. Christian Union New York works to bring revival to America, starting right here in the city.

In Jesus, Christian leaders can be made whole spiritually, mentally, physically, emotionally, and in their families. Beyond that, they can be strengthened and equipped with kingdom strategy and anointing to be used by God to transform those within their spheres of influence.

 
From the City to the Nation... and Beyond

A revived and kingdom-minded New York City can begin to turn the heart of the entire nation back to the Lord. To some, this might sound unlikely. But the Lord has done it before. A simple prayer meeting in Manhattan, started in 1857 by a businessman named Jeremiah Lanphier, grew and multiplied in supernatural ways, ultimately leading to what we now call the Third Great Awakening—a revival that spread across America and beyond.

This is why Christian Union New York exists. It serves, ministers to, equips, and connects influential leaders in business, government, finance, law, media, medicine, vocational ministry, and other key industries. The multiplicative power of connecting spiritually vibrant, high-level leaders in every sector of society in NYC can transform the city.

Through seeking God together and stepping out in bold faith, the city-wide and national impact of Spirit-filled key leaders working in tandem cannot be overstated.

CU New York is available to any Christian professional living in the area. God has called Christian Union to particularly target developing Christian leaders, so as to maximize the reach of those believers to impact culture. The ministry also offers a unique continuation of community for alumni of Christian Union's  university ministries.

Get Connected

More information regarding our NYC opportunities:

• Events, Salons and Forums
• Connect with Us: follow us on social media, join a community group, find a mentor/mentee, receive our Enewsletter, and sign up for our email list
• For questions or to learn more about Christian Union New York please contact us at: cunewyork@christianunion.org

Connects Christian Professionals to Share Life Lessons, Disciple & Inspire 

Young professionals crave input from Christians who have faced the challenges they are now confronting. 

It's vital that older, established Christians share their spiritual and life lessons, and disciple those new to the city. 

How wonderful would it be to find someone who has faced many of the same questions you face in the context of the city? Christian Union can help you become a mentor and share your experience and insights, or connect with a mentor.

Young professionals are looking for someone who has walked through the experiences they're facing. They are seeking godly wisdom to the questions they're facing in their work, their own personal life, their Christian growth, and their future. Does this sound like you?

Or, perhaps this is you. A Christian who has been around NYC with insights and lessons learned. You are more than willing to share with those who are just getting started. Perhaps you are looking to be used by God to meet a unique need in a personal way.

Close Christian friendship is vital to spiritual maturity, and a mentoring relationship is an incredibly important tool for developing Christian leaders. Whichever profile you fit, Christian Union can help you connect.

Mentor Program Details

• Would-be mentors and mentees  submit an application stating their desire to participate in the Mentoring Program along with some (limited) personal background information. This process will allow us to screen mentors and mentees as well as to gain a sufficient amount of information so as to make the best match possible with waiting mentees.
• The mentor will commit to serve as a mentor to the mentee for six months.
• The mentor will meet with the mentee once a month for those six months in order to introduce the mentee to life in the city and have a context to get to know one another.
• At the end of the six months, there is an expectation that either party may or may not move forward in a mentoring relationship.
• In the case that the mentoring relationship does not continue, the mentor will help find the mentee a suitable mentor.

 

Get Involved

If you would like to participate in either role, please contact Christian Union New York Director Scott Crosby.

Draw Near to God That He May Be Glorified

 

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For a more in-depth teaching series on this content, please see Seven Keys to Kingdom Advancement.

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Daniel Spirituality is a commitment to seek God wholeheartedly and in community throughout 2023.

The deep desire of many Christians today is to see God glorified in their lives, families and communities like never before. Pledging to Daniel Spirituality helps Christians please God by giving them a framework for faithful consistency in their ministry and devotion to Him, and helping  strengthen them for a vibrant walk with Him, including fillings of the Holy Spirit on an ongoing basis.

 

Here is a brief overview of the Daniel Spirituality Commitment:

 

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The Daniel Spirituality Commitment

1. 1. 1. Morning and evening devotions of 30 - 60 minutes minimum (8 of 12 per week).
      2. Weekly morning and evening church attendance lasting one to two hours (3 per month).
      3. Fasting Wednesdays and Fridays until 3pm minimum (6 per month). Sometimes it may be needed to switch fasting days, for example, to fast on Wednesday and Thursday because of a special situation on a Friday. 
      4. Monthly all-day seeking God (8 of 12 per year).  At least eight hours need to be spent during the day seeking God and preferably as many as 12 hours.  Bible reading and memorization, praying, and worshiping are to fill the day. 
      5. Twice a year conferences of two to seven days each. 
      6. Periodic extraordinary efforts of seeking God.
         
         

Support Structure

• Interact with a Daniel Spirituality Advisor one-on-one each month to encourage you in your journey
• Invitation to a monthly Zoom meeting with all Daniel Spirituality members for ongoing support and encouragement
• Access to proprietary content, including the Seven Keys to Kingdom Advancement teaching videos and presentation slides

 

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Learn More About the Daniel Spirituality Commitment

 

• Why are these practices chosen?
• What is the biblical basis for the Daniel Spirituality commitment?
• How have Christians historically practiced these kinds of commitments?
• Is this kind of commitment legalistic?
• How have these spiritual practices been a means of increased grace and power from God?

These questions and more will be answered below, in two parts:

I. The Vision of Daniel Spirituality
II. Living Out Daniel Spirituality

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I. The Vision of Daniel Spirituality

Daniel exemplified devout faithfulness to God while serving as a prominent leader and influencer in a spiritually hostile context, having been taken captive from Judah to Babylon in approximately 605 B.C.  Serving as the second in command to King Nebuchadnezzar and successive emperors, Daniel was regarded by God as “highly esteemed” because of his character, mindset, and lifestyle.  He possessed a remarkable spirituality, available to all believers, especially Christians today because of the increased authority and power of the Holy Spirit, made possible by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Through the teaching of the scriptures, and the power of the Holy Spirit, this type of faithfulness to God is available to all who desire it, although it requires focus, diligence, and perseverance.  

 

Christians today, like Daniel, live in the context of a wicked and perverse generation, and likewise do not have to succumb to it.  The benefits of living a devout life are truly wonderful because Christians living devotedly are promised God’s supernatural joy, His friendship, and the power to be true overcomers no matter the circumstances.  The dedication required is worth the effort because Christians will be able to live the type of life God had always intended for them.  When a growing number of Christians choose to live wholeheartedly for God, He is more responsive to our prayers, and often pours out His Spirit in much greater measure, radically changing not just our own lives, but the destiny of our families, communities, and nation.  

 

Because Christians in the West have drifted so far from historical norms of righteous living, it may initially be surprising when patterns of devotion from the scriptures and church history are first learned.  Without realizing it, Christians have succumbed to complacency, thereby becoming lovers of pleasure and lovers of self.  Our current ways of life as Christians often depart radically from Christians in American history, the current international church, and the first-century church.  As a result, God’s blessings have been steadily withdrawing from the West, with secularism steadily growing in most sectors of society.  God is patient and loving, but eventually brings increasing judgment as a means of discipline to highlight the need to return to Him wholeheartedly, but this does not have to happen as Christians return to Him wholeheartedly.  

 

It’s earnestly believed that if a zealous culture of seeking God wholeheartedly can be stirred and sustained in our hearts, then God will increasingly respond to the collective cry and will pour out His Spirit for salvations, holiness, devotion, blessing, hope, joy, healings, deliverances, and miracles, with the realization, of course, that opposition and persecutions may also come as well.    

 

There’s no need for Christians to wait for increasing problems in order to return to Him with all their hearts.  In past times of revival, large numbers of Christians returned to Him even apart from any looming catastrophe.  He’s always willing to return to us when we return to Him, but this usually requires a dramatic shift in mindset and lifestyle.  Instead of thinking God exists primarily to meet our own desires, our mindset must shift so that we believe and live the opposite.  That is, He’s created humanity to please and honor Him, therefore it’s our responsibility to search Him out, draw close to Him, and to discover what honors Him.  As the prescribed way of life comes into view, we are to make the needed adjustments in our lives, no matter how big or how small, so that we are pleasing to Him in every way.  
  

II. Living Out Daniel Spirituality

Arguably, from the scriptures and history, this kind of commitment is the expectation of Christians generally.  It’s more robust than the average modern Western Christian’s devotion, and it’s the privilege of Christians today to return to it. 

 

Daniel Spirituality is explained below in three sections:

 

1. 1. 1. 1.  Hungering after God Himself explains God’s desire that we center our hearts on He Himself and not teachings and practices per se, even though they may help us center our hearts. 
             
         2. The Seven Principles of a Seeking God Lifestyle summarize many biblical passages about what God means by seeking Him wholeheartedly. Remarkably, a historian of early Christianity, Professor Robert Wilken of the University of Virginia, has identified Psalm 105:3 and 4 as summarizing the heart and mindset of the church for the first four hundred years.  The verses state, “Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice! Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!”
            
            
         3. The third section of Essential Spiritual Practices summarizes the spiritual architecture or pattern of faithfulness needed to fulfill the Seven Principles of the Seeking God Lifestyle.  Organizing one’s life around God in this way is a departure from much of so-called normal Christianity in the West, but it’s the “normal” Christianity of today that is insufficient for the hour.  By conforming ourselves to His commandments, and drawing close to Him we gain life and supernatural joy.  As Jesus states in John 15:10-11, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
            
            

The following will unpack each of these three sections in more depth.

. . . .

1. Hungering for God Himself

Daniel Spirituality is about a life transformation of seeking God wholeheartedly. While it includes what for many is an increased discipline in spiritual practices, the heart of it is an eagerness to hunger for God Himself, thereby having one’s life totally transformed and led by God.  It’s not less than a lifestyle of strong spiritual practices, but it’s much more.  It’s an attitude of wanting God to be exalted in every way.  It means learning to feast on God Himself.  God desires that primarily we live as “Mary” rather than “Martha,” and that we sit at His feet, getting to know Him and His ways. There’s certainly “Martha” type work to be done in ministry, but Jesus told Mary that she chose the better option because sitting at Jesus’ feet comes before anything else we might do.  

 

. . . .

2. The Seven Principles of a Seeking God Lifestyle

As a Christian, and therefore as one who’s willingly and eagerly submitting to God’s authority, it’s essential to take steps to draw close to Him and to know Him better.  To hunger after God and to love Him is to seek Him wholeheartedly with great energy.    

 

Psalm 105:3, 4 - “Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice! Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!”

 
The following seven principles comprise the seeking God lifestyle. Principles are listed along with exemplary Bible passages.

1. Humbling Oneself with the Help of Fasting - Humbling oneself before God brings spiritual strength, which is aided by the practice of fasting.  Fasting is going without food for a period of time for spiritual purposes, and is expected of Christians since it’s a tool to deepen humility.  
   
   Ezra 8:21 - “Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods.”
   
   
2. Frequent and Fervent Prayer - Fervent and frequent prayer is part of what it means to be Christian.  God expects to hear from us and for us to listen to Him as we walk with Him.
   
   Daniel 9:3 - “Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.”
   
   
3. Massive Intake of Scripture - Reading, listening to, memorizing, and studying the Bible builds one’s understanding of God and His ways.  It takes time to plumb the depths of the riches of the greatest and most influential book ever written, and this is because it’s the very word of God to humanity. 
   
   2 Chronicles 31:21 - “And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.”
   
   
4. Deep and Ongoing Repentance - Repenting of one’s sins and putting faith in God begins a relationship with Him, but also maintains and develops one’s ongoing relationship.  Examining oneself daily ensures there’s nothing displeasing to Him.  If there is, you can repent, and He will forgive.  
   
   Psalm 78:34 - “When he killed them, they sought him; they repented and sought God earnestly.”
   
   
5. Faithful Obedience - The intention of God’s gospel has always been to bring people into faithful obedience to Him, therefore the Christian’s life is different from others’ lives because the Christian seeks to obey God’s commandments, not finding them burdensome, but a joy to fulfill. 
   
   Isaiah 51:1 - “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug.”
   
   
6. Strong Community - Seeking God with family, friends, and one’s church adds richness and enjoyment to the Christian life.  Whether participating in spiritual practices as described below, developing Christian friendships for mutual encouragement, or benefiting from the spiritual gifts of others, God provides many of His most consequential blessings through other people.
   
   2 Chronicles 11:16 - “And those who had set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel came after them from all the tribes of Israel to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord, the God of their fathers.” 
    
7. Relentless Perseverance - As you persevere in the six principles listed above, your closeness to God will steadily increase.  Even as a Christian, life can have its ups and downs, and God desires that you develop patient diligence in drawing close to Him. 
   
   Proverbs 8:17 - “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.”

. . . .

3. Essential Spiritual Practices 

After deciding to hunger after God Himself, and to seek Him wholeheartedly, finding a disciplined way to fulfill these desires is needed.  Putting effort into one’s Christian life honors God and ensures growth in Him, so that we increasingly please Him, and become all the more able to fulfill His destiny for our lives.  Christians are urged to imitate athletes by training, working hard, and struggling:

 

 

Working hard spiritually brings Christians closer to God and brings His many blessings.  The apostle Paul acknowledged the benefits of working hard, even while thanking God, knowing that he succeeded only by God’s grace. 

 

1 Corinthians 15:10 - “But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.”

 

The following require effort and self-discipline in order to receive increased grace to live a holy and pleasing life to God.  Self-discipline is a virtue to be cultivated in the life of the man or woman who loves and fears God. It’s the Christian’s joy to seek God wholeheartedly through the following regular spiritual practices, confessing all sins, and living fully surrendered to Him.

 

It can be seen in the scriptures, it’s always been God’s intention for believers to follow an established pattern of honoring Him through devotional practices.  

 

Jewish commentators have seen Genesis 1:14 as God’s way of letting humanity know that there are patterns of drawing close to Him and that these are even written into the orbits of the planets and stars.

 

The following may be fulfilled through one's local church, on one’s own, with a group of family or friends, through offerings of Christian Union or other Christian agencies, or a combination of all of these.  

 

1. 1. 1. 1. Morning and Evening Devotions - Draw close to God for thirty to sixty minutes mornings and evenings through Christian devotions.  Listen to praise music, repent of sins, read and memorize the Bible, learn to listen to God, and pray.   Striving to read the entire Bible at least once per year is a great minimum goal. Perhaps some days the time would be spent all at once instead of split between morning and evening, but twice daily is the ideal. This can be practiced alone, although is often more rewarding when accompanied by friends, family, or one’s church community.  Some families establish a “family altar” which is a fixed time and place to pray as family mornings and evenings. The goal is to be faithful to this commitment for at least four of the six days per week. 
            
            1 Timothy 5:5, 6 - “She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day, but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives.”
            
            
         2. Sunday Church Attendance with Increased Devotion - Spend Sundays (or another day as a Sabbath) attending church, resting, and participating in other activities to grow in God. Some churches offer more than one service on Sunday, so attending both can be of aid in Christian growth and strengthening. The minimum time commitment entails one to two hours for church and the same amount of time in the evening.  The goal is to be faithful to this commitment for at least three of the four or five Sundays per month.  For the evening one to two hours, churches may offer evening services, or something more informal online like a zoom prayer meeting.  Of course, this commitment could also be met with one’s family, friends, on one’s own, or in some other way.    
            
            Exodus 20:8-11 - “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
            
            
         3. Fasting Wednesdays and Fridays - As was practiced by the early church for hundreds of years and still practiced by many Christians worldwide, fast by refraining from all food up until at least 3:00 pm on Wednesdays and Fridays.  Fasting helps Christians humble themselves, draw closer to God, and experience more of His presence.  The goal is to be faithful to this commitment at least the majority of the seven to ten fasting days per month.  There may be circumstances that would require switching a fasting day to another day during the week, and there also may be circumstances necessitating a refraining from fasting because of family, medical or mental health concerns. 
            
            Luke 5:35 - “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.”
            
            
         4. Once-a-Month All-Day Devotion - Once a month devote an entire Saturday or another day other to strengthening one’s relationship with God with one’s church family, alone or with friends and family by drawing close to God by praying, building strong relationships, reading the Bible, repenting of sins, listening to Christian messages, and worshiping.  Eight to twelve hours of the day should be dedicated to this pursuit.  The goal is to be faithful to this commitment for at least eight of the twelve months per year. Because some churches do not offer this, it may be fulfilled on one’s own, with spouse and family, or by participating in  CU Fire Retreats (www.cufire.org), which are held Friday night and all day Saturday four times a year. Sample schedules can be provided for those seeking to construct their own.  
            
            Ezekiel 46:6 - “On the day of the new moon he shall offer a bull from the herd without blemish, and six lambs and a ram, which shall be without blemish.”
            
            
         5. Twice-a-Year Christian Conferences - Approximately every six months attend a Christian conference up to a week long with great teaching, worship, repentance, prayer, fellowship, and encouragement.  This renews one’s love for God, brings honor to Him, likely facilitates a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit, and strengthens Christians for effective service.  The goal is to be faithful to this commitment approximately every six months, spending a minimum of eight to twelve hours each day drawing close to Him.  This can be fulfilled through a church or ministry conference, on one’s own, or with friends.  
            
            Exodus 23:14-17 - “Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me. 15 You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. None shall appear before me empty-handed. 16 You shall keep the Feast of Harvest, of the firstfruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor. 17 Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord GOD.”
            
            
         6. Periodic Extraordinary Efforts - Periodically, God calls individuals and groups to more extraordinary efforts in seeking Him.  For example, He may have you fast and pray for three days for an important decision.  He may have you pray all night, like Jesus did, to draw closer to Him.  God may ask you with others to set in motion a 24-hour prayer chain for a season or indefinitely, like the Moravians for 100 years.  He may have you seek Him in prayer, fasting, and repentance for ten days like Jeremiah, 21 days like Daniel, or 40 days like Moses.  He may have you read the Bible once to four times in a year, or have you memorize chapters or a whole book of the Bible.
            
            As part of God’s international, dynamic movement of expanding and deepening the Kingdom of God, He will have you follow His direction for seasons of extraordinary efforts in seeking Him.  As you grow in Christ, He will give you the desire and strength to participate in these types of exceptional efforts. The goal is to participate in at least one such effort per year.  You may do something God individually calls you to, or you may participate with a larger group of people such as an extended fast sponsored by your church.  Christian Union also typically hosts two national fasts every year in August and January.  Zealously participating in these helps Christians draw close to the face of God. 
            
            Esther 4:15-17 - “Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.”

 

Diligently seeking God is an expression of faith facilitating the renewing of one’s mind and a filling of the Holy Spirit.  It takes time and effort to rearrange priorities so that God is first and foremost, but is extraordinarily important so that growth is not hindered and one doesn't neglect one’s responsibility to God. It becomes incredibly rewarding to deepen friendship with God and love for Him, especially when persevering week after week, month after month, year after year.  

 

When striving to seek God with one’s whole heart as He requires, legalism is to be assiduously avoided.  Legalism is the misunderstanding that one’s efforts seeking God through spiritual practices merits or earns God’s favor.  This is clearly false because everything from God is a gift, yet it is also false that it’s not needed or not valuable to expend effort in seeking God, because He plainly states that He draws near to us when we draw near to Him (James 4:6).  Legalism has to do with earning; seeking God has to do with effort.  If you believe you are earning God’s blessing when seeking Him as He requires then you will periodically be frustrated with Him when difficulties arise in your life because you think that He owes you something specific.  When you remember that He promises you blessings out of His grace, then your disappointment and frustration are much less when blessings are delayed or not forthcoming, because you remember that you were never owed anything.  

 

You will be rewarded as you seek Him as the New Testament directs:

 

If you start to experience burnout when seeking the Lord faithfully, it may be that you’re not receiving fresh fillings of the Holy Spirit.  This may mean that you need to repent of something or start obeying God in an area where you have not done so.  It may also mean that nothing is wrong spiritually, but that God is developing your ability to seek Him faithfully even when it’s difficult.  The next time you take a whole day or multiple days with God, focus on ensuring that you receive a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit.  Often, burnout comes not from spending a lot of time drawing close to God but from spending too much time in ministry or other activities.  Remember to pace yourself and to remember that there is only one Savior.  He has many servants to fulfill His will and we each have only a small part. 

 

As Christians draw close to God faithfully day after day and month after month, their walk with Him becomes increasingly rewarding, and are given the strength to live a devout life that’s pleasing to Him, ascribing to Him the honor He deserves.  

 

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Summary

When one reflects on the need to draw close to God, the seven principles of what it means to seek God wholeheartedly, and the patterns of devotions demonstrated in the scriptures, it can be seen that combining these into a regular lifestyle is nothing less than extraordinary.  It’s a lifestyle pleasing to God which allows us to center our lives wholly on Him, and because He’s full of grace, He fills us with joy, and delights of all kinds, and releases  His sovereign power and love into the lives of our family members, community members, and nation.  

 

By God’s grace and His power, the greatest revival in history will come about, but must be preceded by large numbers of Christians crying out to Him with abandon and seeking Him as He expects and deserves.  He is faithful and will draw near as His people draw near to Him.  This takes faith and leadership on behalf of all Christians to call others to seek Him diligently.  

Providence, Rhode Island

Sheri Casali

Ministry Fellow

Sheri is a Rhode Island native. She worked for several years with Brown Medicine as the Supervisor of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Inpatient Consult Service. In her time there the Lord called her to full time ministry. 

She is a minister with the Assemblies of God and serves as a lay counselor with her church. She currently serves as a board member with a Christian non-profit start up, with a mission to provide holistic trauma care services in the community. 

Sheri serves on the ministerial support team at church, including transition prayer and altar ministry. She started small groups within the church focused on discipling women. Sheri is passionate in discipling women to be world changers for Jesus. It brings her joy to journey alongside them, as they continue to grow in His grace and knowledge. 

 

In her free time she loves to read, write, and work in her garden.

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