Practicing to Become Like Jesus: A Conversation on Spiritual Disciplines

Paul’s Ponderings Interview | July 2025

In this edition of Paul’s Ponderings, pastor and writer Paul Steele reflects on a topic foundational to discipleship but often misunderstood: spiritual disciplines. In this interview-style post, Paul shares his journey, practical wisdom, and pastoral insights on how the spiritual disciplines form us into people who truly reflect Jesus.


Q: What first drew you to the practice of spiritual disciplines, and how has your understanding of them changed over time?

Paul:

Even though I grew up in a Christian family, was heavily involved in church, and went to Bible college to become a pastor, I don’t recall hearing much about spiritual disciplines and their importance. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t encouraged to read the Bible and pray, but those activities weren’t framed as intentional practices of transformation.

Looking back, I think a lot of it had to do with the belief that the Holy Spirit would just transform your heart and you’d magically desire the right things. I heard stories of people “getting saved” and suddenly wanting to read the Bible and pray—but that wasn’t my experience. For me, those things were hard.

Everything shifted when I read The Life You’ve Always Wanted by John Ortberg. The subtitle, Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People, really captured the heart of it. What struck me was the idea that transformation takes intention. That book introduced me to Dallas Willard and his books Renovation of the Heart and The Spirit of the Disciplines.

One quote from Willard really stuck with me:

“A successful performance at a moment of crisis rests largely and essentially upon the depths of a self wisely and rigorously prepared in the totality of its being—mind and body.”

Willard helped me see that if I wanted to live like Jesus, I had to train to become like Jesus. Spiritual disciplines became, for me, like athletic drills—practices that shape who I’m becoming. I’ve gone from barely thinking about them to seeing them as essential to life with Christ.

Q: What are a few spiritual disciplines that have been especially meaningful to you in this season of life, and why?

Paul: 

One practice that’s been incredibly grounding for me started after watching an old video of Dallas Willard. He was being interviewed and asked, “What does a typical day look like for Dallas Willard?” He smiled and said, “There are no typical days.” But then he described how, no matter what, he began each morning slowly praying through the Lord’s Prayer and Psalm 23.

That gave me permission to have one simple, consistent rhythm—even if everything else falls through. My daily rhythm includes five elements:

• The One Minute Pause app to quiet my mind.
• Reciting the Jesus Creed (“Hear, O Israel… Love the Lord your God… and love your neighbor”).
• Praying Colossians 1:9 for myself, my family, and our church.
• Praying the Lord’s Prayer.
• Pledging my allegiance to King Jesus.

It takes about ten minutes. But if I do nothing else that day—no journaling, no extended Bible reading—I’ve still intentionally connected with God and surrendered to Him. That consistency has been life-changing.

Another helpful discipline is what John Eldredge calls benevolent detachment—the practice of releasing things to God rather than carrying worry and stress. Bible reading is also foundational because it reminds me to go to God for wisdom, not the world.

Q: Some people see spiritual disciplines as dry, legalistic, or burdensome. How would you respond to someone who’s skeptical or discouraged about them?

Paul:

I get that. Honestly, I’ve felt that way too—especially with how spiritual disciplines are sometimes presented. When they’re treated like a checklist or proof of your faith, they can feel judgmental and oppressive. That’s not what Jesus intended.

The key is understanding the “why” behind the disciplines. They’re not about proving your worth; they’re about partnering with God for transformation. The goal isn’t performance—it’s becoming more like Jesus.

That’s why I love the analogy of practice. Whether you’re an athlete or musician, you don’t perform well without training. You don’t magically show up ready for the big game or concert. In the same way, we can’t expect to respond with Christlike love, wisdom, or patience in real life if we haven’t practiced those virtues through the disciplines.

And yes, some days will feel dry. Some seasons will feel like a grind. But just like exercise or any other training, those days still shape you. In fact, they might be the most important days to stay with it.

Q: What advice would you give to someone just starting out with spiritual disciplines? How should they begin without getting overwhelmed or discouraged?

Paul:

I would suggest three things. 

First, realize you’re probably already doing more than you think. Acts 2:42 describes how the early church devoted themselves to four core practices: studying Scripture, being in community, taking the Lord’s Supper, and praying. Most people who follow Jesus are already doing one or more of those in some way—they just don’t recognize it as a discipline.

Second, establish a minimum. Not the ideal day, but the minimum you can commit to every day. For most people, this will involve Scripture, prayer, or stillness. Ask yourself: “What four- or five-minute practice could I do every day to stay grounded in God?” That one daily rhythm can be a game-changer.

Third, give yourself permission to experiment. Just because a discipline doesn’t click right away doesn’t mean you’re failing. Don’t copy someone else’s exact formula—find what connects you to Jesus. That freedom actually makes the disciplines more fruitful.

Q: How do you see spiritual disciplines shaping the future of the Church? Why do they matter now more than ever?

Paul:

With the renewed emphasis on discipleship and making disciples, the natural question becomes: How do we actually do that? One answer—and one I haven’t seen emphasized enough—is to teach people practices that shape them into disciples of Jesus.

Spiritual disciplines are crucial today because we live in an age of constant digital distraction. With the internet, social media, and 24/7 news cycles, most Christians in America are being discipled more by politics, influencers, and algorithms than by Jesus. And they don’t even realize it.

Without regular, intentional spiritual practices, we leave ourselves wide open to spiritual drift. We can’t expect transformation if we’re not creating space for the Holy Spirit to work. Spiritual disciplines are one of the most effective tools we have to resist cultural formation and instead be conformed to the image of Christ.

Final Thought:
If we want to live like Jesus, we have to train like Jesus. Spiritual disciplines are not about earning anything—they’re about becoming someone. And that someone is a citizen of the Kingdom, shaped by love, grounded in truth, and empowered by the Spirit.

Pledge Your Allegiance to King Jesus: A Conversation on the American Church, Patriotism, and Politics

The following is an experiment I ran with ChatGPT. I asked it: “Could you help me do an interview style blog post? You can ask me questions and I write my response. When it is all done you can put it into a single document. I would like to have a conversation about the American Church, patriotism, and politics.” 

This is the result.

Paul’s Ponderings Interview | July 2025

In this special edition of Paul’s Ponderings, we sat down with pastor and blogger Paul Steele to discuss a topic that’s as timely as it is complicated: how the American Church navigates patriotism, politics, and allegiance to Jesus. What follows is a candid and thoughtful conversation about discipleship, division, and what it really means to belong to God’s Kingdom.

Q: When you look at the American Church today, what gives you hope? And what concerns you the most?

Paul:

What gives me hope is a renewed emphasis on discipleship and a clearer call to allegiance to King Jesus. After decades of “church growth” focused primarily on Sunday morning worship services, more and more people are talking about the importance of actual disciples as the true metric of church health.

Along with that shift are scholars like N.T. Wright, Scot McKnight, and Matthew Bates, who help reframe the Gospel as the story of Jesus and how He became King. Therefore, the only appropriate response to that reality is allegiance to the King.

My concern, when it comes to the American Church, is politics—and this is both a right and a left issue. Conservative Christians and Progressive Christians alike want to use politics and the U.S. government to do the work of the Kingdom. This has caused deep divisions. Especially on the conservative side, there’s been an unhealthy merging of Republican politics with the Church itself.

Q: You mentioned allegiance to King Jesus. How does that allegiance shape the way Christians should relate to their nation—especially when patriotic values seem to conflict with Kingdom values?

Paul:

This has been something I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about. In the United States, it’s been possible for a long time to hold dual allegiance—to the country and to Jesus. This is rooted in the belief that the U.S. is a Christian nation. While there’s no doubt that Christian values influenced the founders, that influence is often overstated.

Because of that, patriotism can feel like an extension of our faith. That’s why it’s so important to emphasize that our first allegiance is to King Jesus and His Kingdom. With that as our foundation, we can live out Jeremiah’s call to the exiles—to seek the good of the community. As citizens of Heaven, we work for the good of our communities, and since we have a voice through voting and activism, we should use it.

But we also need to remain humble. We might have strong preferences for how government should work, but we don’t always know the unintended consequences of policies. So we should be grateful for the freedoms we enjoy and seek to influence society—remembering that God’s Kingdom is ultimately about His people demonstrating His character, not about enforcing human laws.

Q: In your experience as a pastor, how have you seen politics impact the life and unity of the church—both positively and negatively?

Paul:

To be honest, I don’t have a lot to say about politics having a positive impact on church unity. From my experience, it’s mostly been negative. And I have to admit—I’ve contributed to that. Between 2014 and 2017, I went through what I call my “obnoxious libertarian” phase. I used Facebook (and even the pulpit) to challenge conservative political assumptions. In 2017, a church member called me out on it, and that really made me reflect on how my own political ideology was shaping how I interpreted the Bible—just like I had criticized others for doing.

We’ve had people leave the church from both sides—left-leaning folks who felt out of place among outspoken conservatives, and others who left during COVID because they felt we didn’t open fast enough. Politics can unify, but only temporarily—and usually only if everyone thinks the same way. The downside is that it creates an environment where anyone who doesn’t share those values doesn’t feel like they belong.

It’s also become harder to preach on biblical themes like justice, the role of women, or loving enemies without being accused of “going woke.” Too many Christians let politics shape how they read the Bible, instead of letting the Bible shape their politics.

Q: How do you personally navigate the tension between being politically aware and engaged, while resisting the pull to place your hope in politics?

Paul:

It starts by remembering that I’m first and foremost a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. One of the disciplines that helps me is to daily pledge my allegiance to King Jesus and declare that I am a loyal citizen of His Kingdom. Without that intentional reminder, it’s easy to get pulled into the political drama of the day.

Once I’ve grounded myself in that identity, I can think about my responsibility as a Kingdom representative. That includes prayer—1 Timothy 2:1–4 teaches us to pray for leaders so we can live peaceful, quiet lives. It also includes being a good steward of our freedom through voting and activism.

But I always try to hold my preferences with humility. I’m not wise enough to see all the consequences of the policies I support. And above all, I want to love my neighbor well. The Kingdom isn’t going to come through elections and laws—it’s going to come through love and living out God’s character in the world.

Q: What does it look like for you, as a pastor, to disciple people who are deeply shaped by political ideologies? How do you lead them toward deeper allegiance to Jesus without alienating them?

Paul:

That’s the million-dollar question. A lot of pastors are trying to navigate these dangerous waters of politics and faith. And as I’ve said, this is not something I’ve always handled well.

More than anything, I think we need to create an atmosphere where we let the Bible speak. I often remind people: “The Bible is written for us, but not to us.” We need to read Scripture through the lens of the original audience, not through modern political categories. Once we understand the original message, we can apply it to our context today.

The goal is to avoid unnecessary labels like “woke” or “bigot” and instead ask: “What would the original hearers have understood this to mean?”

I also want people to see that from a Kingdom perspective, our greatest tools for political impact are prayer and disciple-making. Changing hearts will change communities. So my job is to teach the Bible clearly and trust the Holy Spirit to convict people where needed. Whenever we challenge someone’s political views, we risk defensiveness. So we lead with Scripture, with love, and with trust in God’s timing.

Q: If you could offer one message to the American Church in this cultural and political moment, what would it be?

Paul:

It would simply be: “Pledge your allegiance to King Jesus.”

In Matthew 6:24, Jesus teaches that we cannot serve two masters. It’s hard to help people see that politics and patriotism can compete with allegiance to Jesus—but that’s often what’s happening. So I want to encourage the Church to obey the truth of Scripture and place our faith, trust, and loyalty in Jesus above all else.

Final Thoughts:

This conversation reminds us that while politics has a place, it should never take the throne. True transformation doesn’t come through elections or policies—it comes through prayer, discipleship, humility, and radical allegiance to King Jesus.