Spiritual Disciplines for the Small Church

It’s been a long time since I pastored my first church located just outside an Illinois town with a population of 850 and zero stoplights. A lot has changed in my life and ministry since then, but some things remain the same. One of those is that consistently cultivating spiritual disciplines is still a struggle.

When I asked AI, “What is the real meaning of discipline?” I instantly received this insightful reply:

“The real meaning of discipline is internal, self-directed training to achieve a goal. . . . It’s the choice to do what is right over what is easy, and it involves developing a system of habits and self-control to consistently pursue meaningful objectives, ultimately leading to personal growth and greater freedom.”

Thankfully, I’ve made some progress through the past four decades, but each victory has come after a sustained season of difficult daily choices. Perhaps that’s why they’re called spiritual disciplines.

If a problem defined really is a problem half solved, I’d say this conversation is off to a promising start! Rather than attempting to compile a comprehensive list of spiritual disciplines (since every branch of the Church seems to have their favorites), let’s focus on a few that are the most relevant for us as shepherds and teachers. But first, we need to explore why these can be so challenging in the unique environment of leading a smaller congregation.

Too busy or too unstructured?

During my early years of ministry, I wrongly believed my difficulties with the basic spiritual disciplines were the result of my busy schedule and the overwhelming needs, expectations, and demands of our congregation. Over time I’ve had to admit that, while those factors may have aggravated the struggle, the root problem was internal and totally under my control.

My schedule was not too busy, rather my life was too unstructured. In my effort to effectively meet the needs of our church and community, I failed to prioritize my own spiritual development. That distorted approach ultimately limited my growth as a child of God as well as my impact as a pastor. See if any of these examples resonate with you.

"My schedule was not too busy,
rather my life was too unstructured."

In my first year as a pastor, I said “yes” to every opportunity to share God’s Word that came my way. As a result, I ended up with seven weekly teaching commitments. After all, wasn’t it my job to preach every Sunday morning and evening?

And who else could lead Wednesday night Bible study with the wisdom of a recent seminary graduate? Not to mention wanting to impress everyone with my servant’s heart by leading an early morning men’s Bible study, an outreach-oriented small group, and a weekly service in a nursing home 24 miles away.

It didn’t take long before the spiritual discipline of my personal morning devotional time devolved into a frantic search for some Bible nugget to share with whichever group I had to teach later that day. Duty replaced delight, and obligation stole the joy from my walk with God. That’s the inevitable result when we begin to view the Bible as a sermon source rather than a love letter.

"Duty replaced delight, and obligation stole the joy from my walk with God. That's the inevitable result when we begin to view the Bible as a sermon source rather than a love letter."

Working for God / Walking with God

A couple years into my wilderness wandering, a wise older pastor friend shared a simple solution that helped turn the tide and continues to guide my choices today. He said he had to build a firewall between “working for God” and “walking with God.” He recommended I follow his practice of distancing my personal devotional time from my study time.

If he was preaching from a New Testament book, he only read and meditated from an Old Testament book. He even sat in a different chair and used a different version of the Bible depending on his goal for that time. That may sound a bit wooden or even legalistic, but it worked!

Over the years I’ve softened those boundaries, but the distinction remains in place to this day. I still experience dry stretches, but separating my walk with God from my work for God is one of the wisest decisions of my life.

"Separating my walk with God from my work for God
is one of the wisest decisions of my life."

Another area of frequent frustration is my personal prayer life. Once again, bringing some structure to the struggle seems to bear much fruit. The simple practice of writing down prayer requests and tracking God’s answers keeps me motivated to pray more.

I have a short list of people I pray for every day, a longer list I pray for once a week, and a sprawling list of random requests I don’t want to forget. Rather than just reading God a list of names and needs, I try fresh things – like asking God to grow a different fruit of the Spirit in each member of our family and ministry leadership team, including me. It’s rewarding to celebrate God at work by looking for evidence of His supernatural transformation in the life of each person I love.

Like every other relationship, our friendship with God thrives or stagnates depending on how much time and effort we are willing to invest in it. Frequent, honest communication is at the core of every growing relationship. The psalms invite me to spend less time proofreading my prayers to make sure they are theologically accurate and properly respectful of God’s greatness.

David is helping me become more authentic in my conversations with God. David was open with his questions, doubts, and even accusations of God. But he was also open to listen for God’s answers. That’s an area I’m only now beginning to cautiously explore, but I long for the intimacy David experienced as a man after God’s own heart.

Structure and intentionality

My running word count says I need to wrap this up soon, but I believe the introduction of structure and intentionality – that have made such a difference in these first two disciplines – is likely key to all the others as well. We can’t cultivate the disciplines of solitude or simplicity without setting aside the TV remote or limiting our time on social media.

"We can't cultivate the disciplines of solitude or simplicity without setting aside the TV remote or limiting our time on social media."

We’ll never grow in the discipline of generosity without taking some risks and even inviting God to clearly prompt us to give in some spontaneous ways. And we’ll miss the joy of sharing our faith if we don’t purposely pursue some meaningful relationships outside the security of our own congregations and Christian bubble.

Maybe above all, we need to remember that discipline and disciple are both from the same root word. The essence of our walk with God is to remain learners even when others call us teachers. Mark 3:14 makes it unmistakably clear that God called us first “to be with Him” and secondly “to send us out” to represent Him.

So how about joining me in this great adventure of pursuing personal growth in at least one of the spiritual disciplines by prioritizing your walk with God even above your commitment to work for God? The struggle is real, the setbacks are inevitable, but the rewards are awesome!

Phil is President & CEO of Walk Thru the Bible

Phil Tuttle on Mar 31, 2026

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