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Kris Bauman,
Senior Military Fellow,
Institute for National Strategic Studies,
National Defense University

[Nov 11, 2012]

Is it possible to pursue both the Great Commission and the Great Commandment in the midst of an academic life? Can we see lives transformed by the gospel while rightly investing the needed time at home and at work? I think we can.

Like every profession, academics face the challenges of living out our faith amidst the various demands of life. Over the years, my wife Ronna and I have seen professional colleagues and their families embrace these challenges in ways that significantly “equip the saints for the work of service (Ephesians 4:12).”  In each case, including ours, we’ve noticed one thing was essential: Everyone took time to nurture the heart.

Lots of other things are needed as well: a sense of God’s vision for the world, a community of friends to walk with us, a commitment to personal and leadership development, as well as strategies, training, and materials. Yet, we’ve seen time and again that the first priority in living a gospel-driven life is the heart.

The condition of the heart makes all the difference. The Proverbs warn us to: “watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (4:23). Life as a disciple of Christ—amidst the challenges of an academic career and family responsibilities—always requires a nurtured heart.  Ronna and I have found that to nurture the heart we must almost always pursue solitude. In solitude, God captures and revives the heart.

Solitude? But how—given the demands of our lives? Not a simple thing, but like many critical things in life, “we find a way to do it.”

Ronna and I do this for each other every six months or so. With five kids and new challenges here at the National Defense University, it’s never easy.  Here’s how we do it.

First, we escape to a relatively inexpensive place for a day or so. Once we’ve settled in, we separately grab our Bibles and  journals, find a quiet place to be alone and  begin to focus on our hearts.  I typically ask these questions; Ronna asks similar ones.

1. Am I enjoying a vibrant intimacy with my Savior?   If not, why not?

2. To what or to whom am I sent?  Jesus said to his disciples, “As the Father sent me, even so I am sending you (John 20:21).”  Since we chose long ago to follow Jesus, Ronna and I have both embraced this “sense of sentness”—the realization of a particular mission or calling on our lives.  So to nurture my heart, I attempt to reconnect with that calling by asking: In this particular season and place, how does God want me to live out my “sentness”?  To what and to whom has God sent me?

3. Now in light of my intimacy with Christ and my “sense of sentness,” how can I take advantage of divine appointments as I rub shoulders with pre-Christian colleagues this week at NDU? What are the kingdom causes to which God is calling me? Who are the persons God has called me to encourage, mentor and disciple?

Afterward, Ronna and I sit down together to share what we have heard from the Lord and talk about what it means for our family.  Over the years, as we have invested in these planned moments of solitude and purposeful reflection, we find our hearts coming richly alive.

(c) 2012 Kris Bauman