Patterns: Ways to Develop a God-Filled Life

A good pattern progressively builds you up. A bad pattern relentlessly erodes your humanity. Patterning is a focused commitment to making a few habits and character traits the normal, the daily, the consistent. All life is built in patterns. Nature has its orderly patterns, from the bee building its honeycomb to the DNA encoded in genes. The Bible offers patterns for living a godly life. There are also patterns in every human life. As children of God, we have the power to choose the patterns we wish to follow. We can build patterns of behavior into our lives that shape our character, form our reputation, and determine our satisfaction in life. 'Anything we do in life with any kind of repetition is a life pattern---whether it builds us up or tears us down,' says author and pastor Mel Lawrenz. 'Being unaware of our life patterns is about the biggest gamble any of us can take.' Patterns looks at two essential sets of biblical patterns that can help you create a God-filled life. First come the building blocks of character: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Then the book looks at devotion patterns: the acts that draw you closer to God, such as prayer, spiritual reading, and worship. You'll see how the different patterns relate to one another, and how you can become more aware of your own life patterns so you can make a conscious choice to develop a richer, more vibrant relationship with God. You'll learn how to practice good life patterns that offer a design for spiritual health and strength, order for spiritual direction, and consistency for an intimate dialogue with God. Patterns challenges you to cultivate habits of life deeply rooted in the love and grace of God. Lawrenz says, 'The idea of patterning is that if we follow the designs God has described in great detail, if we follow those blueprints and keep steady in those rhythms, we will experience life with a fullness and soundness that comes only from God---just like building a home according to the plan of a master architect.' Patterns is a handbook for spiritual development that encourages you to discover the patterns of your own life---and how you can nurture God-inspired life patterns that build and strengthen your Christian faith.

Mel Lawrenz was Senior Pastor of Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee, for the past ten years and has recently become Minister at Large for Elmbrook Church and director of a new networking ministry: The Brook Network, thebrooknetwork.org . He has served at Elmbrook for thirty years altogether, succeeding Stuart Briscoe as senior pastor in 2000. Mel has a Ph.D. in historical theology from Marquette University, and an M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is the author or coauthor of eleven books, and host of the radio program 'Faith Conversations,' which airs on commercial talk radio.