Jesus pioneered the practice of short-term missions. His whole ministry was a journey, an extended mission trip. He left home at age 30 and wandered village to village for three years. And within that journey were smaller journeys intended for his disciples growth. He didn't send his disciples out in Luke 9 and 10 to inaugurate his missionary program. That came much later after he had his disciples wait for the Holy Spirit.

Jesus sent them out in Luke 9 and 10 because his disciples needed some practical experience for their spiritual formation. Mission trips are a practice field. Going on a mission trip we get to practice wielding authority at a new level in a new place, in the company of strangers with only God as a resource.

To expand your ability to wield spiritual authority, you need not so much a wild leap into the unknown as a series of forays, small-scale thrusts  into another level. We need to take risks to grow, but they're best taken in a limited time frame with a chance for debriefing afterward. That way you can applaud the stuff that worked and make adjustments where they're warranted.

Unless we're a born savant like Mozart, we don't become proficient at anything overnight. We change by degrees as we practice new things. Mastery comes through familiarity and practice. A foray into new territory gives us the opportunity to fail and still live to fight another day.

It's easy to get stuck in life's ruts, places where we're trapped by past experience, by expectations, by relationships. Parts of the brain and spirit actually atrophy in those places. We need to break free - we need to get out of those places of immobility and limited imagination. Very often what works best is a change of scenery. Different surroundings, different people, different ideas. If something inside you feels stuck and knows there's more, consider that maybe what you need to do is to go on a journey.

Children start out life going on a journey of discovery - they approach the first waterfall, the first rainbow, the first trip to the aquarium with wonder. Jesus tells us we need to become like little children. Going on a kingdom journey can help you encounter spiritual reality that way - discovering how the spiritual world operates in ways that make your spirit go, "Wow!"

If you're feeling spiritually stagnant, my recommendation is that you take a kingdom journey.

Check out AIM for practical ideas.