An Invitation to Spiritual Adventure
Pastoral | July 23, 2026 | By: Michael Tooker
Many of us at Scottsdale Bible are pretty good students of the faith. We know our Bibles. We can hold our own in a conversation about what we believe, explain why Easter matters, and quote more Scripture than we sometimes realize. And that is genuinely a gift, a rich inheritance we should be grateful for.
But here’s the uncomfortable question Pastor Rustin has been pressing into lately, and one I want to press into with you: When was the last time you let what you know about God actually change the way you live?
Real discipleship includes cultivating the head, heart, and hands of Christ. The truth is, many of us (myself included) have done the hard work of filling our heads. We’ve earned A’s in the knowledge of God. But the heart that breaks for what breaks His heart, and the hands that actually do something about it? That’s where most of us have room to grow.
To help us grow in all three dimensions of head, heart, and hands, our pastoral staff has identified three aspects of what it looks like to move out of our seats and into the world.
If you’re new to Scottsdale Bible or not used to attending church regularly, make that your next step. Join us this weekend so you can hear from God’s Word and move closer to Him in worship.
Find a community of people who will walk alongside you. People who will be there during the hard times, celebrate your joys, and encourage you to grow.
Discover what it looks like to live like Jesus and practice the things He did.
These aren’t stages you complete; they’re rhythms you return to. And it’s that third one – Live Like Jesus – where this article lives. It has two expressions: being a disciple and making disciples.
Being a disciple isn’t simply learning more about spiritual disciplines. It’s making them part of your life. Allowing God to change you in a specific direction—the direction of looking more like His Son and living out the very same disciplines Jesus lived. Disciplines like prayer, solitude, silence, fasting, worship, service, confession, fellowship, evangelism, hospitality, and so much more.
And this brings us back to the head-knowledge problem. We know all these things. Many of us could probably define each discipline, trace its roots in Scripture, and explain why it matters. But the deeper and more honest question is this: Have we become these things? For many of us, if we’re honest, the answer is often “No.”
Pastor Rustin has been calling us toward something more: a spiritual adventure. He’s not calling us to something God does for us, but something He does to us and through us in the Phoenix Valley. The invitation is to be unleashed. To be a people of faith who aren’t just informed about Jesus, but who increasingly look like Him in the neighborhoods, offices, and communities around us.
So here are three invitations I want to extend to you:
First, pray a dangerous prayer.
Ask God to convict you, gently but honestly, of where you’ve settled for knowing about Him rather than walking with Him. Ask Him to show you the gap between what you believe and how you live.
Second, sign up for Rooted this fall.
Rooted isn’t just a class about spiritual disciplines. Rooted is an experience that weaves spiritual disciplines into the rhythm of your life. It’s a place where we learn how to cultivate, enjoy, and be transformed by authentic community. This is where the concept of God doing something to us takes shape. Sanctification isn’t passive. We cooperate with God as He forms us more into the image of Christ, and this happens best in community. Rooted is a beautiful expression of what our pastoral staff longs for you to experience.
Third, do one meaningful thing that makes you uncomfortable.
Knock on your neighbor’s door. Pray aloud for a stranger who looks like they’re having a hard day. Have the conversation with the family member you’ve been avoiding. Let the Holy Spirit nudge you somewhere that costs you something. This is where faith gets interesting. This is where our faith comes to life. This is where our faith makes a difference to those around us.
The greatest adventure available to any of us isn’t filling our heads with more theological content. It’s following the living God out the door. It’s becoming more like Jesus and joining Him in His redemptive plan for humanity. Let’s go make a difference. Together.
Michael Tooker
Pastor of Campus Ministries
Ready for the adventure? Rooted is your invitation to go beyond knowing about Jesus and start looking more like Him. Join the experience this fall.
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