Experience More Growth in Christlikeness This Year Than Ever Before...
Even If You Usually Struggle With Discipline and Consistency!
Growth as a Christian can be a tough pursuit sometimes...
Especially when you feel that you’re making little to no progress with your current devotional routine.
I’ve been there!
For years, my devotional life consisted of waking up in the morning, reading my bible, and praying. But there was one major problem.
I didn’t feel joy in the Lord, and as a result, I didn’t want to do it!
Each morning I struggled to make it to the kitchen table to read the word. It felt more like a duty than a joy. I wasn’t sure what the Lord was doing in my life, and I didn’t know what my spiritual growth was supposed to look or feel like!
As you can imagine, this made it really hard to consistently do my devotional.
I felt stuck…
Tired…
And like I was never where I wanted to be.
Fortunately, the Lord was very gracious to open doors for me to go to seminary.
It was there that I learned more about myself and the Lord than I had ever expected to learn!
During that time at seminary, I learned what it really means to be a Christian.
I grew in my love for the word and for Christ, and this changed everything for me.
Now, no longer does my devotional time feel like a struggle.
My prayers are no longer infrequent or only about myself.
I no longer struggle to consistently find my joy in the Lord.
In fact, my faith continues to grow deeper and stronger than ever... even though I graduated seminary over 6 years ago.
But am I saying everyone who struggles with their devotional life needs to go to seminary?
No.
For most people, that is not an option right now!
Going to seminary is a huge sacrifice.
It costs thousands of dollars, and depending on your situation, possibly moving your whole family interstate or even overseas!
Not only that, the choice to go to seminary means giving up your current calling to study full time, which is a major strain on income and family life.
Having said that, let me just say that studying in seminary is a completely worthy investment!
If you are studying or planning to, I whole-heartedly encourage you!
However, even if you are in seminary or have attended seminary…
Chances are, you’re still going to have difficulties in your walk with the Lord.
Attending seminary isn’t a magic formula for suddenly being able to grow in Christlikeness.
It still takes dedication...
Commitment...
And the right resources.
Finding good resources for spiritual growth can be hit and miss.
The problem is, when you invest in books that are full of faulty theology…
They can lead you down paths of despair by setting unattainable ideals.
Books that are disconnected from the reality in which we live can make you feel like you’re failing in your spiritual life!
Reading just one book that tells you you should be “hearing from God”, or how you should “experience” God can set unrealistic expectations that rest on a warped understanding of scripture.
You need biblically sound books in order to experience biblical growth.
But even when you do get your hands on the right resources, you still need a plan to ensure you read and grow!
Reading books can be a fruitless task if you don’t have a plan for your growth.
Think back to any of the books you read last year, or the year before.
How much of that book do you remember?
My guess is, if you simply read the book and did nothing else, you might remember the main “message” of the book.
But aside from that, the details probably escape you, unless it was profoundly impactful!
The truth is, it is almost impossible to have any success in growth through reading without a system.
And that brings me to my next point:
Most people do not have a systematic plan for their personal and spiritual growth.
This can lead to years slipping by without any change…
A devotional life that lacks joy or meaning….
Haphazard growth that leaves you feeling discouraged…
And a feeling of “directionless-ness” when it comes to doing your devotional.
Without a solid plan for your growth, you're unlikely to see much fruit in the next year.
It can be hard to make a plan, and hard to stick to one too.
Especially if you’re going it alone and you’ve got no one to support, counsel and instruct you in your spiritual growth.
Which is why accountability matters.
If you struggle with discipline and having a consistently rewarding devotional time…
Chances are you need someone holding you accountable for your growth.
Someone who cares that you finish each book on spiritual growth…
Who’s able to help you implement the teachings…
Who is qualified to teach and instruct in biblical growth so that you experience the growth in Christlikeness that you are thirsting for!
Now, if this sounds like something you want, I have some great news for you.
But before I go any further…
STOP FOR A SECOND AND COUNT HOW MANY OF THESE YOU ANSWER 'YES' TO
- I desire to grow in Christlikeness this year
- I have goals but no system to ensure I actually hit them
- I have not made any spiritual growth goals this year
- I want to read more books that will help me grow spiritually
- It would mean a lot to me to have discussions about what I am reading
- I do better when I have deadlines and accountability
- I desire to go deeper in my love for Christ
- I would love to follow a biblical plan for my long-term growth
- I am interested in understanding how to solve problems biblically and counsel others
- I want to learn to solve relational and personal problems biblically
If you answered "yes" to one or more of those, then I'm here to help.
This year, for the first time, I'm running an Academy that will give you structure, accountability, and personal, hands-on help with your spiritual growth!
It’s called the Foundations of Personal Transformation Academy. The Academy involves a year-long program of reading, interactive calls, and access to the whole Foundations of Personal Transformation course.
Allow me to introduce...
A Year of Structured, Guided Biblical Growth!
The Foundations of Personal Transformation Academy is like a seminary class in Spiritual Formation.
It will be a year long program where you read books for your spiritual growth and discuss what you’ve learned in each book with me on a live call.
On top of the reading and book calls, you get access to my course on spiritual growth, Foundations of Personal Transformation!
I recently launched Foundations of Personal Transformation on its own...
And it was a great success in helping people design and execute a plan for their own spiritual growth!
The course focuses on the theology and practice of devotional time.
It delivered amazing results…
And it was a joy to serve so many people in their walk with the Lord.
But after I finished delivering the course…
I thought to myself: “How could I expand this to provide even more value?
I know that one of the biggest problems people face when it comes to their devotional time is consistency…
So how can I help people see consistent growth in Christlikeness over the long term?”
Then I asked myself…
"What if I designed a reading plan for spiritual growth, and then held regular teaching calls to help people implement the book material?"
This idea was the seed that grew into what I’m now offering you: Foundations of Personal Transformation Academy!
If you’ve been reading the emails, you have probably seen the book list of my Top 6 Recommended Books for Growth in Christlikeness.
Well, those are the books we will be reading over the course of the year inside the Foundations of Personal Transformation Academy.
Reading these books alone will help you grow spiriutally....
But reading them, reviewing them, and discussing them on a call with me will help you exponentially more to apply the teachings in your life!
Imagine, you get given a list of 6 books to read for the year. You then get given a reading schedule of 2 months per book. During the 2 months, you get encouragement to keep up with your reading.
Then, you get on a call with me, and we discuss what you learned in the book and how you’re going to apply it in your life! If you encounter anything difficult in the book, or you don’t agree with it, these calls are a perfect time to bring that up.
These calls are going to give you the specific support you need to grow in Christlikeness. It is my mission to see you equipped with the right knowledge and wisdom to serve the Lord through your own pursuit of holiness.
These books are selected to help you grow deeper in your faith, wiser in your ability to solve problems, and more joyful in your love for the Lord!
They will give you the foundation you need for growth in Christlikeness.
I’ve read thousands of books on theology, Christianity and biblical counseling, and I have selected the top 6 that I would tell anyone to read who was serious about spiritual growth.
Here they are again in case you missed them!
From all my years of being a biblical counselor and discipling others, these are 6 of the books I’d consider most useful for:
- A strong faith and an ability to live out the Christian walk
- A biblical understanding of the heart and mankind
- An ability to solve relational problems biblically
And of course, your #1 purpose as a Christian…
Growth in Christlikeness.
Because your purpose as a Christian is not primarily to live a happy life, or even to evangelize.
The purpose of the new covenant is to shape us into the image of Christ, revealing the character of God to the world and restoring to us bit by bit the elements of the image of God that was lost through sin.
Growth in Christlikeness is growth in holiness and it is the most thrilling, most engaging and most challenging experience that we can have while we’re in our motal bodies.
As a Christian, you grow through spiritual disciplines, including prayer, reading scripture, meditation on the text and journalling.
To grow in Christlikeness through your spiritual disciplines, you’ll need a biblically sound, structured approach.
Which is why I’m including lifetime access to my course, Foundations of Personal Transformation when you join the Academy!
This is a course on the theology and practice of devotional quiet times.
If you’ve been finding yourself stuck in your spiritual growth…
Opening up your bible and praying regularly but feeling like you’re getting nowhere…
Or doing your devotional time out of duty and not joy…
Foundations of Personal Transformation is your ticket out of feeling stuck and into a place of joyful growth in Christlikeness.
Foundations of Personal Transformation teaches you how to do your spiritual disciplines in a way that transforms your heart!
In this course, I teach what’s called “Heart First Theology.”
(By the way, you’ll learn even more about Heart First Theology in 50% of the books we read in the Academy!)
This is theology about mankind and how we function. It goes far beyond just “imago dei”, and explains how we think, feel and act in this fallen world.
Learning Heart First Theology will change the way you deal with hardships in your life.
Once you have a biblical understanding of how the heart functions, you’ll look at every situation differently.
You’ll be better able to understand yourself, and understand those around you. This newfound understanding will give you a whole framework for dealing with hardships in a biblical way.
The way you deal with your own emotions, actions and thoughts will become more Christlike.
The way you relate to others will glorify the Lord and help them see Christ’s goodness and grace more easily.
This is all possible because…
You'll be bringing your heart before the Lord every morning and seeing real change.
A solid devotional time will be the foundation for your growth.
That’s why the course is called Foundations of Personal Transformation!
It’s only through Christ that you can hope to see lasting personal change…
And it all begins by setting up a consistent morning routine for examining your heart before Him in the perfect mirror of scripture. That’s the foundation for your personal transformation.
Here's what the course delivers.
- Understand the Heart and How People Change
Through the video lessons, you’ll gain a biblical understanding of the heart and how you can grow in Christlikeness through a “heart-first” approach.
- Learn the How and Why of the Four Spiritual Disciplines
Each spiritual discipline I recommend you integrate into your quiet time is taught in great detail, and I also teach how to make the most of each for changing your heart and becoming more like Christ.
- Gain Clarity on God’s Will for Your Life
God’s word clearly communicates His purpose for you and all believers. You’ll gain clarity about this through the theology videos. I exegete key verses like Romans 12:2 (be transformed by the renewing of your mind) and explain what that looks like in a practical sense.
- Strengthen Your Prayer Life and Have a Richer Experience With the Scriptures
A lot of Christians find prayer hard. It doesn’t have to be, and in this course I teach you how to free yourself from unhelpful beliefs about prayer and start regularly praying with a simple structure.
Another common struggle is applying the bible to daily life! Foundations of Personal Transformation will teach you how to approach any passage to learn from and be changed by it.
- Combat Hindrances to Growth and Get Consistent
Developing habits is a key part of creating a regular devotional. Yet, there can be a variety of reasons why you struggle to be consistent with your spiritual disciplines. In FPT, over one third of the course material directly addresses these and helps you overcome things like lack of motivation, time constraints, illness, having small children, and so much more!
So, let me recap…
Here’s exactly what you’re getting when you join the Foundations of Personal Transformation Academy
You’ll get…
- Lifetime access to my course on growth through spiritual disciplines, Foundations of Personal Transformation
- A book list that will maximise your growth in Christlikeness
- A new Reading Plan every 2 months for a year, for each book
- Email check-ins from me to ensure you're keeping up with the reading
- A group call to discuss each book and implement the teachings
- Bonus work and opportunities to grow through your reading
- Access to the FPT Academy Community!
In other words, you get a whole year of support with your spiritual growth, following a simple plan!
The plan for reading 6 books gives you a charted course forward for a whole year.
All you have to do is follow the plan laid out out for you, and you’ll be steadily growing in your walk with Christ. I’ll be there to guide you along the way, and you’ll have help if you get stuck or discouraged.
Plus, you won’t have to wait up to 2 months for the next call every time you want to ask me a question…
Because when you join the FPT Academy today, you get access to:
The FPT Academy Community!
The FPT Academy Community is a private group exclusively for those who have paid to be in the FPT Academy.
You’ll hear firsthand my thoughts on the books as we read through them, as well as any extra resources or book recommendations I have along the way. And I have some other little things that will help 🤫 !
With direct access to me, you can ask any question about the reading, the course, or anything really! I’ll be more active on that Community than I will in my own email inbox, so you can expect a fairly quick reply.
If you post in the main channel, you’ll likely get responses from other members as well!
It's my aim to make the
Foundations of Personal Transformation Academy
more valuable than a Spiritual Formation class at seminary.
A class in Spiritual Formation would cost you around $400.
You wouldn’t learn any of the of the theological foundations for spiritual disciplines that I’m teaching you.
But in the Foundations of Personal Transformation Academy, you’ll get the theological foundation, PLUS hands-on help with your spiritual growth.
This is all possible through:
- The book list of 6 books to read for the year to ensure you grow in Christlikeness (and hey, even if you walk away from this offer today, you still get the book list!)
- The calls at the end of every 2 months for discussing the book and creating a plan to apply the teachings
- Foundations of Personal Transformation, the course which will help you grow in Christlikeness through four key spiritual disciplines
- The FPT Academy Community, a private forum where you can chat to me and other members about the reading and the course material
Well, the Reading Plan and Book Calls alone are worth $20/month.
These calls are a powerful motivator for completing the reading.
They also will be key in helping you remember and apply what’s in these books to your life. The wisdom that you gain from these books will be multiplied by talking through what you’ve learned with me on the calls.
I’ve led many book calls in my time, training people to be biblical counselors. Here’s what people have said about those calls:
Very helpful to hear from other people with other perspectives and experience.
Having an avenue to ask questions and interact and meet other members has been great.
– Liz S.
It is very helpful. Sharing thoughts and listening to others’ thoughts helps me understand more about the books.
– Kate I.
It is always interesting to see what others get out of the books but I find the richest part for me is hearing Darryl talk/teach about some of the points.
– Tristin B.
Very helpful. I have really enjoyed the responses shared by others. I have also appreciated the discipline of having to read and prepare my reading response before each set date. I have also appreciated very much the input by Darryl.
-Heather S.
Extremely helpful. Lots of personal growth going on because of them.
-Kirsty M.
The book calls in the FPT Academy will be just like the ones I run for biblical counseling training. Imagine how much a whole year of structured reading and calls would help you grow in your walk with Christ!
At $20 per month, you’d be investing $240 in a year. That’s a small sum for an inevitably big positive change in your life.
On top of that, I’m offering you Foundations of Personal Transformation, valued at $147.
You’re also getting access to the FPT Academy Community. That’s worth $10 per month alone, which, for a year, would be $120.
All up, what I'm offering is worth at least $507. And for the personal transformation you'll see in yourself as a result, that price would be justifiable.
But I'm not going to charge you $507 for your Foundations of Personal Transformation Academy membership.
I’m not even going to charge you half of that.
Today, you can join for a one time payment of $147. No recurring fees, the only other thing you need to pay for is the books.
This offer won’t be around for much longer.
In fact, this may be the only time I offer the Academy at this price.
So, your call.
Are you ready for a year of structured spiritual growth?
If so, hit the button below and I’ll see you inside the Academy.
So, what am I getting when I hit the button above?
You’re getting much more than a course. For a whole year, you’ll follow a structured plan of reading theologically sound books on spiritual growth. During this year, we’ll have calls on these books. Should you not be able to make the calls, you’ll get to watch the replay.
On top of that, you are getting Foundations of Personal Transformation, the video course on growth in Christlikeness through spiritual disciplines.
When will the calls be?
Tuesdays at 11am Pacific Standard Time (subject to change)
Will I really see any change in my life?
If you read the books, watch the course, and join the calls or watch the replay, YES.
You’ll grow in holiness and the fruit of the spirit. The way you deal with hardships will likely change. Your relationships will likely improve. Your walk with the Lord will likely be improved immensely.