Do you ever just stop and listen? I love being outdoors. Whether it's on my deck, the patio, or in the woods..... The other day I was reading on the patio and I stopped to listen to the sounds from the gentle breezes. As I listened, I heard the leaves rustling, the windchimes, the birds chirping, the train horn, a motorcycle revving, a jet plane soaring overhead.....and I wondered to myself, "Can I hear you God in these things?"
My husband and I took some time Friday to get into the woods. We took off to a nearby section of the Cumberland Trail, Mowbray Pike Trailhead.
http://www.cumberlandtrail.org/three_gorges_soddy.html
The entire book is engaging, interesting, encouraging, motivating, challenging.
I've already shared some thoughts and quotes from the book. I'm going to share some more.
As I read the chapter on "Justice" (Chapter 11), I couldn't help but hear Micah 6:8 echoing in my mind: "He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."
I was struck by the response of some church goers about a Tent City being brought to their church. The pastoral staff was gearing up for a meeting and for responses, but were surprised when they got this response: "If you don't bring Tent City to live on our front lawn, we're afraid we won't be able to stay with this congregation. Because on our way into the baptismal waters, you told us that we would be washed to serve the world and if we can't do that in this place, then we believe God will call us to another place where that is possible." (p. 163) WOW!! Can you imagine it?!?! That was a real person responding to a real situation. That person, that family was listening to the pastor and took seriously the call to serve. I may be wrong, but I think most pastoral staffs would be shocked (in a good way) to hear folks "threatening to leave" if the church wasn't going to live out its faith, walk the talk.
Though a call to serve the homeless might not be for all churches, Diana Butler Bass says this: "It intrigued me to see how many of the congregations I visited had ministries serving the homeless. Many people mentioned that, despite the fact that they lived in houses, they too "felt homeless" and experienced a surprising kinship with the actual homeless people they befriended." (229)
I have been blessed to have been part of a ministry for folks in Chattanooga. A ministry for the hungry and the homeless. Though I haven't been as active in the recent past few years as I was at first, my heart's desire is there. One pastor with a vision started a ministry. Folks joined in. It grew. Ministries branched out from within this ministry and those being helped started helping others. A man who invested much into the ministry's clothes closet and a halfway home recently went home. A significant lay person in this ministry has become a lay pastor and now has her own church. This homeless ministry is now homeless. Even without a secured full time homebase, the ministry keeps on keeping on. It is a community. A community dedicated to carrying on the mission of Christ.
Transformation. Change. Diana Butler Bass writes: "Following the Spirit means change." (242) "People change when they encounter God in meaningful ways." (242) "Just as this process is true for individuals, so it is for congregations. People need community to change, to sustain a life of pilgrimage, and to go deeper in change. Pilgrims need pilgrim congregations." (242)
Diana Butler Bass notes: "Whether threatened by spiritual boredom or facing church closure, each congregation had asked two questions that sparked deep change: Who are we? What is God calling us to do? They discovered a renewed sense of identity and a clear purpose in serving the world. They experienced a change of heart that transformed their communal understanding of who God had made them to be." (243)
As I continue to drink of the deeper waters, I thirst more and more. I desire to go deeper and deeper. I am seeking answers to the question 'where is the Spirit leading me?' I'm enjoying the process of living into the questions. I wonder how my congregation would respond to the two questions posed? [Who are we? What is God calling us to do?] I wonder if my congregation is ready for the adventure of becoming an "authentic spiritual community"? Diana Butler Bass defines authentic spiritual community as a "journey of becoming God's church". (254)
What about you? Where is the Spirit leading you?
Where is the Spirit leading the community of believers (congregation) with whom you worship?
Enjoy the journey! Take time to rest and listen along the way.
~Debra
PS-- A few extra quotes from the book. Quoting Reverend Anne Howard from Trinity Episcopal Church, Diana Butler Bass writes: "Transformation is the promise at the heart of the Christian life." (281)
Just as the butterfly struggles to get out of its chrysalis so that it might take flight, transformation is not easy. Diana Butler Bass says: "Change is never easy--especially spiritual change." (281)
Change is part of the journey. The journey is an adventure. Keep on travelling. Keep on being transformed.
~dd
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