The Seabourns

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Mutuality is important

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The Meeting of the WatersI’m currently reading The Meeting of the Waters: 7 Global Currents that will Propel the Future Church. It’s a good book for those engaged in missions. It’s particularly a good book for those of us who have been in missions for many years and can benefit from seeing with another’s eyes.

I’ve read the chapters on mercy, mutuality and migration. I strongly agree with the author that mutuality is crucial to the meeting of the waters of traditional and current, of the north and the south, of what the Lord has done and what he is doing today. Read the author’s explanation of mutuality below…

Q: What are the seven trends that are having an impact on Christianity?

A: Mercy. Mutuality. Migration. Monoculture. Machines. Mediation. Memory.

Q: What is the single biggest shift in ministry that today’s churches are facing?

A: I’m not comfortable choosing just one, because various ones or others loom prominent in different countries or cities at different times. That is, after all, one of the most important lessons of The Meeting of the Waters-that Christians in all countries should become adept at recognizing how their country’s Body, and its witness, is being differently affected by global trends. But, since you asked, I will say that the most important Global Current is Mutuality, because it is the necessary foundation for all global ministry work. Mutuality means that believers from traditionally powerful countries (that means Americans and Europeans, for starters) must include and look to Christians from traditionally weaker countries. People from less-developed countries (think India and China) increasingly have education, technology, ability to travel, trained and plentiful workforces…and confidence. Those brothers and sisters also have spiritual experiences and depth that come from generations of suffering and wanting, and as an American I know I need to learn about that. Not only is Mutuality the right choice for Christians, it is increasingly the only choice in our flattening world. And the great news is that it is also fun, for I have found Mutuality to be one of the most thrilling and expanding journeys in my Christian life.

The blending of those who can offer the power of organization, funding, program management, a we-can-make-a-difference-perspective and the power of deep spiritual experience and lifestyle flowing from want and need and suffering and having little materially. Exciting stuff!

A Discernment Process for Spiritual Leadership

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I’m nearing the end of Ruth Haley Barton’s excellent book Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership. In Chapter 12, Finding God’s Will Together, she outlines a process for discerning God’s will as a group. The emphasis is on discernment. I’ve used some of these before, but I found this to be the best explanation and most complete process I’ve heard described.

I really appreciate Barton’s emphasis on both solitude and group. I really appreciate her statement that combines spiritual community with spiritual leadership.

You get somewhere by discerning God’s will and doing it together.

  1. Clarify the question for discernment.
  2. Assemble the community of wise stakeholders who have used discernment processes in their individual lives. Involve people who are committed to the process of personal transformation, who have experienced personal discernment in their own decision-making.
  3. Establish or re-affirm guiding principles that will govern the process. Discernment at the leadership level requires an extraordinary amount of safety in the group process. Trustworthy relationships are crucial. Discuss and agree on the values.
  4. Begin with a prayer of quiet trust. Barton suggests this from the Book of Common Prayer:

    Oh God, by home we are guided in judgment,
    and who raises up for us light in the darkness:
    Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties,
    the grace to ask what you would have us to do;
    that your spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices,
    and in your straight path we may not stumble;
    through Jesus Christ our Lord; Amen.

  5. Pursue a state of indifference to anything but God’s will — nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. Ask “What needs to die in me in order for the will of God to come forth in and among us?”
  6. Listen on many levels. Listen to our experiences. Listen to inner promptings by the Holy Spirit. Listen to fact and information. Listen to testimony from those most affected. Pay particular attention to distress, confusion, desolation and difficult emotions.
  7. Listen within through periods of silence. Break up group meetings with periods of individual “listening prayer” where individuals spend time in silence focusing on a common passage, then share with each other what they heard from God from this passage regarding the question for discernment. Not all may hear something specific, while others may. Listen as a group to what each shares he or she heard from God. Manage group dynamics through periods of individual solitude. Allow dysfunctions to be named. Allow periods for self-awareness.
  8. Select an option consistent with what God is doing among the group. If no single option stands out, identify 2 or 3 options and refine them. Ponder the options to see which sit well with the group, which bring consolation or desolation. Seek inner confirmation.
  9. Agree together. Unity is the fundamental marker that God’s will has been discerned. As an expression of faith, thank God together for his presence and his gift of discernment.

You get somewhere by discerning God’s will and doing it together.

What do you think? How have you used a discernment process for hearing God’s direction and doing it?

Facing an uncertain future

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“I’ve worked at Cape Canaveral for 23 years. We have 3 more shuttle launches then my future is really uncertain.”

Gary was seated next to me flying to Atlanta. The end of the space shuttle program is hitting central Florida pretty hard. As I’ve written before, Delta Airline’s seat assignment system is God’s appointment system. So out of the 200 people on this flight, Gary was my appointment today.

I continued in the Explorer phase, finding out about his work, family, hobbies, interests. Gary recently flew in a World War 2 vintage airplane for 30 minutes of pure delight (which I’d love to do). He’s worked in the space industry for 23 years (which was an early dream for this engineer-in-budding ever since watching Shepard, Grissom, and Glenn on little portable TVs in my 4th and 5th grade classroom).

I asked how he was working though his future, handling the uncertainty. I asked if there was a spiritual aspect to his life.

Moving into the Guide role, I moved the conversation towards spiritual topics.

It turns out that Gary is involved in a good church fellowship. He is helping the 30 people on his launch team to work through meaning and purpose during uncertainties. We talked further during the hour flight.

So, my divine appointment wasn’t to help someone find God, but to help someone who is helping others during difficult times. You just never know what God has in mind until you accept the appointment and start Exploring.

(PS This blog post is being written using WordPress for Android on my next flight to Dallas. I have an empty seat next to me and the guy the next seat over has earbuds and a book, kind of looks like he’s hung out a do-not-disturb sign. Do I only have one appointment today? I have another hour or so to explore what God has for this leg of the journey.)

(PPS I was able to break through the earbuds and book. We had a very interesting conversation. He is a 30 year veteran pilot of major airlines, former Air Force fighter pilot, and recently separated from his wife. He was willing to talk about “theology”, but  he continually deflected my efforts to get personal about his spiritual life. But it was an appointment which I kept. I recall an early definition that success in witnessing is simply taking the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leave the results to God.)