Small Group Leadership as Spiritual Direction: Practical Ways to Blend an Ancient Art into Your Contemporary Community - Softcover

Webb, Heather Parkinson

 
9780310259527: Small Group Leadership as Spiritual Direction: Practical Ways to Blend an Ancient Art into Your Contemporary Community
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0310259525 ISBN 13: 9780310259527
Verlag: Study Resources, 2005

Inhaltsangabe

Don’t just LEAD a small group, DIRECT it. Members of your small group look to you for answers. They bring their raw questions and intimate needs to you, looking for wisdom and understanding. How can you encourage your group to consider the Holy Spirit’s voice? “Spiritual direction is an ancient art of being with another person in relationship with God,” writes author Heather Webb. This time-tested practice requires that you remain attentive and open to divine interactions you might otherwise miss. Field-tested through the author’s years of experience, Small Group Leadership as Spiritual Direction will help you: - Avoid common small-group pitfalls - Take on difficult questions - Speak God’s words into others’ lives - Deepen your group’s desire for God The exciting discipline of spiritual direction allows you to create a space in which the Holy Spirit can move among your group. As you begin to discern Christ’s call in the lives of others, you will see your ministry with a new perspective and uncover new ways to direct your group, not just lead it.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Heather Webb is a spiritual director and an ordained minister in the PCUSA who holds a masters in counseling degree from Colorado Christian University and a doctor of ministry degree from San Francisco Theological Seminary. She is a licensed professional counselor.

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Don't just LEAD a small group, DIRECT it.


Members of your small group look to you for answers. They bring their raw questions and intimate needs to you, looking for wisdom and understanding. How can you encourage your group to consider the Holy Spirit's voice?

“Spiritual direction is an ancient art of being with another person in relationship with God,” writes author Heather Webb. This time-tested practice requires that you remain attentive and open to divine interactions you might otherwise miss. Field-tested through the author's years of experience, Small Group Leadership as Spiritual Direction will help you:

- Avoid common small-group pitfalls
- Take on difficult questions
- Speak God's words into others' lives
- Deepen your group's desire for God

The exciting discipline of spiritual direction allows you to create a space in which the Holy Spirit can move among your group. As you begin to discern
Christ's call in the lives of others, you will see your ministry with a new perspective and uncover new ways to direct your group, not just lead it.

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Small Group Leadership as Spiritual Direction: Practical Ways to Blend an Ancient Art into YourContemporary CommunityCopyright 2005 by Youth SpecialtiesYouth Specialties Books, 300 South Pierce Street, El Cajon, CA 92020, are published by Zondervan,5300 Patterson Avenue SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49530Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataWebb, Heather.Small group leadership as spiritual direction : practical ways to blend anancient art into your contemporary community / by Heather P. Webb.p. cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-144).ISBN 0-310-25952-5 (pbk.)1. Spiritual direction. 2. Church group work. 3. Christian leadership.4. Small groups--Religious aspects--Christianity. I. Title.BV5053.W42 2005253'.7--dc222004023958Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible: New InternationalVersion (North American Edition). Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Usedby permission of Zondervan.Some of the anecdotal illustrations in this book are true to life and are included with the permission ofthe persons involved. All other illustrations are composites of real situations, and any resemblance topeople living or dead is coincidental.All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, ortransmitted in any form or by any means---electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other---except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.Web site addresses listed in this book were current at the time of publication. Please contact YouthSpecialties via e-mail (YS@YouthSpecialties.com) to report URLs that are no longer operational andreplacement URLs if available.Editorial by Carla BarnhillArt direction by Jay Howver and Holly SharpEditing by Janie WilkersonProofreading by Maureen McNabb and Joanne HeimCover design by Rule29Interior design by SharpSevenCover and Interior font: House Gothic TM Copyright House IndustriesPrinted in the United States of America05 06 07 08 09 10 / DC / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1From the bestseller list to the growing number of stores featuring self-helpbooks on meditation, yoga, and centering, it's obvious that the last few yearshave brought a dramatic increase in spiritual curiosity and hunger. Even thosewho are loath to assign themselves a religious label are exploring the spiritualrealm with increasing passion. And yet there is a sense in which the Christianchurch is failing to meet this hunger with a real, meaningful response.Consider the movie Dogma. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon play fallenangels who are trying to find their way back to heaven by way of a moral loophole.In one scene, Affleck's character talks to a young woman, Bethany, who ison a pilgrimage she doesn't understand. She doesn't realize she's speaking witha fallen angel. She's been drinking, which prompts her to speak more plainlythan she might normally have done. Listen to what she says:Angel: You still go to church?Bethany: Every Sunday.Angel: Does it do anything for you?Bethany: It gives me time to balance my checkbook every week.Angel: See, that's what I'm saying. I mean, people don't go to church tofeel spiritual anymore. They go to church and feel bored. But theykeep going every week just out of habit. When do you think youlost your faith?CHAPTER ONESOUL HUNGERBethany: I remember the exact moment. I was on the phone with mymother. And she was trying to counsel me through this thing.And nothing she was saying was making me feel any better. Shesaid, 'Bethany, God has a plan.' I was so angry with her. I waslike, What about my plans? You know?Angel: Uh-huh.Bethany: I had planned to have a family with my husband. Wasn't thatplan good enough for God? Apparently not. What about you?When did you lose your faith?Angel: A long time ago. One day God just stopped listening. I kepttalking, but I got the distinct impression that he wasn't listeninganymore.Bethany: How did you know she was listening in the first place?Angel: I guess I don't.Bethany: I hate thoughts like that. You know, they come to you with agebecause when you're a kid, you never question the whole faiththing. Um-um. God's in heaven and he's---she's always got hereye on you. I' d give anything to feel that way again. Guess that'swhy I got talked into this pilgrimage.1These characters ask the crucial question, 'Does the church do anythingfor us?' There is a sense that both Bethany and the Angel wish the answerwere yes. This conversation reflects the longing found in the hearts of the faithfuland the faithless alike. Faith is lost not because there is no need for it, butbecause we believe God's plans don't make any sense. In fact, Bethany notes thatnot only do they not make sense, but they seem cruel and arbitrary as well.In essence, these characters are saying the church doesn't meet us. Itdoesn't meet our needs, our desires, our hopes, or our hunger. The churchdoesn't connect with us. And when we sense that the church doesn't connect,we move on to the belief that God can't connect with us either.When I first saw this scene, I was convicted. I have likely said tosomeone in pain, 'God's going to take care of it,' or 'God meant it for good.'But notice how Bethany connects that sentiment with the moment she losther faith. Yet she hasn't lost the desire for faith; this scene bears evidencethat a hunger for God exists even when belief seems to fall away. We glimpseBethany's heart as she says, 'I'd give anything to feel that way again.' That'ssoul hunger.I don't believe the church has intentionally ignored this soul hunger.The church has used education to teach us about matters of faith. It has createdcommunities in which we can learn the ways of faith. It is a source offellowship so we can journey with others on a path of faith. But there must besomething more we can offer to invite these spiritual seekers to Christian community.What would be required to meet that woman on the train, to meet herheartache?There are large segments of the population that are dissatisfied with thechurch, wounded by the institution. They are trying to find room in their theologyfor the questions and doubt that have surfaced in the course of their lives. Itis a critical time for the church to honor the seekers, to invite them to God andcommunity in the midst of their wanderings, not once they get it all figured out.The spiritual hunger of this age presents an opportunity for us to offer a seat atthe table and a cup of warm soup to those who know they are in need.Contours of soul hungerOf course, addressing this spiritual hunger means understanding the ways inwhich this hunger is lived out in the lives of seekers. There are several commonmarkers that we as the church need to recognize as we look for ways to invitepeople like Bethany into the church.The first marker is what British theologian Dave Tomlinson calls a'pick and mix'2 belief system. It can resemble a fast-food convenience store---get a little of this and a little of that. That's why many seekers are comfortablemixing principles from Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism into the basicexpressions of Christianity. It is just as easy to read the latest news on the DalaiLama as it is to find out what the Bible says on an afterlife. This challenges usto redefine what is essential to being a Christian rather than assuming the onlylegitimate expression of faith is one that adheres to all elements of the Christiansubculture.A positive effect of this pick-and-mix mentality is that seekers are relativelycomfortable with ambiguity.

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Verlag
Study Resources
Erscheinungsdatum
2005
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0310259525
ISBN 13 
9780310259527
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
139
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
GPSR Kontakt
gpsr@libri.de

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