Über die Autorinnen und Autoren

Daniel Schrock has been a spiritual director since 1996 and a Mennonite pastor since 1990. They have been collaborating to train spiritual directors at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (Elkhart, Indiana) since 2009.

Marlene Kropf has been a spiritual director since 1986 and a Mennonite seminary professor since 1985.

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AN OPEN PLACE

Morehouse Publishing

Contents

Chapter One

MARLENE KROPF AND DANIEL SCHROCK

Getting started is the first big step. Directors who expand their ministry from individual to group direction will discover that in order for groups to flourish, several issues need careful attention. This chapter considers the role of the director, the role of the participants, a process for structuring group meetings, and ongoing support for group directors.

THE ROLE OF THE DIRECTOR

Starting a group and selecting participants. In general, the leader has two options for finding people to participate in group direction: to invite specific persons who might be ready for such a group, or to extend an open invitation to anyone who might be interested. People who do well in group direction tend to have a sense of God's presence in daily life, capacities to listen to others and to reflect on their own life, and a desire to mature their own relationship with God and others.

Preparing the place. The leader will want to prepare the meeting place, whether in a church building, in a home, or at some other location convenient to the group's members. Above all, the space should foster quiet prayerfulness and allow everyone to be seated comfortably in a circle, taking into account any disabilities. Room temperature should be adjusted to a comfortable level. The leader can create a visual focus in the center with an object that evokes a prayerful spirit, such as a candle or bowl, stones or flowers. A simple arrangement at the center often works better than a complex one. As participants enter, the leader may also wish to have soft, contemplative music playing.

Preparing one's self. If a leader comes to the meeting place at the last minute and feels internally rushed or distracted, that sense of being scattered can adversely affect how the group functions. Conversely, if the leader arrives well before others, ensures that the room is set up appropriately, and takes five to fifteen minutes to prepare inwardly, the group will have a better chance of working well together. Some leaders employ centering prayer for their inner preparation, while others take a slow, contemplative walk on site. The options are many. Any prayer practice can be a good choice as long as it ushers the leader into a contemplative awareness of the presence of God before others arrive.

Shepherding the group's process. Meeting by meeting, the leader is primarily responsible to shepherd the group's unique purpose and process, which makes group direction different from other small groups in church life. The core purpose is to listen to God on behalf of each other, so that God can summon group members into the insights, emotions, movements, courage, and maturity that God desires. The process, described in more detail below, serves this purpose. Neither the leader nor anyone else hands out advice, tries to "fix" problems, or determines a specific outcome. Instead the leader's role is to keep the group's purpose clear and to trust that God will work through the process to achieve what lies close to the Divine heart.

THE ROLE OF THE PARTICIPANTS

Participants in group direction have at least two roles: to limn and to listen.

Limning. One primary role for members of direction groups is to limn their lives. Limn means both to describe in words and to depict through painting or drawing. At root it means to illuminate something. When they bring something to the group for spiritual direction, participants generally use words to describe their situation, experience, or question. Limning allows for the possibility that participants could also bring something visual or musical to the group that expresses the ineffable aspects of experience which words alone may not be able to capture. Perhaps a painting or photo graph will evoke what words cannot express. A potted plant or bowl of pebbles may open up a new dimension for both speaker and hearers. The poetry and music of a song might help everyone to understand more deeply. In group direction, art can help to explore the mysterious ways of God.

What can participants bring to the group for spiritual direction? The simple answer is anything, as long as the intention is to discover what the presence and activity of God might be in it. Possibilities include experiences from one's inner life of prayer, one's relationships with others, one's roles in systems and structures, or one's interactions with creation. Perhaps participants will want to focus on a major decision or life transition they are facing. Maybe a new inkling of something just beginning to dawn on their awareness asks to be explored. Surprising experiences, joys, and laments can also be appropriate. Any of these can be rich material for noticing and responding to God's loving initiatives.

Listening. A second role for members of direction groups is to join each other in listening for God. Here are some tips for listening well.

1. Listen in three directions. While one member of a direction group speaks, the other members attempt to listen in three directions. At the most elemental level, they listen to the person who is speaking about some aspect of her or his spiritual life. Second, they listen to the community—to the other members of the group who articulate what details, desires, and patterns they notice in the speaker's narrative. Third, they listen for the gentle murmurs and rustlings of the Holy Spirit. In practice, this listening in three directions does not happen in a rigid sequence like a mathematical formula, but bobbles more like a ball floating on a stream. Just as a ball moves up, down, and around on the surface, shifting this way and that way while continually moving with the current, so does one's listening shift frequently among person, community, and Spirit, while moving toward the destination that God desires. Attempts at multilayered listening may seem confusing and messy at first, but with patient practice they get easier.

2. Listen for desires. For centuries, Christian writers have pointed out that desire is the engine of our life with God. God has desires for us and we in turn have desires for God. Desire is what impels God toward us, and us toward God (see Isa. 49:14–16a, Ps. 42:1, Matt. 5:6). Desire helps us consent to God, follow Christ in discipleship, love others, fulfill our vocation, and join with God's mission in the world. Desire attracts us into practices such as group spiritual direction. To be sure, some lesser desires are disordered and tainted by sin, such as those for fame, wealth, or privilege. Yet beneath these lesser desires lie deeper, more authentic desires implanted in us by God, such as those for love, wholeness, or justice.

During spiritual direction, group members sift through the sand of lesser desires to discover the deeper, authentic, God granted desires that are like the pearl of great price (Matt. 13:45–46). They help each other not only to notice and name these desires, but also to celebrate them. They encourage each other to pursue these God-given desires because that pursuit ultimately takes them to the heart of God. Indeed, when someone's desire for God meets God's desire for them, they become united in abiding...