— Andy Wade —
Our kickstarter campaign ends Wednesday, 7:19 AM, PDT and we’re down to the final $585! Here’s where your contribution, no matter the amount, can really make a difference.
Even if you’ve already given, you can still click on the link and “Manage Your Pledge” to increase your amount by $5, $10, or whatever you want!
I’m so excited about this new direction I just upped my donation to help us meet this goal.
I know, I work for Mustard Seed Associates so I have a personal interest in the kickstarter’s success. But it’s more than that. Over the years I’ve been inspired and nurtured by Christine and Tom’s writings. They have challenged me in areas I needed to be challenged, and encouraged and comforted me in times where that’s what I needed. Encountering these important resources in a new way and on a deeper level is an exciting prospect!
We are also expanding our resources and moving into new areas with new authors and areas of expertise. We want to make sure all of these tools are available in a variety of ways to meet the needs of those who want to use them.
With “associates” spread out across the globe, we’re also keenly aware of those who aren’t able to attend one of our workshops or retreats in the Pacific Northwest, and many churches and organizations don’t have the resources to have us visit. Online access is a wonderful alternative!
So please, contribute today. Give a little, give a lot, or up the ante! Your mustard seeds will be planted in fertile soil and well tended for a bountiful harvest!
Andy Wade is a staff writer and web & communications guy at Mustard Seed Associates. He is an ordained in the Mennonite Church, having pastored in the Seattle area and in Hong Kong, where he and his wife, Susan, served with Mennonite Mission Network for 12 years.
Today’s post is by Lynne Baab who is a regular contributor to Godspace. Lynne M. Baab is the author of numerous books on spiritual practices. This post is adapted from her latest book, The Power of Listening: Building Skills for Mission and Ministry. Visit Lynne’s website and blog for information about her books and articles she’s written:
I used to have a joke that expressed my longing to hear God’s voice clearly. When I wanted to know what to do in a specific situation, I used to say I wished that God would hire a cute little plane to sky-write guidance for me.
On the one hand, it’s great to long to hear God’s voice. But on the other hand, I now see it as a bit lazy to long for God to sky-write. Here are some thoughts about why:
Throughout the centuries, Christians have heard God’s voice in a variety of ways, and many Christians have written down their experiences and advice about hearing God. On the one hand, they talk about God’s voice or a sense of God’s nudging coming in surprising, unexpected moments during daily life. And on the other hand, they talk about God’s voice or God’s nudging coming in the midst of consistent spiritual practices that make space to hear that voice.
We must always affirm that nothing we can do can make God speak to us; God’s voice to us through the Holy Spirit is wildly free and beautifully unexpected. However we can adopt a posture of listening that makes it more likely we will hear God when God speaks. And that posture of listening requires intentional effort, even discipline. What are some of the spiritual practices people through the ages have talked about in connection with hearing God’s voice?
1. Reading, studying, praying and meditating on the Bible, both alone and in company with others. The Bible is called “God’s Word” for a reason. All engagement with the Bible is good, but many of us come out of traditions that primarily emphasize engaging the mind. Many of us need to grow in engaging the heart and slowing down so we can hear God’s voice through scripture. Two prayer practices that engage both mind and heart are lectio divina and praying the Psalms and other prayers in the Bible.
2. Praying in many different ways, both alone and in company with others. All forms of prayer can help us hear God’s voice. Silence in prayer is indispensible for helping us learn to listen. Prayer practices like walking the labyrinthor praying while walking outdoors can help us engage our bodies as well as our minds and hearts .
3. Fasting, both alone and in company with others. Throughout most of Christian history, and in Africa, Asia and South and Central American today, Christians expect to hear God’s voice when they fast. People who have a history of eating disorders should not fast from food in any form, and today fasting can involve stopping media, electronic devices, music, shopping, and many other aspects of daily life, as well as stopping eating all food or certain food items. I have heard dozens of stories about how God has spoken during a fast.
4. Hospitality. I can remember the first time I heard that Mother Teresa expected to meet Christ as she encountered people in need. I remember being stunned at that idea. Since then I’ve read many times about the ways Christ is present in friend and stranger in hospitality settings, and God can speak to us powerfully there.
5. Spiritual Direction. The purpose of spiritual direction is to take time in the company of a guide, the spiritual director, to examine our lives and discern God’s presence and God’s guidance.
My skywriting wishes, at their worst, reflect a desire not to have to do any patterns of consistent discipline in order to slow down and make space to hear God’s voice. Saints through the ages tell us that we hear God’s voice unexpectedly as we go about our lives, but that we also grow in ability to hear God’s voice as we make space to listen by engaging in spiritual practices that require consistent effort.
This morning I am posting a beautiful poem by the 13th century Mewlana Jalaluddin Rumi.
I was made aware of this prayer by Cherry Hairston Program Director at The Center at St. Andrew’s. She told me:
I use it, as do some of my colleagues, in teaching the Welcoming Prayer. One way to look at the Welcoming prayer is as a practice of radical spiritual hospitality that welcomes all guests, even the unwanted ones. I love the practice and find it very powerful.
It is a beautiful prayer to meditate on – enjoy
This being human is a guest house
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all
even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture.
Still treat each guest honorably.
S/he may be cleaning you out for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
~ Rumi
Our kickstarter campaign is moving slowly. With only seven days to go we still need $3,000 to reach our goal. We can’t do it alone. We need our associates to jump in and help. We need your mustard seeds to get us going.
This is a totally new venture for us at Mustard Seed Associates, one that we think will greatly expand our impact and enrich the lives of people across the world. I think it will enrich your life and strengthen your faith too.
This first course is based on my popular book Return to Our Senses which I know many of you enjoyed. If you used it as a study book in your church or book group or savoured the chapters on your own, we think this is the next step to go deeper and learn more about how to interact with God in every part of life. Please consider partnering with us to launch our upcoming e-course.
What will the funding cover you may ask? Primarily it will go towards video production, editing and web hosting. It will not go towards my salary (I don’t get one!) There will be six modules in this course each with a prayer, short teaching video and interactive exercise. So there is a lot of work to do. There will also be built in opportunities to interact with myself and other contributors.
If you are unfamiliar with Kickstarter, it is a crowd-funding website that allows you to collect pledges towards a goal. The great thing about funding through Kickstarter is that you are able to offer rewards to those individuals who choose to pledge money towards your project.
Our project has rewards starting at the $25 level. However, at the $75 level your reward will be the e-course itself at no additional cost (a $125 value). Its like preordering a book or other product at a special discount price. However any contribution, $1, $10, $20, is welcome. If each person who reads this blog regularly gave just $10 towards this project we would have more than enough.
The challenging part of a kickstarter campaign is that if we do not reach our goal we do not get any of the money that has been pledged. We are excited about the opportunity to expand them impact of what we do and interact on a deeper level with our constituents around the globe.
So please plant a mustard seed for us, and join the campaign.
How do we respond in the face of violence? This is the question that revolves in my mind as I watch the news coming out of Gaza and Ferguson and hear about the looting of the Ebola clinic in Sierra Leone. I think of it too as I read the comments that are like violence towards the Williams family and our memories of Robin Williams. And of course it is foremost in my mind when I think of the vandalism we have suffered on Camano.
Responding in love when others despitefully use us and others we care for is not easy. Acting in love when we are afraid or insecure is even harder. Insecurity breeds anger and violence resulting in a vicious cycle of hate, turmoil and yet more violence. Sometimes we are indifferent to the images of violence because when we watch them on TV or the internet they seem more like a game then reality.
Tragically we all tend to respond not with love to any form of atrocity or violence. Our natural response is “fight or flight”. In other words we either want to run away from violence and pretend it is not happening or we want to join in. We fight violence with violence.
But what is the Christian response?
I think that the Christian response needs to begin with listening, not with action. Listening and giving full attention to those who have been victims or perpetrators of violence means that we do not run from it. We do not pretend that violence is not happening and we do not pretend that it does not involve us. We recognize its horror and we gird up or spirits to take a stand.
We need to listen to the pain and the grief that creates violence, listen to the stories that tell of the results of violence and listen to the stories of how God’s reconciling love can and has been shown in the midst of that. We also need to listen to the hopes and dreams of the victims of violence. So often these reflect the cry for a more just and equitable society in which peace, equality and justice is shown to all.
Then we need to listen to the responses of our own spirits. Deep, heartfelt listening makes it impossible for us not to respond. Our hearts and our spirits start to cry out for justice to happen. Sometimes we start to recognize how our own actions, or lack of actions have resulted in the violence we see. Sometimes we get in touch with the violence within our own souls and need to seek forgiveness and healing.
I love the work of groups like Christian Peacemaker Teams which is committed to work and relationships that:
- Honor and reflect the presence of faith and spirituality
- Strengthen grassroots initiatives
- Transform structures of domination and oppression
- Embody creative non-violence and liberating love
Creative non-violence and liberating love are responses far different from those we usually see to violence. A Christian response to the victims and perpetrators of violence is a form of hospitality. By responding out of love not hate or indifference to, we welcome a stranger who is often very difficult for us to embrace. And in so doing we can often do find that we are embracing and welcoming Christ into our midst.
So my question for today is:
How are you responding to the violence you have heard about in this last week? and Where do those responses come from?
You might like to meditate on this prayer as you think about this.
God is love,
May this love take root in our hearts
And overflow.
Love does no wrong to another.
May God’s love spread like healing balm,
Wherever there is violence.
Love never celebrates injustice.
May it fall like gentle rain,
On thirsty ground,
And bring peace where trouble reigns.
Love binds us together.
May it reach out through us to neighbours,
And draw us into God’s eternal family.
Two years ago I was in the middle of writing my book on listening and I was stuck. I had written a good chapter on listening for the sake of mission. I had written three chapters on listening to God in communal discernment, in communal spiritual practices and through communal engagement with the Bible. I had written basic chapters on listening skills, why and how we listen, and obstacles to listening. I had one chapter left to write, focused on listening to each other within a congregation.
I had quite a few good stories to use in that one remaining chapter, but I didn’t have a central idea for the chapter. My stories and ideas felt scattered.
I set the book aside to go to an academic conference that I was not particularly excited about. The only thing I was anticipating was two keynote talks by Nancy Tatom Ammerman. She described her most recent research on spiritual patterns among people in various religions, and to my great delight she gave me the unifying idea for my troublesome chapter. In addition to helping with that chapter, her research helped me gain an entirely new perspective on the significance of listening in all forms of discipleship and spiritual formation.
Ammerman and her team of researchers interviewed dozens people in Boston and Atlanta about their spiritual convictions and practices. They sought out people with diverse religious commitments: Protestants, Roman Catholics, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Wiccans, atheists, agnostics, New Age practitioners, etc. They found that the people who had the deepest spiritual commitment also had friends with whom they talked about the overlap between their spiritual commitment and their everyday lives, between the sacred and the secular, between the holy and the ordinary. Ammerman called these friends “spiritual compatriots.”
The research showed that people most often found these spiritual compatriots in three settings: congregations, the home and the workplace. The congregation has special significance, because congregations provide places for people to learn to talk about this overlap between God and daily life. People then brought that ability to talk about God’s role in everyday life into their homes, and they often found people at work with whom they could talk about it.
Ammerman said that the people who were the most comfortable talking about this overlap of the holy and the ordinary were the people who were the most involved in mission of various forms.
After listening to Ammerman, I spent a lot of time thinking about the places in congregations where people talk about the overlap between their faith and their daily life: small groups, men’s and women’s events, retreats, coffee hour, etc. Good sermons model ways to talk about this overlap. The key is to make space for people not just to chat and get to know each other, but to go deeper to the place where they are able to talk about where God is in their daily lives, how they feel called to follow Jesus in everyday life, where they feel the Holy Spirit’s guidance and empowering.
I began to think about pastoral care, which has often been viewed as a good and necessary thing, but somewhat separate from discipleship or mission. Often the major crises of life are the places where we see God at work most profoundly. Maybe God seems clearly present guiding the cancer patient to the right doctor or helping feuding siblings to get along at a funeral. Maybe God seems particularly absent in a crisis. Making room for people to talk about God’s presence and absence in big challenges, a major task of pastoral care, now seems to me to be integrally connected to Christian discipleship and mission.
Conversations where we can talk about the overlap between the Christian faith and daily life require good listening, drawing people out, and asking perceptive questions. We need to allow conversations to go on long enough for people to work their way around to the issue of where and how they experienced God in a particular situation. Because of Nancy Ammerman’s research (recounted in her book Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes: Finding Religion in Everyday Life , I saw the significance of listening in congregational life in a whole new light.
Today’s post is written by regular Godspace contributor Lynne Baab.
bio: Lynne Baab’s recent book, The Power of Listening: Building Skills for Mission and Ministry, focuses on the many ways listening undergirds congregational life. Lynne is a Presbyterian minister and lecturer in pastoral theology. Visit her website at www.lynnebaab.com.
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