Listening to God
Before a congregation can reach its "full Kingdom potential" it will need to
discern what its full Kingdom potential is. This will require a process of
"listening to God." Using a modified form of the ancient prayer practice called
the "lectio divina" (divine reading), a congregation is invited into a process
of prayer and discernment to discover just what it is God has in mind for it. We
call this ministry (what else?) Listening to God.
There are two components to Listening to God. The first is an invitation to all
members of the congregation to keep a "Daily Appointment with God." This will be
a time in which each member “schedules” a few minutes with God each day. Think
of it as the five- minute phone call from your spouse to go over the evening
activities, or your conversation with your teenager to find out today’s routine
(will he be here for supper? Does she have a lot of homework to do?), or an
appointment with an important client. In all our key relationships, it is
important to spend time each day to intentionally connect our lives to each
other. That is the essence of a healthy, loving, growing relationship. Time must
be regularly given to nurture the other and to be nurtured by the other. This is
so basic to our lives that we do it automatically to some degree or another.
The same principal holds true in our relationship with God. If we want to have a
healthy, loving, growing relationship with God, time must be spent each day
intentionally nurturing that relationship, checking in on one another, making
plans together, and so on. Every member is asked to make a “daily appointment
with God” so that everyone has a chance to grow in and through the Listening to
God experience.
The second component is the lectio divina. In groups of eight, members will
gather weekly for ten weeks to discern God's will for each group member and the
congregation. Each weekly gathering has two components. In the first 30 minutes,
one member of the group tells his or her spiritual autobiography (faith story).
In the remaining 60 minutes, the members of the group practice the lectio divina.
One pre-selected passage of scripture is read four different times. A different
question is asked before each reading. This allows the members to listen to God
from several perspectives. Together each group begins to discern the directions
God is giving them for the journey to reach their full Kingdom potential as
individuals and as a congregation.
