Reflection Roundup: Listen for the Voice of God
Each week we gather news stories, notable pieces, and other important items for Christian leaders today. As always, listening broadly draws together differing perspectives from which we can learn but may not concur. Here are 10 things worth sharing this week.
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1. “Resilience is the ability to return again to what matters.” Lawrence Peers writes “Resilience and the Practice of Pivoting” for the Congregational Consulting Group, unpacking the idea of “pivot” and applying it to the congregational needs of today. We may have to change direction when we find we’re not where we intended to be, adjust pace, and tailor what has worked in the past to the needs of the present. Peers quotes the work of Chris Argyris in saying our “organizational defensive routines are anti-learning, overprotective, and self-sealing,” saving face yet sacrificing the essential new information that could yield growth. Peers acknowledges that what this requires can be overwhelming, directs readers to Laura van Dernoot Lipsky’s The Age of Overwhelm: Strategies for the Long Haul, and provides several reflective moves for both individuals and churches. Rich stuff even if you’re tired of being resilient.
2. Dave Odom, executive director of leadership education at Duke Divinity, takes this idea of pivoting and applies it to the story of one of his colleagues, Kate Bowler, in a way that helps us discern where to plant our feet. Missteps are not disastrous, Odom writes in “How do you decide when to pivot?” They must happen, in fact, to strengthen our gait. The important thing is remaining mindful of where we are planted and what we are willing to change. In tandem, Shannon Hopkins’s “How to lead when things are falling apart” describes the five stages of a healthy pivot, including the importance of grieving the loss of what has worked for so long, and provides links to free, concise online resources.
3. In honor of Earth Day, Annie Lowry, staff writer for The Atlantic, gives food for thought in “Your Diet Is Cooking the Planet.” While acknowledging the contradictions among different green initiatives, Lowry settles on the truth. What is best for our bodies also benefits the planet most holistically. If we can eat sensibly and sustainably – that is, choose a diet that is sacrificial in some respects yet not so radical that we cannot sustain it over the long haul – and consume what we purchase, the benefits quickly bubble up toward broad impact for our planet. We can make a difference for the benefit of ourselves, others, and all of our children, and we can do it this week at the grocery store and the dinner table.
4. This week marks the 500th anniversary of one of the “most important speeches in the history of the church,” contained in Luther’s diet in Worms before Emperor Charles V. In the documents under review that day, Luther was preaching the gospel of which he had been convicted by the Spirit of God. After realizing contradictions within the doctrines and religious voices of his day, he determined to open Scripture in order to hear the voice of God, and then to share what he had heard. Read W. Robert Godfrey’s “There He Stood: Luther at Worms” as we remain committed to listening to both the Lord and others who have heard God’s voice and remain open to the cacophonic fullness of the message. God help us. Amen.
5. Keeping the situation in Myanmar front-of-mind is essential as our brothers and sisters there face difficulties words fail to describe. In “After the Myanmar coup, Christians are ‘hiding in the forest for safety,’” Zara Sarvarian depicts several scenarios in which Christians find themselves daily in Myanmar. “Helpless and hungry, Christians in Myanmar ‘need your prayer constantly’” by the Christian Chronicle’s Erik Tryggestad describes the real situation in which our fellow Christians feel hopeless and helpless. “Before the online blackout, another Burmese Christian, a minister, sent a message to fellow believers. ‘I have encouraged the church members with God’s words,’ he said, ‘and I share with them about Jesus’ love.”
6. With all that competes for our attention these days, the ability to attend to the movement of God in our lives and in the world is ever challenged. Richard Beck, in his newest book, Hunting Magic Eels, highlights how we may reignite our attentiveness to God’s enchanted touch God in the created world. Beck has generously included free, downloadable study material sufficient to serve the needs of any size group or to assist sermon preparation. Beck says, “you'll see in the study guide that I lead with Scripture rather than with my book.” See also the Siburt Institute’s online conversation with Beck last September on “Why God Matters.”
7. Read this refreshing piece, “A campus ministry thrives in the pandemic by appealing to young people and planting house churches.” A backyard church sharing a space where embodied needs were met percolated into a launching pad for the dreams and the gifts of her members via one couple’s willingness to ask the question Jesus posed to the blind beggar on the road to Jericho, “What do you want me to do for you?” The article narrates backyard gatherings in which all voices, including God’s, are heard, and church not only comes home, but becomes home.
8. In this episode of the On Being podcast, host Krista Tippett interviews Resmaa Menakem (MSW, LICSW, SEP) on the topic of generationally and culturally embodied trauma. “Notice the Rage; Notice the Silence” is a fascinating listen on not only the physical effects of trauma, but also their lingering physical triggers that are passed on to our children and our children’s children. Menakem offers practices to retrain these subconscious and automated bodily responses while also suggesting meaningful adjustments to the language we use to talk about them.
9. So, Amena Brown. For some of us, that’s enough said. Listen to her spoken word poem, “She Said How Do You Know When You're Hearing From God.” Might you chill? Might tears come? Share it with someone. Talk together about what you heard from God in her words. “God is a gardener.” God works in the dirt. Earthy.
10. There are stretches where life feels over-full and healthy rhythms can become disrupted despite our best commitments to sabbath and examen activities. “Four Surprising Ways to Get a Better Night’s Sleep” offers a creative expansion of our spiritual practices and rhythms that lead toward rest. Partnered with this sensible little video from UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Magazine, we’re likely to find good reminders, in the wisdom of children, of the grassy pastures in which the Lord causes us to lie stretched out, and the resting waters by which our shepherd carefully tends us.
