The Contemplative Preacher: Taking A Personal Inventory

If as Christians we desire to grow, then growing requires changing. It is important that we give effort to the ways in which we want to change. Here on the last day of the year, it is a good time to take a personal inventory.

The simplest way to do that is to use an Ignatian-style question and ask yourself:
1. What for me has been life-giving?
2. What for me has been life-taking?

If, as James says, all good things come from God, then the things in our life that are from God will be helping us to live with purity, integrity, courage, peace, joy, mercy, and all other fruits of the Spirit. Things from our enemy will call us towards a life that is divided, secretive, selfish, frustrated, discouraged, and vengeful.

Part of making personal goals for a new year will necessarily involve removing from our life what is not from God and replacing it with the good things that do come from knowing God better.

Each person has their own characteristics that distinguish them from every other person.  Even twin children, raised by the same parents, in the same house, in the same town, at the same school, attending the same Church will be different people.  Without a doubt, our differences affect our congregations.  We’ve all seen contention where people of opposing preferences have a hard time reaching a middle ground.  Each of us has different ways that we prefer to respond to God, and we should be considerate of our fellow Christians’ needs.

Here are some of the ways that people feel close to God:

THINKERS

These get close to God by reading the Bible and other books.  They feel that they’ve heard a good sermon if they learned something interesting.  Some Biblical Thinkers would include Paul, Daniel, and Isaiah.

PRAISERS

These get close to God by worship.  They love to think of Heaven in terms of the awesome praise they’ll get to help offer up in the presence of God.  They feel it’s been a good worship service if people really got into the singing, and the prayers were meaningful.  Biblical Praisers might include David, Moses, and Mary the mother of Jesus.

CREATION-LOVERS

These really love beauty and aesthetic things.  They may struggle with the temptation to skip church and go camping instead, because for them, God is closest when they are in nature.  Why can’t we have worship outside more often?  They love to forward e-mails of pretty nature pictures, and to experience God’s majesty through His artistry.  Biblical Creation-Lovers might include Jesus, David, and several of the apostles who had been fishermen.

WITHDRAWERS

Some people feel like they can’t really be with God unless they have a quiet place.  They are naturally inclined towards contemplative prayer.  When they get “alone time,” they emerge feeling energized.  Biblical Withdrawers might include Jonah, Elijah, and Jesus.

FELLOWSHIPERS

No matter how much time you spend together, Fellowshipers wish you didn’t have to go your separate ways.  Being with other Christians energizes them.  They like attending worship services, but they live to talk to people before and afterwards.  They thrive on relationships.  Biblical examples of Fellowshipers might be Barnabas, Joseph, and Mary (Martha’s sister).

SERVERS

Some people need to be caring with their hands and to show compassion.  Ministries like Meals-on-Wheels are a perfect fit for them.  Biblical examples of Servers might include Tabitha (Dorcas), Abraham, and the Good Samaritan.  

All people are made in God's image, and can help us grow by learning different ways to feel connected to God. I'm sure most people would fit into more than one of these categories, as I know I do.

In my next post, I'll be talking about developing a Rule of Life, which is a plan for how you intend to live. For now, though, you might spend some time thinking about the ways you naturally do feel closer to God. It's important to allow space in your life to do what helps you to know God is near. Beyond this, I think it's equally important to find an area in which to push yourself that does not come easily to you.

I prepared this self-survey a few years ago to help people discern the areas they are most drawn to and the ones they are least drawn to. I'd encourage you to download it, print it, take it, and then see how the results sort out for you.

Spiritual Disciplines Preferences Survey

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Blessings,
Mark

Pre-Emptive Reflections On Survey Results

At Old Hickory, we have been in the process of taking a congregational survey designed by LifeWay Research for the purpose of analyzing the spiritual pulse of our congregation. More specifically, by participating in the worship, classes, and additional projects at our congregation, are people experiencing genuine spiritual transformation?

I am anxious to see how the results turned out. One thing that I've noticed, being on the administrative end of the survey, is that it is amazing how many variant interpretations people can have of the same questions. Some have taken it with no problems, but others have really struggled to understand the terminology used in several of the questions. As we've wondered how many people actually took the survey--they could have taken it online--we've gotten feedback ranging from extremely pleased to extremely perturbed by the process. Something Don and I were talking about today is how there's bound to be something good about the fact that we've tried to give people an open venue to share their thoughts with us. Even if they didn't give their thoughts, they won't be able to say that we haven't been willing to hear what they have to say.

One area that this survey has brought to my attention is the function of worship services. Lots of their questions centered around what we did with our worship services. I guess my underlying question is, "What is the purpose of worship services?" For teaching? For evangelism? For edification? For fun?

One of my professors, Dr. David Fleer suggests that good preaching (and good worship services) should have three aspects present, which he draws from Cicero; a master rhetorician. These elements are teaching, pleasing, and persuading. I am not here trying to make a doctrinal statement, but rather a stylistic statement. Aside from the question of what elements should be present in worship, how can we use these elements in a way that impacts people?

He had a quote, and I may not be remembering it correctly, but it was basically, "To teach is a necessity, to please is a sweetness, to persuade is a victory." In worship, it is crucial that true things are expressed about God and how he relates to our lives. It's wonderful if people learn, and it's even better if they find the sermon--and the rest of the worship--an enjoyable experience. But if by their presence, they are genuinely convicted to make a decision, or to live differently in some way, then we will have had a real spiritual victory resulting from our assembly.

I think churches are unwise to ignore any of these elements. If no real teaching happens, then church is nothing more than entertainment, and it has lost its teeth, as well as its ability to retain members once they are bored with the routine. Some people are too quick to dismiss the aspect of emotion in assemblies, saying that it is just entertainment, or that spirituality is somehow different than emotion. But God gave us hearts, and we need to hear stories and have experiences that draw our hearts through the whole range of our emotions. A completely stoic worship service with only dry, intellectual preaching is ignoring a vital part of our being. Some prefer an experience that involves fun and learning, but no "meddling." They want interesting sermons with applications about helping people in third world countries, but not about anything that I have to do differently this afternoon in how I treat my own family and friends. They like the routine of church, and punching a heavenly time card, but they are not interested in really being challenged. I believe in all three of the areas I've listed, if we don't give them their due place, sincere Christian people will feel the lack of what is not there.

I think the responses we get from folks about their attendance here will probably illuminate our strengths and weaknesses in each of these three aspects. Are we helping them to grow in wisdom and discernment? Are we inviting them into experiences which touch their hearts in new and challenging ways? Are we making high enough expectations of their lives outside of the assemblies?

We should find out soon. I pray that we'll do what's right in how we move forward.