February 4, 2016

• Reflection In Ministry And Personal Renewal.

  Reflection In Ministry And Personal Renewal.

  posted 6 minutes ago by RevPat

  I wanted to share with our faculty, students and friends of FBC about the importance of a personal place or setting of reflection and renewal. For as the years progress, I am realizing the importance of pausing from the busyness of our daily lives and just listening to God. Or, taking time to stop what we are doing, reflecting upon the effectiveness of our endeavors, and looking at our life, or ministry in an open and honest fashion. Sometimes without such a place of renewal or repose we can find ourselves just wasting our spiritual energy on busy work, and be less productive than we choose to admit. Ephesians 5:15-17 ( HCSB ) admonishes us to, " Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise— making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

  With this passage in mind and with the understanding of how we as human beings need that time of rest and repose. It seems imperative that we take time strategically in our lives to " smell the roses ", in order to receive fresh illumination from the Holy Spirit. Whereby we are better equipped to carry on the Lord's business with our body, soul and spirit in harmony. Allowing God to minister to us and through us effectively.

  The following is a portion from a particular book on reflection, which I have been studying. That has helped me in this past month of reflection and renewal. I pray it will give you some much needed " food for thought ". Please let me know your thoughts and ideas on this subject matter, or ways God has ministered to you in your times set aside for renewal. God bless you all in your life and service in Christ.

  Dr. Patrick Vossen

  Notes From The Book Entitled, " Tools For Reflective Ministry " By Sally Nash and Paul Nash ( 2009 )

  Ministry

  Ministry is about service; it is the responsibility of the whole body of Christ. Paul’s personal philosophy of ministry is based upon knowing and loving himself, God and others and seeing that as an ongoing journey of service in and towards community. It involves the whole of our lives. Personal and spiritual growth are often a significant part of the early years of ministry, whether full time or as a volunteer, as we grapple with what, who and where God has called us to. Nelson suggests that in our first decade of ministerial development we need to engage with five areas:

  • recognition of our own uniqueness
  • identification of our limitations
  • development of our leadership skills
  • integration of our identity as minister
  • acceleration of our spiritual formation (1988, pp. 15–23).

  For our ongoing ministerial journey we would add:

  • working out how to sustain ourselves for the long haul
  • identifying and processing the baggage we bring
  • liberating ourselves from false expectations
  • developing a rule and rhythm of life that nourishes
  • understanding what it means for us to keep becoming more like Christ
  • working towards greater coherence between theology we profess and theology we live.

  Implicit in such lists is an invitation to work out these issues for yourself, thus:
  What areas of ministerial development do you need to work on?
  Nouwen identifies the five essential tasks of ministry as:

  • teaching
  • preaching
  • individual pastoral care
  • organizing
  • celebrating (1971, p. 114).

  What are your essential tasks of ministry?

  While this may work well for a church-based setting we don’t frame our particular callings in these terms. Our list is:

  • facilitating learning
  • encouraging
  • equipping
  • liberating
  • healing
  • empowering
  • leading
  • being prophetic.

  What are the difficult questions and issues you need to reflect on currently?

  Paul has asked himself why it is important to write and share some of his insights even though, as someone with dyslexia, he finds writing hard. He concluded that one of the factors was that of legacy—being childless and wanting to leave something of himself. We have learnt to ask ourselves the difficult questions, to explore what we are fearful of, what the questions and doubts are that subtly influence our ministry. Knowing and understanding ourselves, God and others is often a multilayered process, and reflection helps us go deeper and become more self-, other-and God-aware. In ministry, who we are is more important than what we do, and developing a Christ-like character should be given at least equal weight to developing ministry skills.

  Discernment and decision-making

  Testing the outcomes which emerge from reflection is good practice, helps us live within our values and beliefs, and may assist in avoiding making mistakes (Judges 21:25; 1 Thessalonians 5:21). These are our guidelines for testing the outcome of our reflection:

  • Is it in harmony with our understanding of the Bible?
  • Is it coherent with our values?
  • Does it build the kingdom of God?
  • Do I have an inner peace beyond ‘if it feels good do it!’?
  • Do I sense the witness of the Holy Spirit?
  • Will it bring life?
  • Can I do this with integrity?
  • Is it in line with my personal and/or professional ethics?
  • Am I willing to be accountable over this?
  • Have I discussed this with others or brought it to my community? Why? Why not?

  It can be helpful to write your own list, or at least have a mental checklist, to assess the outcomes of your reflections. In a question-and-answer panel with students we were once asked how we hear God. This book encourages us to listen to and encounter God in a myriad of ways but we need to discern what it is we have heard and found.

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