Listen!

Those of us on the simple life in Jesus journey are discovering more and more that it's not about meetings but about life lived together in friendship with God and one another. And for a great article on this, check out this article by Wayne Jacobsen.

There are times, of course, when we do gather, though, and I want to suggest a shift in how we approach those gatherings (at least I think it's a shift for most of us!). I suggest that we come prepared to listen. No, this is not a step back to the "sit down and be quiet" approach of traditional church--I am rather suggesting a change of culture that thinks of our gatherings as more listening than talking. My experience with simple/house church folks so far has made me realize that most who gather come to gatherings thinking "What can I say?" rather than "What will I hear?"

Here's what this would look like in real practice (and it works great whether we are talking about two friends in an informal gathering or a gathering in a home). There are four arenas of listening involved. Come prepared to listen in each of these settings and watch what happens!

First, listen to one another. One of the rarest and most precious gifts we can extend to another person is to truly listen to them! Sincere, focused listening to the other person in your meeting (formal or informal) will deeply change the dynamics of the meeting--trust me! Listening carefully to the other person makes me vulnerable and tender and communicates to him/her that s/he is valued and treasured.

Second, listen to God in one another. Since every believer is the temple of the Holy Spirit it seems likely that God may speak something to you and me through every believer we choose to listen to. There have been many times in my life when I heard God very clearly while listening to someone else's story. I am sure that you can say the same thing. Think how wonderful it will be, then, to be intentionally listening for God in that other person!

Third, listen to God for one another. This is where things like prophetic words, words of encouragement and comfort come in. Although none of us can hear God in place of another believer's need to hear God, we can certainly confirm and reinforce what God may be saying to someone else. And yes, I know this concept goes against the grain of some personal prophecies. But my conviction is that C.S. Lewis is right when he says that "Aslan tells no man another man's story." In other words, no one can hear the "life instructions" for another person. But again, we all need things confirmed and reaffirmed. Think how wonderful if would be if we were intentional about listening to God for one another when we gather!

Finally, listen to God with one another. This is probably the hardest for those of us from a highly individualistic western church culture, but it's a key part of learning to be the church as Jesus intended it. One of the best scriptural examples of this is found in Acts 13 where the five prophets and teachers here together God's instructions for Barnabas and Saul, but the concept of listening to God together is foundational in all the New Testament. How does this play out when we gather? I could make a few suggestions, but I would rather that you try it for yourself. Those of us who lead groups can start the process by asking the group to listen together. For example, "What do you sense God wants us to do about Sally's story?" or "What sense do you get for our next few minutes together?" or just "Let's listen to God together for the next ____ minutes." Try it, I am sure you can come up with something!

That's it for this post. Remember that just being quiet isn't really listening. :-)

Stay lost in His love,

Tom, Abba's least child