Month: July 2011

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Position Desired – Soul Care Pastor

For the last few days I have been thinking about what kind of position I may be looking for as I continue to discern my possible new adventure. What you will find below is a made up job description of what I would think is a good fit for where I sense God leading me.

Sometimes as we listen to God speaking into our life, it help to take the bits and pieces we are gathering and put them together into form where they make sense to you, to your understanding of a possible future.

What are the bits and pieces in your life that you can piece together to create a new ministry opportunity. I am not necessarily talking about a career change, rather I am asking the question, “Is God leaving you some clues as to something He may be wanting you to do?” Maybe there is a new ministry opportunity waiting for you just around the next corner and God is simply waiting for you to catch up to Him.

Job Posting – Soul Care Pastor

Job Description

The soul care pastor will be responsible for creating an environment where people can grow and develop into the person God is calling them to be. They will meet people where they are – spiritual & emotionally and walk along side them for a period of time. This is not a counseling position, but the ability to recognize and refer people to a counselor is important. The soul care pastor will also develop a team of individual who can work with the soul care pastor in ministering to others. The soul care ministry may be carried out with individuals, couples or small groups.

Job Functions

  • Help people discover and apply their spiritual gifts
  • Listen to peoples stories and help them edit them
  • Help people connect the dots of their life experiences to see what it is the God my be telling them or guiding them to do
  • By personal example show others how to use different spiritual disciplines to grow in ones relationship with God
  • Lead individual and group spiritual retreats
  • Encourage other to live out in their lives – loving God with all you have, loving others, and making disciples

Experience and Education

The candidate for this position should have lived long enough to have a variety of life experiences. They should be maturing in their faith. They need to be able to discern how the Spirit is leading the the soul care of the person(s) being ministered to. They should be able to develop clear beginning and end points, but be willing to let the journey between the two points to develop and shift a needed.

The single most important skill that this candidate will have is the ability to listen – listen to the care receiver, listen to God, and listen to the Spirits leading. This is best done as the candidate them self is in their own self soul care process.

The candidate should have a Masters level understanding of the Bible and theology. They should have a strong background in the are of spiritual formation, the spiritual disciplines, and faith development.

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Reflections From My Blog

As I browse through my blog postings I have noticed a couple of things – randomness and themes. Yes I know that these two things seem to be opposites but it is true. Surronding my themes there are a lot of random thoughts. Two books of the Bible that seem to come up again and again are James (theme practical faith) and Haggai (theme regaining focus). The links are to a couple of older posting from my thoughts about James and Haggai.

Both these books are ones that I go back to time and time again to read, ponder about and pray about. These two themes of living out our faith and maintaining focus are parts of my sojourn that I am continually evaluating, refining, and living out. These are also areas of my life that I at times struggle with. I think they are things we all struggle with.

I am preaching in a couple of weeks at a church in Becker. MN and Haggai is the text I will be speaking from. It is a simple message – don’t get so busy you forget about God, but it assumes a couple of things. First, that you know what it is God wants from all Christ-followers (love God, love others, make disciples) and that you are willing to do them. Second, that you have taken the time to listen for God’s still small voice and have reflected on what specifically God is asking you to do. You see the remnant that Haggai was talking to knew what God wanted of them but they got distracted and lost focus.

It is a lose of focus that causes us to struggle. So the question I leave you with today is how are you doing at loving God, loving other and making disciples? Also, have you taken time lately to sit down and listen for God’s still small voice?

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Becoming Who God Wants Me To Be (pt 4)

In late 2007 I was reading a blog posting my Josh Kesler about a stupid sheep. I took a different perspective than Josh, thinking rather than being stupid, he was being a barbarian sheep (see my original blog response. To be honest, it is only now as a read back over my original response that I am beginning to make the connection as to why this moved me the way it did. At the time though all I knew was that my mind was whirling.

It was about this time that I started my ministering at Lino, I applied for and got into the Doctor of Ministry program at Bethel, and I was engulfed in this wondrous time with God. It was during this time that I wrote about online community and social justice. I started my twitter prayer project. I read more books than I had in a long time about a lot of different things. During all this, a funny thing happened, I began to change – it was subtle but it was happening. God was transforming me into who He wanted me to be. The themes of community, relationships, and transformation began to jump out at me. I rediscovered the book of James and the practice of my Christian faith. I began to listen to the stories of others and how we as a community can help edit each others stories to strengthen our relationship with God and with others.

So what does this have to do with the stupid sheep? It is about stepping out of your box (comfort zone) and being willing to do what it is God has called you to do. I was comfortable being a geek, integrating technology and learning, but God has other plans for me. This became clear in my last Doctoral class – there were a lot of great conversations but I was drawn to one we had about what I call the ministry of proximity. Actually what I was drawn to is the tension that exists between the need to be in proximity to minister to someone and what we can do at a distance. Right now I am pondering what is meant by “proximity.”

So there you have it. After sifting through the last 30 years as a Christ-follower, I think I know what I will do for the last season of my life. I know God has used me in different places at different times with my rather eclectic life. I know sense that there is a new and quite different adventure ahead for me.

It’s time to be pushed out of the confines of my sheep pen and to embrace the adventure God has for me. I look forward to coming along side my fellow sojourners, walking with them for a while, helping to edit their story and strengthening their relationship with God and with others.