Using Spiritual Practices on Group Trips. (Mission trips or Spiritual Journey Trips)

Beginning of the Trip:

Keeping a Spiritual Journal  - Growing Deeper Practices -http://www.covchurch.org/resources/growing-deeper-practices/

Palms Up Palms Down Prayer:

Palms down release or let go of what you are clinging to and give it to God.  

Palms up receive what God has to give you.

Process what you are clinging to, and what you are receiving.

Mornings: 

Imaginative Prayer - See Below (Great introduction to Lectio Divina, and Also great when you don’t have much time)

Praying the Scripture (AKA: Lectio Divina) - Growing Deeper Practices -http://www.covchurch.org/resources/growing-deeper-practices/

Dwell in the word - see below

Evenings:

Reviewing your Day (AKA: Prayer of Examen) - Growing Deeper Practices -http://www.covchurch.org/resources/growing-deeper-practices/ (Thumbs up Thumbs down Thumbs forward to give a visual cue)

Telling your Story - Growing Deeper Practices -http://www.covchurch.org/resources/growing-deeper-practices/ (Great to hear one of these from everyone in the group with groups of 20 or less. If you have someone use a timer it can work)

Walking with Others - Growing Deeper Practices -http://www.covchurch.org/resources/growing-deeper-practices (you could do this to and from locations)

End of the Trip:

Rule of Life - Growing Deeper Practices -http://www.covchurch.org/resources/growing-deeper-practices/

Reviewing your “TRIP” - Do the practice again from Reviewing your Day.  Feel free to draw a time line to mark the spiritual moments of the trip. (Great to form on the way home on the plane)

Prep your 90 second “talk/story” form the Telling your Story Practice so that you can clearly share about your time on the trip.  (This could be a main event or be a main theme story from the trip as a whole) When you return and you have had an amazing trip it’s hard to tell people everything you want them to hear.  Find a few main things you would really like for people to hear about your trip. (Not many people listen past 90 seconds sadly)

Imaginative Prayer:

Make yourself comfortable, take some deep breaths and turn your imagination toward God. Ask God to lead you to what he has for you in this passage. Read the passage through once to get your bearings. We’re going to use our God-given gift of imagination. It’s one of the things it means to be created in God’s image. Ask for volunteers to read, each taking 1 paragraph or a group of verses.  As these people read pretend you are there.  Make yourself a part of the story.  You can become a person or even an object in the story.  

This next time we are going to Read it again slowly, lingering over each line. Take it all in. Close your eyes and open your imagination. Notice the setting as you listen this time. 3 leaders read this time. 

This time think about these questions:

What do you see? 

What do you hear?

What can you taste, touch, smell? 

Who are the people in the scene? 

What are they doing? What are they saying?

What can you tell by the looks on their faces?

Debrief as a large group:

Where were you in this scene? 

What were you doing? 

What were you saying? 

What were people saying to you? 

Do you feel like God was saying something to you from this story?

Small group questions:

What is something you saw the second time that you did not see the first time?

What feelings did you experiencing while you were imagining? 

Where were you in this scene? 

What were you doing? 

What were you saying? 

What were people saying to you? 

Do you feel like God was saying something to you from this story?

When the story is over, what do you do? 

Do you stay or move on? 

Do you want to tell someone of your experience?

    Do you feel like God was saying something to you from this story?

What do you feel like God wants to say to us as a group of people?

Did I feel comforted, or alone? Why? 

What is the main thing God taught you through imagining this story?

What will you do with this during the week?

Dwell in the Word 

1. Start with your text. 

2. Have Bibles or copies of the passage available every time you meet. If you have powerpoint capability, project the text (be sure the whole text fits on one screen). If you commit to one text for the entire year, it might be worthwhile to make permanent cards to reuse.

3. When your group or team assembles, be sure to set aside 20-30 minutes to complete this adventure. 

4. Invite reflection on one of two questions (see below). After reading the passage through, allow some silence to unfold as people let the words have their impact (sometimes we read the text aloud twice – one male voice and one female voice).

ï Two Questions: 

ï 1) What captures your imagination in this text?

ï 2) If you could ask a Bible scholar anything about this text, what would it be?

5. Instruct participants in this way:

ï Find a person in the room that you know least well (“a friendly stranger”).

ï Listen to the person as he or she enters into free speech for three uninterrupted minutes. Your partner may tell you what they heard in the passage. They may mention something they’d never heard before, something odd or comforting. They may tell you a story from their own life that arose from intersections with the text.

ï Listen well, because your task is to report to the rest of the group or team what your partner has said, not what you yourself said. Some people even take notes to help them focus and remember.

6. Allow people to get in groups of two (occasionally a group of three is necessary) and begin “free speech.” Alert the group after three minutes to switch speaking/listening. 

7. Draw the group back together to report what they heard. A good listener will be clearly able to offer a partner’s thoughts in less than one minute (without additional commentary). The sign of faithfulness is the partner’s nonverbal “yes”.

Invite participants to keep the text living in the space, asking “What is God up to in this text and our context?” Invite reflections on the process.

Intergenerational is hard work! But, worth it!

Over the last seven years I have been working hard at figuring out how to do intergenerational ministry in the church well.  My first year was  really rugged, but I’m so thankful now I did not give up when things got hard. The process of shifting the church is complex yet simple.  Spiritual practices can scare people for a few different reasons so there will be moments of feeling like you are walking uphill or that people are resistant to entering into the process.  I do believe that there are three main reasons that make things difficult for people to jump right in.

1. They have to enter into the process.  Unlike the more passive way of learning in a service where people simply listening to a sermon.
2. People are sometimes afraid that this is a “new age” thing.
3. Sometimes both teenagers and later adults assume they will not enjoy interacting with each other. 

In my process I have learned that there are different ways to help people see the worth in doing spiritual practices as a community.  In the past seven years we have done spiritual practices in several different places and spaces as a community.  Board meetings, at retreats, in worship, during mission trips, in youth group, at staff meetings, in Bible study, training sessions with leaders, and in many other ways I’m forgetting I’m sure.  The more we did them together in meaningful ways showing people the worth of meeting with God the more people wanted to enter into what God was doing.  When I lead a spiritual practice and encourage people to share what God was teaching them I was amazed how God would give people the perfect words or images that they needed in their lives.  To me it feels like God writes a sermon for people right before our vary eyes!  

The “new age” issue I try to face head on with teaching people how they can run a test on what they have heard from God or others to see if it is from God or not.  It’s a set of five questions:

1. Does it honor God?
2. Is it Biblical?
3. Do other believers confirm it?
4. Does it produce good fruit?
5. Does God make it happen?

Almost every time I give people these questions they are able to let go of worrying of something not being from God.  This also gives them the power to not be swayed by their own thoughts or other ideas that might not be from God.  

So the last issue of teens and adults mixing their lives together really just takes time, and genuine relationship.  There are “program” ideas like mentoring programs, and specific events that you can do, but simply getting adults and youth to do life and ministry together is what brings appreciation for one another.  Trips are huge and helpful, but another simple way is to help ALL ages participate in the service so that they get to hear each others hearts for God. 

Spiritual Disciplines to Spiritual Practices

When I was in college back in the 90’s I read Richard Foster’s book “Celebrating Spiritual Disciplines”  even with the word celebrating I had a hard time thinking I was going to enjoy anything about this book.  I was pleasantly surprised when I did actually enjoy this book and wanted to enter in deeper with Christ through these disciplines.  I however, was very aware of how simply the word discipline was a word that would scare off many teenage people, so I searched for a more accessible language for this age group.  What is true about this age group is that most of them “practice” something that they love.  Whether it be music, sports or theater they practice, they have coaches, leaders, and directors, and if they want to enjoy their extracurricular fun more they realize the importance of practicing.  So one day not too long ago when I tripped over this word switch I saw the value as a word that was more likely to draw people into the presence of God rather than repel them from Christ.  

Why Me?

I am reading a book called “Falling Upward” By Richard Rohr and he talks about the two halves of life.  The first half of life is all about finding our soul’s blueprint, and then the second half is about giving that blueprint to others.  I now see my blueprint of my soul.  My soul’s blueprint LOVES to find ways to help people enter into the presence of God.  This blog is all about giving the world the blueprint of my soul so that people can use it to enter into the presence of God.  My hope is that all will feel welcome to enter in.  I also hope that pastors and other spiritual leaders will find this helpful to engage all ages enter into the presence of Christ. 

Full Access!

For many years I have desired to find ways to help people enter into space with God.  I remember one of the first times I did this I asked Jr. High students to sit in silence and try and listen for the voice of God.  As I held my breath and watched the second hand on the clock closely I thought to myself this will never work!  I told myself that Jr. High age kids can’t stay quiet in a room with their friends for a full minute!  Then the greatest challenge came…our youth group mascot “Winnie- the-Pooh the hamster” escaped from his cage.  As I chased our tiny friend, not a peep was uttered from any of the youth.  I was dumbfounded.  It was in that moment that God reassured me I was on to something.  Challenge these kids.  Give them permission to seek me, listen for my voice, and I will show up!  I was hooked!