This past week, our class ventured into the land of the sacramental leader, and joined with our friends doing internships with Kathryn Scott in Port Stewart, Northern Ireland.
It was a great video connection, and I drew most of the teaching from an elaboration on Peter Fitch’s beautiful article, Inner Living, Outer Giving: Spiritual Habits For The Worship Leader.
Our class had rich, further dialogue then on N.T. Wright’s, For All God’s Worth.
Here, our students will respond to the ideas in The Sacramental Leader teaching. Friends in Porstewart, N.I., and beyond… join in.
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The in-class conversation that we had about the Sacramental Leader last week in class caused a night or two of laying in bed until one or two a.m. with my roommate (who is also in the Institute) talking through a lot of what was taught by you, Dan.
I know that I had never come face to face with the ideas you threw out in class, but all of them made perfect sense in the broad scheme of things. It felt like the five different themes; Foot washing, Offering Fishes and Loaves, Water Walking, Cross Carrying and Dead Raising were building blocks on one another; beautiful stepping. My favorite topic was “Dead Raising” because that is the one that resonates inside of my soul, and has for years. As I said to Lindsay in the middle of the night, “This, life… it’s amazing. That there is a God that allows us to participate in his great plan. He allows us once in a great while to see someone come to life; to become alive in him.” No matter what else I can think about in terms of that conversation in class, the last is the most thought provoking and exciting.
N.T. Wright’s book For All God’s Worth in section two also aligns with that found in the Sacramental Leader; that we are not only allowed but called to participate in a life of laying down ourselves, saying to God “take what I have, use it, multiply it”, stepping out in faith, doing something outside our comfort zone and then getting to, not having to see people changed.
Now that, that is just amazing. It’s a beautiful thing and it is what I live for; to see God breath His life once again on those who desperately need it, and to be open to Him using me if He wishes.
Last week’s discussion on the Sacremental Leader was intriguing. The main thing that spoke to me was the thought that, although we are leaders, we are also servants. The five main points that were discussed were Foot washing, Offering Fishes and Loaves, Water Walking, Cross Carrying and Dead Raising. These are the traits of Jesus and should also be the traits of his followers. As followers of Christ, we are also called to be leaders of His body. We also learned how if we learn to serve others with all our heart for God, we can lead God’s people into communion with Him.
The discussion last week on the Sacremental Leader the part that spoke to me the most was how we are all leaders, we need to step up into these roles. We need to serve others with the gifts that God has given us and be able to serve others, this really spoke to me. The fishers and loafs, cross carrying and dead raising these were all important traits that Jesus had we also possess these traits as His followers. This class was great i really enjoyed it, it challenged the what that I think about leader’s and leadership.
Thje sacremental leader was the best class yet. I really needed to hear that a sacrmantal leader does not mean dying to yourself becuase then you have nothing left to give to the church or community but it means just giving people the gifts that God has placed in your life to give him glory. A sacremental leader recognizes that all spheres of life is sacred,not just the things that we do in church. A sacremental life is fills in the social gap between the rich and poor. Thye are living out there ministry. They do not sperate there church and ministry life. And lastly a sacremantal leader should have these 4 disciples in order to be effect on this earth: foot washing, offering loaves and fishes,water walking, cross carrying and dead raising. These four disciplines are the foundation on which every leader muct build there life apon and as a result see the Lord work mighty and powerful in there lives and the lives of others.
Hey Dan,
Even on this side of the Atlantic it was received well! It took awhile to get used to the sound and all that but as soon as we got into the teaching, it felt as time flew by. The subject we covered was a real eye opener, the build up of different steps in being a humble leader opened up some gateways in my thinking and left me with a lot to process. To me the part of handing the loafs and fishes was a great part. Realizing again that it’s not us who do the work, but God who works right through us.
Actually I cant wait for the next class, hoping that we might even come back to the second hand out, also hoping that this time the connection won’t freeze. May God bless you and we’ll probably talk again over iChat!
Erik
I have always known in my heart that God could be found outside of the congregation times and the secret intimate times that I share with Him, but it was not until recently that I actually began finding Him in different places. I knew God was real and throughout all the earth, but I limited him to certain spaces in the earth. I had a discussion the other day about what classifies a place as wholly ground, and I must admit that I left the conversation very perplexed. Is there a certain ground that is holy and another that is unholy? If so then what makes that particular ground holy or unholy? I wish I could give a neat little answer to these questions but I honestly do not know right now.
I believe that there is the secular vs. sacred idea should be corrected. Rather than sacred and secular I believe it should be called sacred and creational. Secular has become too much of a negative concept. We see secular things as being not of God, or out of holiness, and I am not so sure that there is a place that God does not reside in. Even Hitler had some loving characteristics, especially towards children and dogs. Was there ever a time in Hitler’s life that he thought about God and felt His love? If so then why did he do such horrible acts of violence? Am I really any better than him? If I had the chance for ultimate power would I seize it?
I sure am asking a lot of questions, but these questions are some what related to what we discussed in the last FY 100 class. Another topic that we discussed was the spiritual discipline for worship leaders. The ideas we discussed should be printed in size 100 bold font and stuck on the door of every worship leader. We discussed four aspects; foot washing, offering loaves and fishes, water walking, cross carrying, and dead raising. I find myself getting so frustrated with the contemporary music in the church, or the congregation not singing loud enough, or some other stupid little thing that does not really matter in the big picture, and I forget what it truly means to be a worship leader. It is about humility. We must put the congregation before us and wash their feet. I do not know if you have experienced the joys of foot washing but it is not very pleasant.
We must let God slowly peal away the scales like he did to Eustace in C.S. Lewis’ The Dawn Treader. We must let Him reveal our soft inner flesh and be vulnerable to Him. We must allow Him to move us as we reach upward to heaven and outward to the congregation. Surely we can change something.
Sometimes I forget the most important things about leading other people …this simply goes to show that I have a long way to go in my journey as a leader. I tend to get caught up in the mindset of needing perfection; and while it is important to do the best you can for God, it is not the only aspect of leading. In other words– We as Christian leaders, specifically worship leaders, have the responsibility to not only to lead during worship and do a good job, but to serve others in everything that we do.
In our class about the sacramental leader, we covered five points: foot washing, offering of loaves and fishes, water walking, cross carrying, and dead raising. Through talking about these things I began to examine myself to figure out what I need to work on, and I came to the conclusion that I really need help in all of these areas. I’ve always tried to be of help to others, but I don’t think I’ve ever really grasped the concept of fully serving the people around me. That may sound bad or make me look selfish, but it’s the truth. I’ve also realized that I lack faith. I worry. In the Bible, it specifically says not to worry, and I worry all the time about everything. Those are just two of the things that I realized about myself and I now see that with all of the things I need to work on, I can’t do it on my own. I am in desperate need to God’s hand in my life and I need Him to be the one who sets me straight when I can’t figure out what I’m doing. Sometimes I try to do everything on my own..but that’s not what God requires of me, all that I’m required to do is let God help me.
I enjoyed teh Sacramental Leader teaching from Wednesday’s class. Once again, it was fun to join our friends on the other side of the Atlantic and share in some time together as we learn. This discussion was about beautiful aspects of leadership, “typical ideas presented in an atypical way.” A couple of the parts that struck me the most were the part about the loaves and the fish and the dead raising.
The loaves and the fish was basically that we bring what we have, our loaves and fish and offer them to God and He will do amazing things with them we never thought possible. None of us have th capacity to be an effective leader without offering our leadership to God.
The dead raising section was beautiful, it’s not about physical resurrection as much as it is about a healing of the spirit as people can be in God’s presence. In Peter’s article, he said that worship leaders get to experience dead raising more than most people. I thought on this. Worship leaders have the privilege of leading God’s people into His presence, His presence brings, healing, restoration, and renewing. From the platform and in our everyday lives, worship leaders have a way of calling people out of themselves so that they can truly meet with God. Sounds like a big task, I’d say. Interesting enough, it seems we are back to step one, our loaves and fish, what we have, offered to God, when we do this, then the dead raising starts to happen.
I really enjoyed the class last Wednesday. The subject about living from the outside to the inside, like foot washing, offering loaves and fishes, water walking, cross carrying and raising the dead. It was also interesting to talk about the people that God would chose to lead his church. We talked about throughout the word, through leadership, He tries to find people who don’t just love what God does but why He does, living out your own message. And I think that this, living out our own message, the message that comes from God, then the world would be a totally a better place.
Samuel Gallo
Healing takes courage, and we all have courage, even if we have to dig a little to find it.
Tori Amos
What is a Sacramental leader? He is the one… like Neo in the Matrix.
Today’s lesson was inspiring maybe in a different way than usual, but it certainly opened many a prospective.
Making beautiful people is what God is in the business of doing, and he makes even the most ugly beautiful beyond recognition maybe in a way that some can’t yet understand.
The essence of today’s lesson has inspired me to want to reach a higher level of wisdom, for when we live Jesus, we also become resurrected life’s that are inspired to be a people that serve one another, who will take a bullet for one another if necessary and in that grow in selflessness.
Many religions in the east like Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism always seem to have this peaceful appearance that seems to lead to no eating, no sex anymore, and ultimately freeing the mind from everything associated with the body so that one will reach a higher state of freedom.
These very extreme forms of self-denial are different from what Jesus has called us to live; so letting Him live though us, and letting Him love though us are ways that he manifests his glory though us and in that making us better leaders. When Jesus takes control we don’t half to try and strive like lot’s of other religions make people do, Jesus brings freedom and eternal life.
I believe that we become mature leaders when we let go of everything including our underwear and our socks and all our expectations, and all the things that scandalize us, and especially our will.
Letting Jesus be the one who appears out of nowhere in front of 500 people in our life’s, is what St. James saw as the proof of his resurrection. But if we want this resurrected life style we should let Jesus do these types of unheard of miracles though us. Out of control life styles that he’s called us to live even when we are sinners is what I call a miracle that changes us into wholly rightcheous people who do not sin anymore. We must learn to trust in Jesus even in the face of our own handicaps.
Where mercy, love, and pity dwell, there God is dwelling too.
William Blake
The Sacramental Leader lecture was amazing in two ways – it inspired me and directed me. I was inspired by the last section – dead-raising. My heart cry in life is to see people’s hearts come alive again through God’s grace. But, as Dan went through the five pieces of being a sacramental leader, I realized that there was a deeper side to dead-raising; there was almost a “pre-requisite” that allowed dead-raising to blossom to its full capacity. At first glance, dead-raising can sound like a lot of fun and definitely adventurous. Yet in order for our hearts to humbly handle the greatness of dead-raising, we need to invest ourselves deeply in the first four pieces: foot-washing, the offering of fish and loaves, water-walking, and cross-carrying. The first four pieces are direct servant actions that do not elevate us and in some cases, cause a lot of fear and heartache (all of which bring us into a deeper and more authentic walk with Jesus). Through those “pre-requisites” our hearts are trained as servants and we can step humbly into places of authority and influence.
Sacred spaces. Is there a space that we do not want God to be able to reach in and touch? Is there a part of our lives that is not a place where we need to encounter the God who made us? Is there a space in our lives that God does not want to be a part of? As just an average human being, I want to believe that there isn’t a single part of my life that God doesn’t want to reach in and bring me into a place of encounter. It is great to think on the words of G. K. Chesterton when he says that intimacy with God doesn’t just happen in the private and secret places, but in the everyday. I think that this is encountering God in the most real way, allowing him to meet us in what we may think is the simple and mundane and letting it become sacred space.
The discipline of a sacramental leader that stood out to me the most during our discussion was the discipline of “Offering loaves and fishes”. This was a reminder of the important truth that when we have something to give, we can only offer as much as we have and then we need to trust God with the rest. In the life of a worship leader this means that after all we have and all we bring to our worship set or music, we still find ourselves incapable: we still need to rely on Jesus to meet individuals where they need to be met. I like to think that what I have to bring is what touches people and sets them free, but I need to remember that if there is beauty in a song it is God’s beauty, and if there is truth in the lyrics it is God’s truth. It is God who knows each persons heart and how to speak to them best.
This discipline isn’t just for the worship leader, it is for the everyday person in the everyday life. I’m still learning how to let what I have be enough and to trust God with the deficiencies.
The Sacramental Leader, one who does “holy acts” to connect with God. One who is lives a life committed to living in ways that do life in a meaningful and intentional way. Dan quoted GK Chesteron that refers to gving “giving voice to the idea that all of life is an encounter with God”. We don’t just do ministry, we live it. I must come from a place of quiet contemplation, setting hearts into the hands of the only One who can give life.
During our time in class, listening to the discussion on the Sacremental Leader, I was moved by the practicality of living this way of life. Having two children in my home, it is the perfect place to walk out what is required. It is not easy, this life of giving back, selflessly. Yet, I want my children to learn what it means to live a life pleasing to God by serving others.
How do we do this? How do we live a live that is rich in spiritual discipline? Dan offered to us five ways in which we can do this is a practical way.
Footwashing: this is a spiritual habit. It is the service we offer others. It is washing dirt off another’s soul. Yet we must remember that the quality of the water of the basin will reflect the washers inner life with God. What a powerful image. We must fill our basin full of the life giving water that Jesus offers us and never runs dry.
Offering loaves and fishes: All we have is our loaves and fishes to offer Jesus, he is the one that performs the miracles. We sometimes live under the pressure of having to do this ourselves. Like the little boy in the biblical story we say, hey I have something to give, Jesus can you do something with it. Even if it seems small.
Waterwalking: this is my favourite idea that was presented. It is saying I want to live in a place of risk taking, following the Spirit and being in tune to what he is calling me to walk into. It is looking into the face of my creator and living a life that I was created to live.
Cross Carrying: It is a place of sacrificing my artistic desires and following the way that is set out for me through the Spirit. It’s laying down and walking away. It’s trusting God with everything I have. It is having open hands to accept and receive.
Dead-raising: If you are faithful in the above, we might have the privialage to see someone being raised spiritually from the dead. To touch upon a life that is being transformed by God’s power. Worship leading puts us in positions to see God’s work. We watch people be set free.
As I reflect on these disciplines, I also reflect on how I can pass them on to my children. To live it in my house and allow it to spill into all areas of my life, work and friendships.
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