Peace be with you Carl, as well as those able to read this message.
The time has come, the harvest is ripe.

The Faithful Witness

Thanks to Shane for this!

I especially appreciate his emphasis on the “method” of asking gentle yet provocative questions to stimulate the one you are ministering to in the direction of seeking the Holy Spirit to guide him/her into spritual growth. This pictures a trust relationship that may be quite rare, but it looks like the ideal environment for such growth.

Maybe I just like this because it fits my style: I like non-directive, non-confronting approaches to encouragement! Or maybe there’s a hidden Socratic element in there, not admitting that there is a “right answer” but letting the questions do their work in the mind of the hearer.

In any case, I affirm both sides of Shane’s message here: the perennial relevance of good, skillful spiritual direction, and the analogy of the parallel role of the emerging church in relation to the wider church. May we never fear the questions that may come; may what happens inside us as we seek to answer them be life-giving and transforming according to their intent.

One final comment: I think the mode of ASKING the questions–whether hostile and bitter or gentle and provocative as indicated here–may have a big effect on the willingness to answer them!

Definitely an article worth reading, Carl!
Peter

Maybe it’s time for a new Emergent cyber-cohort: Celticmergent? )