November 2019 News: Healing, Hard Conversations, Handouts and Healthy Spirituality

My work this month introduced me to some excellent resources that I really want to pass along to you. Please let me know if any of them are helpful.

I’m not praying for healing. This one was written by one of my dearest friends. I cannot recommend it enough. Please pass it along to anyone suffering from long-term illness or deep struggle. I think they will find it giving words to something that has been indescribable for them.

How to Handle Difficult Conversations. Both in my decades of ministry and in my current life of consulting in the private sector, I find this topic comes up so many times. This is a valuable one to keep handy. And while you're at it, bookmark the Psychology Today website. There are often surprisingly good resources there, written in accessible, non-threatening terms.

Fuller Youth Institute (FYI) Free Library. I am ALL about free goodies and there is some great stuff here. I know the folks at FYI and this website is solid gold.

Healthy Spirituality. OK, this is actually more of a topic than one resource because I found so many good articles this month. Check these out!

• Leaving (My) Church. SO MANY conversations rolled around in my head as I read this one. You may find yourself nodding your head at times as you read it.
• Is American Christianity Really In Free Fall? I especially appreciate this one because it is written by one of the great scholars of world Christianity, Philip Jenkins. He offers some excellent reflections on methodology in terms of the research coming out and also on how we are to understand how we measure our faith identity in the 21st-century. For example: "Here is an interesting question: if someone believes in God, prays frequently, reads the Bible, and regards themselves as Christian, but rejects a denominational affiliation – even something as broad as Protestant or Catholic – should they properly be counted as Christian? I would say so, unequivocally."
• The (Successful) Pursuit of God: Family, Work, Ministry, and the Ghost of A.W. Tozer. Holy cow, this one is a humdinger. Take some time to read this once, then again. It is worth a discussion with staff and colleagues. And it is so beautifully written, to boot.

I'll finish with these wise words from one of my heroes, Walter Brueggemann:

“Humanness depends on being faithfully heard. And being faithfully heard depends on risky speech of self-disclosure uttered in freedom before a faithful listener.” 

Thanks for reading. You can find more of my leadership development resources at my other blog, https://www.ksleadershipdevelop.me, and on my resource drive, KSLD Resources. Contact me with questions, comments and feedback at kelly.soifer@ksleadershipdevelop.me. 

Consolation

From Henri Nouwen, yet again:

Consolation is a beautiful word. It means "to be" (con-) "with the lonely one" (solus). To offer consolation is one of the most important ways to care. Life is so full of pain, sadness, and loneliness that we often wonder what we can do to alleviate the immense suffering we see. We can and must offer consolation. We can and must console the mother who lost her child, the young person with AIDS, the family whose house burned down, the soldier who was wounded, the teenager who contemplates suicide, the old man who wonders why he should stay alive.

To console does not mean to take away the pain but rather to be there and say, "You are not alone, I am with you. Together we can carry the burden. Don't be afraid. I am here." That is consolation. We all need to give it as well as to receive it.

New Life

I am reading 1 Peter 1 today, and it is a glorious, tender gift.

Pause. Breathe. Be quiet. Read expectantly.

^1-2I, Peter, am an apostle on assignment by Jesus, the Messiah, writing to exiles scattered to the four winds. Not one is missing, not one forgotten. God the Father has his eye on each of you, and has determined by the work of the Spirit to keep you obedient through the sacrifice of Jesus. May everything good from God be yours!

A New Life

^3-5What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you'll have it all—life healed and whole.

^6-7I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.

^8-9You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don't see him, yet you trust him—with laughter and singing. Because you kept on believing, you'll get what you're looking forward to: total salvation.

^10-12The prophets who told us this was coming asked a lot of questions about this gift of life God was preparing. The Messiah's Spirit let them in on some of it—that the Messiah would experience suffering, followed by glory. They clamored to know who and when. All they were told was that they were serving you, you who by orders from heaven have now heard for yourselves—through the Holy Spirit—the Message of those prophecies fulfilled. Do you realize how fortunate you are? Angels would have given anything to be in on this!

A Future in God

^13-16So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that's coming when Jesus arrives. Don't lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn't know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, "I am holy; you be holy."

¹⁷You call out to God for help and he helps—he's a good Father that way. But don't forget, he's also a responsible Father, and won't let you get by with sloppy living.

^18-21Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ's sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. It's because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God.

^22-25Now that you've cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God's living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! That's why the prophet said,

The old life is a grass life,
its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers;
Grass dries up, flowers droop,
God's Word goes on and on forever.
This is the Word that conceived the new life in you.

Further blessings in my devotions today:

Make sure that you let God's grace work in your souls by
accepting whatever He gives you, and giving Him whatever He
takes from you. True holiness consists in doing God's work
with a smile.
... Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)

This song last night in a worship service stunned me with its vision and its beauty:

Let the Church Rise

(Verse 1)
We are alive filled with Your glorious life
Out of the dark into Your marvelous light
We are waiting with expectations
Spirit, raise us up with You

(Chorus)
Let the Church rise from the ashes
Let the Church fall to her knees
Let us be light in the darkness
Let the Church rise
Let the Church rise

(Verse 2)
Moving with power,
Bringing Your name to the earth
Singing Your praises, lifting up glorious songs
We are moving with His compassion
Spirit fill our hearts with You

(Bridge)
Let Your wind blow
Let Your wind blow
Let Your wind blow
Revive us again Lord

words and music by Israel Houghton and Jonathan Stockstill
© 2006 Sound of the New Breed (adm by Integrity's Praise! Music)/BMI and Integrity's Praise! Music/BMI

May it be so, Jesus. May it be so.

Suffering Believers in China

At Urbana 2000, I first learned of the need, and the power, of intercessory prayer in regard to the needs of the persecuted and suffering church around the world. That year, I continued to pray for the church around the world through a book titled Operation World.

But since then, sometimes sporadically, I have kept praying by using a weekly email from the Religious Liberty Commission - go to www.worldevangelicals.org to receive it yourself.

This spiritual practice has changed my life - for several reasons:

1. It gives me huge perspective on most of the things that worry me. I tend to worry about stress and my to-do lists, and then I read about people dying for claiming the name of Christ. Duh.
2. It gives me more of God's heart for the world.
3. It draws me into relationship with my brothers and sisters in Christ.
4. It keeps me informed of world news that may not get reported on ABC or in the papers; so when I hear about other things on the news about various countries, I am reminded to pray for the spiritual battles going on there as well.
   

So here is the posting for this week. I just try to pray over 1 bullet point per day, and actually look at a world map when I do so. Use Hebrews 13:3 to guide you:

Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | No. 517 | Wed 18 Feb 2009

-----------------------------
CHINA: PERSECUTION TO ESCALATE IN 2009
-----------------------------

Protests or 'mass incidents' have been on the rise in China over
recent years. Not having democratic institutions, free media,
openness and due process, this is the way Chinese citizens can
express their anger over corruption, injustice, human rights
abuses, low wages, wealth disparity, workers' rights and the like.
Anger is likely to rise further this year as unemployment reaches
critical levels due to the world economic downturn which is
lessening global demand for Chinese products. Furthermore, a group
of dissident intellectuals published their 'Charter 08' on 10
December 2008 -- a manifesto calling for sweeping political and
human rights reforms. Despite Chinese Communist Party (CCP) efforts
to block access to Charter 08, it has now been signed by more than
2000 Chinese citizens, including numerous prominent intellectuals
and officials. Many China watchers are expecting a sharp increase
in anger, dissent and 'mass incidents' during 2009, with an equally
sharp increase in official reactionary repression.

President Hu Jintao recently ordered his military commanders to
'strengthen military discipline' so as to keep the People's
Liberation Army (PLA) loyal to the CCP through this year of
economic difficulties and emotionally charged anniversaries: the
50th anniversary of the Tibet uprising (10 March); the 20th
anniversary of the June 4 democratic movement; and the 60th
anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (1
October).

Last week China underwent a UN Human Rights Council 'Universal
Periodic Review'. After delivering a lengthy boast, the Chinese
delegation rejected the criticism levelled at it by a few and
basked in the praise of the majority. China rejected proposals from
countries such as Australia, Germany and Canada that it improve
religious liberty and end torture, the death penalty and arbitrary
detention. Only the accepted proposals are listed in detail for the
report including: Egypt's proposal that the death penalty be
continued; Sudan's proposal that 'reform of re-education through
labour' be pursued 'according to the Chinese system'; Zimbabwe's
proposal that poverty be reduced; and Cuba's proposal that China
continue to crack down on (allegedly) subversive human rights
defenders. In all, the majority voted that China's human rights
record was 'on track'. Naturally China sees this 'victory' as a
vindication of its policy.

Meanwhile, persecution of the Church is escalating. According to
China Aid Association (CAA), house-church Christian Yuan Shenlun
(70), who had already spent 14 years in prison for his faith, was
arrested on 20 January and accused of 'using an evil cult
organisation to obstruct justice'. On 4 February police seized
Christian lawyer Gao Zhisheng from his home in Beijing. Goa, a
former member of both the CCP and PLA, has been arrested before and
during September-October 2007 was tortured so severely he wanted to
die. (See http://chinaaid.org/ .) Gao's present whereabouts are
unknown. Four of 60 house-church leaders arrested in Henan Province
on 11 February remain in custody. On 4 February Compass Direct
(http://compassdirect.org ) reported that the CCP 'has ramped up
efforts both to identify Christians and to portray Christianity as
a subversive foreign force'. This is a very dangerous development.

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY FOR:

* God to build, sanctify and refine his Church in China so that in
holiness she may shine as a light in the darkness -- a light
that exposes lies and reveals truth, for the sake of the Kingdom
and glory of God.

* the Holy Spirit to fill all Chinese Church leaders with courage,
faith, insight and wisdom, drawing them deep into his word and
into prayer; may every effort of the CCP to contain the Church
be confounded and that it may in fact continue to grow.

* Yuan Shenlun, Gao Zhisheng and all other Christians in prison
and labour camps for their faith and practice, that they may
experience the fellowship of Christ, and that God's angels will
mercifully restrain the fists and rods that are raised against
them. 'Are they [angels] not all ministering spirits sent out
for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?' (Hebrews
1:14 ESV)

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