Introverts in the Church, part 6

[Sixth post in a series on the book Introverts in the Church.]




From chapter 8, Introverted Evangelism.

Page 174: In exploring the mysteries of God together, we relieve ourselves of the need to be the "expert." The formerly humiliating answer of "I don't know" becomes not only possible but even profound. Ronald Rolheiser asserts that "The contemplative believes that, since God is radically and totally other than ourselves and our reality, we can live patiently and believe in God, despite seemingly unanswerable paradoxes, and despite pain and injustice." This mindset transforms awkward pauses into sacred silences, in which we wait for God's illumination.

This has been a guiding principle for me in the Bible study I facilitate (not "lead"). The idea that we don't have to know all the answers, nor do we have to have them figured out by the end of the session. It's also why we go so "far afield," because we're not keeping score of whether we're "covering the material," but instead letting the Spirit lead us where we need to go that evening.

Page 180: We might even call our style of evangelism a "listening evangelism." When someone who identifies herself as a Christian truly listens to another person, it conveys the love and compassion of Jesus in ways that talking about that love never could. Eugene Peterson reflects on the nature of listening: "pastoral listening requires unhurried leisure, even if it's only for five minutes. Leisure is a quality of spirit, not a quantity of time. Only in that ambiance of leisure do persons know they are listened to with absolute seriousness, treated with dignity and importance."

I loved that "unhurried leisure, even if it's only for five minutes." There's almost a koan in there, and one I've been thinking about lately.