My Epic Journey

Clinton and Ohlschlager, in their book, Competent Christian Counseling, share six (6) ways that listening is done poorly:

1. Inadequate listening.  Becoming easily distracted.  Tuning out!
2. Evaluative or judgmental listening.  Instead of JUST listening, sometimes we listen to tear apart or to constantly evaluate.
3. Filtered listening.  Picking out ONLY what we want to hear and not focusing on the WHOLE story or explanation.
4. Rehearsing instead of listening.  I do it all the time.  Just ask Anna.  Thinking about your response before the one sharing is done with their message.
5. Sympathetic listening.  This is projecting your concern beyond what is needed.  Becoming emotionally responsive the is “over the top.”
6. Interrupting.  Stopping someone before they are done.

Our society does a horrible job at listening.  May it not be true of us who call ourselves followers of Christ.

“He who has ears, let him hear.”  Matthew 11.15

At Grace Point, we thrive as a ministry on our Life Group ministry.  The importance of getting together as a group of peers with a passion to hold each other accountable, breathe life and love to each other and to both cheer and weep with each other cannot be overstated.  I know our students grow deep and are challenged in their respected EPIC Journey (Life) Groups but even more important is Anna and my need for small community interaction.  As our ministry, both Grace Point and EPIC, continues to grow it is necessary to find a place in the Life Group setting.

I was reminded again of this in a reading I was doing for grad work. Clinton and Ohlschlager, in their book, Competent Christian Counseling, state:

Within a community committed to acceptance, education, and appropriate discipline and consequences for conduct unbecoming a disciple of Jesus Christ . . . people are brought to maturity.

The spiritual reparenting required is often best accomplished through cell (life) groups, that assemble for the purpose of Bible study, encouragement, exhortation, worship, and the practice of a series of spiritual disciplines within a circle of accountability (Foster, 1988; Willard, 1998).  In keeping with our giftedness, no member of the believing community is excused from involvement with these groups or the means of personal spiritual growth they seek to establish (Ephesians 4.14-16) (p. 113)

Our Pastor of Discipleship, Tom Houser, does an AMAZING job fostering and training our community of believers on the importance of the Life Group community.  For more information on Tom’s thoughts and guidance check out, http://runinsuchaway.com/.

I feel as if I do need to explain the Pfleger video posting.

Though I do believe that Pfleger is correct in his view that we, as Caucasians, feel as if we "automatically deserve" extraordinary treatment, I do in NO WAY condone the comments made by Pfleger.  I believe to attack a person to make a point in essence negates the point you are trying to make.  That is why I made the comment that this is odd behavior form a Catholic priest.  I am disappointed that a man who claims to "represent" God can attack a person in such a vicious way.

So,

1)  I would agree with what Pfleger was trying to say–that we just assume we deserve special treatment, but . . .

2)  I believe he MUST apologize to senator Clinton and seriously re-evaluate the comments that he has made in attacking another person.