Tending the Mission of God in the World

Summary

Some years ago, I had the privilege of participating in several consultations that our denomination was a part of that was led by Church Innovations, a church consulting organization based at Luther Seminary in St Paul, Minnesota. The leadership for Church Innovations was a group of PhD and professor types that were trying hard to engage conversation that made a difference in helping faith communities focus more intentionally on the mission of God in today’s world.

They developed a practice that they used every time the group gathered called, “Dwelling in the Word.” It is similar to lectio divina but with a twist. It was an exercise in listening to the text, listening to the Spirit, and listening to each other, as the other listened in the same process. Now we Anabaptist like to think we spend time dwelling in the Word…but I’m not sure how much we really practice that any more.