Last
Saturday I joined about 300 other United Methodists from across the Virginia
Conference in the Bishop’s Convocation on Prayer. It was an insightful and spiritually
enriching experience. The next day
(Pentecost Sunday) I found myself spontaneously quoting Bishop Cho at the
beginning of my sermon: “No spirituality,
no vital congregations; no spirituality, no fruitful ministries.”
My
colleagues and I are currently leading a strategic planning process for a local
church. The process includes several phases and events, including a sermon on
visioning. Such a process is a spiritual journey. The outcome is determined by
how deeply engaged leadership and members depend on prayer to guide them. Truly
vital and fruitful ministry is “born of the Spirit.” Faithful discipleship is
also rooted in practicing the spiritual disciplines and allowing the Spirit to
work through us.
What is true
for the church as a whole, must be true for those who seek to be faithful
disciples of Jesus Christ. When one says
yes to the invitation of discipleship, the journey begins. Each step along toward Christian maturity
must be undergirded by prayer, informed by scripture and enlightened by spiritual
discernment. Such a journey is empowered by an awareness that we do not journey
alone, and that the empowering gift of the Spirit given at that first Pentecost
continues to provide comfort, strength and guidance.
Thank God
for the gift of the Holy Spirit at that first Pentecost, for it is not simply a
historical event, but a contemporary happening. We experience Pentecost when we
are open and receptive to God’s will and purposes revealed through prayer and
spiritual discernment. Through the gift of the Spirit we are empowered for living
as faithful disciples.
