Vision/Job description/Resume
Pastor of Listening
by David Norling
After thirty-five years of participation in the life of the church, I've noticed that while there is a lot of instructing and convincing, programming and organizing going on, there is very little listening. I'm referring to a particular kind of listening, a very intentional giving over to the process of discovery without an agenda. I believe that any activity that begins in this way is far more likely to flow freely and wholeheartedly, resulting in joyful, integrated action. The way that we listen to each other, scripture, God's spirit, our bodies, not to mention the least, the last, and the lost will dictate the quality of our presence in this world.
It is my desire to give the rest of my life to the revolutionary and healing activity of listening. While there is much that can be said about listening, it is the act itself which brings life and creates listeners that will give away what they have received. This is why I have no plan or program to offer, just a desire to wait with people as they speak of and discover the presence and activity of God in the most surprising of places, their daily lives.
Because, to my knowledge, the role "Pastor of Listening" is unprecedented, I am not really comfortable with the title. But, as my wife said, "As a congregant I would be comforted to know that there was such a person available to me and others. Especially in times of confusion and suffering," conditions we know to be more common than not. Making the ministry explicit in this way will encourage people to notice their heart's desires and struggles and actively pursue integration through relationship.
I imagine being introduced to the congregation and letting everyone know that I am available to listen to anything they need to say, including, but not limited to:
• Experiences of God that are confusing or so intense that they are hesitant to speak of them.
• Unresolved conflicts that keep them up at night.
• Questions about their faith that have in the past been met with quick, unsatisfactory answers.
• The feeling of not fitting in to any group.
• A desire to deepen their connection to God, even while they find themselves doubting that God even exists.
• If anyone has complaints, even if they are about the church hiring me, I'm here to listen.
The list of issues that need to be heard is probably as long as the list of names in the directory. So I would encourage them to listen to their heart for these questions.
I want to be clear right from the beginning, there are a myriad of questions to which I will not have answers, but I can promise that I will listen without judgment or presumption and with an open heart that is attentive to God's spirit. I also believe, after hundreds of confirming experiences, that there is immense power in the simple act of listening. In the process of speaking and being heard people find an increased clarity and the possibility of new options that hadn't occurred to them before. When a person's pain and confusion and or their hearts desire is heard, the next thing in their life becomes possible in a way that wasn't possible before‒when it was merely spinning around in their heads. There is access to the heart, and pathways to freedom that are blocked by unspoken burdens and the feeling of being alone. "Without a listener, the healing process is aborted."
Other activities I picture for a Pastor of Listening:
• Being available for on-going individual and group spiritual direction.
• Training small group leaders who are interested in facilitating a group where the main focus is on people coming to know and be known by the other group members. (This would be done by doing a group, not through an educational program. Discerning who was gifted to lead this sort of group would only become clear by this process.)
• I would love to help form and lead a Spiritual Re-Formation Community where there is both instruction on the contemplative path and opportunities to practice spiritual disciplines together.
• Finally, I see an attraction to authenticity and a desire to go deeper in many people. Both those in the second-half of life and in Generation Xers who have been influenced by the Postmodern critique, consciously or not. It has been my experience that these folks feel alone and unheard. And because of this disconnect they are not wholehearted, active members of Christ's body. Programs do not attracted them. Most find them silly and fruitless. And while they may be attending from an honest commitment to the body, they are not truly engaged. By simply being a listening presence within the community and thereby becoming a rallying point for those already attending who have a similar vision, I believe that the vitality of any community will grow exponentially.
A note on normalizing the practice of spiritual direction.
When a church makes this sort of pastoral care available
to its parishioners it recognizes the value of the process of exploring the authentic questions with which every believer struggles. Most especially those who are introverted and not comfortable bringing up their inner lives in the usual group format. This includes up to fifty percent of the church body. There is another large population in every church of people who do not need or desire psychological counseling, but find themselves filled with question and doubts that could only be shared in the most intimate and confidential
environment. There are very few options for these people to face their struggles, not to mention hopes and desires.
Pastor of Listening
by David Norling
After thirty-five years of participation in the life of the church, I've noticed that while there is a lot of instructing and convincing, programming and organizing going on, there is very little listening. I'm referring to a particular kind of listening, a very intentional giving over to the process of discovery without an agenda. I believe that any activity that begins in this way is far more likely to flow freely and wholeheartedly, resulting in joyful, integrated action. The way that we listen to each other, scripture, God's spirit, our bodies, not to mention the least, the last, and the lost will dictate the quality of our presence in this world.
It is my desire to give the rest of my life to the revolutionary and healing activity of listening. While there is much that can be said about listening, it is the act itself which brings life and creates listeners that will give away what they have received. This is why I have no plan or program to offer, just a desire to wait with people as they speak of and discover the presence and activity of God in the most surprising of places, their daily lives.
Because, to my knowledge, the role "Pastor of Listening" is unprecedented, I am not really comfortable with the title. But, as my wife said, "As a congregant I would be comforted to know that there was such a person available to me and others. Especially in times of confusion and suffering," conditions we know to be more common than not. Making the ministry explicit in this way will encourage people to notice their heart's desires and struggles and actively pursue integration through relationship.
I imagine being introduced to the congregation and letting everyone know that I am available to listen to anything they need to say, including, but not limited to:
• Experiences of God that are confusing or so intense that they are hesitant to speak of them.
• Unresolved conflicts that keep them up at night.
• Questions about their faith that have in the past been met with quick, unsatisfactory answers.
• The feeling of not fitting in to any group.
• A desire to deepen their connection to God, even while they find themselves doubting that God even exists.
• If anyone has complaints, even if they are about the church hiring me, I'm here to listen.
The list of issues that need to be heard is probably as long as the list of names in the directory. So I would encourage them to listen to their heart for these questions.
I want to be clear right from the beginning, there are a myriad of questions to which I will not have answers, but I can promise that I will listen without judgment or presumption and with an open heart that is attentive to God's spirit. I also believe, after hundreds of confirming experiences, that there is immense power in the simple act of listening. In the process of speaking and being heard people find an increased clarity and the possibility of new options that hadn't occurred to them before. When a person's pain and confusion and or their hearts desire is heard, the next thing in their life becomes possible in a way that wasn't possible before‒when it was merely spinning around in their heads. There is access to the heart, and pathways to freedom that are blocked by unspoken burdens and the feeling of being alone. "Without a listener, the healing process is aborted."
Other activities I picture for a Pastor of Listening:
• Being available for on-going individual and group spiritual direction.
• Training small group leaders who are interested in facilitating a group where the main focus is on people coming to know and be known by the other group members. (This would be done by doing a group, not through an educational program. Discerning who was gifted to lead this sort of group would only become clear by this process.)
• I would love to help form and lead a Spiritual Re-Formation Community where there is both instruction on the contemplative path and opportunities to practice spiritual disciplines together.
• Finally, I see an attraction to authenticity and a desire to go deeper in many people. Both those in the second-half of life and in Generation Xers who have been influenced by the Postmodern critique, consciously or not. It has been my experience that these folks feel alone and unheard. And because of this disconnect they are not wholehearted, active members of Christ's body. Programs do not attracted them. Most find them silly and fruitless. And while they may be attending from an honest commitment to the body, they are not truly engaged. By simply being a listening presence within the community and thereby becoming a rallying point for those already attending who have a similar vision, I believe that the vitality of any community will grow exponentially.
A note on normalizing the practice of spiritual direction.
When a church makes this sort of pastoral care available
to its parishioners it recognizes the value of the process of exploring the authentic questions with which every believer struggles. Most especially those who are introverted and not comfortable bringing up their inner lives in the usual group format. This includes up to fifty percent of the church body. There is another large population in every church of people who do not need or desire psychological counseling, but find themselves filled with question and doubts that could only be shared in the most intimate and confidential
environment. There are very few options for these people to face their struggles, not to mention hopes and desires.
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