I read about this book here. It's written by the leader of a large evangelical church, in fact a chain of churches providing services to other churches. The first few chapters could apply to any kind of leadership but it's the chapters that only apply to religious organisations that I really liked.
Heybels talks about the need for self-leadership which is important whether you're leading others or not. The 'heart on fire' Christian needs to stay on fire and the lukewarm Christian needs to get on fire. In Chapter 11 he describes some common pathways people take to fan the flames. A thriving parish should have activities that allow people to explore these paths, not just to meet their different needs but to help them discover their pathway and grow spiritually.
The relational pathway - these are people who don't particularly like praying alone. They favour communal prayer and small groups. If they go on retreat they like to go with someone they know.
The intellectual pathway - these are people whose faith deepens as their knowledge and understanding deepens. They need to spend time reading and studying to revive their relationship with Christ. Where their minds go their hearts follow (and vice versa).
The serving pathway - these are the people who feel closest to Christ when they're serving others.
The contemplative pathway - these people have rich inner lives and spend long periods in prayer, reading the Bible, or just being alone with God. They need periods of solitude to keep their fires burning.
The activist pathway - these people feel closest to God when they've bitten off more than they can chew. They like to start ambitious projects and can become demoralised in a parish that rarely tries anything new. Heybels says that this is his path.
The creation pathway - these people become aware of the presence of God when they're surrounded by nature.
The worship pathway - these people feel thrive on good liturgy. They often have worship songs on their iPods.
I tend towards the intellectual pathway but I also need a certain amount of the relational, serving and contemplative pathways. Which pathway helps you turn your heart to God?
Heybels recommends the book Sacred Pathways by Gary Thomas if you want to explore the pathways further.
I could not agree more that people express their faith in different ways. You could say that it is the responsibility of each person to organise the practical details of this expression themselves, but I think it is also the responsibility of the community to help them.
ReplyDeleteI think too many parishes are a bunch of individuals journeying alone who happen to come together for an hour on Sunday. That is closer to Protestantism than Catholicism. Parishes/dioceses need to offer opportunities for horizontal communion (building bonds between people) and vertical communion (bringing men to God and God to men).
DeleteContemplation/creation pathway although as my knoweledge is growing at uni so is my faith deepening. I think actaully maybe I am a little of all of them, with a lot of Creation and contemplation which for me are quite inter-linked.
ReplyDeleteContemplation/creation sounds like St John of the Cross and he was also a poet.
DeleteWho I absolutely Love. † then there's St Theresa of Avila whose birthday is one day before my own...similar quirks too . . . and then theres the little flower . . . Emmmm but then theres St Francis. . . . emmn. Nature and contemplation and a little action thrown in for good measure. Emmmn!
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