Friday, May 25, 2007

How are you "feeling" today?

This week (after a couple of weeks break), I wanted to follow up on the article I wrote at the beginning of the month. I had the opportunity to be involved in some shadow coaching and small group work at the next McCoys leadership training event this week. They call it "Business As Unusual" - B.A.U.

It was a most moving time to have the privilege of helping some men begin to explore their emotional 'make-up' perhaps for the very first time, and to think about how some of their personality preferences were having an unhealthy impact on their ability to work alongside as well as live alongside, people who were important to them. I know I shouldn't be, but I am often amazed at how much brokenness and abuse some people have had to deal with in their lives, very often as children when they should have been able to expect better. It reminds me of two things - my thankfulness for the blessings of my own upbringing (even though it was not without its challenges), as well as my thankfulness for God's intervention in my life through Jesus Christ, and how that has brought about healing and transformation for me (though as you know, I am still a work in progress!)

We are complicated beings - a combination of body, soul and spirit and it is interesting to me to reflect upon the interplay of each of these parts and how that affects our ability to fully respond to God, our family, and one another. I have been exploring ways in which we might be able to use some of these principles in our community life and discipleship here at BridgePoint, as well as further afield. I have been intrigued to discover that Life Builders are working with Intimate Life Ministries to build a relational component into their discipleship process because they are working with increasing numbers of people who are just carrying hurts and pain in their lives that are hindering the growth process. So they are looking for some tools and principles to assist in the healing/transformation process. Yes we need renewed minds through truth (ultimately about Jesus Christ), but that needs to be mediated through close relationships within the faith community.

So, I will keep you posted on this, and just wanted to share some of my joy at being able to touch the lives of some guys in a business context, who might never darken the doors of the church as we traditionally know it.

Mike.

1 comment:

dave said...

"...improvisation, by enabling a freedom in relation to a vast array of constraints, can enable a freedom with respect to a fundamental continuous constraint which permeates them all, namely the world's temporality, and I want to suggest that the theological resonances of this are considerable." -Jeremy Begbie

I've been thinking a lot about the concept of improvisation within the (god given) constraints of our humanity. I believe a discussion of participation in the "improvisation of the spirit" could greatly help in exploring our emotional and intellectual "make-up". I like the idea of truly exposing and even highlighting our constraints (whether it be physical, emotional, or temporality) and exploring ways of improvisation within those constraints.