Know anyone who needs healing right now? My guess is that you probably do know someone who needs healing. It may be the friend who is fighting COVID-19 or some other health challenge who needs physical healing and restoration. Perhaps it’s the health care worker who lives next door who is weary and exhausted by the recent surge of patients afflicted by COVID-19. It may be the friends or family members whose relationships are fractured or damaged due to the divisiveness of the U.S. elections in recent weeks. It may be the young person in your church who is struggling with the new demands of online learning and the lack of social connection and normal rhythms. There are a lot of folks struggling these days and a lot of folks who need various types of healing.
I’ve been in two different settings recently where others have offered insight into the enormous present and future need for the people of God to recognize and accept their call to be a healing presence in our world. This week is was phrased this way: “trauma is the new mission field and the new apologetic is empathy.” Earlier this fall I got to hear Len Sweet teach on the same theme of the need for a healing Gospel in our emerging world. Every day it seems like were discovering other implications from dealing with the pandemic. I think we’re all coming to the realization that the long-term effects the past few months are just beginning to emerge.
I wanted to place a couple of resources on your radar. The first resource is the Resilient Church Leadership initiative (https://resilientchurchleadership.com). In these trying and difficult times, I know full well that pastors and other church leaders aren’t immune to pressures and challenges that so many are facing. The Resilient Church Leadership initiative was created to resource, inspire, and connect pastors dealing with both internal pressures like burnout and mental stability and external pressures such as cultivating their church online, caring for their congregation, and ministering well in a time of crisis. You’ll find a whole host of resources, articles, podcasts, videos and webinars to help those of you who are spending a lot of time pouring into others — you need some help too.
The second resource is an upcoming webinar from our friends at 5Q (https://5qcentral.com):
| Does Shepherding Get a Bad Rap? We know that far too often the Shepherd gets a bad rap in missional spaces. The truth is, the Shepherding Intelligence is an essential component in any sustainable movement. Now, more than ever, we need to establish a biblical, healthy, and missional shepherding culture in our communities. We also want to be able to identify, disciple, and lead our shepherds into maturity and movement, so that they can be all that Jesus has designed them to be. Whether you’re a primary shepherd, work alongside shepherds, or are simply longing to weave some shepherding practices into your daily rhythms, come visit with Kimberly Culbertson, an SQ practitioner with a bent toward movement. Together we can reimagine the possibilities for the missional shepherd. Dates: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 Time: 3 PM ET Cost: FREE, but please register |
The days ahead are going to call on all of God’s gifts to the church: that’s the beauty in the way He’s designed His body. These days certainly require the apostles in our midst to innovate and break new ground in our post-COVID reality, but they also require the shepherds to foster the social connectively and healthy community as well as act as agents of God’s healing. Of course, there’s also plenty of work for the prophets, teachers and evangelists too.
It’s nearly daily now that I talk to someone who’s weary, wounded, depressed or in need of some form of Gospel healing. The days ahead are ripe with opportunity to do the healing work that God has called His people to do.
Christ’s Peace,
Lance
CGGC eNews—Vol. 14, No. 47
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