I love to travel. In any given year, I pick a couple destinations to visit for a day or even several days. Sometimes my trips are work-related. I go to a couple conferences each year to keep myself sharp and to see what is happening in worship and music outside Lord of Life. Most of the time, I’m excited to be at a conference or on vacation and it’s “Go! Go! Go!” from the time I wake up to the time I go to bed. I’m exhausted by the end of the day and while I enjoy my experiences and cherish the memories, I can’t say that I’m relaxed when I return.
Last weekend I went to the Calvin Symposium on Worship and Music in Grand Rapids. Several denominations and nationalities are represented, which leads to a lot of diversity and exciting ideas for worship. It is so easy to move quickly from day to day and week to week, falling into the same patterns and not trying anything new. The conference helps us see beyond our everyday worship. Each of the three days consisted of three different worship times (morning, afternoon, and night,) a plenary, and 3 smaller sessions/classes.
One of the first sessions I attended was by Dr. Ruth Haley Barton, who wrote the book, Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership. At first I assumed this would be a session targeting leaders who had experienced some sort of difficult times in their congregation. But after a five-page spiritual assessment, I realized that I was in my own spiritual rut and that I really needed to take some time to reflect for myself.
Dr. Barton went on to talk about quiet moments in worship when we could be present, hands open, listening for what God has to say to us; and also about longer periods of meditation - times when we can be silent for 15 minutes, an hour, maybe even several hours - to clear our minds and let go of all the things that keep us from the connection we so crave with our Creator. She reinforced the idea that for us to be good spiritual leaders, we need to allow this time to transform us. In her words, "The spiritual practices are means of grace that open us to God’s transforming work in those places where we are not like Christ so we can be Christ in the world."
After two more days at Calvin, keeping this spiritual reflection time at the front of my mind through the rest of my weekend, I came home feeling refreshed and renewed. What a difference from past trips! I've tried, with varying levels of success, to continue mindful reflection during quiet moments over the subsequent two weeks. I find myself making better decisions not only for worship moments at Lord of Life, but in my personal life, too.
I encourage everyone to make this a habit - it isn't just for the church leaders who stand up in front each week to preach or sing. It is for all of us who leave church Sunday morning, hopefully taking with us some scrap of spiritual nourishment so that we can go out into the world and be the church.