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Pastors Must Lead the Way in Spiritual Transformation
By Craig Pinley
ROSEMONT, IL (February 5, 2003) - If the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) is
serious about its theme for the 2003 Midwinter Pastors Conference, "In All
Things Grow Into Christ," then pastors need to be ready to lead the way.
So said Tuesday night speaker, spiritual director Ruth Haley Barton, as she
discussed the manner in which integral spiritual transformation can help
pastors as they seek to encourage their congregations to full life in
Christ. Haley Barton, who serves as an associate pastor in spiritual
direction for Willow Creek Community Church in Barrington, Illinois, told
her audience that spiritual transformation in pastors and their
congregations cannot occur without three key variables:
- Pastors who continue to be spiritual seekers
- Pastors who are practicing spiritual disciplines
- Churches that are seeking spiritual transformation at the lay
leadership level
"The very best thing we bring to ministry is our own transforming selves,"
Haley Barton said. "We need to create the conditions so the seeds of Christ
can grow in our lives."
Although Haley Barton grew up as a pastor's kid and accepted Christ as
savior at age four, she said she lost her love for learning about Jesus at
some point after graduating from Wheaton College. "The moment I began to
seek (Christ) again was at the end of my
thirties," she said. "I was on staff at a seeker-minded church and going to
a theological school . . . but underneath there was an inner chaos that I
didn't know what to do with. I was asking is that all there is?"
A spiritual director became a valuable guide in helping Haley Barton
rediscover her love for Christ because she was too busy talking to listen
to God's still small voice. "My spiritual director told me, 'Ruth, you are
like river water all shaken up. You need to be silent long enough so the
sediment in your life can settle and the water can become clear."
Haley Barton shared a number of insights with Tuesday night's audience:
- The first part of spiritual transformation is noticing how noisy it is
out there
- The questions we are willing to ask ourselves are far more important
than the answers we think we know
- The truest thing about you is your desire for God
- Spiritual transformation should not be based on ought or
should, but on desire and need
- Spiritual transformation is a plodding and patient process
In discussing how one can become spiritually transformed, Haley Barton
suggested that pastors consider the rhythms of solitude, community and
meaningful expressions of ministry that may best benefit them. She added
that pastors needed to discern what fears are keeping them from their
spiritual desires. And she urged pastors to re-examine the model of Jesus,
who sought solitude and heard his father say to him, "You are my beloved"
and who later sought disciples and followers who could model what it meant
to be the beloved.
Haley Barton closed the service by co-leading a 20-minute period of silent
reflection, scripture readings and responsive readings.
Her presentation was quite different from the "two-stepping" conclusion of
a racial reconciliation conference where Haley Barton first met the
Covenant's Executive Vice President Donn Engebretson, the one who invited
her to speak to the Midwinter Pastors Conference. In a lighter moment
during her introductory remarks, Haley Barton told of her acceptance of
Engebretson's invitation saying, "How could you say no to a man you've
'peace danced' with?"
Tuesday night's prelude to worship was an organ and violin duet played by
Randall and Bonnie Wilkens of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Lafayette,
Indiana. The Covenant Ministers Chorus, directed by Royce Eckhardt, sang
during an offering received on behalf of the Ministers' Relief Fund.
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