Grounded in God, Revised Edition - Stephanie A. Hull

Скачать книгу

ection>

      

       Grounded In God:

      Listening Hearts Discernment

      for Group Deliberations

       Revised Edition

      Suzanne G. Farnham

      Stephanie A. Hull

      R. Taylor McLean

      Copyright © 1996

      The Christian Vocation Project/Listening Hearts Ministries

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

      Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations in this book are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

      Morehouse Publishing, 4775 Linglestown Road, Harrisburg, PA 17105

      Morehouse Publishing, 445 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016

       Morehouse Publishing is an imprint of Church Publishing Incorporated

       Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Farnham, Suzanne G.

      Grounded in God: listening hearts discernment for group deliberations / Suzanne G. Farnham, Stephanie A. Hull, R. Taylor McLean.

      p. cm.

      Includes bibliographical references.

      ISBN 13: 978-0-8192-1835-3

      1. Church group work. 2. Discernment of spirits. I. Hull, Stephanie A. II. McLean, R. Taylor. III. Title

      BV652.2.F37 1996

      253.7—dc20 96-18840 CIP

      Printed in the United States of America

      10 10 9

       Contents

       Acknowledgments

       Background of this Book

       Introduction

       One Spiritual Discernment: Its Meaning and Value for Group Meetings

       Two Total Listening

       Three Searching for Questions Before Answers

       Four Engaging the Imagination

       Five Catching the Signals

       Six Spiritual Consensus: A Way of Coming Together in Christ

       Seven Launching Out

       Eight Planning Meetings

       Nine Building Discerning Communities

       APPENDICES OF PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS

       Introduction to Appendices

       Appendix One Discernment Listening Guidelines

       Appendix Two Sharing Responsibility for Practicing Discernment at Meetings

       Appendix Three Checklist for Preparing an Agenda

       Appendix Four Inviting Scripture and Creative Images at Meetings

       Appendix Five Suggestions for Working Toward Consensus

       Appendix Six Practical Considerations for Meetings

       Appendix Seven Preparing a Group for a Discernment Approach

       Appendix Eight Elements Important to Discernment Around an Issue

       Appendix Nine Orientation of New Members and Renewal for Continuing Groups

       Notes

       Annotated Bibliography

       Prayer for Trust

       Acknowledgments

      Three of us wrote this book together in prayerful community, but not without substantial help from a constellation of people.

      First and foremost, we thank Marilynn E. Cornejo and John E. McIntyre. Efficiently and in good humor, Marilynn typed countless drafts of our work as it progressed and developed over many months. John then combined his mastery of the English language and his solid background in theology to edit the copy for us.

      We appreciate the contribution of +A. Theodore Eastman, Sarah T. Eastman, and W. Bruce McPherson+, who joined us in the research. Four other people were particularly helpful as we gathered information and processed it. Arthur Larrabee and Nancy Middleton, Clerk and General Secretary, respectively, of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, met with a group of us for several hours; Arthur also gave us a highly informative set of notes he has assembled for a book. Jan Hoffman, who is active in the New England Yearly Meeting and lectures on Quaker subjects in this country and abroad, has graciously supplied us with relevant published materials and served as a mentor for several years. Michael Sheeran, S. J., President of Regis College in Denver and author of Beyond Majority Rule, helped with the wording of several endnotes.

      William Rich+ and Jeannine Ruof gave generously of their time and skill to help solve difficulties with gender-inclusive language in the Introduction.

      When we completed a draft of the first few chapters, Joseph Booze, Adele B. Free, Linda Wofford Hawkins+, and Benjamin West reviewed it and offered suggestions. After the preliminary draft was completed, a number of friends and colleagues read the entire manuscript and offered thoughtful comments that enabled us to improve the work in significant ways: Mary De Kuyper, Wayne Dornbirer II, James C. Fenhagen+, Bliss and Lois Forbush, Miriam D. Green, Linda Wofford Hawkins+, Jan Hoffman, Martha Horton, +Robert Ihloff, W. Bruce McPherson+, Shirley Noll, and Susan M. Ward.

      Frank Shivers, author and English professor, was available for consultation whenever asked. Others provided a wide range of

Скачать книгу