Listening Hearts

The popular question, "Does God speak to us or tell us what we should do?" comes to mind when I think of the book, "Listening Hearts: Discerning Call in Community," Morehouse Publishing, 1991. We do live in an era of doubt, and Christianity or belief in God is lacking. Even among believers one wonders if one is following the will of God. In this book the reader finds ways to discover what God is saying for one's life. I came across this title as part of a one-day conference held by the Episcopal Church on discerning a call within community. The book was recommended reading by the San Francisco Bay Area organization (ECUSA). I read it gladly, and with interest. I want to know if I am doing what I should, and if I am meeting the needs of both my community and my Church--most certainly the will of God. For me, this is not an arrogant request, but a genuine one. The book is easy to read, informative, intelligent and direct. Its premise goes like this: "A call may come as a gradual dawning of God's purpose for our lives." Some may be surprised that lay people will want to respond to a call, usually thought reserved only for ordained clergy. I think call comes to the laity, too. We are under baptismal vows. If you are a Christian, or interested in knowing about God's will for you in work, service, prayer, even marriage, this is a worthwhile book. It is a book about ministry. Here is the rationale for ministry: "Doing good things--volunteer work, for instance--may not be ministry if God is not the motivating force--even if the person doing them is a Christian. On the other hand, if God is the motivating force, even those who do not consciously bear the name of Christ may participate in God's work. God used Cyrus, king of Persia, to release Israel from captivity, saying, "...I call you by your name, I surname you, though you do not know me" (Isa. 45:4). One task of the Christian, then, is to recognize, affirm, and celebrate Christ's reconciling action in others, including non-Christians. A true minister is "anybody who is the channel to others of God's love, and is willing to share something of the cost of that love; and whose eyes are open to perceive God's presence everywhere and in everybody." In The Rule of St. Benedict, this same thought for monks goes: "...the work of the monk is to accept and participate in the divine saving activity in our life." The quote (Terrence G. Kardong, OSB) from another book demonstrates that this request of God and us is for all Christians the same. It is a general request that "Listening Hearts" addresses. You can see that I like this book, and I like the fact that a group of people put it together, a team effort of its own which reflects the kind of book this is for people who may be living in a community or team setting. It is as if a whole group thought these were good things, and a way to hear what God is saying. One needs confirmation in the subject area of discernment and acts of discernment, so there is

Too many people see 'vocation' as a narrow thing, something that is designed only to ask 'should I become a priest?' or 'should I enter the ministry?' In fact, there are many ways of being God's servant and following God's call in the world, and the ordained ministries are but one narrow band of this. 'Listening Hearts' is designed to take a community approach to seeing what God's call is in the world. The word 'vocation' comes from the Latin vocare -- to call -- and thus has a wide range of meanings, biblical and spiritual, as well as outside accumulations onto the concept. The authors here derive inspiration from the Quaker practice of silence and reflection (a clearness process) as well as other spiritual processes, many of which are elaborated in more detail in works referenced in the bibliography, a great resource for those interested in issues of vocation. A call is different from a job -- a career can be a vocation, in the sense that it encompasses more than 'just a job'; teaching is a career and a vocation, for example. To be a teacher involves more than just being paid to be in a classroom; indeed, one can be a teacher without being employed as one in a school. The same holds true for God's call in ministry -- just as a career (again derivative of more ancient meanings, literally meaning a path one follows, like the career of the earth around the sun) can be narrowly defined or more broadly held, so too can a vocation to ministry be understood in terms of many aspects of living one's life. C.S. Lewis famously discouraged a friend from becoming a priest, fearing that it would cease to be a valid vocation and slip into the 'just a job' kind of situation. Communities, under the ideas presented here, are less susceptible to the kinds of self-deception that some are likely to experience in seeing themselves in certain roles. Are we hearing God's call, or our own desires and petitions? Similarly, ministry is not conducted in a vacuum: ministers act for and with others, and require the support of community for their actions to have efficacy and validity. There is a flaw in this, that is not covered in this book, but one hopes might be addressed at some point in discernment processes: the definition of community is never made clear. What happens when there are competing communities? What happens when the local church is at odds with the regional or national (or international) church? What happens when a discernment group at a local parish supports a particular candidate in a certain vocation, but the distant powers-that-be do not? Another issue that is not addressed in this text, which I feel (given the experience that I and many other have had in discernment processes) needs to be addressed is this: what happens when one is not dealing with a community of integrity? What happens when the rector or a particularly powerful congregation member blocks the discernment process from even beginning? What about institutional issu

I read this book about 10 years ago as I began to wrestle with questions of vocation. I felt called to ministry, possibly ordained ministry. I had far more questions than answers and didn't know where to begin.Recommended by my pastor, this book gave me a vocabulary and suggested a process for listening to who God calls me to be. It also offered important advice on the benefits of listening in the context of community.The book is accessible but rich. I found that individual chapters bear rereading at various times in my life. I attribute this to the prayerfulness of the authors, who used many of the discernment ideas they describe in the book to write the book itself.The bibliography is a list of classics on Christian discernment and spirituality that have stood the test of time. Many of the books listed in the bibliography have become important parts of my journey as well.I am glad I read the book and recommend it to others beginning or continuing their own discernment process.

The issue of discernment, or attempting to understand God's will for us in our lives and the direction it should take, is one on which regrettably too little attention has been spent in the Church until recently. This book answers that dearth of material by presenting what proves to be both an emanently practical and highly instructive method and motive.The method was developed in the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland with great assistance and input from members of the area Quaker community. The Society of Friends influence shows prominently, as the main focus of the process (and it is a process, as opposed to a goal in and of itself) is to discover and arrive at consensus regarding God's revealed will through reflective prayer rather than convince anyone of anything via cerebral justifications. For this group, the method became the first step in the ordination process, though they are quick to note that the method need not be limited to those seeking ordination, but rather can be used by anyone seeking a discernment of God's will for his or her life. Listening Hearts is replete with quotations and an exhaustive bibliography. At the very least, it serves as a starting point for someone considering a time of discernment. The book is not discouraging of ordained vocations, but instead acknowledges that often discerners too quickly latch onto ordination as the only answer to a vocation in the Church. The method emphasizes prayer and heartfelt reflection as the main means of determining God's will, which is as it should be.Those seeking a time of discernment should read this book for "the other side" of the discussion -- a viewpoint which urges caution, deliberatation, and openness to the multiplicity of God's purposes. It provides a strong balance, essential to any spiritual journey.

The method used in creating this book is as moving and powerful as the material itself. The authors centered on prayer and meditation and worked with the Holy Spirit to create a book of sayings that ring true at every turn. But, the book is much more than a group of sayings. It lays out a path for discernment that begins with God, and leads through the self to the community. This path is clearly paved with the Holy Spirit and is ready for all who are willing to make themselves available to God's will.