The Listening Church 101
Essential Articles from the Archive
Two and half years ago, I sent out my first newsletter of The Listening Church. I had a vision to help churches listen to God and their neighbors better so they might adapt to the present moment. Since then, I’ve written 70 more newsletters and last week we hit 2,000 subscribers. I’m grateful for all my subscribers and I love hearing from you about how deep listening is impacting your congregations and communities.
In honor of these milestones, I thought I would create a post where new (and old) subscribers can navigate the archive of old posts. I didn’t include all of my posts, but rather highlight and organize some of the key ones. A highlight reel if you will. I hope you find it helpful!
Why Listening is Important
Up first are posts that will help you see why deep listening is an essential skill for every congregation today. And it’s not just me saying that.
How to Listen Well:
Deep listening takes practice. In these posts you’ll learn some essential skills for deep listening.
Spiritual Listening:
The deep listening that I advocate for is a spiritual practice. In these posts I show how I brought together contemplative spirituality and ethnography to create a spiritual approach to community assessment.
The Spiritual Listening Plan:
The central resource of The Listening Church is the Spiritual Listening Plan (SLP). The SLP is an interactive PDF that is free to download and includes 13 activities that encourage holistic, deep listening to God, your congregation, and your neighbors. These posts will get you started.
Listening to God
An essential aspect of the SLP is rooting your listening process in listening to God. In these posts I share a few ways to approach it.
Listening to Your Congregation
To discern God’s direction for your church, it’s essential to take time to listen to the congregation itself. Whether that’s through surveys, reviewing the church’s calendar, or revisiting the history, there’s a lot you can learn with some intention. These posts will get you going.
Listening to Your Neighbor
After 15 years of church-based community engagement ministry at local, regional, and national levels, I am amazed at how many churches start outreach ministries without ever talking to the neighbors they’re hoping to reach. In these posts you’ll see why it’s so important to talk to your neighbors and how to do it well.
Discerning the Results of Your Listening
Once you’ve done deep listening, it’s important to discern what the Holy Spirit is saying to you and where God is inviting you next. In these posts you’ll find a few ways to do this.
Conclusion
That should be enough reading to keep you busy for a while!
Be sure to download the Spiritual Listening Plan and if you haven’t subscribed yet to my newsletter you will want to. I have a bunch of posts planned in the coming months that will help your congregation listen, learn, and adapt in these challenging times.
If you have any questions or would like to tell me how your listening is going, I’d love to hear from you. Happy Listening!