Session II: Utilizing Spiritual Leadership Practices
February 4th, 2011 | 
Author: Down load session Session II
Welcome to week 2. Please pray for our fellow classmate Bill Malone who will have a medical procedure and several weeks of recuperation.
In this session you will be able to:
- describe what the “means of grace”
- identify your spiritual gifts
Devotional
Sing: “Sanctuary” Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LiTy7ndOzw&feature=related/ for sing along
Read John 15:1-5
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Pray A Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition
I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.
Practicing Spiritual Leadership
If we are to be effective spiritual leaders, we need to have strong relationship with God in Christ. John Wesley describes a way to develop this relationship through the” means of grace.” The means of grace are disciplines that help us encounter the presence , spirit and power of God. Three such disciplines are Prayer, Searching the Scriptures and Holy Communion. These Spiritual formation must be taken seriously: ―We cannot just think about it, read about it, or talk about it. We must live them..
Becoming Spiritual Leaders
Spiritual leaders have gifts and talents that they use in their ministry. Go to www.umc.org/spiritualgifts to listen about these gifts and take an inventory of your gifts. Also check out Romans 12:3-8 for a list of them
No one has all the gifts.
All members are needed.
God gifts persons as needed for the faith community.
http://umcneb.org/administration/bookofdiscipline.htm
From The Book of Disciple of the United Methodist Church
Section IV. Servant Ministry
¶133. Christian Discipleship – The ministry of all Christians consists of privilege and obligation. The privilege is a relationship with God that is deeply spiritual. The obligation is to respond to God’s call to holy living in the world. In the United Methodist tradition these two dimensions of Christian discipleship are wholly interdependent.
¶134. Our relationship with God – Christian experience growth and transition in their spiritual life just as in their physical and emotional lives. While growth is always a work of grace, it does not occur uniformly. Spiritual growth in Christ is a dynamic process marked by awakening, birth, growth, and maturation. This process requires careful and intentional nurture for the disciple to reach perfection in the Christian life. There are stages of spiritual growth and transition: Christian beginnings; Christian birth; Christian growth; and Christian maturity. These require careful and intentional nurture to come to maturity in the Christian life and to engage fully in the ministry of all Christians.
¶135.Our Relationship with Christ in the World: Obligation – The ministry of all Christians in the United Methodist tradition has always been energized by deep religious experience, with emphasis on how ministry relates to our obligation to Jesus Christ. The early Methodists developed a way of life that fostered reliability, and their methodical discipleship is best expressed in the General Rules that John Wesley first published in 1734, which remain in the The United Methodist Book of Disciple, pages 71-74.
Please look these up. http://umcneb.org/media/2008BookOfDisciplinePDFS/CONS001936QK003001A.pdf
The ministry of all Christians consists of privilege and obligation.
What will our living out the privilege and obligation look like?
What are our personal privileges and obligations?—be very specific
What are congregation‘s privileges and obligations?-–again, be very specific
Say your own prayer of thanksgiving to end this session.
Resources
http://www.hymnsite.com/ List most of the hymns in the Methodist Hymnal. Select a hymn and you may select the tune to be play by bells, piano or organ and words appear.
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