Book Reviews
Grounded in God: Listening Hearts Discernment for Group Deliberations
From the back cover:"Grounded in God is a book that will deepen and enliven the faith journey for individuals and congregations. It richly deserves not merely to be read, but to be used."
"Grounded in God is a reverent and practical guide for small groups, and I recommend it without hesitation or qualification. The central truth this book elucidates in inspiring and practical ways is that the Holy Spirit is an Active Presence and the Leader of our groups. Our task then is to come to meetings with hearts and minds set to listen for the voice of the Spirit by opening our Senses and imaginations. Discernment is about listening and waiting attentively, reverencing silence. It is a journey of putting on the mind of Christ.
How? Specific helps in the book include Guidelines for Discernment, Listening, Helping the Group Stay Faithful to Discernment Practices During a Meeting, Suggestions for Working Toward Consensus, and more.
Jesus said, 'Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing' (John 15:5). If Jesus is urging you to start a new group or transform a committee you are on, read and listen to this book. Then do it!"
"For all who yearn to be delivered from duty-driven, clock-watching, parliamentary-precise but prayerless church meetings, here is a call to a better way. A way in which prayer is not an item on the agenda but prayer is the movement of the meeting.
The practice of this way, the way of spiritual discernment, will transform meeting, members, and congregation! Imagine a committee as a community of faith sharing an expression of love to God, preparing an agenda as holy work. Imagine a board meeting where there is silence before/between/after words are spoken to listen to one another and the mind of Christ.
Grounded in God is part of a growing body of resources that help the community of faith practice spiritual discernment while making group decisions and tending to the work of the church. The text is rooted in scripture and the richness of the Quaker tradition of listening prayer, discernment, and consensus.
This is a small volume, concise, and insightful. It does not pontificate but invites. It gently creates energy and hopefulness. I have a sneaky feeling this small book can lead to a shorter agenda and the real agenda, God's agenda, will get done."
"With Grounded in God . . . Suzanne Farnham and her co-authors, Stephanie Hull and Taylor McLean, expand a body of work that has invigorated contemporary spirituality since Listening Hearts, the first handbook, appeared. Still employing a spare format - slender text augmented by generous footnotes, well-annotated bibliography, and nine appendices - Grounded in God nonetheless provides substantial nourishment. The communal nature of the authorship and intended readership illustrates the Listening Hearts precept for discernment which places emphasis on shared responsibility in consensus building. This central tenet, communality, not unanimity, is strengthened by grounding every step one takes in the guidance of God, through prayer.
If we have worked within the framework of a church or other religious institution for any appreciable amount of time, we readily see the need for the guidance this book offers, with the reminder that no church ever has the same 'bottom-line' concerns as a business. How many vestry wardens have taken the tack that finances or similar matters need addressing? Getting familiar with the precepts laid out in Grounded in God would give any cleric or other church leader a solid blueprint for guiding groups involved in doing the business of the Church. Precepts are enunciated in nine chapters; then the practical aids for implementing these precepts are offered in the appendices.
What a wonderful, radical little book. The prayerful community that embodies what it advocates, the Christian Vocation Project, needs to be nurtured, embraced and held up as an example of what miracles still occur, even at the end of this millennium.
Peace, as William Alexander Percy's words remind us, is 'strife closed in the sod.' Real peace, just as real love, is never easy nor simplistic. Real peace is forged from struggle, collision, and eventually harmony wrought from consensus. It is clear that this book has not only been written in a discerning, prayerful community but has also been graced by the 'host of witnesses' of the Christian Vocation Project membership. What a terrific title! The words 'grounded in God' encompass the foundational creative and nurturing spirit that 'listening hearts' discernment holds aloft as a beacon to light the way."
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