I have been reading a book by Bill Hybels called “The Whispers of God”.  Hybels contends that God wants to speak to each of us through the promptings of His Spirit and that God seeks us out to speak to us.  Hybels also warns however, that there has been and can be so much misuse to the phrase, “God spoke to me”.   Hybels teaches that there needs to be filters to protect from the misuses.  Filters that include alignment with the Bible and the character of God.  Alignment with our own personalities and the way we are wired.  The most important filter is the affirmation from wise counsel or others who come along and seem to confirm the prompting.  I believe that God still speaks and that I have sensed his promptings often throughout my sabbatical.  I will share some of these when I get back.

I had one of them the other day at the Celebrate recovery Conference.  There is a new part of the ministry where pastors get together in a recovery/support group structure.  It is called CPR or Celebrate Pastors Recovery.  It is about providing a safe place for pastors outside their church environments where they can be real and transparent and can deal with their issues in a very safe place.  I heard stories of pastors who have experienced tremendous healing that kept them from shipwrecking their ministries.  As I listened, I sensed God prompting me to start something like this in the “Technology Triangle” area.  But maybe it was just the stories moving me.  The next day, the Canadian CR rep came to me and said that she believed that we needed CPR in our area and that she knew of a few pastors who desperately need something like this before the wreck themselves – their families and their ministries.  Then she said that she felt God prompting her that I should be the one to lead this group.  Is this an affirmation?  I think so.  But I still want to sit and listen to further instructions from God and to pray for his ultimate affirmation.  But I sense he is leading me to do this for other pastors.  One of the keys to hearing the prompting of God’s spirit on an ongoing basis is that once you have one – you need to act on it and obey it.  So, if God is prompting me to do this for other pastors – then I need to obey.

Yesterday afternoon I was doing a workshop for other pastors who have CR in their churches 0r are ready to start this ministry.  At the conclusion of the session, when all the stretgic, operational questions were done and the group gathered were dismissed, I had a small group of pastors line up to ask questions – questions that didn’t get asked in the session.  These weren’t operational or strategic in nature but more heart related questions.  I sensed they were looking for a pastor to pastor them for a brief moment.  The last pastor came to me and in talking about CR shared that he had lost his adult son to a car accident six months ago.  He shared about the pain of having to take his son off life support and having to say goodbye (at least for now).  Again, I felt God prompting me – not to just spend time with other pastors to help them be better leaders (which I have been doing over the last couple of years) but to maybe in a small way  be a pastor to pastors who are struggling – who are broken – who are in danger of doing something stupid that could wreck areas of their lives.

I will continue to ponder this – but the affirmations are overwhelming – so I think I need to obey.  I am not sure what this will look like.  But, I will wait on God for further promptings.  I know I will be amazed by the leadings and promptings of God and how he will use me in a very humble way to maybe make a difference in the lives of other pastors.