I'm reading The Rule of St. Benedict for a doctoral course in spiritual formation. Benedict was a sixth century monk who wrote his Rule to help monks find God within a monastic community. His brief comment on the four types of monks reminds me of various ministers today:The first kind of ministers wander around aimlessly, living off the work of others. They bounce from ministry to ministry without focus--all in the name of the Spirit!
Others go off on their own without spiritual training, without mentoring, without discipline. (Been there, done that!)
A third kind is the one living in a community of spiritual growth, submitting to the wisdom of those who are like-minded in their quest for God. (These are the ones Benedict writes to.)
The fourth kind, the rarest, is the one who, after years in a supportive community, can endure the challenge of solitary ministry. (Benedict thinks these are the most noble.)
Many ministers think they are the fourth kind, strong and heroic against the forces of evil. After all they really, really love God. Most of these end up being the first or second, but only realize it after a ministry crash.
May we seek and find communities of support, encouragement and discipline as we strive to grow closer to God and bring others along for the ride!
2 comments:
Good to see you posting again. Hope things are going well for you.
WOW,..and thank you Mark.
Thr fourth kind of monk wouls be the one who has faced himself in his brokenness and allowed GOD to mend him from the roots up.
No wonder a wise man said "to know thyself IS to know GOD"
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