A Work of Heart

Reggie McNeal strips away at the façade of modern effective leadership paradigms. McNeal insists that spiritual leaders must become trained in matters of the heart. To understand the work of God as anything less, than A Work of Heart, is to shortcut the intentionality of God’s spiritual leader. McNeal discusses six factors in the life of a spiritual leader: culture, call, community, communion, conflict, and commonplace. My own discovery has revealed a reliance on meeting demands for performance and how little attention I give to the character of my heart.

McNeal acknowledges the role of culture in the heart shaping process. It would be shortsighted to neglect this strong influencer. Often times, I have neglected who I am in this area. Much attention has been given to cultural stigma. An example of this can be seen in the fact that I like video games. I am often embarrassed to admit this. Somehow this activity does not equate with my profession as a pastor. Even though I have heard countless sermons by pastors referring to great movies, I sense apprehension to this form of entertainment in many churches. There is a cultural taboo attached to the discussion of gaming. The further I have distanced myself from these critics; I have allowed myself to engage in a world that I once felt embarrassed. McNeal comments,

Instead of developing a refuge mentality in relating to culture, other spiritual leaders view their mission to engage culture in order to transform it. The mentality supporting this approach stands in stark contrast to the refuge perspective. The theology and psychological presuppositions are entirely different. Rather than seeing culture outside of faith as abandoned by God and operating outside his control, missional spiritual leaders see God actively at work in the world. p.91

This is liberating. A great deal of spirituality and ministry can be had in these discussions. Often times I have had very serious conversations about bio-ethics and the modern quest for power during reviews about games dealing with these very issues. The more I am honest about how I have been shaped culturally, the more I suspect God’s call in my life will be evident.

In response to my calling, it is important for me to recognize that one of my strengths is connectedness. I have great faith that things happening for a reason. I know this is true, even though I cannot often explain it. My life, and the lives of others around me, is moving towards world redemption in Jesus Christ. This is a mystery, but as I have emerged in my vocational calling, it is something that has compelled me to the idea of being a pastor in God’s church. This was not always easy for me to recognize. For many years I was a reluctant convert to my own profession. Ministry was a response to a prayerful journey and an affirmation of community. I take very serious the call of being a spiritual leader.

Partial to the discussion of community is a recognition that the western ideal of individualism needs to die. I would not be where I am today without the community of God. I grew up with the same narrative structure as my congregation.

Many leadership ideas in American culture seem informed by the great American myth, the Western. In the story line, the bad guys hold the town hostage… Bad guys generally hang out in gangs. Good guys come in singles. p114

Ideation is another strength in my life. People cannot be replaced with conceptualization. As humbling as it may be at times, I need to be continually reminded of my dependence on others, both past and present.

Admittedly, the best step towards humility is communion. As a pastor, you would think I would naturally gravitate to a place of shared fellowship with God. To often, however, the workweek and countless responsibilities replace time for intimacy with God. I always feel like I need to be doing something. I cannot sit still for very long. Writing this paper, studying for a sermon, trying diligently to pray in silence, I am a restless soul and McNeal’s observations about Sabbath speak to my heart. To often, Sabbath seems like wasted time; time that could have been spent doing something. I forfeit this grace in my life for a pursuit of productivity. McNeal writes,

Spiritual leaders need to recover the ancient meaning of Sabbath, its original purpose as envisioned by God. Then they need to practice Sabbath personally and lead those in their influence to do the same. p142

I long for a deep sense of friendship with God, but I put off the Sabbath that leads to this life. How can I break free from the tyranny of these felt demands and enter into this promised rest? I can only begin my journey by desperately calling out to Jesus and asking that I may have ears to hear and a heart to listen for this sacred space.

Standing in the way of communion is often an unhealthy view of conflict. Holding onto hurts that have shaped my life, in a way that resists moving forward, is an unwillingness to admit a place for conflict in the life of a leader. McNeal suggests that getting over it is step one. I disagree with McNeal and would suggest this hurdle is impossible until the seventh step, which is forgiveness. I cannot discount the value of McNeal’s process for recovery, but it seems to me that the last two steps are the most notable. To forgive and to move forward are ultimately the most difficult. These are returning themes in my life. I hold onto my past. I hold on to hurt from my wife’s mistakes, previous jobs, childhood memories, and recent difficulties in my current ministry context. In my communion with God, and the overflow of my involvement in community, it is becoming more evident to me that I need to find forgiveness in my life and decide to move forward. It is only in these simple, but most challenging steps, that I can answer my call.

McNeal ends his six factors with an appeal for commonplace. The spiritual leader of our time does not lack a love affair with the imagination of greatness. The routine circumstances of ordinary life often do not provide the stimulus I desire to feel valued and productive in my calling. Learning to see God’s activity in the mundane subplot is central to the heart-shaping activity. Despite the fact that I have strong introvert tendencies, I spend far too much time in my life looking for something greater than what I already have. Sometimes I am not even sure what I am looking for. It is as if there is a steady restlessness that is only tamed but something more entertaining than my current context. I know how destructive the results of these expectations can be. Fortunately, I am finding that many of these impulses are subsiding with age. I not far from being reminded by McNeal,

This subplot of the commonplace has been reserved for the last because it links all the other plots together. It provides grist for the mill of the other heart-shaping activities of God. The leader’s response to the ordinary, the common, limits as well as unlocks the possibilities of the story line development in the other subplots of the leader’s life drama. p.179