Diocesan Service Committee Chairperson
for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal
in the Diocese of Baton Rouge, LA.
A vision provides a mental picture that answers the question, "What does God want us to look like?" It is not necessarily a description of the way things are now, but how God would like them to be in the future. It's what He thinks we should be, in His scheme of things, so He can use us to change the world. God's vision for us gives us something to strive for!
Why did the first dog keep running and the other dogs stop? The first dog actually saw the rabbit. Even though the rabbit ran into the woods, the dog knew what it was chasing after so it kept going. Even though it could not see the rabbit anymore, it kept up its frantic chase after the rabbit. The other dogs initially got excited because they saw the other dog all excited. Since they never really saw the rabbit, they did not know why they were all excited. They had nothing to keep them going after they started to get tired. The first dog kept chasing after the unseen rabbit because it had already seen it and knew what it was chasing after.
This story can be used to express what happens in our Catholic charismatic prayer groups. The rabbit signifies God's vision for our prayer groups. The first dog is like the people who see, hear and understand God's vision. They get all excited because they understand His vision. They persevere in striving toward the vision even when things don't seem to be going their way or God's way. The dogs that fell away when they got tired because they did not see the rabbit are like those people in our prayer groups that drift away. These are the people that cannot seem to make a commitment to serve. They either do not grasp God's vision of what we are called to do or maybe they were never told. One of the primary roles of people that are called into leadership is to catch God's vision of what He wants us to be and then to pass it on to others. When we realize that we have a purpose, a vision, and a God-given mission we can start putting it into action. Prayer groups that see God's vision keep on persevering even when
Its time to catch the vision in our prayer groups again!
While travelling to the National Catholic Charismatic Conference in Pittsburgh, PA in June of 1992, I was praying for a renewed fervor and commitment to the Lord. I prayed to know His will for me and for the prayer groups that I served back in Baton Rouge, LA. I was reading a book by Fr. Robert DeGrandis called "Come Follow Me" on the plane ride over. It is a book written for leaders in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. I was reading a particular section when the words seemed to jump off the pages and hit me between the eyes. I continued to pray and write down notes similar to how I journal during prayer time. It was like the Spirit was using the knowledge he had already given me, but was pulling all the pieces together to form the puzzle. I also describe this by saying, "The light bulb turned on!"
What seemed to be coming clearer to me was how God wanted us to act and be as Catholic charismatic prayer communities. Well, the conference had not even started, so I thought that maybe the light bulb that just came on would somehow be confirmed at the conference. The conference theme was "Return to the Upper Room." As many of you probably remember, the Catholic Charismatic Renewal started in Pittsburgh 25 years before that National Conference, at a retreat house at Duquesne University. It was as if the Holy Spirit was returning us to our roots to refresh us and prepare us for the next wave of his power!
The renewed vision I received in Pittsburgh seemed to be confirmed to me during the entire conference. As I sat in my chair toward the end of the conference, I sensed a need to share what I had learned with others back home. No sooner than I had this thought did someone have a prophetic word about sharing what God had done for us in Pittsburgh with others. God is so good!
This article is my humble attempt at conveying to you what I sensed is Gods challenging vision for Catholic Charismatic Prayer Groups. It is based on the renewed sense of vision I received in Pittsburgh and on what I learned during many years of experience as a servant leader.
The vision for prayer groups focuses on two groups of people. One is the overall community and the other is the leaders. Here is the vision statement:
"A vibrant, Catholic, charismatic, prayer community served by trained, anointed, committed leaders will evangelize in power!"
Many of the words in this vision statement came alive for me in Pittsburgh. Now I would like to share a few thoughts on several of the key words in the vision.
A VIBRANT community is one that is boldly and radically trying to live as Christians. A vibrant community is one that enthusiastically praises God in all things and realizes its OK to be jubilant in the praise and worship of our Lord. The scriptures are full of descriptions of this (see Psalms 95-100 for a start). We should also be sensitive to others who may be new to this type of praise and worship. We should always be loving and welcoming to newcomers and never pressure them to pray a certain way. Keeping this in mind, we should never be afraid to be joyful and jubilant before the Lord. It's especially OK to smile when we praise him! There is a time to be reverent and a time to be jubilant in our worship of God. We Catholics know how to be reverent. We also need to know that its OK to get excited about Jesus!
A CATHOLIC community is one that is committed to knowing and growing in our Catholic faith. A Catholic community is one that does not allow its faith to be compromised in ecumenical groups, yet realizes that much is occurring outside our particular tradition. A Catholic community is one that brings good, doctrinally sound teachings into our prayer communities and fosters the use of the Sacraments. This type of community also is devoted to Christ in the Mass and the Eucharist.
A CHARISMATIC community is one that vibrantly enters into the praise and worship of the Lord. This type of group teaches about and encourages the use of the charismatic gifts and other charisms of the Holy Spirit. This type of community fosters the full release of the Spirit in the lives of all its members and the people they minister to. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are yielded to at community gatherings such as prayer meetings, core team meetings and pastoral team meetings.
PRAYER stands for the many forms of prayer the group may use. We are prayer communities. That is what we are about. This includes corporate (group) prayer and personal prayer. This also includes praying for and with other people. This may include prayer team ministry, one-on-one ministry or intercessory prayer. Teachings, workshops and sharings on all types of prayer, praise and worship are given in a strong prayer group of this type.
The word COMMUNITY means the members know, love and serve one another with humility. They are a witness of God's love that binds them together and is manifested through their love for one another. This type of group welcomes everyone in love just as if they were always a member of their prayer family.
Leaders that are TRAINED are a key issue for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. In a document called "A Pastoral Statement on the Catholic Charismatic Renewal" the Bishops state that to a great extent the success of the renewal depends on an informed, balanced, mature, doctrinally sound leadership. Indeed, the leadership issue is the most pressing problem facing the renewal.
This is a two-fold problem. The first is availability of training resources such as books, tapes and workshops. The second is that the leaders take the time to grow as leaders.
Over the years many books and tapes have become available for leaders to use for their personal growth. Also more diocesan and regional leaders retreats and workshops have become available. It is extremely important that leaders continue to be informed and receive doctrinally sound teaching. This is one of the ways they catch the vision and maintain it.
The biggest problem here is that many leaders suffer from over-commitment and therefore do not have the time for training and growth. We must not only be good stewards of our talents and finances, but also good stewards of the gift of time. Growing as leaders is our responsibility. We must make the time. Many, many prayer groups suffer and therefore do not reach their full potential because the people in leadership roles have not taken the time to grow doctrinally and spiritually. Many in leadership roles have lost God's vision for themselves and the communities they serve.
Unfortunately, many leaders view their service as leaders as a one night a week commitment. Many who serve as leaders don't devote adequate time to personal growth because their role as leader is only one of several ways they serve the church. I challenge all prayer group leaders, pastoral team members and committed members of prayer groups to order their lives in proper balance, to use the gift of time wisely and to include the training and formation of themselves on their calendars.
ANOINTED leaders are called or anointed by God to serve Him in this way. An anointed leader is one who responds to God's call to serve. An anointed leader is also one that recognizes God's call to let go of one form of service and move on to the next.
Many prayer groups suffer because people who were anointed to serve as leaders 5, 10, 15 years ago and sometimes longer are still hanging on to their positions long after God has called them to move on. This creates three common problems. First, since they do not move on, the next person that God is calling to leadership never gets the chance to grow in the use of their charism of servant leadership. Second, someone that stays in a form of service longer than God intends will many times experience burnout and a loss of God's vision. Finally, the person who doesn't let go may be missing the opportunity to go where God is truly calling them and anointing them for service.
I challenge all those in servant leadership roles in prayer groups and who have been in leadership roles more than a couple years, to prayerfully consider letting go. Are you suffering from burnout or loss of vision? Is God possibly calling you to serve at the diocesan level or in another way and you can't seem to find the time? Please pray on your own and with your brothers and sisters in your communities for direction in your lives. In your prayerful discernment also ask God who He may be calling and anointing to carry the torch after you. Follow God's anointing for you and your communities. Let go and let God!
COMMITTED leaders are ones that make their time, talents and charisms available to respond to God's call to servant leadership. These are the leaders that realize the importance of the role God has called them to and of the need to have their lives in balance to respond to His call. Committed leaders are the ones that eliminate those activities in their lives that keep them from fully responding to God's call. This includes having time for God and prayer in their schedules and time with their spouses and families. This also includes having the time to provide for their families either at work or in the home and the time to receive training and growth as a leader. Serving in a leadership role also requires having the time to meet with pastoral or core team members on nights other than the regular prayer meetings.
Committed leaders that can strive to do all the above things are the ones that are driven with a burning desire to carry out God's vision for their communities. The most gifted leaders are the ones that have their eyes and lives focused on Jesus!
Anointed LEADERS are ones that guide and inspire others to recognize and use their charisms of service. Humble leaders are servants who wash the feet of others. They humbly acknowledge their own weaknesses and realize they aren't expected to be perfect. They also allow others the room to grow and make mistakes. True leaders have the ability to gently and lovingly challenge others to grow in the use of their charisms. They are obedient to church authority, especially their pastors, even if they disagree with them. Finally, true leaders have learned how to put balance in their lives. They have learned when to say yes and when to say no and then to be at peace about it. Bold leaders are inspiring to us all and help the rest of us see God's vision!
As communities we EVANGELIZE at our weekly evangelistic outreaches we call prayer meetings. We must look at each prayer meeting as an opportunity to evangelize each other and any newcomers that walk in the door. We must look out for newcomers and welcome them as the brothers and sisters in Jesus that they are.
We also evangelize as communities by putting on various Holy Spirit seminars, growth seminars, and workshops. As individuals we should always be open to sharing the love of Jesus with anyone we meet. Invite them to a prayer meeting, a seminar or a diocesan event. Offer to pray with them and for them. Share your personal testimony with them focusing on how you experienced the love and mercy of the Lord in your life!
Finally, realize that we can only do all these things that have been mentioned in this article in the POWER of the Holy Spirit, not our own. In Acts 1:8 it says: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes down on you, then you are to be my witnesses."
I ask you to challenge yourselves as prayer communities. Please pray about and consider whether God is calling you to be a vibrant, Catholic, charismatic, prayer community served by trained, anointed, committed leaders that evangelizes in the power of the Holy Spirit!
This article was taken with permission from the October 1995 issue of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Newsletter for the Diocese of Baton Rouge.
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