Listen and Take Note

This strange time of isolation is surprisingly one of the loudest seasons I have ever experienced. The TV features a different “breaking news” story every few minutes that seems even more urgent than the last. If you turn the TV off, your phone will keep dinging with new alerts. And if that feature is disabled, we still have a mind-numbing amount of information at our fingertips. Then there are the many artists, entertainers, and religious leaders who, with the best of intentions, are releasing an overwhelming amount of content to help us get through the crisis.

Is there any space in your life right now where you experience silence? Where you can slow your breathing and listen for what God might be saying? I’m discovering that I need more of those moments, just when the outside forces are conspiring to take them away. I will confess to losing the battle and over-consuming content too frequently. What about you?

The second half of this blog’s title is “take note.” Because in the midst of crises, God is always present and always wants to teach us something. Of course there are large-scale lessons (global, national) to be learned, but I’m more interested in the local and personal ones. What might God be saying about your church or ministry? About you and your leadership?

As you carve out the space to be silent and to listen, I invite you to literally take notes. What are you hearing from God? What changes do you need to make? Perhaps “going back to normal” isn’t what God wants for us. Capturing your reflections in some form (paper or electronic) makes it much more likely that you will remember and act on them when we get to the other side of this crisis.

I recognize the irony of this blog: I’ve created more content for you to consume. So put your device aside and create the space to listen and take note(s). I don’t know what you’ll hear, but I’m certain you’ll be glad you did. 

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