If you grew up Catholic (like I did) you probably heard the phrase, Leave room for the Holy Spirit. Honestly, I don’t remember if I actually heard someone say it to me or heard a joke about it. Either way, it’s generally about a nun giving dating instructions.
Well, that’s not the worst advice. (As the father of daughters, I embrace it!) However, I want to apply it a different way. Be sure that you leave room for the Holy Spirit between the plans, programs, and strategies of worship.
Leave room for the Holy Spirit
1. What I Do
It would be easy for me to lose touch—I’m largely a “motivational speaker living in a van down by the river.” It would be easy for me to become disconnected from local church issues and real people.
So I am intentional about carving out time and space for personal interaction with people I wouldn’t have time to get to know at a conference.
But, it is not just me—it is you as well.
2. Fast Listening
In order to keep myself aware of what’s going on outside of my normal circle, sometimes when I travel, I’ll tweet, “Hey, if you’re not crazy or angry, you can come meet me for dinner at such and such a time.”
If I’m in Orlando, I’ll have 20 people. If it’s Boston, I’ll have four people. But either way, I’ll sit there and learn.
Another thing I do regularly is tweet out, “If you need prayer, encouragement or advice, send me a direct message, and for the next two hours I will be calling people.” One night I had two hours while I was driving, so I made calls from 10 p.m. until midnight and just talked to people—about 15 to 20 individuals.
I prayed with them, and we talked. I get to hear someone’s story. They get to bounce stuff off of me. I learned some stuff from them. We connect spiritually. Everyone wins.
