Mission with Prophetic Power: The Journal of John Woolman (SRSC 12)

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Mission with Prophetic Power: The Journal of John Woolman

John Woolman—and many other Christians—have used the practice of journal-keeping as a way of paying attention to God and just being with God. At the end of each day and week, I take a little time to listen to God speak to me about the day or week. I write down a few words, usually not more than a couple of sentences. I collect those sentences in a document. By the time a full year has ended and I read that document, I have a valuable record of what I have heard from the Holy Spirit. I consider those times of writing or reading my “journal” as times of being mentored by Jesus. Jesus is meeting with me like a leader to a follower, talking with me about my life. I would not trade those few words or minutes for anything. When Talking Is Tough Difficult conversations are simply part of human life, whether we follow Jesus or not. Think, for example, of our life and ministry in the body of Christ. A youth leader is too demanding and we know that we are the one to say something. A discussion about a sister or brother did not go well and now, due to a series of misunderstandings, people are hurt. We realize that we have serious disagreements with someone who holds a great deal of respect and authority in the denomination. There are times when we are obligated to—or should I say, “gifted by God” with the opportunity to—invest ourselves in some “tough talking.” By “tough” talking I do not mean times when we speak harshly or demanding. Rather I mean that sometimes our conversations are “tough” in the sense that emotions are present, the stakes