The most
important mentors in my life have been extraordinary listeners. These were
people who often said very little, however, they gave me the space to share
stories of struggle or blessing without commentary or advice, unless of course I asked their opinion.
The past couple of months my church has challenged all parishioners with a ministry opportunity called the Kingdom Project. Everyone is given seed money to begin a project, with the goal of reaping more than what we were given. The scriptural connection is the Parable of the Talents, Matt 25.14-30.
My project was inspired by the Compassionate
Listening Project, which you can look up. The idea is to offer a listening ear to total strangers on a street corner.
The obvious goal is to practice listening to others, and making space in our
lives to do this with folks who we don’t know. This will take a
courageous bunch of folks, but I believe this is going to be a gift to all those
involved. The above shirts I purchased with my own resources, Are You Listening? If you want a t-shirt, I will send you one if the shipping isn't more than a couple bucks. All I ask is that you share your experience with me in writing.
