Through the Flaming Sword

One of the things I like about the Friends Incubator for Public Ministry, which I posted about on July 27, is its focus on the relationship between the minister and her or his meeting.  In particular, both the minister and  her or his meeting participate in the fellowship program they are sponsoring.

As an aid for applicants to prepare for their interviews, the Incubator has put together a great set of queries.

I found them very well thought out and extremely useful in helping me reflect on my own ministries. I’ve listed them below, with omissions and revisions to make them more general in scope, more useful to ministers and whatever committee in their meeting has care of ministry (if there is one), and less specific to the Incubator’s needs in the fellowship discernment process. (A few days ago, they already had forty applicants for five fellowships.)

I offer these queries in the hope that others will find them useful, too, and that meetings will feel led to consider how they support their ministers:

Discernment & Leadings

• What is your sense of leading or call?
• How do you know when something is truly a spiritual leading? 
• Are there specific ministries, concerns, or experiments that are newly unfolding for you?

Support & Accountability

• Has your meeting helped to test or support your leading or call ? If so, how? If not, do you know why?
• Who has offered you eldering or accompaniment in recent years? What has that looked like?
• What kinds of support do you hope for in your meeting?
• What is the spiritual and relational climate in your meeting right now?
• How do dynamics like conflict, trauma, or trust (or lack of it) shape your ability to move forward in ministry—personally or communally?