Hey there friend and colleague in the call,
 
How are you doing these days?  Don't you love it when someone asks that in passing or five minutes before service starts?!?  Perhaps your blood pressure elevated a bit just now or that question didn't elicit the best thoughts or emotions.  I'm sorry.  Do you know what I wish?  I wish we had more time to be together, just be and listen to one another (of course coffee is included in that equation).  We so desperately need one another, to listen and understand, to be heard and be understood.  I am too busy to go to spring retreat, but Liz and I are going and I'm looking forward to some life-giving conversations!
 
Since this is the season of Lent, allow me to confess (we are still a confessing people right?).  I am not as good of a listener as I want to believe I am.  Ouch, that hurts.  We are pastors, isn't that what we do, we listen?  I find it interesting that the "profession" of clergy has become more synonymous with preaching than anything else.  It's understandable, right, because that's when our work is most visible.  However, I have to believe it's not always been that way, perhaps at one point clergy were more known for our ability to listen and ask the right questions than our propensity to talk and give conveniently packaged answers.  I think this guy named Jesus operated that way.  I feel the need to qualify so I am not misunderstood in this age of not listening for intent but jumping to conclusions and witch hunts.  I am not disparaging preaching, not in the slightest, there I qualified!
 
Does this resonate at all?  Do we see the heightened sense of combative argumentation, misunderstandings, impatience, rash, and destructive anger, etc, etc?  For the love of everything good, would you consider joining me in fasting social media for Lent?  If not, please re-read your post or comments several times and pray over it before posting!  I will go out on a limb here and propose if there is a silver bullet then it's the act of listening and being fully present.  That is first with the Holy Spirit and then with one another, let's focus on the latter, shall we? (yes I just wanted to say shall).  I am not talking about some therapeutic technique, although those have their value.  I am talking about the kind of listening that creates holy, sacred space in between two image-bearers of God.  The kind of listening that becomes life-giving, Spirit-led and a healing balm for wounded, neglected, ran-over and weary souls on the journey.
 
Some of you already knew this was coming!  The author of James was concerned with how we as Christ-followers handle and respond to trials.  If it was James, the brother of Jesus, he had a front-row seat to how Jesus responded to trial and how he emoted with anger.  This is what the author is concerned about.  We can become "mature and complete, lacking in nothing," especially in trial and as the result of trial.  This is most evident in how we relate to others.  Here it comes, you knew it, James 1:19-22,

"You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger, for your anger does not produce God's righteousness.  Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.  But be doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves."

Isn't that interesting?  The way we are doers or hearers of the word comes through our sanctified willingness to listen to one another and not allow our anger to boil to a sinful rage.  Or in the church world, our anger slips out as sarcastic remarks, passive-aggressive moments or turning into keyboard warriors for Jesus.  All because we won't take the time to sit with one another in holy, sacred space and actually know someone and vulnerably be known.  When we are "quick to listen, slow to speak," we come to see the heart, motivations and struggles of another before we label or objectify them.  It's hard to be unrighteously angry with someone we listen to unless there are righteous reasons for our anger.  There can be times when anger is appropriate.  Listen to C. Jeanne Orjala Serrao, "to be quick to listen requires an ongoing commitment to hearing carefully and clearly what others are actually saying, explicitly and implicitly.  This requires hearing their words and sensing their underlying feelings.  Such listening requires slow and thoughtful reflection before people decide to speak in reply" (68).
 
You know what I also don't have time for...Come to the Table!  Yeah, that district event we keep getting annoying email reminders about.  Yes, now I feel shameful as if this was all a ruse!  I promise it's not!  Please hear my heart.  The reason your NDI Council, and I birthed this event was so that we could create holy, sacred space to come listen to one another.  We need one another.  The larger churches need the smaller ones.  The smaller ones need the larger ones.  The middle-sized ones, well, not sure what you need.  I'm kidding!  Everyone needs to come to the table, everyone's voice is powerful and needed.  Fellow pastor, would you please announce it this Sunday and encourage your folks to come?  Would you please come?  We also get to come and listen to our NYI/students!  Wow, we need to listen to those voices and they need to hear ours too.  It's on March 18th, you can register on the district website.  
 
Go be listeners for Jesus!
 
Love, 
Nate Gray
 
Serrao, C Jeanne Orjala. New Beacon Bible Commentary: James: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. Beacon Hill Press, 2010.