“Nothing to Do But Save Love Souls!”
The Stephen Ministry system of caregiving will distinguish between we, human, ministers as “caregivers” versus God as the “curegiver.” To borrow from St. Paul, we humans might plant the seed, we might pour water on an emerging plant, we might pull weeds. But, it is God who brings the growth and the fruit.
Related but distinct is Stephen Ministry’s distinguishing “results” (or “outcome”) goals from “process” goals. Realistically, we can plan to be about processes of caring, listening, “offering a cup of cold water” or a tissue, praying for others,… And we can succeed at doing these things. On the other hand, results’ goals (e.g., “they will feel better when I leave this meeting” or “they will see things my way” or any number of hopeful outcomes which are outside of our control): these we have no reasonable hope of fully achieving. Again, we humans might tend processes but results are ultimately in God’s hands.
These distinctions came to mind this week as I was remembering and prayerfully pondering John Wesley’s exhortation to early Methodists that “you have nothing to do but save souls!”
All fine and dandy, right? It’s fueled many a conservative evangelist in their mission to “save the lost.”
The question arises, though: isn’t saving souls God’s work… and God’s alone? Yes, we humans can plant seeds. Yes, we can tend processes. But, isn’t it God who brings the germination and growth. Isn’t God and God alone in control of the results and outcomes?
Better – indeed, entirely reasonable and attainable for us as caregivers in Christ – is our committing ourselves to a process in which “we have nothing to do but love souls.” Not just with mere words, mind you, but with heart and soul and presence and spirit – which together convey hospitality and non-judgmental openness and acceptance and a willingness to walk with all others in this wild journey of life and living.
Yes, we have nothing to do but love souls–
trusting in the ensuing growth and fruits that
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will inspire.
Don’t know about you.
But, that’s something I can do —
or, at least, reasonably work at, with God’s help!
Don’t know about you
but that is, I believe, a concept that
the Church and the World can LIVE with!