by Ann Smith
It’s an argument one often hears: I don’t have the temperament for contemplative practice—I’m a Type A personality. I like to get things done.
As spiritual directors and retreat leaders we know that it’s not either/or when speaking of contemplation or missions, but instead both/and. Out of our being flows our doing. As Thomas Kelly reminds us in A Testament of Devotion, we know that God never guides us into “an intolerable scramble of panting feverishness.”
Recently, I was part of a week-long mission team to El Salvador. In such a compressed schedule, and with two measurable goals, drilling a water well and teaching a set curriculum of hygiene lessons, it would have been easy to focus more on doing than being. Instead, each day was bookended with time to be still, journal and reflect, both individually and as a team.
We used a set of daily devotions that was broken into two parts, one for morning and one for the end of the day. With scripture to read and questions to answer, each member had to set aside time in the early morning to read and journal prior to gathering as a team for a group time of morning worship and devotion. A key verse from the day’s scripture became a theme that guided each member’s thinking throughout the day’s work.
Each evening at the mission house, we again gathered as a group, and shared our day’s experiences, particularly focusing on how we had seen our key verse embodied in our circumstances that day. Having a “mission” to be alert for the embodiment of scripture engaged even the most Type A members of the team, and prevented them from becoming so focused on the work that they missed the ways God might be revealing Godself to them.
On departure day, I challenged the team not to rush too quickly back into the world without taking the time to reflect on the week’s experience. Using the example of Holy Saturday I encouraged them to reflect on the discomfort that comes with the contrast between life at home and the life we experienced as part of a poor community. I challenged them to be open to how God might recreate them through their week on the mission field. Such a contemplative approach to missions makes it an act of spiritual formation.
(To read more of Ann’s writings, visit her blog: Out of My Heart.)