Ruth Haley Barton - Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry

I n October of 2004, I gave each of my colleagues at International Justice Mission two gifts: a blank leather journal with the words 8:30 Stillness embossed on the cover and a book by Ruth Haley Barton.

As an organization, we were experiencing incredible growth on a global scale. We were bringing rescue to victims of violent injustice in the most desperate places of suffering in our world, and we did so by working directly with local law enforcement and government officials to prove that justice for the poor is possible. We were witnessing miracles from the hand of God, and it was clear that the adventure had only just begun.

In the midst of this season of tremendous growth and change, I took a sabbatical with the intention of setting apart time to talk with God about what he was doing in our midst and where we were headed as we pursued his work of justice. As I emerged from my sabbatical, I shared with our team the conviction that had grown within me and presented my colleagues with the mysteriously named 8:30 Stillness journal and Ruths book.

I sensed that God desired for IJM to experience more of his presence and his power. But we were not yet ready to receive it.

As an organization, we had a regular rhythm of praying together every day at 11 a.m. And yet, all too often our work would veer into prayerless striving rather than expectant abiding. We longed for transformationin ourselves and in the lives of those we sought to serve. We longed to know more deeply the love of our good Father who leads us in transformation. And yet, we needed a more disciplined attentiveness that would ready us to receive more of Gods presence and power. We needed to learn to be still, to wait on the Lord, to simply be with him.

The gift of the journal and Ruths book Invitation to Solitude and Silence was a signpost of sorts, pointing us toward a new season. Perhaps more aptly it was a toolbox, equipping us for the journey into deeper readiness to experience Gods miracles of transformationboth in the world and our souls. With the blessing of our board of directors, beginning on that day when staff received their gift of the journal and book, 8:30 a.m. was declared to be the formal beginning of every IJM workday and also a time of complete stillness for alla time we simply call 8:30 Stillness.

Now imagine with me for a moment, a staff of high-performing lawyers, criminal investigators, social workers and professionals in Washington, DC, and offices across the developing world, rushing into the office to begin their day, faced with the task of fighting slavery, human trafficking, police abuse, and other forms of violent oppression. As these staff arrive at their desks, their first order of business is to stop. All phones are off. Laptops closed. No email. No meetings.

Just silence. Solitude. Stillness. For thirty minutes.

On any given day, stillness can be hard. Even awkward, frustrating. We come to each day like a jar of river water that has been shaken. The water is murky, impossible to see through. But as the jar sits stillunmovedthe silt and sediment begin to settle. Clearer waters emerge. So too, in the stillness that enables solitude and silence, the mud and mire of our souls begin to settle and clarity emerges. In solitude and silence, we become aware of the inner needs and desires that we bring to the day. Then we can talk to God, our good and loving Father, about what it is we actually need for that day, asking for his wisdom, his guidance, his grace to prevail.

I am utterly convinced that God works miracles of transformation in the world through miraculously transformed people. God is eager for us to be with him, to know his love and his goodness, even as he calls us to lead with great courage in the world around us. What we have learned is that the transformation we so long for comes when, whether we feel like it or not, we actually show up and choose to be still in the presence of our good God.

It doesnt matter who you are or what kind of work faces you on any given day; facing the demands that confront you and choosing to be still and wait on the Lord before rushing into action is a feat that only the Spirit of God can make possible. And yet the choice to pursue daily stillness has the potential to be, perhaps more than anything else, the very crucible for the world-altering transformation every Christ-following leader is longing for.

Ruth Haley Barton has dedicated her life to distilling the wisdom to be found within these spiritual disciplines that position us to be strengthened and renewed at the level of our souls. Her guidance has been indispensable in the body of Christ at large, but also in particular to my colleagues and me at IJM. Leaders at IJM have been well guided throughout many seasons by the companionship of this very book in your hands,