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    The Cycle of Grace: Living in Sacred Balance
    The Cycle of Grace: Living in Sacred Balance
    The Cycle of Grace: Living in Sacred Balance
    Ebook148 pages1 hour

    The Cycle of Grace: Living in Sacred Balance

    By Trevor Hudson and Jerry P. Haas

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    About this ebook

    Are you soul-weary? Do you struggle to make time for God in the midst of a packed schedule? Or do you sometimes stay so busy doing things for God that you can't relax and just "be"?

    Jesus faced amazing pressure and overwhelming demands throughout his ministry, but he did not experience the burnout so common today among Christian ministers and laypersons.

    You can learn the rhythm of living that Jesus demonstrates — the Cycle of Grace — throughout the Gospels. Use this workbook and accompanying video about the Cycle of Grace either individually or in a small group.

    The Cycle of Grace examines 4 components of a grace-filled life:

    • Acceptance
    • Sustenance
    • Significance
    • Fruitfulness

    Trevor Hudson, a dynamic pastor, author, and speaker, introduces each part of the Cycle of Grace in a short video segment (available on YouTube). The video segments are titled as follows:

    • Cycle of Grace 1: Acceptance
    • Cycle of Grace 2: Sustenance
    • Cycle of Grace 3: Significance
    • Cycle of Grace 4: Fruitfulness
    • Cycle of Grace 5: A Grace-filled Way to Live

    In the workbook Jerry Haas provides practical exercises for individuals and groups, complete with suggestions for journaling and preparing for group sessions.

    This 6-week study will help you

    • know that God loves you
    • nurture your spiritual life
    • understand who you are called to be in the world
    • learn how to restore balance to your life

    The workbook includes a Leader's Guide and several useful appendixes. A must-have resource for clergy and lay leaders, The Cycle of Grace is also an excellent text for seminary and college classes preparing students for ministry.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherUpper Room Books
    Release dateJan 1, 2013
    ISBN9780835812023
    The Cycle of Grace: Living in Sacred Balance
    Author

    Trevor Hudson

    Trevor Hudson has been in the Methodist ministry for the past thirty odd years, spending most of this time in and around Johannesburg, South Africa. Presently he is part of the pastoral team at Northfield Methodist Church in Benoni where he preaches and teaches on a weekly basis. He has written nine books, including A Mile in My Shoes and Listening to the Groans, which have recently been published in the U.S. Much of his ministry has been shaped by two passions: helping ordinary people experience the transforming presence and power of Jesus in their everyday lives and helping people build the kind of local faith community which seeks to take seriously the suffering of those around them. His interests include watching sports, walking and running, discovering new places, reading and writing.

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      Book preview

      The Cycle of Grace - Trevor Hudson

      cycleofgracetitlepg.jpg

      The Cycle of Grace

      Living in Sacred Balance

      © 2012 by Upper Room Books

      All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, write: Upper Room Books, 1908 Grand Avenue, Nashville, TN 37212.

      Upper Room®, Upper Room Books®, Companions in Ministry®, The Academy for Spiritual Formation®, and design logos are trademarks owned by The Upper Room®, a ministry of GBOD®, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.

      The Upper Room website: http://www.upperroom.org

      Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

      Scripture designated ap is the author’s paraphrase.

      Scripture designated NIV is taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

      Quotations designated UMH are taken from The United Methodist Hymnal (Nashville, TN: The United Methodist Publishing House, 1989).

      Citations for URWB designate the following resource: Upper Room Worshipbook (Nashville, TN: Upper Room Books, 2006).

      At the time of publication all Web sites referenced in this book were valid. However, due to the fluid nature of the Internet some addresses may have changed or the content may no longer be relevant.

      Cover design: Bruce Gore/Gorestudio.com

      Cover photo: iStock/Getty Images

      ISBN: 978-0-8358-1202-3 (ePub edition)

      To Debbie, my partner in marriage,

      Joni and Mark, our children,

      for helping me find a sacred balance in my life.

      —TREVOR

      dedicationdingbat.jpg

      To Donna, my loving spouse and spiritual friend

      (Song of Solomon 5:16),

      and Sister Paula Thompson, OSB,

      spiritual director and sign of God’s unconditional love.

      —JERRY

      CONTENTS

      PREFACE

      INTRODUCTION Trevor Hudson

      How to Use This Book

      ONE Burnout, Jesus, and Grace

      Journaling Suggestions + Preparation for Sharing the Journey

      TWO Sustaining Grace

      Journaling Suggestions + Preparation for Sharing the Journey

      THREE You Are a Sign

      Journaling Suggestions + Preparation for Sharing the Journey

      FOUR Fruitfulness and the Cycle of Works

      Part One: Fruitfulness

      Part Two: The Cycle of Works

      Journaling Suggestions + Preparation for Sharing the Journey

      FIVE A Grace-Filled Way to Live

      Journaling Suggestions + Preparation for Sharing the Journey

      SIX Congregational Vitality and the Cycle of Grace

      Journaling Suggestions + Preparation for Sharing the Journey

      Sharing the Journey

      SESSION OUTLINES

      Session One

      Session Two

      Session Three

      Session Four

      Session Five

      Session Six

      Notes

      APPENDIXES

      Appendix A Summary of Video Segments

      Appendix B Guidelines for Sharing

      Appendix C Congregational Assessment of the Fruit of the Spirit

      Appendix D Suggestions for Clergy Groups

      ABOUT THE AUTHORS

      PREFACE

      In 1983 Upper Room Ministries developed an in-depth program for clergy and laity called The Academy for Spiritual Formation. Seeking an ecumenical Christian spirituality, the program includes silence, worship, lectures, small groups, and covenant commitments. The Academy made a huge impact on me when I attended in 1992 while I was pastoring a congregation in Arizona. When I became Director of this ministry in 1999, I felt called to extend this ministry to other pastors. Thanks to a grant from the Lilly Endowment, Companions in Ministry (CiM) was launched, which ultimately led to the development of this book and video.

      The design team of CiM and I invited the Rev. Trevor Hudson from South Africa to come among us to offer his insights on pastoral ministry. Trevor brought the qualities we had been looking for: spiritual depth, commitment to social justice and inclusiveness, rich and delightful insights into what it means to serve as a pastor in a congregation today. Of all his excellent presentations, the one he offered on the Cycle of Grace resonated most clearly with the pastors in the program. On another occasion, clergy leaders in Arizona responded similarly to Trevor and to the Cycle of Grace. They formed a little red writing group to create materials for worship and Cycle of Grace groups, some of which is included here.

      I extend appropriate thanks to many people who helped shape and encourage the development of this resource: Robin Pippin, Jeannie Crawford-Lee, Carmen Gaud, Pamela Hawkins, and Stephen Bryant, Upper Room colleagues; Sharon Ragland, Cynthia Langston Kirk and the rest of the Little Red Writing Group; John Wimmer and the Lilly Endowment; Harry Leake and other staff from United Methodist Communications; Sarah Wilke, publisher of The Upper Room who introduces the video segments; and most especially Trevor Hudson, whose friendship and many trips to the United States have enriched us all.

      —JERRY P. HAAS

      Holy Week 2012

      INTRODUCTION

      For a number of years, as a Christ-follower and as a pastor, I lived the wrong way round. For reasons of which I am only partly aware, I struggled to believe that God really loved me. While I knew with my head all about the gospel of grace, the gap between my head and heart was vast. Deep down I felt that I needed to earn God’s grace. If I achieved enough in my work, then perhaps I could get God to like me. It was a disastrous way to live. I started out trying to be fruitful, so that I could be significant, hoping then to gain sustenance so that I might be accepted. Not surprisingly, very early in my ministry I found myself living on the edges of emotional burnout and spiritual exhaustion.

      Along the way, I received a treasure during my training in the early nineties with the UK-based Acorn Healing Trust in their Christian Listeners Training Program. There the Rev. Anne Long shared with us a simple model called the Cycle of Grace. Based on the Gospel explorations of a British psychiatrist by the name of Frank Lake and the well-known theologian Emil Brunner, this model described the balanced rhythms in which Jesus of Nazareth lived and ministered.* That gift-moment showed me that a more grace-filled way to live and minister existed.

      Over the years, the Cycle of Grace has become a good friend. Not only have my own life and ministry been shaped by its insights, I have enjoyed sharing it with colleagues in ministry whenever possible. Usually its uncomplicated wisdom strikes a deep responsive chord. Those who hear about it want to explore it with others. Thankfully, someone who valued the richness of the model was prepared to invest huge amounts of time, energy, and competence in order to make it more widely available. That person was Jerry Haas of Upper Room Ministries. This resource expresses his faithful commitment to the soul-care of all involved in the ministry of the local congregation.

      Jerry introduces the different dimensions of the Cycle of Grace so that you can either explore it on your own or with a small group. I have little doubt that you too will find it helpful. As I mentioned above, it has helped me to live the right way round. I would like to tell you how this happened for me. The Cycle of Grace, based on the life of Jesus, has four dimensions. It illustrates the continual resourcing of Jesus by the Spirit for Jesus’ ministry with and to others. Here are several dimensions that I found most helpful.

      The first dimension of the Cycle of Grace makes it obvious that the starting point for fruitful and effective ministry involves a clear sense of identity. This was Jesus’ starting point. His public mission began only after he gained assurance in his baptism that his heavenly parent delighted in him unconditionally. Furthermore, throughout each stage of his life and ministry, he needed a freshly confirmed knowledge of his own identity as Beloved of God. This inward assurance of being beloved by God set Jesus free to be his own person, to pour himself out in extravagant self-giving, and finally to lay his life down in complete surrender on the cross.

      I can still remember as I listened to Anne describe the Cycle of Grace how different my rhythms of

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