Dnow- Stop and Listen

In planning for your dnow, and doing ministry in general, the big danger is that you get so busy that you fail to stop and listen to the needs around you.  While we are not exactly in the midst of planning our disciple now weekend, currently I got a small taste of this danger yesterday. Like most of us I am busy most of the time. But because we slowed down and had a Christmas party of sorts in our small groups I had the chance to really slow down and hang out with some students.  Thankfully, one student who usually comes on Sundays just for the worship service, decided to come to come to small group as well.  We got the opportunity to sit and chat and he began to pour his heart out about the incredible difficulties he was having.  I got an opportunity to listen and to mourn with him and to offer some encouragement and to let him know I was there. It broke my heart, not just that he was facing great trials, but also because I began to think of all the other students out there who were probably hurting as well.  How many other students were crossing my path weekly and daily, and because I was so busy I missed out on the opportunity to give them the love that they needed?  We have to find ways to slow down and be sensitive to what is going on around us. We have to do train our leaders to do the same thing.  It will not be easy for some of us, and some work may not get done, but if we are not doing the work of sharing love with our students who so greatly need it, then the everything else we do is meaningless.