Sacred Listening and Non-judgment

Trust is earned not a given.

Note: This is a cross-post from the Contemplation for Young Creatives substack run by Future of Faith Ministry Practitioner Kris Jordan.  Click the link below for the full article and to subscribe to the Contemplation for Young Creatives substack.

Gone are the days when trust is automatic, and youth spaces are filled to the brim because it is the “Social” thing to do. Young people have vibrant online and digital lives even among their peers with whom they are in close proximity. This rich digital world, over-scheduled youth and families, and a lack of desire to blindly trust institutions leave us with a creative problem to solve in ways that might seem outside the norm. This is where sacred listening can come in play alongside training youth workers and ministers to listen actively without applying judgments to what we hear.

Recent research has highlighted the need for a spirituality of youth ministry that emphasizes not just the transmission of doctrine, but the creation of sacred spaces where young people can encounter the divine in a profound and transformative way. Sacred Listening, a practice framed through three key components—Imago Dei, Alignment, and Pattern Recognition—which together form the bedrock of relational ministry in a low-trust environment.

Read More at https://contemplation4youngcreatives.substack.com/p/sacred-listening-and-non-judgment