Recently i was able to attend LifeServe Conference in CO. I traveled with my friend Doug Pollock author of his new book God Space. Almost every time we travel together God Space is created.
We drove up into the mountains, stopped on top over 12,000 feet, on a balmy 65 degree day. Breath taking view. We then headed down the mountain. We were on a mission looking for Elk.
At the bottom of the mountain we turned right onto a dirt road and noticed several parked cars. People were watching a small herd. The big boy was guarding his cows and the wanna be bucks were in the next field.
When we parked, we walked over to a small group of rocks and noticed 5 people. Two men were taking photos through long telephoto lenses.
Doug asked if he could have a look through the camera. After a few minutes of casual banter Doug mentioned that he had a elk head on his wall in his log home in Ohio.
The ladies exclaimed, 'You didn't shoot it did you!?'
Doug replied, 'Nope I'm an author and speaker and I received the trophy as part of my honorarium.'
One guy asked, 'What kind of books do you write?' Doug replied, 'I write books that help Christians share their faith with others in a non-belligerent manner. Have you ever known an obnoxious person who burns their bridges while attempting to share their faith?'
Another man instantly stated, 'Fred!, boy he does. He used to be a Catholic and for some reason went to a fundamentalist church and "met Jesus" he came home locked his wife in their bedroom and told her she was going to hell if she didn't change her faith. He's like that all the time now. No one wants to be around him.'
A discussion began. We discussed Catholic faith; how Fred should act; what true faith looks like etc. I mentioned I went to Catholic boarding school and prayed the Act of Contrition often. That the prayer is for really bad people.
One of the guys who was in the discussion pipped up. 'I write books for kids. I used to be a contractor and built children's hospitals and developed a heart for sick kids.
My books are unique, there are wild life photos, a place where kids can color and each book has a space where the kids parents or guardians can write the kids name in the story as they read the book. I read the book to a girl and she wanted it read over and over.
The goal of the book is to help kids through their hospital stay. I don't know why I write these books. I invested $10k of my own money.'
Doug then spoke to the man and said, 'The reason you are writing kid books is because the compassion of Jesus is in your heart and your are compelled to make a difference in kids lives.'
Doug calls this a God hunch. Just knowing in his knower this was what God wanted him to say.
The man begins to weep. Later, he gave us one of his books and thanked us for the conversation.
Turns out the man is a practicing Catholic.
The God Space conversation about how a Catholic turned fundamentalist now made sense. This author was on God's heart that day. Our natural friendly interaction with the small group created God Space where God things happened.
We commented we wish we could have filmed the flow of the interaction.
Clues to creating God Space.
Practice:
- Being a friendly open hearted person. Step out of yourself. Smile. Take an interest in people.
- Noticing. We noticed:: Elk, cameras, guys taking photos. A sense of God's leading.
- Allow the conversation to flow naturally.
- Ask good questions.
- Share your God hunch.(one ear listening to people, your heart listening to God's Spirit.)
By the way the other people who were in the group were from Hamilton Ohio and attended the Hamilton Vineyard.
What are the odds?
- We'd be at the right place at the right time.
- Two authors met.
- I, a Vineyard person would meet other Vineyard people in the middle of no where.
- A man was encouraged and was touched by the Holy Spirit.
It's creating God space where God things can happen.
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