Listening Hearts: Discerning Call in Community [Paperback]

Suzanne G. Farnham (Author), Joseph P. Gill (Author), R. Taylor McLean (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1991

Explores the themes of call, discernment, and community as they relate to each other. It asks us to listen to our hearts so that we may discover ourselves. This guides us on how we can remain faithful and accountable.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Suzanne G. Farnham is the founder of Listening Hearts Ministries and a popular speaker and retreat leader. Joseph P. Gill is a US attorney, active lay leader and trainer in Listening Hearts Ministries. R. Taylor Mclean is an active lay leader in Baltimore,MD and serves as president of the Listening Hearts Ministries board of trustees. Susan M. Ward is a former Listening Hearts trustee, who lives in Baltimore, where she is an active lay leader. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 143 pages
• Publisher: Morehouse Publishing (May 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0819215635
• ISBN-13: 978-0819215635
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 4.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #553,777 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful, prayerful, wise, and sober, December 14, 2000

By 

Douglas R. Briggs (Brentwood, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Listening Hearts: Discerning Call in Community (Paperback)

The issue of discernment, or attempting to understand God's will for us in our lives and the direction it should take, is one on which regrettably too little attention has been spent in the Church until recently. This book answers that dearth of material by presenting what proves to be both an emanently practical and highly instructive method and motive.

The method was developed in the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland with great assistance and input from members of the area Quaker community. The Society of Friends influence shows prominently, as the main focus of the process (and it is a process, as opposed to a goal in and of itself) is to discover and arrive at consensus regarding God's revealed will through reflective prayer rather than convince anyone of anything via cerebral justifications. For this group, the method became the first step in the ordination process, though they are quick to note that the method need not be limited to those seeking ordination, but rather can be used by anyone seeking a discernment of God's will for his or her life.

Listening Hearts is replete with quotations and an exhaustive bibliography. At the very least, it serves as a starting point for someone considering a time of discernment. The book is not discouraging of ordained vocations, but instead acknowledges that often discerners too quickly latch onto ordination as the only answer to a vocation in the Church. The method emphasizes prayer and heartfelt reflection as the main means of determining God's will, which is as it should be.

Those seeking a time of discernment should read this book for "the other side" of the discussion -- a viewpoint which urges caution, deliberatation, and openness to the multiplicity of God's purposes. It provides a strong balance, essential to any spiritual journey.

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for anyone discerning God's will in their life., March 4, 1999

By 

Jeff Fowler ([e-mail]) (Arlington, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Listening Hearts: Discerning Call in Community (Paperback)

The method used in creating this book is as moving and powerful as the material itself. The authors centered on prayer and meditation and worked with the Holy Spirit to create a book of sayings that ring true at every turn. But, the book is much more than a group of sayings. It lays out a path for discernment that begins with God, and leads through the self to the community. This path is clearly paved with the Holy Spirit and is ready for all who are willing to make themselves available to God's will.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book helped me, December 12, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Listening Hearts: Discerning Call in Community (Paperback)

I read this book about 10 years ago as I began to wrestle with questions of vocation. I felt called to ministry, possibly ordained ministry. I had far more questions than answers and didn't know where to begin.

Recommended by my pastor, this book gave me a vocabulary and suggested a process for listening to who God calls me to be. It also offered important advice on the benefits of listening in the context of community.

The book is accessible but rich. I found that individual chapters bear rereading at various times in my life. I attribute this to the prayerfulness of the authors, who used many of the discernment ideas they describe in the book to write the book itself.

The bibliography is a list of classics on Christian discernment and spirituality that have stood the test of time. Many of the books listed in the bibliography have become important parts of my journey as well.

I am glad I read the book and recommend it to others beginning or continuing their own discernment process.