If you have been following along with me as we have been exploring faith of the head, heart, and hands, I appreciate your patience. I realize we have packed a lot of information into a very small space. I hope you have been able to take the time not only to read through the articles, but to re-read and think about whether you have primarily a faith of the head, heart, or hands and also about which of the three you tend most to neglect.
In Part 1, I wrote to you about loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and how that is reflected by the way we express our faith in God through our head, heart, and hands. For this reason, neglecting any one area of our faith will also result in neglecting to love God as we ought. Although your area of strongest faith expression will likely remain the strongest for you, I urge you to choose to nurture the other areas as well as an expression of your love of God.
The faith of the head is primarily nurtured through study of the Bible and theology (more than devotional reading), learning, and thoughtful discussion. The faith of the heart is primarily nurtured through worship, prayer, devotional time and other spiritual disciplines. The faith of the hands is primarily nurtured through giving proper attention to the head and heart and then putting ourselves in the right places to serve in areas of proclamation (witness or evangelism), or presence (acts of service, justice, and mercy).
As an individual, I urge you to seek opportunities to nurture all three areas of head, heart, and hands on a regular basis. As a member of the Body of Christ, look to your brothers and sisters: encourage those who are weak in the areas you are strong and help them to get involved in activities which will nurture them. Find accountability partners who will be willing to hold you accountable to nurture the areas you tend to neglect. As leaders and workers in ministry, consider your ministry from the perspective of head, heart, and hands and the opportunities it presents for those areas to be nurtured.
Pastor Cindy
[For more information, read Dennis P. Hollinger’s book, Head, Heart, & Hands: Bringing Together Christian Thought, Passion and Action. Downer’s Grove: InterVarsity Press. 2005.]
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