Sustaining the Spirit: The Emmaus Library Series

By William F. Gusey

This booklet is a personal guide to the ministry of The Walk to Emmaus for members of Emmaus teams. The board of directors should give each team member a copy of this guide before initial team meetings.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Upper Room Books
• Release date: Jan 1, 1992
• ISBN: 9780835811460

Book preview

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Sustaining the Spirit

Copyright © 1992 by Upper Room Books®. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher except in brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address The Upper Room®, 1908 Grand Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee 37212.

The Upper Room® Web site http://www.upperroom.org

UPPER ROOM®, UPPER ROOM BOOKS® and design logos are trademarks owned by The Upper Room®, a ministry of GBOD®, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations not otherwise identified are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-8358-1146-0 (ePub edition)

For more information about The Walk to Emmaus,

or to learn about other Emmaus resources

see www.upperroom.org/emmaus

or call the International Emmaus Office

at [phone] ext.7227 or [phone].

Contents

Preface

Spiritual Formation and the Ministry of the Laity

Spiritual Formation, the Ministry of the Laity, and the Walk to Emmaus

The Pilgrim’s Three Days

Sustaining the Spirit of the Walk to Emmaus

The Keys to the Ministry of Emmaus

Sustaining the Walk to Emmaus

In Closing

Preface

The Walk to Emmaus is a structured, disciplined ecumenical experience in spiritual renewal, operative both in the life of the individual and of the church. Because of its life-transforming potential, Emmaus calls for excellence in team preparation and performance. This excellence is manifest in the spirit of humility and servanthood that characterizes the ministry of Emmaus—the same spirit modeled in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. In order to sustain the spirit of Emmaus, team members must, first of all, be committed to personal spiritual growth. Second, they are called to remain faithful to the spirit and structure of the Walk to Emmaus that has been entrusted to them by obedience to the authority and direction under which the Walk to Emmaus is conducted.

You have been asked to be a member of an Emmaus team. Unquestionably, you are looking forward to joy, excitement, and spiritual renewal with both new and old friends in the Emmaus community. However, the role to which you are now called is unlike any other you may have had. Your selection, as well as your decision to serve as a team member, was undergirded by prayer. You are called to be an intercessor in a spiritual experience through which lives will be touched and changed. Your ministry as an Emmaus team member may be one of the most significant spiritual leadership opportunities of your life.

Adequately fulfilling this role involves a thorough understanding of the goals of the Emmaus weekend and a clear perception of its rhythm and dynamics. You will be called upon to sustain the character and spirit of Emmaus—to embrace and absorb your role with a keen awareness of and commitment to Christian servanthood. Sustaining the spirit of Emmaus requires your surrender to the presence and movement of the Holy Spirit. You, along with the other members of the Emmaus team, will serve as an instrument through which God can work mighty acts in the lives of the pilgrims. As an Emmaus team member, you do well to encourage one another as you seek to be formed spiritually into instruments of God. Only that mutual encouragement and personal surrender to Christ can ensure that it will indeed be the Holy Spirit, not the team, who reaches hearts during the Walk to Emmaus.

Over the next few weeks, seek to discover your inner self and where you may be on your spiritual journey. In