Hi dear friends, greetings to all. I would like to share with you some thoughts about spiritual leadership, that could be helpful to understand what it truly means to be an Urantia Book leader and teacher:
Understanding what it truly means to be an Urantia Book leader and teacher
Hi dear friends, greetings to all. I would like to share with you some thoughts about spiritual leadership, that could be helpful to understand what it truly means to be an Urantia Book leader and teacher:
The Urantia Book speaks about effective and wise leadership in civilization, nation life, society and culture, to material success, etc. But spiritual leadership is clearly something different, and it is what the Urantia movement needs most. It requires "faith, love, and devotion to truth—hunger and thirst for righteousness—the wholehearted desire to find God and to be like him." The Urantia Book, 156:5.7
Says the Urantia Papers: RELIGION does need NEW LEADERS, SPIRITUAL men and women who will dare to depend SOLELY on Jesus and his incomparable teachings. If Christianity persists in neglecting its spiritual mission while it continues to busy itself with social and material problems, the spiritual renaissance must await the coming of THESE NEW TEACHERS of Jesus’ religion who will be exclusively devoted to the spiritual regeneration of men. And then will these spirit-born souls quickly supply the leadership and inspiration requisite for the social, moral, economic, and political reorganization of the world. 195:9.4 (2082.9)
Friends, please observe: The revelator is not talking about social leaders. The revelator said that THE NEW RELIGION LEADERS WILL BE THE NEW TEACHERS, they must be spiritualized men and women. Then, there cannot be any Urantia Book related leadership if there are no profound KNOWLEDGE AND TRUE PRACTICE of the religious life of Jesus and the revelator's teachings (spiritual = spirit-born men and women that live the religion of the spirit, based on true worship and service).
Why is the leadership established by Jesus and the revelators in the matters related to the spiritual brotherhood spiritual? Because it consists in guiding others into the kingdom, and to do it we must walk in the clear light of living truth. Living truth only can be known experientially within ourselves, in the spiritual communion with the Father, but we need also to have a clear understanding of the revealed truth.
The second part of the paragraph, “… who will be exclusively devoted to the spiritual regeneration of men. And then will these spirit-born souls quickly supply the leadership and inspiration requisite for the social, moral, economic, and political reorganization of the world” refers to the human beings spiritually regenerated by the work of the leader-teachers as “these spirit-born souls” who will “quickly supply the leadership and inspiration requisite for the social, moral, economic, and political reorganization of the world.”
The leader-teachers “will be exclusively devoted to the spiritual regeneration of men”, they will not be devoted to reorganize the world. The social, moral, economic and political reorganization of the world will be a natural consequence of the inner personal religious experience of the believer soul in the communion with God, the spiritual transformation.
181:2.16 (1958.3) "When the Master had finished speaking to James Zebedee, he stepped around to the end of the table where Andrew sat and, looking his faithful helper in the eyes, said: “Andrew, … In my universe and in my Father’s universe of universes, our brethren-sons are dealt with as individuals in all their spiritual relations, but in all group relationships we unfailingly provide for definite leadership. Our kingdom is a realm of order, and where two or more will creatures act in co-operation, there is always provided the authority of leadership."
The Master was not speaking about social leadership. He was talking about the leadership in the group relationships within the divine kingdom, the spiritual brotherhood. To be a leader in the spiritual relations of the Father's kingdom implies to be also a teacher, both things are inseparable. To be a leader in the Father’s kingdom means to guide our siblings to the kingdom and continue guiding them in the path of the personal and spiritual growth. To do this we must be able to: know, understand, live and teach the revelation. There is only one way that these leaders-teachers can arise, it is depending solely on Jesus and his incomparable teachings, living the religion of the spirit, studying the truth, spiritualizing themselves and teaching the living truth to their siblings. Then will this person, fully dedicated to do the will of the Father, receive from Michael and/or the Father the authority of leadership. Spiritual leadership, thus becoming the new human teachers of truth by the very lives they live.
It is impossible to do spiritual work without spiritual power, because only the spirit-born human beings have the Spirit of Truth in their souls. Jesus said …”this Spirit of Truth will become your power-multiplying fulcrum.” 178:1.6 (1930.3)
“…Salvation is the free gift of God, but those who are born of the spirit will immediately begin to show forth the fruits of the spirit in loving service to their fellow creatures… IF PROFESSED BELIEVERS BEAR NOT THESE FRUITS OF THE DIVINE SPIRIT IN THEIR LIVES, THEY ARE DEAD; THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH IS NOT IN THEM; they are useless branches on the living vine, and they soon will be taken away." 193:2.2 (2054.3)
156:5.2 (1738.1) …: “In order TO YIELD THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT, YOU MUST BE BORN OF THE SPIRIT. You must be taught by the spirit and be led by the spirit if you would live the spirit-filled life among your fellows. …”
In this way grows the spiritual brotherhood and the revelation triumphs, through the true spiritual leaders attracting the seekers of the divine truth that yearn for God, guiding them to the kingdom of the Father, because they live a truth-coordinated life and show forth the fruits. The spiritual brotherhood leadership is based on the knowledge of the living truth and in the real experience of the conscious contact with God, which bears the transforming fruits of the spirit.
This allows us to have a controlled, directed, and constructive inner life, through our conscious elevation to the worshipful contact in the superconsciousness, by which the spiritual and divine concepts and values can be brought to the human consciousness level, manifesting the divine spiritual fruits to our siblings. This spiritual growth bears witness that God reigns in the heart of the leader-teacher or believer, God having already idealized, ennobled, and spiritualized them.
So, when the revelator says in the Mandate “leaders and teachers,” he is talking about only ONE kind of server. The souls born of the spirit, thanks to the efforts of the leader-teachers service, will “quickly supply the leadership and inspiration requisite for the social, moral, economic, and political reorganization of the world” because these outcomes of Jesus’ religion are “the natural outworking of this inner experience of the soul as it manifests the fruits of the spirit in the spontaneous daily ministry of genuine personal religious experience.” 140:10.6 (1585.4)
The human institutions cannot be transformed by a simple act of the human will. They can be transformed by human beings spiritualized and really guided by God in the spontaneous daily ministry of a genuine personal religious experience. Spontaneous means to seek the communion with God with an open heart, with hunger for truth and thirst for righteousness, longing sincerely to be like God. This ministry implies to nourish daily the soul in the inner experience of meditating on - praying to – and worshiping the Father, and manifesting the spiritual fruits in our daily services to our siblings.
16:6.8 (192.4) 3. Worship — the spiritual domain of the reality of religious experience, the personal realization of divine fellowship, the recognition of spirit values, the assurance of eternal survival, the ascent from the status of servants of God to the joy and liberty of the sons of God. This is the highest insight of the cosmic mind, the reverential and worshipful form of the cosmic discrimination.
God bless you all. Your sister, Jeannie Vázquez de Abreu.
