7 Reasons Your Students Aren’t Sharing Their Faith- by Greg Stier

1. Because you’re doing it for them.

Think “outreach” in youth ministry, and we automatically think “event.” The words go together like “dodge” and “ball.” The challenge is that our teenagers themselves are our biggest outreach “event.” Because the average teenager has around 400 online and face-to-face friends, they must be inspired, equipped and unleashed to engage them in Gospel conversations.

Think about that for a moment, the average teenager has more friends than the average youth room can hold! But we have an almost irrepressible appetite for doing outreach events instead of mobilizing our teenagers to be the outreach event.

To make the switch we must turn from quarterbacks to coaches. Instead of just, “Hey kids bring your friends out and watch me throw the touchdown throw of salvation in their lives,” we must equip them to bring the “J” word up with their own peers. Of course, outreach events are fine and good and needed from time to time. But if they are replacing, rather than enhancing, our teenagers’ personal evangelism efforts then they are limiting our true outreach effectiveness.

2. They don’t understand the urgency.

When’s the last time you talked about the reality of hell with your teenagers? Yes, that’s right, hell. Of the 12 times the word “hell” is mentioned in the New Testament, 11 are mentioned by Jesus himself. Perhaps the scariest story in all of the Bible is the story of the rich man and Lazarus. In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus paints a picture of eternity in hell in terrifying colors.

Was he using scare tactics? Of course he was! In the same way a dad uses scare tactics on his 4-year-old child who is chasing a ball toward a busy street at rush hour. It’s out of love that Jesus “scares” us with what is at stake for those who are lost.

And, of course, we want to motivate teenagers to share the good news of Jesus to their lost friends not just because of the hell they are headed to but because of the “hell” they are going through apart from Jesus Christ. Jesus himself was clearly motivated by this himself in Matthew 9:36:“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

3. It’s not a true priority in your youth ministry.

I’ll never forget getting a personal tour of a multimillion dollar nonprofit Christian ministry and asking the tour guide an awkward question. On a plaque, this ministry had listed their values and priorities for all who entered their building to see. The first one was evangelism. I simply asked the tour guide which of their many divisions were focused on evangelism and how it was being fleshed out on a grass-roots level. She looked at me dumbfounded (as the other ministry leaders who were with me cringed). Evangelism was a plaque priority but not a real priority in this ministry.

The same is true in many churches and youth ministries. D.L. Moody used to say that he could tell more about a man’s priorities by his checkbook than his prayerbook. Why? Because we put our money where our heart is! I say that I can tell more about a youth ministry’s priorities when it comes to evangelism by its Wednesday night program rundown than any clever missional slogan (“to know him and make him known,” etc.) on their ministry flyer or website page.

If evangelism is truly a priority then are youth leaders will be scheduling time for evangelism training on their calendars and in their weekly meetings? Are you carving out time to have teenagers share stories (good, bad and ugly) about gospel conversations they are currently engaged in? Are you taking the time to give the gospel just in case any unreached teens showed up that week?

Youth leaders schedule time for games, announcements, teaching, worship and even snacks on a weekly basis. Are you also scheduling time for the advancement of the most important message on the planet (aka “the Gospel“)?

4. They don’t know how to bring it up.
If teenagers don’t know how to bring up the gospel to their friends, they probably won’t. If their friend says, “It’s hot in here,” and they respond, “It’s hot in hell too,”that’s probably not the best strategy. Teenagers must be equipped to naturally engage their friends by asking questions and listening. The free Dare 2 Share app has a simple strategy we use called “Ask, Admire, Admit” on the “How 2 Share” segment than can be very effective in equipping teenagers to bring the good news up with their peers.

We also have developed high-quality, beautifully illustrated outreach books that youth leaders can receive free of charge on Share6campaign.com. Over 260,000 of these books are being used across the nation to help teenagers engage in Gospel conversations. Teenagers simply write a note in the front of the book, hand it to their friend, ask them to read it and then to talk with them about it afterward. A brilliant and simple plan for teenagers to bring the gospel up with their friends.

5. It’s not being modeled by your leaders (and, yes, that includes you).

Share the Gospel. Have your leaders do the same. Set the pace as leaders. Enough said.

6. They suffer from a lack of Gospel fluency.

Could your teenagers pass the microphone test? If I put a microphone up to their face as they were leaving youth group and said, “You have two minutes to explain the gospel message to me,” could they do it in a clear and comprehensive enough way for a lost person to understand the good news? If not then your teenagers are not fluent enough in the gospel message.

A few years back, Propaganda (Jason Petty) and yours truly did a youth group curriculum video series called Life in 6 Words: The Gospel Explored that is designed to build your teenagers’ gospel fluency. Get it and use it. When you’re finished your teenagers should be able to pass the microphone test.

7. Not enough intercessory prayer.

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:1-4

Is intercessory prayer for the lost a “first of all” level priority in your youth ministry? As someone once said, “We must learn to talk to God about men before we talk to men about God.”

If every week in youth group you set aside some time for intercessory prayer for the salvation of the unreached teenagers in your community, God’s unquenchable love for the lost will begin to marinate into the souls of your teenagers. As they yield to the person of the Spirit in prayer, they will also yield to the passion of the Spirit in evangelism.

These seven obstacles to your teenagers sharing their faith can be removed if you are willing to prayerfully and persistently make evangelism a youth-group wide priority as well as one in your own life.

So let’s get cracking!  

Ritualists' den owned by a pastor uncovered in Lagos, 8 kidnapped victims rescued

A ritualist den owned by one pastor Ernest Nwankwo, the General Overseer of Holy Family Ministry a.k.a House of Mercy was yesterday June 25th uncovered at Ogolonto area in Ikorodu, Lagos, with 8 victims rescued. According to Vanguard, the den was discovered after a failed attempt by a woman identified as Mrs Rosemary Chu
kwu, a member of Pastor Nwankwo's church, to kidnap her neighbor's 7 year old son, Emeka Emmanuel to the den for rituals. Sources in the area said around 6.30 am yesterday, Mrs Chukwu lured the little boy who was on his way to fetch water from a well down the road and took him to her house where she locked him in the toilet. To keep her neighbors from hearing the little boy's screams for help, Chukwu then instructed her own children to begin a prayer session which they did, shouting on top of their voices. Continue... Trouble however started when the boy's mother who stays four buildings from Mrs Chukwu raised alarm after she could not find her son. A search for the young boy began which Mrs Chukwu also partook in. Minutes into the search, Mrs Chukwu was said to have excused herself, went into her house and then came out with a box on her head, saying she was travelling. Suspecting foul play, some of the area boys instructed her to put down the suitcase which was opened and the unconscious body of the 7 year old boy was discovered. A resident of the area, Oyetoye Gbemi who spoke with Vanguard said the area boys descended on her and she confessed it was her pastor who sent her "She told us she was travelling to the village. But one of the area boys who was among the search party, ordered his colleagues to search the box. Immediately she heard that, she flung the box away and took to her heels. We all suspected something was amiss. When the box was opened, Emmanuel was found inside, half dead. The area boys descended on her and stripped her naked. On interrogation, she said her pastor, the General Overseer of Holy Family Ministry a.k.a House of Mercy, asked her to bring the boy. The area boys followed her to 319, Lagos Road, Ikorodu, where the church is situated, where they saw her pastor waiting for her. But on sighting the crowd, he took to his heels. But for the arrival of Policemen from Owutu division, the woman would have been lynched. The angry mob also attempted to set the church ablaze but were also prevented by the policemen. They, however, succeeded in torching some parts of the property." he said In the process of chasing the fleeing Pastor and burning some part of the church building, area boys forced open a door to a building at 7, Oshodi Street, which was directly at the back of the church building and owned by Pastor Ernest. To everyone's amazement, men and women, eight in number, chained and looking frail were found in the building. The captives upon interrogation said they were kidnapped from various places like Ogun, Anambra, Bayelsa and Oyo states. One of the captives, a 50 year old woman said she was kidnapped while returning from a night vigil. One of the rescued victim, 52 year old man pictured above without a shirt said he was a commercial bus driver and was kidnapped two years ago. Residents in the area said the building owned by the pastor had always been under suspicion as no one ever saw anyone coming out or going in during the day. They said most of the activities carried out in the building is usually done at night. Police sources confirmed the arrest of Mrs Chukwu while her pastor is currently on the run.

Solving Problems by Looking at What's Going Right

Appreciative Inquiry

Solving Problems by Looking at What's Going Right

© iStockphoto/Yuri_Accurs

Imagine that your organization's order book is full, and you're desperate to expand your business – but you just can't find the staff you need. What's worse, cash is tight, your recruitment budget is stretched to breaking point, and you strongly suspect that some of the approaches you're using just aren't working.
One approach here is to focus on the things that aren't working and think about how you can fix them. This is the conventional approach to problem-solving. In many cases, it's the right one to use. However, in others, all it does is bring you up to the same bland level as everyone else.
Another approach is to shift to a positive perspective, look at the things that are working, and build on them. In some situations, this can be very powerful because, by focusing on positives, you can build the unique strengths which bring real success.
This is the premise behind "Appreciative Inquiry", a method of problem-solving that was pioneered by David Cooperrider of Case Western Reserve University in the mid-1980s.
To understand the basis of Appreciative Inquiry it is useful to look at the meaning of the two words in context.

• Appreciation means to recognize and value the contributions or attributes of things and people around us.
• Inquiry means to explore and discover, in the spirit of seeking to better understand, and being open to new possibilities.

When combined, this means that by appreciating what is good and valuable in the present situation, we can discover and learn about ways to effect positive change for the future.

Using Appreciative Inquiry: The 5D Approach

To apply Appreciative Inquiry to a problem-solving situation, it's important to focus on positives. A positive energy approach helps you build on your strengths, just as conventional problem-solving can help you manage or eliminate your weaknesses.
The first step of the process is to identify and describe the problem you're trying to solve. From there you go on to look at the issue in four phases: Discovery, Dream, Design and Deliver. This approach is described in the 5 steps below.

Tip 1:

Appreciative Inquiry is often explained using four Ds: "Discovery", "Dream", "Design" and "Deliver"/"Destiny". We like to put a fifth D ("Define") in as the first step.

Step 1. "Define" the Problem

Before you can analyze a situation, you need to define what it is you are looking at.
And, just as your decision to look at the positives will move you in a positive direction, defining your topic positively will help you look at its positive aspects. So, rather than seeking "Ways to Fix Recruitment Problems", for example, you'll choose "Ways to Accelerate Recruitment." This subtle change in wording can have huge implications for what you focus on.
Also, make sure that your topic does not unduly constrain you: You want to explore many possibilities and avenues for change so keep your topic broad.

Step 2. "Discovery" Phase

Here you need to look for the best of what has happened in the past, and what is currently working well. Involve as many people as sensibly possible, and design your questions to get people talking and telling stories about what they find is most valuable (or appreciated), and what works particularly well.
Using the example from the first stage, a good way to do this would be to get new recruits to interview one another, focusing on getting to the core of what they liked about the job before they joined, and what they've enjoyed about the organization since joining. In this situation, the following might be good discovery questions:

• When you think back to when you decided to join the company, what was the thing that most attracted you?
• Tell me a story about a time when you were very enthusiastic about your work.
• What do you think is most important for success at the company?
• Tell me about the time you felt proudest of the company.

Another approach to solving this problem could be to look at the different approaches you use to recruit people and identify the ones that bring the greatest volume of good recruits.
When you've gathered enough raw information, you need to analyze the data and identify the factors that most contributed to the team or organization's past successes. What is most valued? What did people find most motivating or fun? What instills the greatest pride? And so on.

Step 3. "Dream" Phase

In this phase, you and your team dream of "what might be". Think about how you can take the positives you identified in the Discovery phase, and reinforce them to build real strengths.
The way forward may be obvious from the results of the Discovery Phase. If it's not, a useful approach is to bring a diverse group of stakeholders together and brainstorm creative and innovative ideas of what the organization and team could accomplish.
In our example, you might choose to enhance and build the good points that everyone likes about the organization, and use this as a strong message to attract potential candidates during the recruitment process. You may also stop doing the things that aren't working, and use the money saved to reinforce the things that are.
Once you have agreed upon your dream or vision, you can take it to the Design phase.

Step 4. "Design" Phase

Building on the Dream, this phase looks at the practicalities needed to support the vision. Here you start to drill down the types of systems, processes, and strategies that will enable the dream to be realized.

Step 5. "Deliver" Phase

Sometimes called the Destiny phase, the last of the Ds is the implementation phase and it requires a great deal of planning and preparation. The key to successful delivery is ensuring that the Dream (vision) is the focal point. While the various parts of the team will typically have their own processes to complete, the overall result is a raft of changes that occur simultaneously throughout the organization, that all serve to support and sustain the dream.

Tip 2:

The real strength of this technique comes from steps 1 and 2. Steps 3 to 5 are just standard implementation steps. If you have your own preferred approach for implementation, use this.

Tip 3:

In this article, we're looking at Appreciative Inquiry as a problem-solving technique. You can also use it powerfully either as an organizational strategy tool or for personal development. In these contexts, you can simply focus on what you do well, and divert your efforts towards this, and away from the things you're not good at.

Key Points

When faced with your next challenge or problem, take a step back and look at if from the standpoint of what is good and is currently working well. This positive perspective brings about a whole new set of positive solutions you and your team may not have previously discovered. Use this process to get your organization looking at itself in unique and positive ways.
The Deliver phase of the cycle is not so much an end but a place to start to re-evaluate and continue the process of Appreciative Inquiry to continuously improve. Once you embrace the idea of positive change you can apply the cycle over and over again to various aspects of your team or organization, and enjoy the positive outcomes that positive thinking brings.

Leadership by the New Generation

Bridging the Age Gap

Different generations, different approaches?

© iStockphoto

Picture this scenario: the leader of your long-established team has retired, and his replacement is a young manager, straight out of business school.

She's anxious to get going in the organization, and you hope that she'll bring some new life and energy into the company.

As the weeks go by, however, you begin to see growing discomfort and conflict between the older staff and this new team member.

Your older colleagues think "the new kid" is overconfident, pushy, and too anxious to leave at precisely 5:00 p.m. The newcomer finds it hard to get support from her older colleagues. She's concerned that they can't (or won't) multitask, they're less confident with technology, and they're unwilling to share their hard-earned knowledge. As a result, cooperation is suffering.

How can you bridge this generation gap? And why is this important?

There's little doubt that the U.S. workforce is at a unique point in history (other countries face similar situations). As "Baby Boomers" – people born between 1946 and 1964 – begin to retire, a new generation is stepping into their shoes.

Generation X, or Gen X (born between 1965 and 1976), and Generation Y, or Gen Y (also called "Millennial," born between 1977 and 1998), have values and work styles that are completely different from the baby boomers. Finding ways to bridge the gaps within this new multigenerational workforce takes great skill – and it all starts with understanding how new generation leaders think, and what's important to them.

In the U.S., the drop in birth rate in the post baby boom years means that, by 2010, the number of people in the 35-44 middle management age group had dropped by nearly 20 percent. Many other major economies worldwide are facing similar demographic changes. One practical consequence of these statistics is that organizations have to work much harder to attract and retain good people.

New generation leaders are a scarce commodity and should be nurtured as such.

Generations X and Y: What They Care About

The new generations of leaders often have a completely different way of working from their older counterparts. (Keep in mind that not everyone in these generations fits the characteristics we'll talk about: we're going to make some huge generalizations here, however, hopefully these generalizations will be useful!)

For example, while boomers usually view long hours as evidence of loyalty and hard work, Gen X and Y tend to try to have more work/life balance. They've seen their parents' lack of quality of life, and the lack of loyalty companies showed to these hard-working parents in the 1990s, and they're not impressed.

They want flexible hours, more vacation time, continuous training, and telecommuting options. They expect to leverage technology to work efficiently, instead of staying late in the office to get everything done.

Boomers have traditionally felt that you have to "pay your dues" to your company – and if you hate your job, that's just part of life. Generations X and Y typically don't accept this; they want rewarding, intellectually stimulating work – and they don't want someone watching them too closely to check on their progress. These new groups are independent, creative, and forward-thinking. They celebrate cultural diversity, technology, and feedback, and they prefer more of a "lattice" or individualized approach to management (as opposed to the traditional "corporate ladder").

The new generations also tend to like teamwork. Studies have shown that colleague relationships rank very high on Gen X and Y's list of priorities. Things like salary and prestige can often rank lower than boomers might expect, or might want for themselves.

Note:

Some people argue that differences between generations aren't as strong as are suggested here, and that people's life stage is often more significant (see our article on the Life/Career Rainbow   for more on this.)

Our opinion is that people are complex, and are affected by a range of different factors; and that life stage is, of course, important in the way that people think and behave. However, we also think that there are differences in attitude between generations, and these can lead to sometimes-profound misunderstandings.

Attracting and Retaining the New Generations

Many have talked about how Gen X and Y seem always ready to leave one company and move onto something better, as soon as there's an opportunity. While it's true that they usually won't stay with a job if they're unhappy – as boomers often did – this doesn't mean they aren't serious or loyal.

It simply means that if you want to keep the best and brightest leaders in your organization, you need to offer them an environment that's geared to their values.

Quite a few Fortune 500 companies have changed the way they work to meet the wants and values of these new generations. Here are some examples:

• A major U.S. chemical company has eliminated its "corporate ladder" approach to management. There are no bosses, and there's no top and bottom in the chain of command. Instead, authority is passed around through team leaders, so everyone in the company has a sense of equality and involvement.
• A large U.S. accounting firm gives four weeks of vacation to every new hire (most U.S. companies offer only two weeks). This firm also offers new parents classes on how to reduce their working hours to spend more time with their families.
• A software company in Silicon Valley has no set office hours. Staff come in and work when they choose. Everyone gets paid time off every month to do volunteer work, and they get a six-week sabbatical every four years.

If you think these dramatic policies would never work and would be too costly, then remember – these are all profitable, highly productive companies with low staff turnover. They've made new rules, and they're successful.

Leadership Styles

So, what does all this say about the new generation's leadership styles? Well, it's easy to see that Gen X and Y are unlikely to lead in the same way the boomers did.

The new leaders value teamwork and open communication. They'll encourage collaboration, and they won't give direction and expect to be followed just because they're in charge. They want to understand their peers and other people's perspectives.

They'll spend more time building relationships with their teams than their predecessors did. Because they value their family time, they'll also give their staff enough time for personal lives. As a result, corporate culture might become less rigid than it is now, bringing more flexibility and a sense of fun.

As a result, if you're a member of a team whose leadership is being passed from an older generation leader to a new generation leader, you'll probably need to adjust to having more autonomy delegated to you, and you may find that the boss is not around as much to check on things.

This new generation values action, so they'll work more efficiently and productively to earn time off. They'll expect their team to work hard too, but they'll also know when it's time to leave the office and go play. One of the ways in which they gain this efficiency is by using technology. Although they themselves will usually get to grips with this easily, you may need to remind new generation leaders that other members of their team need more training and support than they do themselves, if they're to get up to the same speed with new applications.

But they'll also follow a leader who has heart. So if you have new generation managers in your team, then you'll probably have to prove your worth before they'll fully support you. But once you show them that worth, they'll follow you all the way.

Tips:

Here are some things you can do in your company to ensure that your new generation of leaders wants to stay.

• Offer ongoing training, especially in skills like organization, time management, leadership, and communication. People in Gen X and Y usually love to learn new things, so opportunities to grow are high on their list of priorities.
• Increase non-monetary benefits. Gen X and Y tend to value time as much as, if not more than, money. They have lives outside of work, and spending time with family and having fun are very important to them. Increase your vacation benefits and offer flexible working hours. These people are often busy parents who appreciate when a company understands that the traditional 9-to-5 day isn't always practical.
• Give them freedom. Gen X and Y are often self-reliant and don't always look to a leader for direction. Their goal is to complete tasks in the most efficient way possible, while still doing them well. So don't force them to work under a management style that boomers often preferred, with the boss giving orders. Give them the freedom to make their own decisions.
• Earn their loyalty and respect. Gen X and Y may not automatically be loyal to leaders, just because those leaders are in charge. Younger staff want open communication and leaders who are supportive and worthy of being followed.
• Treat women and men as equals. Gen X and Y grew up with mothers who were often focused on their careers as well as their families. They're used to viewing women and men equally, so be sure you compensate both genders equally. If women feel they're the target of discrimination, you'll quickly lose them.
• Be "green." The new generations have grown up with Earth Day and the threat of global warming. They want to make less of an impact on the environment. Studies have shown that people who work for companies with green initiatives have higher job satisfaction, and turnover is usually much lower.

Not all about tongues

Pentecostals often mix up 'praying in the Spirit' with 'praying with the spirit'. Note the lower caps in the latter 'spirit'. Compare 1 Corinthians 14:15 with Ephesians 6:18.  The Greek word or phrase translated “pray in” can have several different meanings. It can mean “by means of,” “with the help of,” “in the sphere of,” and “in connection to.” Praying in the Spirit does not refer to the words we are saying. Rather, it refers to how we are praying. Praying in the Spirit is praying according to the Spirit’s leading. It is praying for things the Spirit leads us to pray for.

Some Christians, often equate praying in the Spirit with praying in tongues. This is a misinterpretation.  This is why Jude 20 is severally quoted wrongly in support of the view that “speaking in tongue is what builds our faith”. How mistaken!  Discussing the gift of tongues, Paul mentions “pray with my spirit.” First Corinthians 14:14 states that when a person prays in tongues, he does not know what he is saying, since it is spoken in a language he does not know, except of course there is an interpreter. In Ephesians 6:18, Paul instructs us to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” How are we to pray with all kinds of prayers and requests and pray for the saints, if no one, including the person praying, understands what is being said? Therefore, praying in the Spirit should be understood as praying in the power of the Spirit, by the leading of the Spirit, and according to His will, not as merely praying in tongues.

Christians can speak in tongues and still be carnal. In fact they do speak in tongues out of carnality. I remember those days in campus fellowship when we'll try to outdo one another by showing off whose tongue was more 'spiritual' or deeper. It used to be a real show in the flesh. Corinthian Christians were like this - they manifested the gifts for show, they were the most carnal of saints. You may want to ask, “Can a true Christian be carnal?”  In answering this question, let’s first define the term “carnal.” The word “carnal” is translated from the Greek word sarkikos, which literally means “fleshly”.  It refers to that which pertains to or is characterized by the flesh or the body, its passions and appetites; its tendencies or leanings. 

This descriptive word is seen in the context of Christians in 1 Corinthians 3:1-3. In this passage, the apostle Paul was addressing the readers as “brethren,” a term he uses almost exclusively to refer to other Christians; he then goes on to describe them as “carnal.” Therefore, we can conclude that Christians can be carnal.  Tongue blasters can be given to appetites and passions of the flesh. They can rap in tongues, but they still get bitter, jealous, they lie or scheme, they are malicious, they gossip, They are proud—proud they can speak in tongues better than others; proud that they can pray and fast longer than others; proud that they are more humble than others; proud that they are more spiritual than others. These are some the manifestations of carnality.

Life in the Spirit is not determined by how well we can speak in tongues. When we become born again we receive the Spirit within. Our lives in the Spirit begin. We receive the Spirit upon us when we are baptized with the Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues. As we go through the process of sanctification, by the Word and by the Spirit, we increase our infilling.

The life of the Christian is transformed by the renewing of the mind by the Word- not by speaking in tongues. The Word of His grace is what builds us and gives us an inheritance among the sanctified- not speaking in tongues. Faith is ignited and built up in the believer by the hearing and application of the Word- not speaking in tongues. The believer grows into maturity by engaging the strong meat of the word and in continuous exercise or practice to distinguish between good and evil- not by blasting tongues. It is the continuous application of truth that leads to maturity.

God’s desire in saving us is that we would progressively grow closer to the image of Christ (Romans 12:1-2), becoming increasingly spiritual and decreasingly carnal, a process known as sanctification. Until we are delivered (ultimately) from our sinful flesh, there will be outbreaks of carnality. However, for a genuine believer in Christ, these outbreaks of carnality will be the exception, not the rule.

Life in the Spirit is cultivated in the place of fellowship- in Spirit influenced and empowered prayer and the Word, and in continued obedience to the dictates of the Spirit and the counsel of God’s word. Paul says, “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God”. Rom 8:14 The idea of being ‘led by the Spirit’ reinforces the metaphor of walking or living in the Spirit. The imagery of the Spirit’s leading refers to being carried along as one walks side by side with the one who is leading.