Develop Voltage-Producing Friendships
John Wesley used the term conferencingto describe the kinds
of thoughtful reflection and interaction with others that can
deepen and keep current our spiritual lives.
We talked to Robert Cooley about Billy’s influence on him in
this regard. Billy, as a founder of Gordon-Conwell Seminary,
spoke at Bob’s inauguration as its president. “I remember his
admonitions to me,” Bob told us. “In the casual conversations that
surrounded that event, he emphasized strongly the importance
of a life of prayer and spiritual formation in leading the seminary.
He kept saying, ‘I know how much you’re going to have to
depend upon this.’ That struck me right at the beginning, because
coming out of the university, I didn’t have anyone who would
take that message to me. But he kept emphasizing this.”
We asked Bob how that had played out during his many years
as the seminary’s leader.
“I immediately established the discipline of daily prayer in
the president’s office. I invited everyone and anyone who would
join me for prayer. My day began with prayer. I had one profes-
sor, J. Christy Wilson, who never missed a day during his time at
the seminary in joining me. It was the discipline of committing
to prayer, sharing needs, concerns, and praise. Those were essen-
tial disciplines that I tried to not just model but to make integral
to my daily life.”
“Did all of that empower your leadership?” we asked.
“It did in a number of ways,” Bob said. “It created more joy
within. You can easily get entrapped in the wake of the day’s pro-
grams and concerns leading an organization—no wonder the
word burdencomes to mind. The weight of the issues can rob you
of your joy. But prayer teaches you that rejoicing becomes an
activity. It’s more than a feeling. It’s a discipline. It’s a daily thing.”
Plugging into Continuous Voltage