[3061]Anselm Grün encourages and inspires thousands in Taiwan

Anselm Grün encourages and inspires thousands in Taiwan 

Reported by Chen Yi-hsuan, Chen Wei-chien

Written by Lydia Ma

Soon after his arrival to Taiwan, Anselm Grün, a Benedictine monk of the Abbey of Munsterschwarzach in Germany and a prolific author of more than 300 books and renowned motivational speaker, was whisked to Taitung in time to start the first in a series of speaking engagements.

Grün’s tour of Taiwan began in Taitung, inside Taitung High School’s auditorium where more than 1,200 Catholics and Protestants in the area filled the venue to hear him speak on using “The Lord’s Prayer” as a tool to experience God and change the world.

Grün’s itinerary in Taitung included two lectures, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, with different topics to cater to both clergy and laypeople. The morning session focused on “experiencing God and changing the world” using “The Lord’s Prayer” as guide, while the afternoon session was geared at helping clergy in their outreach and counseling ministries. His seminars in Taipei, Hsinchu, Changhua, Tainan, Chiayi, and Kaohsiung followed a similar pattern.

Grün opened his morning session by pointing out that prayer without work is merely self-centered prayer, but work without prayer as a foundation is meaningless work. He underscored that discovering “The Lord’s Prayer” sandwiched between Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” is indicative of its importance. If “Sermon on the Mount” is one of the most important teachings of Christianity, then, “The Lord’s Prayer” is arguably “the gospel of the gospel”.

Starting with “Our Father in heaven”, Grün explained that God the Father belonged to all and no one had exclusive ownership of God. “Hallowed be your name” is a reminder that churches must awaken humanity‘s innermost longings that invariably lead them to build a compassionate society. “Your kingdom come” is a reminder Christians are called to put their faith to action by being salt and light in this world and being leaders and influencers through their participation in every aspect of society.

Acceptance and companionship first; problem-solving second

During his address to clergy and ministry leaders at Tainan Theological College and Seminary on October 22, 2010, in Tainan, Grün underscored the importance of companionship and building trusting relationships when helping people. He alluded to Jesus’ healing of lepers and the paralytic beside the pool of Bethesda to underscore to clergy that their prime role wasn’t problem-solving, but rather, keeping company with suffering people as they worked through their problems.

Freedom from self-condemnation starts with self-acceptance

In Chiayi, more than 500 people came out to hear Grün speak despite work and classes having been cancelled due to an impending typhoon. Grün used one session to encourage pastors and reminded them how to nurture their own spirituality even as they reached out to broken people. An evening session shortly afterward was themed “7 Things: The art of enriching our souls and our lives” and it also included Jesus’ 7 statements as he hung on the cross.

Youths who attended Grün’s conferences in Chiayi came away very satisfied at having long-standing questions answered adequately and biblically.