Service of the Word

An exploration of…

life ‘well lived’

Chris

• What are we doing this morning?

Rob: Our question this morning….

• What does it mean to ‘live well’?

– What does our society tell us about a ‘happy life’?– How does that compare with a Christian view?– What might we need to think about to reconcile these

two perspectives?

• Where did this question come from?

Working with a group on workplace well-being

• Using some ideas from positive psychology

• … and particularly a model from a prominent researcher in the field

• The PERMA model from Prof. Martin Seligman

As the group were discussing the model in relation to their work….

• I began to think…

• And a number of questions started to bubble up…

• I’ll share some of those questions later

• I shared them with Chris and we started a dialogue, with Michele… and here we are to see what *you* think…

So let’s first look at PERMA…

• When we have briefly been through the model we will split into groups to talk about what we think, and share those thoughts

• So what is PERMA?

• A prescription from modern positive psychologists of how to obtain well-being and satisfaction with life!

PERMA (very briefly!)

• Positive Emotions – ‘feeling good’, engaging in activities which enhance mood (like spending time with people we like, doing things we like doing, being outside, eating great food etc!)

• Engagement – being actively involved in something, work, hobbies, causes. Includes the concept of ‘Flow’

• Relationships (positive) – social ‘animals’ with need for connection

• Meaning – dedicating our time to something greater than ourselves, purpose and values

• Achievement – doing things we set out to do, feeling a sense of accomplishment

Michele: Topics for discussion

• You were each given a small card with a letter on when you came in

• Find others with the same letter• Those relate to PERMA• P,E,R,M & A• Discuss what this area means to

us from a Christian perspective?• How might we be either supportive

or critical of our discussion topic?• 15 minutes

Michele & Chris: Bring our thoughts together

• What did we talk about?• What do we want to share?• Thoughts, observations and comments…

Rob: My questions (to myself) about PERMA when thinking about God…

• Positive emotions

• In connection with God, are my emotions positive, or tied up in the guilt of fallibility?

• Do I praise? Do I experience the joy of praise?• Do I bring positivity to others around church (the

community, not the building) and does His light 'shine' through me to those outside the church?

• What is my focus on - feeling good, pleasure and is this hedonism?

• Do I do the fun stuff in search of feeling good, rather than the tough stuff?

• Engagement

• What is my level of commitment and engagement to / with God?

• Is the time I spend in His work in or out of proportion?

• What am I not doing which I would be doing if I were fully engaged?

• Am I praying?

• Am I reading the bible and studying the word?

• Is church a Sunday activity?

• Who knows about my 'engagement'?

• Where do I find my 'flow'?

• What gifts am I not bringing for His work, and why not?

• Positive Relationships • What is my relationship like with God?• What do I need to do to strengthen that relationship?• Am I developing (or do I have) positive relationships in

church and out?• ... what dysfunctional relationships do I have, and what

should I do about that?• Who do I seek out, and who do I avoid - and why?• Who do I hold grudges against, and what should I do about

this?• What can I do to have better relationships with the church

family and without?• Do I have caring relationships with my neighbours - my

actual neighbours, and those in need generally?• Are my close relationships the best that they can be, and

what might I need to address in those relationships?

• Meaning

• What do I believe about creation?  Who is my creator?

• What do I believe about Jesus?• What do his death and resurrection mean to me?• What is my purpose, generally?• What is my purpose, specifically?• Is my life style and my time-spend reflective of what

I believe, and if not - why not?• What is the meaning of my life in the context of the

bible?

• Achievement

• What do my earthly achievements stand for?• In my balance of 'achievements' which of these are

self-serving versus serving God and serving others?

• In whose name did I achieve these things?• What am I doing today which I can truly say are

achievements for Jesus, with his guiding hand and support, and which honour his name?

• What role does ego play in my life, and what behaviours is that driving?

Positive emotion EngageRelationshipsMeaningAchievement

All are about relationships

I

Engage

Positive Emotion

Relationship

Meaning

Achieve

I

Engage

Positive Emotion

Relationship

Meaning

Achieve

PERMA – when problems come

Depressed Anxious Angry

Stop FightWithdraw Hostile

DespairParanoid

Inactive Violent

GOD

IYOU

GOD

PM

A

eaceeant to worship

lign with God’s will

SLove eek

PERMA to PSALM

P

S

A

L

M

Psalms help us communicate however we feel.

Michele:

• Back in your talking groups, briefly

• Create a prayer which reflects your thinking (which you shared) – and we will use these prayers today

• It doesn't matter what you think about the model – you may completely reject it… but

• The prayer should be a response… in whatever form that takes.

Chris

• If you found today’s topic difficult, or it has raised issues for you…

There is help and support:

• The prayer ministry team• People in our church family• Health care professionals