Roberta Schneider’s real introduction to Christ came as a result of listening to the way an anointed Bible teacher brought out the deep meanings that seemed to be hidden below the surface -- and yet decided that Christian growth has to go beyond that. Surprisingly, her next steps toward Christian maturity came in the form of dance steps: She accepted co-leadership of a dance choir ministry.

Step One. What she thought might just be an agreeable combination of natural ability and spiritual interest became in fact a path to tremendous growth. "I was the coach of the dancers, but the real key to making it all work was our spiritual director. She taught us how to be aware that we are in his presence, to focus only on Jesus. She made us stay on track about that. Otherwise the temptation is to be performers." They learned, in other words, to dance like King David before an audience of One, the Lord of the Dance.

Step Two. The result was electric. Pastors began to show up at the church to witness this form of worship, and this turned into a touring ministry from Maine to Florida. These were quite the opposite of the magical mystery tours you might hear about regarding a rock band. The members of the dance troupe included a number of women who were hurting emotionally and spiritually, and the ministry among them proved liberating. "We experienced a new freedom from the kinds of strongholds that block our growth," she recalls. "This kind of inner healing gave us release of the spirit. I felt a much greater ability to live into who I was as a child of God, my real identity.”

Step Three. The next step was an emphasis on small group training, with a particular emphasis on covenant groups and the kind of interaction they represent -- close, committed, and confidential. She also learned how to lead small groups for the Alpha Course and to organize more casual interactions with other people in the form of picnics and parties.

Now at an age of when some people think of their lives as aftermath, Roberta has entered the full flowering of the ministry for which she has had so many types of training. She has been ordained recently by a bishop as a deacon, and she is undertaken additional mentoring responsibilities.

Retired from employment outside the church, she now spends two or three hours a day on a variety of growth-related disciplines that include listening to God, singing, and journaling. "Those who are not journaling," she says, "are missing out on things that can really encourage their growth, partly because you can go back and find that things are illumined in a different context. I've also been in training to think metaphorically, because I've come to understand that the ordinary incidents of daily life that seem trivial, even spilling something on the floor, can have a meaning relating to spiritual growth when you’re listening to God.”

You might say her life in all its aspects -- heart, soul, mind, and strength -- is aligned with her Lord as she moves gracefully forward.

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