Remember that the motivating force behind all spiritual mapping activity should be a passion for lost souls. People who want to use spiritual mapping to peer voyeuristically into the basement of their communities are not suitable team members.
Spiritual mapping is not for circuit riders. As pastor Bob Beckett has pointed out, “Territorial revelations are tied to territorial commitments.” God wants to know that we mean business before He removes the scales from our eyes. Secrets are both precious and powerful and the Holy Spirit doles them out to those He can trust.
Spiritual mappers should be team players. Their ambition is to serve their fellow researchers and the spiritually lost whose circumstances they are investigating. Individuals who are not open and humble and who like to maintain the illusion that they are part of an exclusive “in the know” unit need to be avoided at all costs.
People who are eager to poke their noses into the heart of darkness but are unwilling to submit to leadership oversight pose a danger to themselves, their teammates, and possibly the cause of Christ. By chafing at accountability they show they have no appreciation for the warfare dynamics of spiritual mapping. There is no place for Lone Rangers in this business. Accountable team members are covered team members.
Since satan is a known liar and deceiver, those who follow his trail must have command of their spiritual equilibrium. Overly mystical researchers (or intercessors) can project imaginary phantoms onto the canvas of reality. Those who are overly conservative are liable to miss seeing the real dragons. The spiritual dimension is a deep and mysterious place. Those who enter it need to know the voice and character of their Guide.
The writer of Ecclesiastes admonishes: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (9:10). Hard work spotlights the character of people. As Sam Ewing quipped in Reader’s Digest, “Some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all.” Like any other worthwhile endeavor, spiritual mapping demands diligent, resourceful and honest workers. Those who are always looking for the path of least resistance will fare poorly in this discipline.
Spiritual mapping candidates should also display attributes that suit them for service on the team’s archival, field or intercessory subunits. The following mini-profiles should give you an idea of what to look for.
The best participants in this unit are detail-oriented people. From obscure footnotes to historical chronologies, they find beauty in the fine print. They have a penchant for accuracy and nearly always view patience as a virtue. Resourcefulness is also a strong suit. Tell them something doesn’t exist or can’t be done and you will only light their fire. To them the quest is half the fun. They have excellent memories, good analytical faculties and are generally well-read and computer literate.
Every member of the spiritual mapping field unit should be what is known as a “people person.” These individuals are every bit as determined as their archival colleagues, but they are extracting information via their social skills. They are generally articulate (which helps them arrange and conduct interviews), as well as being keen observers and wise judges of character.
The most useful intercessory support personnel are patient and disciplined. They have learned through experience that God is often deliberate in His communications with men. At the same time, they have enough sense to pull out a pen and paper whenever He does start talking. Recognizing the potential for error in their subjective world, mature intercessors spend quality time in God’s Word and with His saints. They are often the first of the three subunits to perceive important cautions and patterns.
