Several weeks ago Austin and I had a good small group meeting. People were open and honest. We had a good discussion about the message. We have a guy who attends our group who is not a believer. He mostly listened. He felt welcomed and enjoyed being a part of the group. After our group meeting that night Austin said something to me that was very insightful and helpful. He said, “That was a good group but did it feel…
Q: Why do you believe in and trust the Bible? -what are the intellectual, emotional, “spiritual” reasons? Q: What reasons have you had or heard that people have had, who struggle to trust the Bible? Francis Schaeffer wrote, “The God who is there” “He is there and he is not silent.” He had a ministry in Switzerland where students from all over the world, in a pre-internet time (1955-1984)found their way to his house, L’bri (shelter). Many people, came to…
We focused on Mission at Leadership in the fall. Terry began by talking about F.I.T.S. Which stands for Friendships, Identify with Christ, Team up with Others, Share the Gospel. Each of these aspects should be approached with prayer. God is the one at work, we are invited to join him. During the training a different leader came up and talked about how they have lived out each of these different aspects. Trace shared three methods for sharing the gospel. He…
In the final session of the leader’s retreat, Dr. Allison talked about the transgenderism and gender dysphoria. He discussed the church’s proper response and errors for the church to avoid.
Dr. Greg Allison spoke on the Gendered Body in session 2 of the leader’s retreat. We are embodied beings, made either male and female, but both are made in the image of God. Our embodiment is the proper state of human existence.
Dr. Greg Allison spoke to River group leaders about the Created Body on September 9, 2023. There is a Q&A section in the recording and some of the audio is difficult to understand. For the leader’s retreat we are focusing on theology, because we are a church and good theology is essential to our call as leaders.
Terry recasts the vision for the reality that our Beliefs shape our values which in turn inform our behaviors. He gave us an overview of group life and then the staff led the time through the different components of group life: Meetings, Mission, Member Care, and Mentoring.
Terry talked about the meaning of being well-differentiated as a leader and took the leaders through some exercises to help people think about the importance of being well-differentiated. The well-differentiated leader is someone who cares and is connected but it not controlled by the drama and emotions of others.
Jim, Brenda, and Rodney talk with group leaders about mentoring threats and opportunities.