Men's Retreat 08

Thoughts on the Men’s Retreat 08

Friday Night
* Community exists and is Biblical when lives are being transformed into the image of Christ in ways that glorify God and give witness of the gospel to the world. In other words, community involves sanctification, glorification, and evangelism.
* Community is not small groups. Connectedness is not the same as community. And Bible study does not equal community.
* The Trinity reflects the community God desires for His people and in fact, God has invited us in to the mutual love and servant hood that exists in the Godhead.
* Therefore, tolerating disunity in the body of Christ is to dishonor the nature of God. God exists in community and therefore any believer not in community is an orphan. All this being said, community in a fallen world is a mess as we all battle the influence of the sin nature and expose the sin in our lives.
* The compelling components of community include spending intentional time together, living in the light, Biblical conflict resolution, initiate and respond to crisis, external focus of sharing the good news with those outside of the community.

Saturday Morning 1
* As a man, I am called to reject passivity where I fail not because of what I do but because of what I don’t do. This tendency is reflected as early as the Garden of Eden.
* As a man, I must accept responsibility. God has given me roles to play as a husband, a father, a friend, etc. I must be diligent to steward these well through the power of Christ living in me.
* As a man, I must lead courageously. Not in a domineering or disrespectful manner. But as one who has pursued Christ and is following Him faithfully.
* As a man, I must expect God’s reward. In other words, I should live in light of eternity.
* This question was significant for me: What do I get angry about (particularly in my family)? Is it because God’s best is not happening or because I am not getting what I want?
* Deut 11:18 is the model of what I should do as a Dad in teaching the Word to my children. I should strive to know their hearts and train them to love God in their own unique personality and protect them in their inherent weaknesses. I should be careful of my tendency to be critical and expect my idea of perfection in their life but should gently and intentionally teach them how to be a faithful follower of Christ.
* To be a good husband, father, friend, worker is not the goal. In fact, to do any of these things for personal benefit apart from honoring Christ is idolatry.

Saturday Morning 2
* How I spend my dash (the line between birth and death on my tombstone) is of utmost importance. I want to hit the tape running and finishing well. To do so, I must be faithful to be in God’s Word, practice the presence of God through constant prayer, live in community and consistently serve others.
* Plans fail with lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed. Growth takes place better in a circle (with many advisors) than it does in a line (seeking individual input only).
* I desire to be a man of prayer, who after 25 years, is still praying for the salvation of the same people who have not trusted Christ.

Sunday Morning
* Lessons learned from a life well lived
1. Be with Jesus – This is the anchor of my soul and should be the passion of my life (Ps. 73, Ps. 27:4, Luke 10:38-42)
2. Relationships Matter – I must be intentional in my pursuit of knowing and being known. The goal is transformation into the image of Christ, for His glory and for the evangelism of the world.
3. Being is more important than doing – In other words, who you are is more important than what we do.
4. Doing is important – We should seek to make a difference by the power of Christ in submission to the Holy Spirit.