Men's Retreat notes
Last weekend started with some wonderful family time with my brother. He just returned from Afghanistan the previous Monday, and it was great to see him. He's looking great, and very happy to be back with his girls. He is being hailed by many government agencies, and Afghan leaders, for his work there, and I'm proud to be his brother.
After he left, I was able to spend a night with some of the men of New Beginnings Christian Center of Moses Lake. They were having a men's retreat up at Stonewater Ranch. It was great to not only connect with many men that I knew, but also to spend time at YD's camp, and to meet men I had never met before. The speaker was Ryan McCollough, a former youth pastor in Moses Lake (before my time) who is now a senior pastor in Cosmopolis, WA. He is running a coffee shop, then holding church services there every Sunday. My understanding from him is that the church he's leading is only the second church in the community.
I also connected with Greg Johnson, the director of YD Adventures, Washington. Greg had some great words of wisdom, leading us men through some challenging initiative activities, and helping us to see the parallels in how we communicate and lead our families and at work. I also appreciated connecting with Greg because he's been in my shoes, having left YD several years ago. He's come full circle, returning to YD now as the director.
Here are two thoughts I got from Ryan's talk on Saturday night. The second thought wasn't so much something he said, as a train of thought based on a side comment he made.
1) Ryan talked about Cain and Able, and asked the question for us to ponder about our lives: Are we living to appease God (Cain), or to please God (Able)?
2) John 15 talks about our need to stay connected to the vine (Jesus) in order to produce fruit. The Father is the person who cares for the vine and its branches. Jesus talks about how the Father prunes the vine. As I reread this section, I realized something. Shari and I are being pruned (this I realized over a year ago). However, I have always seen this as a negative, something done because we've not been doing our job well, and God needs to fix us, or because there's something wrong with our character that needs adjusting. While it is true that God's pruning often addresses issues of character in our lives, here's what God reminded me of. He is pruning me, not because I'm not bearin fruit, or am bearing poor fruit, but because I am bearing fruit, and have been bearing fruit. He's pruning me so that I can bear more fruit, though, in the short run, I may bear less as I grow back even healthier than before I was pruned. I look forward to seeing what God's got planned for the future, and the fruit He's going to bear through Shari and I.
After he left, I was able to spend a night with some of the men of New Beginnings Christian Center of Moses Lake. They were having a men's retreat up at Stonewater Ranch. It was great to not only connect with many men that I knew, but also to spend time at YD's camp, and to meet men I had never met before. The speaker was Ryan McCollough, a former youth pastor in Moses Lake (before my time) who is now a senior pastor in Cosmopolis, WA. He is running a coffee shop, then holding church services there every Sunday. My understanding from him is that the church he's leading is only the second church in the community.
I also connected with Greg Johnson, the director of YD Adventures, Washington. Greg had some great words of wisdom, leading us men through some challenging initiative activities, and helping us to see the parallels in how we communicate and lead our families and at work. I also appreciated connecting with Greg because he's been in my shoes, having left YD several years ago. He's come full circle, returning to YD now as the director.
Here are two thoughts I got from Ryan's talk on Saturday night. The second thought wasn't so much something he said, as a train of thought based on a side comment he made.
1) Ryan talked about Cain and Able, and asked the question for us to ponder about our lives: Are we living to appease God (Cain), or to please God (Able)?
2) John 15 talks about our need to stay connected to the vine (Jesus) in order to produce fruit. The Father is the person who cares for the vine and its branches. Jesus talks about how the Father prunes the vine. As I reread this section, I realized something. Shari and I are being pruned (this I realized over a year ago). However, I have always seen this as a negative, something done because we've not been doing our job well, and God needs to fix us, or because there's something wrong with our character that needs adjusting. While it is true that God's pruning often addresses issues of character in our lives, here's what God reminded me of. He is pruning me, not because I'm not bearin fruit, or am bearing poor fruit, but because I am bearing fruit, and have been bearing fruit. He's pruning me so that I can bear more fruit, though, in the short run, I may bear less as I grow back even healthier than before I was pruned. I look forward to seeing what God's got planned for the future, and the fruit He's going to bear through Shari and I.
posted by Pastor Paul at
7:34 AM
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