Flourish Women's Retreat 2019

         

          The 2019 Flourish Women’s Retreat at Maranatha Bible Camp & Retreat Center ended up falling right in the middle of the transition from my office job back to babysitting. I was even busier than normal and in desperate need of some down-time, though I didn’t necessarily want it. I’m realizing that for a long time I’ve used busyness as a way to cope with (or maybe numb out?) some of the painful things in life. Slowing down gives me too much time to think and to feel, but God knows I need it. I played piano for the worship team with our church intern and her mom at the retreat, so the weekend wasn’t entirely void of responsibility, but I think God was using it as a gradual baby step of slowing me down before the complete pause that will come with my big surgery next month. Maybe tapping on the breaks a little bit now will help prevent the emotional whiplash I experienced with my last surgery. Anyway, I went into the weekend both expectant of rejuvenation but also apprehensive of the potential for bursting floodgates of repressed emotion.

          After the Friday afternoon worship practice, the conference registration brought with it several familiar faces  from different places and stages of my life. They came from Sterling Berean – the church I grew up in, Mitchell Berean – the church we attended when we lived in Scottsbluff, and of course The Crossing – our church family in Gothenburg. A few other pastor’s wives I know also attended, even though they had already been at Maranatha at least one, if not two, other weekends in February. I’m not at all a social butterfly, but throughout the weekend I tried to be intentional about visiting with different people, and I enjoyed getting to meet some new people as well. I had a hotel-style room to myself, which was awesome when I needed some time to retreat, process, and be alone.

          The speaker, Robyn Dykstra, was phenomenal. She was incredibly engaging and very obviously grounded in the Word of God. Her story-telling and interactive style had us all on the edge of our seats – crying, then laughing, then nodding in mutual understanding, and back again. In the first session, she shared her own incredible story while also emphasizing the promises of God (if you are curious about her story, check out her book, The Widow Wore Pink: A True Story of Life After Loss and the Transforming Power of a Loving God). On Saturday, she delved into the topics of prayer and learning to recognize our worth according to Christ so that we can then be authentically and freely involved in Christian community. On Sunday morning, she wrapped up with the topic of using our relationship with God to impact others, particularly by listening to and obeying the prompts of the Holy Spirit. This last session was probably the most challenging for me. I have a lot of the Bible knowledge, and I’ve known Jesus for a long time, but I still ignore or outright say no to the nudging of the Holy Spirit far more often than I’d like to admit.

          Each teaching session was accompanied by four songs: three before the teaching and one afterwards. Ellie (our intern) did an excellent job choosing set lists and leading the time of worship through music. It was her first time leading worship in a setting like that (she has led at our church for Sunday mornings several times throughout her internship). She was sensitive to the needs of the moment; for example, she dropped one song to instead sing “Who You Say I Am” after the session that focused on our worth and position in Christ. Ellie, her mom, and I meshed well together as a team, and it was fun getting to lead together. It was an honor to be a part of providing the music to help the women there focus on who God is and on the truth of His Word.

          The weekend provided a chance to escape the clutter, distraction, and weight of daily living while also being immersed in God’s Word and God’s people. While we did have the scheduled session times, we were also given a lot of flexibility and freedom to do what we needed to do to “get away, quiet down, and hear God speak” (Maranatha’s motto). We had a time specifically set aside to go be alone with God and process the teaching we had been hearing. Saturday afternoon was entirely discretionary, though they offered an “Afternoon of Adventure” so that there was little chance of ever getting bored unless you just wanted to be bored. The “Afternoon of Adventure” consisted of various activities offered each hour that included everything from rock wall climbing and clay shooting to Bible journaling and painting to hair and makeup demonstrations and bath bomb making. Maranatha always offers plenty to do while allowing attendees the freedom to skip and take a nap or do something entirely on their own if needed. We also had a movie night, a banquet, and the surprise of having little gifts waiting on our tables for each session (including a beautiful journal that was given the first night).

          The food was wonderful (and not just because I didn’t have to cook it or wash the dishes)! We had high quality, hearty breakfasts, soups, salads, sandwiches, and sides. We also had beef stroganoff for one meal. The banquet on Saturday night started off with spinach puffs and stuffed mushrooms for appetizers along with three choices of mocktails. Then we moved along to some kind of glorious caprese-type chicken with bacon-wrapped asparagus, pasta, and salad. To top it all off, we finished with the option of a parfait-style cherry cheesecake or a parfait-style smores dessert. Of course, the coffee shop was open several times throughout the weekend as well.

          When all was said and done, I came away re-charged (even though I stayed up too late during the retreat) and ready to dive into youth group on Sunday night (which is certainly not always the case on Sunday nights). I fell apart emotionally a couple times over the weekend as I continued to wrestle with God on some different things, and I didn’t get that emotional “camp high” that sometimes occurs (which isn’t the goal anyway). However, I came away reminded of who God is and who I am, of the support system I have had through the different phases of life thus far, and of my purpose and calling that can only be carried out by listening to the Holy Spirit when He tugs at my heart. Maranatha has been such a blessing to me ever since my first experience there at AWANA camp in fifth grade. There is no doubt in my mind that God uses it to shape people and bring about His purposes in their lives. If you ever get the chance to go to a retreat there, take it!

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Love and Happiness

          My husband recently used an illustration in one of his “One Minute Messages” that I’m going to borrow here.  Our weather has been particularly deceiving this last week.  Sunshine is usually equivalent to warmth.  Many days this week, the sun shone beautifully and invitingly, but instead of heat, we were met with arctic blasts of negative degree air when we opened the door.  We were a little disillusioned when our experience was nothing like what we expected based on what we knew about the sun. 

Similarly, many of us equate romantic love with happiness: if the rays of true love are shining, then we should naturally feel the warmth of happiness.  Why wouldn’t we believe that?  Our culture bombards us with that very message.  Nearly every children’s love story ends with “and they lived happily ever after.”  This becomes a serious problem when we experience an inevitable frosty season in a relationship that makes us profoundly unhappy.  If we are unhappy (even after we have made our marriage vows), we assume that something must be wrong, that we must not love the other person, or that we aren’t meant to be together.  All relationships experience difficulty to one degree or another, and happiness is fleeting and fickle at best.  If love is based on happiness alone, it cannot  and will not withstand the test of time.  

  

            In between reading Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas (you may have seen some of my quote posts from this book on the We Are Seen Facebook page) and preparing for Valentine’s Day (The Crossing is hosting a Desserts & Dancing evening), the topic of love has been on my mind frequently.  Saturday’s chapter emphasized 2 Thessalonians 3:5: “May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.”  These two things, the love of God and the steadfastness (or perseverance) of Christ, are contrary to what the culture teaches us about love and relationships.  The culture’s love is selfish – focused largely on self-fulfillment, pleasure, lust, emotion, and superficial connection.  The love of God is selfless – it gives to the point of dying, it endures because it is a commitment (or covenant), it continues regardless of reciprocation, and it involves such deep and intimate knowledge that it demands the practice of showing grace and mercy, for none of us are very loveable when the deepest recesses of our hearts are exposed.  God is love (1 Jn.4:8), and any “love” that does not match up with His character is not love at all.  It might be infatuation or obsession, but it is not love. 

            The culture’s perseverance is also based on its happiness, which means it is not really perseverance at all.  Unhappiness, “falling out of love,” and becoming too different are all accepted reasons for divorce.  Many couples bail once the ease of the infatuation wears off and the hard work of building a substantial relationship begins to take its toll.  If love and marriage are primarily rooted in the idol of happiness, then it makes sense to bail.  However, Jesus is our standard for love, and marriage is supposed to be a picture to the lost world of His reconciling, self-giving relationship with the Church.  This is a much higher calling, purpose, and goal than simply our own happiness.  Christ endured unthinkable hatred, opposition, and suffering at the very hands of the ones He loved (which includes us).  Yet, He never retaliated or cursed those who attacked Him.  He has promised never to leave us or forsake us (Heb. 13:5), even though we still often break His heart with our sin and faithlessness. Even while we were against Him and steeped in our sin, He humbled Himself to the point of infancy, walked the earth with us, and then gave His life for us (Rom. 5:8).  This is unconditional love – this is true love.  A love that cannot survive and forgive any pain and suffering, particularly at the hand of the beloved, cannot persevere. 

This love is a choice and a commitment that must be kept – not a feeling over which we have no control.  That is why we need vows to enter a marriage.  Of course there are times when that love generates feelings of happiness, but we must be careful not to confuse the two.  For true love must press on through the mundane, through the struggle, through the hurt, through the unmet expectations, and yes, through the cold seasons of unhappiness in addition to the seasons of celebration and elation.  This love and perseverance can only be produced as an outpouring of a relationship with the Source of love Himself.  He alone can teach us to die to ourselves and our desires for eternal happiness in order to show us a much greater way – a holy life and a holy love, not unmarked by the refining fires of suffering and sadness, that reflect and give glory and honor back to the One who gave us breath.  “We love because He first loved us” (1 Jn. 4:19).        

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Ministry Highlight Interview: 2019 Peru Project

Can you please introduce yourself and a little about your role on the 2019 Peru Project team?

My name is Chad Johnson, and I’m the pastor at Fellowship Bible Church in Lindon, UT.  I have worked at compiling a team of servants to join me in going to Tarapoto, Peru to be a blessing to the missionary family that planted a church there in Tarapoto – Delwin and Techy Fowler.  We desire to encourage them, to put on a pastor’s conference for local Peruvian pastors from surrounding villages (sometimes upwards of 50 miles away), and to do some work on a kids camp the Fowlers have been working to get established in Tarapoto.  My primary role will be serving as one of the teachers for the conference.

What are the dates of the trip? 

          The dates of our trip are February 22 – March 4.

What will the team be doing in Peru?

          Our team will be doing multiple different things. We will be putting on a pastor’s conference where 4 of us will rotate teaching sessions. Those attending the conference will be pastors and ministry leaders from the region of Tarapoto and its surrounding villages. Pastors and ministry leaders will travel as far as 50 miles, sometimes through the hard-to-travel jungles, to come to the conference. We are expecting anywhere from 100-150 leaders to attend.
          It’s a neat opportunity to minister to these leaders, as many of them have no biblical training. The surrounding villages have little pockets of churches where people come to know Jesus, and then just choose who is the oldest or most willing to be the pastor. Many of these leaders who come to the conference are hungry to learn more about the Bible and what it has to say about ministry. It’s a great opportunity to minister to them, encourage them, and further equip them in their role. This will be a 3-day conference, with 10 sessions. Our topic will be bibliology, and we plan on teaching sessions covering the following sub-topics:

• What is the evidence for the Bible?
• Where did the Bible come from?
• How do we defend the Bible?
• How are we to study the Bible?
• How do information and transformation go together?

          In addition to the conference, we plan on serving at the local church where the missionary pastor, Delwin, and his wife, Techy, attend. They planted the church and are the ones who like to organize these conferences for other ministry leaders whom they build relationships with. We will have the opportunity to preach, teach, and share our testimonies during their Sunday morning services and mid-week Bible studies and activities. In addition, we plan on doing a little bit of work on their kids camp that they are seeking to establish to use as a summer camp for kids to come to. We will also reserve one day for sight-seeing and exploring.

How many people are on the team?  

12

What people make up the team (walks of life, ages, home churches, etc)?  

New Hope Bible Church (church plant in Utah County that was launched about 5 years ago): There is one married couple (Rob & Denise Rogers) that is going and will be bringing their 3 teenage children. Pastor Chris Dodson will be going and will be part of our teaching rotation. David Denning will be going and will be part of our teaching rotation. Josh Hambrick will be going and serving with a bunch of odds and ends, including providing fantastic cooking abilities. He will also be sharing his testimony one evening.

Fellowship Bible Church (Lindon): I will be going and will be part of the teaching rotation. Marriner Merrill will be going as well. He will have the opportunity to share his testimony and serve as needed in helping organize the pastor’s conference.

Grace Bible Church (Springville): Chris Willett will be going and will be part of the teaching rotation.

Faith Community Church (Eagle Mountain): Luis Leyva will be joining us and serving as the translator since the speakers don’t speak Spanish. Luis has taken this trip and served in this way in the past.

Can you tell me a little bit about how the idea for this trip came about?

          Chris Dodson and I were praying about the possibility after the Fowler’s made a trip back to the States and shared in our church and gave an update on their ministry and their needs. They expressed how the pastor’s conferences are always a great way to train and equip local Peruvian pastors to better minister in their own ministry contexts. Both Chris and I had a passion from that day forward to see our churches join together to make a trip and serve in that way. Through much prayer, we decided to make it happen and reached out to a few other churches to find a few more to put together our team of 12.

What made you personally decide to go?

          Since becoming the pastor at Fellowship Bible Church, I have had a heart to see our church not just be locally minded, but globally minded. For us, it’s not just about what God wants to do at Fellowship Bible Church, but seeing how we can play a part in advancing the Gospel here and abroad. Another passion I have as a pastor is equipping Christians to do the work of ministry and training leaders. As we focus on that and make that a key part of our church philosophy of ministry, we love seeing Christians grow and serve in our local church context. Our goal is always to see how we might be able to send trained, mature Christians out from us to plant other churches, both here and abroad. As we focus on that, one of my favorite quotes I share often at Fellowship Bible Church is “We will always measure our ministry effectiveness more on our sending capacity than our seating capacity.” With that as a core value of our ministry, taking missions trips to serve outside of our own ministry context will always be seen as a healthy staple of who we are. Therefore, that’s why I’m going. I want to be a blessing to the local Peruvian pastors, to hopefully be able to equip them and encourage them in their ministry, and to keep before our own church family a mindset and vision of ministry that spreads beyond Fellowship Bible Church.

What are some of your goals for the trip?

• Exposure to the Peruvian culture
• Equipping the Peruvian pastors to better minister in their churches
• Encouraging the church planting pastor and his family in Tarapoto, Peru – Delwin and Techy Fowler
• Evangelizing in the Tarapoto, Peru region
• Evaluating future plans for the local church and kids camp

Do you have any specific prayer requests?

• Pray for those who are preparing lessons to teach at the pastor’s conference.
• Pray for our health, as going to a brand new culture can sometimes create issues.
• Pray for team unity – that our relationships would deepen and that we’d be unified.
• Pray for a growing enthusiasm in our churches for missions.
• Pray that this trip would help bring greater unity in our churches throughout our Valley.
• Pray for our financial needs.

How much of your financial goal has been met so far?

          Thus far, we have raised $1,848 of the $4,000 for the pastor’s conference.

Thermometer by ABC Fundraising® 

What will the support funds be used for?

          Support funds will be used to go toward the pastor’s conference. We want to be able to allow the pastors and ministry leaders to come free of charge to them. They already have so little and are making great sacrifices to make it to the conference. We want to be a blessing to them by providing the conference, resources, meals, etc., so that they can just come and focus on learning and growing spiritually. Because we expect to have 100-150 Pastors and leaders, we have set the estimated cost to pull off the conference at $4,000.


If you feel led to give to the 2019 Peru Project, click here! (If this link is not working, you can also find a donation link in the pinned post on their page)

Anything else you’d like the readers to know?

          We appreciate any and all prayers we can get! If we have a team of people from all over the world praying for us, for the Peruvian pastors, and for God to work powerfully, that would be a big-time encouragement to us. Anyone interested in following us on Facebook (we plan on updating that page during our trip) can use this link to go to the page and ‘like’ it: https://www.facebook.com/2019-Peru-Project-595767537539370/ If anyone feels led by God to give toward this Peru Project, we’d certainly be very grateful for any gifts that we receive.

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Winter Retreat 2019

February is a busy ministry month for Jon and I.  We hit the ground running on Friday with Maranatha Bible Camp’s annual youth winter retreat.  Last year, Jon took five Catalyst students to this retreat and set a goal to take eight students this year.  God surprised us and sent us off with fifteen!  We took seven girls and eight boys ranging from sixth graders up to juniors in high school.  Three of our youth leaders also came to help as cabin leaders: Barry (our family life pastor and a former full-time youth pastor of over twenty-eight years), Tanya (Barry’s wife), and Ellie (our youth and worship intern).  I travelled back and forth from Gothenburg so that I could take care of our dogs over the weekend, but I was still able to be there for the majority of the time.

The theme for the retreat was “Stories.”  Students heard the stories of several youth pastors and leaders as well as the stories of some people in the Bible.  They were encouraged to think about their own stories (with the help of a brainstorm and timeline activity during small group time), to seek out how their stories fit in with God’s story, to learn to give God control of their stories through daily surrender, and to learn to share their stories with others.  We all learned much more about each other and about our relationships with God as we examined our stories together.  For me, the timeline exercise was a really good reminder of all the ways God has worked (and is continuing to work) in my life, even in the times when it didn’t seem like He was doing anything at all. 

One highlight for me at these retreats is getting to see my husband do one of the things that God clearly made Him to do.  He is skilled at interacting with students in a way that puts them at ease and meets them where they are at.  Relating to them comes so naturally to him.  From his joking, teasing, and willingness to throw himself wholeheartedly into games to his ability to clearly communicate his expectations and to challenge students in areas they need to grow, it is obvious to me how truly gifted he is at building relationships with youth.  I love getting to be his partner in ministry. 

Another highlight for me this year was observing the students during the music time.  Without a doubt, some of the 150-plus students who attended have already experienced more pain, rejection, and injustice in their short lives than many of us will face in a lifetime.  To see them praising and worshiping Jesus encourages and challenges me more than I can express. 

I’m thankful for the opportunity I had this weekend to help students sort through their stories and to get to know them better.  Retreats and camps are a relationship accelerant.  There is something bonding about being tired together, laughing together, getting rid of distractions together, stinking together, and learning together in a safe place and in a concentrated, continuous block of time.  Please pray for these students as they return to their everyday lives, and pray for the leaders as we strive to show them that the joy and security that comes from a relationship with Christ doesn’t only have to be found at camp.              

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