Staff Retreat :D

Wow, I don’t even know where to start! I’m not sure what I expected exactly, but what happened was far more and better than I could’ve ever dreamt of. Two weeks ago, we loaded up a of couple busses, several vans, and many, many, many cars and headed to Busselton, Western Australia. The retreat started off with a bang when one of the busses (holding 20+ people) broke down less than half way into a 3-hour journey. Everyone made it there, just a few hours later than expected.

This was the view from our main campsite.

The retreat was a mixture of teaching from our base leaders Shirley and Pete Brownhill and free time to build relationship. On Friday night, we kicked of our time with a night of worship and Shirley spoke to us on the importance of relationship and seeking to be relational as a group of missionaries.

Each morning we started off with an hour of worship, each day looked a bit different as to what we focused on during this time, but as the week went on more and more people were getting words from God and sharing with the group. It was amazing to watch the Holy Spirit move in this way.

During Saturday morning worship we had a time of crying out to God and surrendering things to Him. During this time, I saw myself bowed on the ground before Jesus' throne. Like any king's throne, it was huge and elevated about the normal ground, but unlike any king, when Jesus saw me bowed down, He actually got up out of His throne. He stepped down and came and sat next to me in the dirt and He let His white robes become dirty and soiled like I was, but He didn't just sit there with me, He pulled me to my feet and led me to the throne. As I walked with Him and sat beside Him on the throne, my dirtiness slowly faded and I became more and more white, and clean, and pure just like He was.

He didn't need me to be clean to come to Him, He didn't need me to be clean to approach the throne, but as I walked with Him and trusted Him, my dirtiness fell away. We have a King who not only is willing to, but did and does step down from His throne to meet us where we are, then He brings us into the Kingdom of God with Him.

Each day the teaching had a different main focus, but they each knit together in such a way that caused major movement and transformation in each person's personal life, but also in the life of the base as a whole.

Saturday: Servant Leadership

Leadership falls on people who first and foremost seek the Kingdom of God

Fervent devotion, fierce loyalty

commit ourselves to becoming servant leaders

greater commitment = greater anointing

Do we believe in the will of God and surrender to it, to the point of suffering?

Sunday: Humility and Dependence

Psalm 86:11 "Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name."

Independence can be charming, cunning, and deceptive

When we're not open to God's love, we stop growing

Absalom spirit- burns with anger, offended by leadership, sees leaders as incompetent, views self as being in competition with leader

In our desire for ease-> we sacrifice vision and the presence of God

We can't shift from the word of God

Monday: Obedience-> Fulfilled Promises

A volunteer spirit cannot be sustained by passion, we need deep resolution

Ezekiel 47

God is appointing something here that is independent of any one person's call

The goal is to be interdependent and vulnerable

Tuesday: Building

Community needs unity

If the process is right-> the progress is guaranteed

Always wait for the word of the Lord before making a move

Joshua 9:14- The people acted in their own wisdom instead of consulting God

God is looking for dependency, humility, and obedience

Dependency- This word keeps showing up. Maybe dependency is easy for you, but if you're like me (and honestly, I think, most people) dependency has a bit of a bad taste to it. Dependency is weak, it's not able to defend or protect itself. It can't do things on its own, it needs help. That's not attractive, that's not what the world says is desirable. Because the world says strength is the most important. The world says that I am the only one that won't let me down. The world says that to be independent is to be free. The world is wrong.

Because you know what, strength is an allusion, and at the end of the day, I can usually count on myself to drop the ball. Independence is a glass wall, it looks clear, but it keeps you trapped the same as brick.

I know I have fallen prey to this trap of desiring to be known as the strong and independent one because those words feel valuable. They make me feel better about myself...but they're not true. And truthfully, I don't want them to be. I am utterly weak and completely, fully dependent-this is where freedom starts.

Freedom begins where pride ends. Freedom is found when you can recognize your weakness, and understand that it is actually your greatest strength. Because the Bible says when I am weak, Christ's strength is made perfect in me.

2 Corinthians 12:9-11 (NLT) Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Dependency doesn't have to make us cringe. In fact, Jesus loved being dependent and as with everything else, He was perfect at it.

John 5:19 (NLT) So Jesus explained, "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.

John 12:49 (NLT) "I don't speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it."

This is something I really want to grow in. It's hard to admit that I need help, it's even harder to ask for it. But, I am called to live in relationship with God and with others, and sometimes that means being vulnerable with my weaknesses. If the idea of being dependent feels scary, uncomfortable, or just wrong to you, ask God to reveal why. Maybe there is something in your heart that He wants to heal, or a lie He wants to reveal. Often times hurts or lies that we believe keep us trapped and hold us back from the freedom that God wants to bring. Jesus doesn't ask us to do something He didn't do himself. He was perfectly dependent on the Father, so we are called to live in the same way.

This was a bit of a "bonus" update because I wanted to share about this retreat and all the amazing things God was speaking, so there will be another "normal" update coming soon! Thank you, guys, for following along with me and reading what God has put on my heart. Please reach out if you have any questions or just want to hear more.