Sometimes we just need a space to be heard and to speak what is true regardless of how morally correct it is.  The following excerpt is from the Q4 Workbook – When God Breaks In.

———————————————

Objective #2 – Being Heard: Once a safe space has been created, the second objective is for each participant is to be heard, to speak what is going on in his/her heart and life.  Communicating what is going on in the heart is a vital work. So often what causes a breakdown in our personal lives is the fear that grips us from the unknown, the inability to deal with a problem, or denying what is true in the present.  By addressing it in a safe space, the participant can begin to see that he/she is not alone in the experience.  Others are there for support.  In communitas we can address and stand up to the fear with courage.

Often the tension of being heard is that we won’t be saying “the right thing.” Often we feel something that is not morally or politically correct so we deny the reality of how we feel.  We don’t want to say it because of how others will think of us.  Yet, in denying that reality, we are denying what is true in the moment, that we feel a certain way.  Instead of speaking it, we hide it, which allows it to embed itself into our lives and fester.

Integrity means first speaking what is true about how we feel so we can begin to root out what is not true.  It allows us to put words to the tension we are experiencing and to be honest about how we feel. But in speaking honestly we can begin to unpack what we feel, why we feel that way and the story behind it.

Most of the time really addressing the concern or fear and figuring out what the person feels about it provides very deep work.  This initial process allows the person familiarity with what is “really” going on and stepping into what is honest, even when it doesn’t feel morally right.    By putting language to the concern provides real meat to the matter.  It becomes something they can grab onto and work on.

If you use Facebook, there is now an official group for Thrive Ministries.  Click here to join so you can receive updates on events, meet other people who participate and get informed.

We are very pleased to finally announce our first leadership experience called, Come Follow Me.  This 2-day experience is for pastors, leaders, house church leaders, and small group community leaders who are  interested in taking the next step towards participating and leading others in the way of Jesus.

You can find the event information here.

You can download the brochure here.

This event is limited to the first 12 participants so get your registration in soon.

We are very excited to announce a new opportunity to dig deeper into what we do and how we do it.

The first Tuesday of every month at 12:00 PM PST, we will be holding a 90 minute conference call for those interested in knowing more about Thrive.  This information session will provide you with a deeper understanding of our process, story and what it means to lead a group.

This call is for anyone who is interested in developing a missional discipleship approach in their community, home network, or church.  This includes elders, leaders, small group community leaders, pastors, and those who want to follow Jesus in an intentional way.

Participation is by request. Just leave a comment or send us an email with your interest and we will provide you with instructions for joining us on the call. We also ask that you provide specific questions for the call, if you have them.

The next scheduled call is: July 7th, 2009, 12:00-1:30 PM PST

Last night, we had an awesome conversation about the nature of going inward for three years.  In many ways it feels strange having permission to work out our own restoration in a small tribe.  It feels somewhat selfish.  But this is what Jesus did.  He gave the disciples permission to follow and listen in a very intimate way.  Each got to wrestle through the questions of what it meant to live in the kingdom of God.  I have alway said, I would love to be a fly on the wall during their private conversations.

The simple fact is Jesus left after three years and said, “Now you go do it.”  So as my own group begins to wind down, we are now beginning to prepare for what it means to lead others in the way of Jesus.  And this means asking some hard questions about our own participation.  Have we really done the work necessary to prepare ourselves for leading others? Have we really taken advantage of this space in a way that leads to our own restoration?

Leadership requires being prepared to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in the moment.  It requires the willingness to step into darker spaces so we can be love and trust to those in those spaces.  And if we haven’t prepared ourselves for that step, we won’t just be missing out on what God is doing, we will be missing out on our own journey.

What are you doing to prepare yourself to lead others in the way of Jesus?

In the seven years I’ve been developing and leading Thrive, I’ve consistently noticed one thing.  People really want authenticity but once they discover it, they realize it is much more responsibility than they imagined.

Let’s face it.  Wouldn’t it be great if we could just be let out the real “me”, which usually means leaving behind the shackles that have literally crushed us in the process of life (or existence). And in many cases, it’s easy to assume that this freedom is like setting loose a kid in a candy store.  We often think authenticity means getting to do and say anything we want.

And sometimes freedom needs a little space to roam free.  Sometimes we need to stuff our faces with candy until we’re sick and realize that all that freedom isn’t so good in bunches.  Freedom needs something else.  It needs responsibility.

What I consistently noticed is that once we reach a place where we can truly speak our mind, saying whatever we want to who we want, and how we want doesn’t have the same appeal.  What we typically really want is something that looks like Jesus, someone who loves deeply and engages a rich array of relationships.  What we really want is to be fully human.  And that doesn’t mean total abject freedom, but what I would suggest is responsible freedom.

So the real weight of freedom is the responsibility that comes with it.  It’s exploring the freedom to be fully human?  Spouting our mouth off isn’t real freedom because it produces a remarkably destructive fruit.  But being honest about how we feel, what we’ve done, and what is destroying us, allows us to begin the process of restoring our hearts.

What we need to engage authenticity is a community that can consistently remind us that what we do does not define us.  God does.