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Lesson OneSacred Companions on a Sacred Journey: Three Defining Elements of Supernatural Relating3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson TwoSecular vs. Spiritual SoulCare: The Danger of Blurred Distinctions3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson ThreeSoulCare Through Spiritual Direction and Spiritual Friendships: The Biblical Alternative to Psychotherapy3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson FourBeginning Steps in Spiritual Direction3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson FiveThe Rhythm of Spiritual Direction: Following the Spirit As He Releases Supernatural Goodness3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson SixSpiritual Friendship: Pouring the Passion of Christ From Your Heart into Another's3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson SevenThe Sacred Journey: Where Control is Lost, Where Good Dreams Shatter, Where God's Agenda Looks (and Feels) Bad3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson EightReal Church: Two or Three Broken People Agreed on One Purpose3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson NineEntering the Real Church of Supernatural Community: The Covenant of SoulCare3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson TenEntering the Real Church of Supernatural Community: A Format for SoulCare3 Activities1 Assessment
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Course Wrap-UpCourse Completion1 Activity1 Assessment
Participants 154
Discussion Questions
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Describe in your own words these two deceptions that cause us to walk away from God. We think we need something other than God in order to be home. We believe we are walking towards God when we are walking away from Him. How have you experienced these deceptions in your life?
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We think we need something other than God in order to be home:
I liked the illustration about US going out for a walk, where God is at home. Our flesh and this broken world lead us to believe that we can find comfort and fulfillment in something physical, or a relationship in this world. I’m struggling greatly with this lately; I’ve had some disappointments and feel disillusioned with some things that have happened recently in my life, and I am feeling crushed with depression. I know that those “things” are not ultimately important, I’m holding far too tightly to second things. It’s been a struggle to fight against my demands and disappointments.We believe we are walking towards God when we are walking away from Him:
As he spoke about this, it brought me to tears. I’ve gone through a season where my spiritual desire and journey has been growing, and my desire is to seek God in everything I do. I have cut out a lot of things that I’ve felt convicted draw me away from God (certain music, most entertainment, keeping my mind pure and my home filled with only things that would glorify God), I spend most of my free time learning from preachers and teachers. Yet, somehow, even though I’ve walked a higher level of obedience and spirituality this past couple years, I have been hit with this feeling that I have maybe been walking toward things (morality, understanding, education) more than the actual heart of God. All the things I’ve walked toward are about Him, they reflect Him or glorify Him, but I may not actually be walking toward HIM and rather toward the things that make it feel like I’m on the right path. It’s so nuanced, it was difficult to recognize. -
I have experienced a time in my life that I felt that if I only had (blank on purpose) that would complete me. I had no idea that I was actually rejecting God. I still prayed and attended church and even prayed for God’s direction but I was involved in sinful behavior. I didn’t think that I had changed spiritually. Looking back on it, I walked away from God and was deceived in my beliefs.
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I have felt such an emptiness inside that I have believed that I need something other than God in order to be home, something other than God to feel full and complete. This is a grand deception. In reality, I have learned that it is by letting these empty spaces open that I experience God’s provision, His care, His presence.
I have also experienced when I thought I was walking towards God by trying to fulfill what I thought my responsibilities were (e.g., working hard to provide for my family, being active in church leadership, etc.), but in reality I was walking away from Him because I was not living in active relationship with Him and dialoging with Him about what He wanted me to do.
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“God help those who help themselves!” We need to initiate the move before God can help us! A lie! God initiates! God waits! God woos us back to Himself.
“We are Christians only when visibly we are active in our service, or attendance in church!” A lie! As much as our fruit shows our interior heart, I was reminded of Samson. He walked away from God, towards Delilah, and even upon his death he was a “suicide bomber.” His name is recorded in the Hall of Faith!
Our destiny in Christ is based on our faith in Him, and His grace – nothing of our doings – be it our piety, or practice. -
I have experienced these great deceptions. Thinking that I was walking towards God when I was really walking away from Him and feeling like I needed something in addition to God, like God was not enough. One example is in job. I pray for God to help me do the things I want to do. Some of those things were leading me from God and causing me to invest time and energy in things that were not needed.
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Dr. Crabb makes the following observations about the spiritual journey: It is not governed by the law of linearity but by the law of liberty. Lesser dreams (even good ones) must shatter to awaken our appetite for greater dreams. To say that God is in control means that He is moving all things towards an end point that we don’t always properly value or even like. How do these observations help when you are offering spiritual friendsdhip to another?
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Dr. Crabb makes three observations about Eckhart’s quote. Discuss what you think and feel about each. God’s home is now in me. When I walk away from God, I walk away from me. The only way to discover my true self is to come home to God.
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We don’t return to God for several reasons, among them: We do not see our flesh dynamics. We lose hope. What does the phrase “flesh dynamics” mean? When have you experienced these hindrances to returning to God?
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Flesh dynamics are the processes in which we desire things other than God and try to find satisfaction in them rather than God. I have experienced flesh dynamics when I believe I can find satisfaction in something other than Christ. I’ve lost hope before when I am trying to make something in my life work and it just isn’t.
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Flesh dynamics means we let our concentration on what we cling to and not what God wants hinder, stop or block our progress in returning to God.
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Dr. Crabb wants a revolution in his life and in the church where our desire for God actually becomes stronger than our desire to fix our problems. To what extent is that revolution occurring in your life?
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I find myself drawn to knowledge of soul cares but wrestling to allow myself to be changed on a deep level. I like when life works without God, (flesh dynamics) and am grateful God doesn’t let me stay here but brings suffering and problems to nudge me to Him. When I am in over my head, I see my need of Him.
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All of my adulthood, I’ve been stirred to help others. Since my cancer journey, people often cross my path and I have felt inadequate about what to say. This is what drove me to the SoulCare courses. I knew before that the answer wasn’t about fixing their situation, giving advice or telling them my story. I just didn’t know what to do, who directed the conversation. Learning from these courses will improve how I relate with people, always keeping in mind the passion to lead them back to God or at the very least peek their interest to pursue that relationship.
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I was attracted by the topics of the first course in SoulCare and hence taking it. Instead of learning what to do, I feel that I am going trough a process of restoration in examining myself, my own brokenness and areas that require God’s love and grace to fill.
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Despite knowing all that I’ve learned through this SoulCare course, I feel like I’m finally just starting to really feel this within my soul. Right now, I feel so caught up in wanting to fix the things that are wrong… a lot of that involves prayer and constantly going to God and leaning on Him for the victory. But ultimately I know that I’m making most of my prayer life about what I want, and not just about praising and glorifying HIM. It’s not wrong to ask for the second things, but I don’t want the majority of my relationship with Him to be about me asking for things that will comfort me in this world.
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To the extent I slow down, listen to the Spirit by spending time with Him in the Word, am involver with others in relationships of depth…then it is happening to some degree. It could always be more…and hopefully it will be in the days ahead. Ironically, I have found since I retired from the Church as Pastor that it is happening more…as Pastor I fell too often into the trap of “running the church” instead of spirtually directing people.
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When did you last sense a longing to have another person walk with you as you walk home to God? What did you do about that longing?
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