Renovare, Part II

Sorry for the delay. Other stuff kept coming off and my Saturday wrap-up got pushed back almost a week. But here we are again.

The first session on Saturday morning was titled "A Balanced Vision for Spiritual Renewal." In it, Richard Foster talked about living your life in six "streams" (his word, not mine) traditions. Here's the seven:

1. Contemplative - A life of intimacy with God
2. Holiness - A life that is functional and whole
3. Charasmatic - A life immersed in, empowered by, and under the direction of the Spirit of God
4. Social Justice - A life dedicated to the love and care of our neighbor
5. Evangelical - A life founded upon the proclaimed and written word of God
6. Incarnational - A life which seeks to make present and visible the realm of the invisible Spirit.

Now all that sounds a bit complicated and confusing. But it comes down to this: living every minute of your life as an active, spirit-filled believer.

In the following session, he talked about how to develop a practical strategy for spiritual growth. It's pretty hard-core stuff. Foster talked about creation spiritual formation groups whose sole purpose was spiritual growth. Not your normal weekly Bible study, but a brutally honest and soul-bearing weekly interaction with other believers. Here's a link to some information on the Renovare site about these SFG's. Be sure to read through the "Questions of Examen."

During this session I was one of six volunteers to be called up on stage and role-play for an SFG demonstration. We read through the first three sections and then each of us shared on question #3a. I spoke about how God showed me that bad drivers are no better than I am and that any anger I have toward them is unwarranted. And sometimes I don't drive very smartly either.

Again, it was very good conference, and if this is your cup of tea (which I hope it is), you should consider learning more. It definitely got me out of my comfort zone and I interacted with people that I never would have spoken to otherwise (plus I discovered why there are so many United Methodist churches on Simpson Ferry Road).