The Returning

Every single beating heart on this side of Eden was born with a core desire for the security of a permanent home. The experiences within our stories of origin largely drive the ways in which we seek to satisfy this desire. Together, we'll take a deeper look at the Father and/or Mother wound to explore how these holes in our hearts affect our life with God and our core motives. We'll identify patterns, beliefs and hidden agreements lurking beneath the surface and challenge these liabilities to reinforce internal and external wholeness. We'll also mine the meaning of our origin stories to examine any influence present on the critical topic of appropriate adult male/female dynamics. Whether you work or serve in mixed gendered environments or mentor others who do, by the end of this module you'll be equipped with a biblically centered, real life roadmap based on Matthew 10:16: "be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves."

You've likely heard this saying: "The only thing that doesn't change is change itself." And yet here in the West, we wear identity as a final and conclusive overarching banner, but Ecclesiastes 3 tells us no season is final. And here is the truth: if it can be taken away from you in any given season, it was never your true identity to begin with. We may intellectually understand this truth. We may even comprehend that our identity is securely attached to our belovedness in God's heart from the womb to the tomb. And yet nothing will test our faith in this area more than seasons of transition and change, whether we chose the transition or it chose us. Psalm 139 tells us God gifted us with our identity as fearfully and wonderfully made daughters in His sight before we could do anything to earn or perform for His love. Together, we'll explore how to solidify this truth on a soul-level through the additions and subtractions that take place within the seasons of our lives.

Heaven moves at the speed of relationships and yet few areas of our lives require more nuance and discernment than covenant relationships (marriage and parenting) and non-covenantal relationships (friendships, work colleagues and collaborators). Whether you're a parent navigating incessant relational conflict, a leader contemplating complex team dynamics and fortifying organizational culture, a daughter caring for aging parents, a woman in a season of aloneness seeking friendships of depth—we all benefit from examining God-given relational desires against the backdrop of loyalty to God, integrity of heart, alignment within the scope of seasonal assignment and stewardship of capacity. We will also examine the spiritual implications present within our horizontal relationships as we study healthy vs. unhealthy soul ties, trauma bonds and narcissistic personality abuse in systems and personal relationships. All themes will be covered with a heart to walk in biblical wisdom and healthy sobriety.

Under the Old Testament covenant, God's Presence dwelt in a building built with cedar, gold and stone. When Jesus died the veil was torn from top to bottom and God's dwelling place moved from a structure to a people. 1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us the "body is a temple of the Holy Spirit." Just as the old temple was set apart for holiness, our bodies are meant to become living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to the Lord (Romans 12:1). In this module we'll discuss four pillars of this conversation: the power of the tongue as a tool for worship or wounding, internal "appetites" and what these "cravings" reveal about who or what we worship, the importance of sabbath rhythms to secret place intimacy and the body as a wisdom center of discernment.

The throne room of God is the ultimate Reality of all realities. When Isaiah received a vision of this Reality as recorded in Isaiah 6 He cried: "Woe to me!...I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty." One day every single one of us will stand before God's throne. This is an inevitability for every human soul. This coming day has permanent implications. In this late hour of the Church it is imperative we get a vision for discerning God's personal invitation to us in response to Matthew 28:19: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you..." This mandate is not just for Pastors, Bible teachers, Missionaries, Prophets and Evangelists. This invitation is for all of us. The Poet, the stay-at-home Mother, the Doctor, the Accountant, the Elementary School teacher. Everyone who bears the name of Christ has a sphere of influence that does not require a marketing plan, a formal degree or an official title. In this module we'll develop a robust theology of eternity and discuss how it's meant to impact everything from our daily decisions and mundane tasks to how we handle our suffering, our money and our calendars. The goal of this module is to commission you with clarity and confidence as you seek to live into the words of 2 Corinthians 2:14-17: "But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God."