Its not the end........its just the beginning!!

This, apparently, was the last week that our small groups are meeting.  All were present today.

We had a lively discussion, of course;), about mentoring.  The thoughts and ideas flowed.  Sometimes they clashed, sometimes they meshed, but I feel that everyone was heard and felt secure enough in our group to express opinions that would, in the larger classroom setting, go unvoiced.  

I'm not really going to dwell on the mentoring issue today though, even though Mr. Martin and Jason did an excellent job presenting their ideas to the class.  Instead I would like to focus on the small group idea.

Thank-you Jason for implementing the small group formation.  In all honesty, the sharing and discussing of ideas in my small group has impacted me far more than the actual class has.  Kudos to you for recognizing this Jason, and for being mature enough in your relationship with the Lord to let Him lead your class in twenty "little" groups as opposed to you always leading us as one big group.  I am very grateful to you.

What can I say to/about my small group?  This has been the first small group I have been a part of as a Christian.  You all have impacted me in ways that I could never possibly convey to you even if I understood them all right now.  God has used you all to minister to me, chastize me, teach me, and surround me in a positive atmosphere.  How amazing is that? I am honoured to have gotten to know you all and look forward to spending eternity with you praising Him.

I pray that you always remember your zeal for the Lord as it is right now and that that zeal grows a thousand fold!!  

Love in Him who loved us first! (a favourite phrase from a favourite book ;)  )

Kate

 

 

Today we went on a retreat. We were supposed to hear God today. Mat was able to hear what he wanted to hear. He was searching for clarity on issues surrounding where it is that he is supposed to used by God. His conflict was with wether he wanted to be used in a corporate Church setting or not. From what I gathered there was conflict internally because he did not want that. But while walking he was given guidance from God and he realized that God would use him wherever he is.
Kate did not feel that she got much out of this retreat, except that she had a further revalation into her struggles as a Christian. At first she felt that the retreat was too forced, but I believe that she did get something out of it.
I did not get much of a chance to talk to Ben or Joanna when they got back but I would say that they atleast enjoyed themselves because of how long they were wandering around.
Myself (John Jonathan), I felt that I was going to get a lot out of this; however all I recieved was guilty feelings about the lust that I struggle with on a daily basis. I chose to remain silent for the whole day. The thing that I found weird is that it was easier to stay silent when everyone else was talking. When they were quiet also, it was more difficult.

the awesomest group time ever!!!

This week everyone was here for our group time, which made it super awesome.  We have such a dynamic group, its wonderful to have so many different viewpoints from so many strong (I hesitate to use the word stubborn!  lol) individuals!!

We started out talking about our views on what was discussed in class, which in itself was insightful as always, however we veered off onto a tangent that we followed and which led us all to stay for an extra half hour after class finished.  We started talking about commitment, what leads to commitment, attraction, sex, and guilt all from a christian standpoint. We all come from such diverse backgrounds and are all at such different points in our walk with Christ that the thoughts and ideas that sprang up from our diversity fostered an openness and closeness that we, as a group, haven't experienced before.

As a fairly new Christian it was, and I am only going to speak for myself in this blog, so affirming for me to know that the others in the group struggled with the same types of issues as me.  The concepts of real guilt, false guilt, and shame, and how it all fits in with the other topics we were discussing was especially significant.  The Enemy is so adept at using guilt against us, even when there is nothing to be guilty about.  One group member stated that Satan puts certain thoughts and ideas into our heads and then turns around and makes us feel guilty about it in the hopes of causing us to stumble.  This is something that I am struggling with pretty intensely right now and I feel that the Lord used our group time to minister to me through our conversation.  Thank you Lord!!  

Thank you all for investing a little more of yourselves into our group than usual.  God has used you to instruct, teach, guide, and invoke self awareness for a struggling Sister and I am very blessed by all of you!!

Love,

Kate

Finances, A Touchy Subject

Kate, John, Mat, Ben and myself Joanna in attendance.

Jumping into finances as a debt was the start to a rather touchy subject. I say touchy because it was a general spoken consensus that we were unsure of what was really said about tithing. Was the Mennonite Foundation of Canada (MFC) telling us to give all of our money away at church or were they suggesting that we were bad if we were not tithing? In hopes to keep personal finances personal, I too will stay consistent and leave names out. A quick note that all who were present contributed to the conversation. There were a few confessions of feeling the pain of debt and the struggle to tithe when we are in a time of making ends meet.

After wrestling with the question what is debt? Most were in agreement that purchasing a house could be a wise investment and although technically a debt, it was more an asset. Some expressed their desire to pay off their arrears and others felt that paying them off is next to impossible.

My view is that bringing up the topic of tithing in ministry is a must but speaking about it does not have to frustrate, condemn or confuse people so much. It is my suggestion that MFC could have less focus on ten percent as the tithe and more focus on prayerfully identifying what is right for each person individually. If our relationship is personal to Jesus, wouldn’t that mean that the amounts we tithe are personal too? I would like to point attention to 2 Corinthian’s 9:7 “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity... (NKJV)”. My interpretation is that The Word is not just talking about money. Judging by many claiming this day that they felt guilty not being able to give as much as they would like, the attempt to discuss came across as very legalistic. Perhaps they could explore other ways to give so that it comes from the heart and seems attainable.

Kate’s suggestion for the MFC to provide ways for Pastor’s to talk more about tithing seems very suitable. I also agree with Ben’s idea that some churches do not need to be as big as they are and have all the fine trimmings. What else could that money be used for?

Titles are not important, right?

Today we explored the topic of finances in class.  In our own discussion group, we talked mostly about debt.  Seeing as how we are all students, debt is highly relevant.  Due to the personal nature of finances, no names will be mentioned.

We discussed the various levels of debt that each of us as individuals have incurred, and what it is like to have that much debt.  Levels of debt included small credit card balances, OSAP, lines of credit, governmental fines, and mortgages.

The following question was raised.  Does a mortgage actually count as debt?  It is certainly considdered a debt when it is applied to a speadsheet or when speaking to an accountant.  It costs money to live anywhere, so what is wrong with paying for a mortgage as opposed to paying rent?  The money payed out to rent is not retained at all, whereas with a mortgage, everything payed over top of the interest is retained in the value of the building/property.  We then discussed how when with any debt, there is value in every dollar that is payed out, exempting that payed out for interest.  The specific mechanics of reducing interest payments were discussed.

The following is an evaluation of the presentation by Mat Snyder.  These views are not neccessarily held by other members of Team Awesome.

The presentation has many important points, and primarily addressed the critical issue of opening up a discussion about money within the church.  This is an important stronghold that needs to be addressed. I felt the point about pastors being unwilling to talk about finances to have been made very well, and has been delivered to many young bible college students who will be future pastors.  The information about how much Jesus talked about money was especially important.

Improvements: The Christian jargon about sheep instead of dollars is unneccessary and confusing.  The bible is talking about income, which comes from work and monetary success.  Money is a clear analogy to cows.  The confusion about wether or not a student should tithe on his or her loan should have been made clear.  If money has not been earned, money need not be tithed.  The presentation could also have been adapted more to a student body.  The present reality of an average student is low income and large debt, so dealing with these issues in a practical manner first may allow other topics to be addressed with greater attention afterwards.