Wow, what a week!! We spent the last six days down in Kansas City at Avant doing leadership training. It was an intense week of classes! I had planned to try and get some blogging in while we were down there, but that never happened. So, now I am trying to process everything and write something profound, which I guarantee won't happen.. so my goal is just to put some thoughts down to share and remember about an amazing week.
We had the awesome blessing of meeting two other couples who were there with us, Stephanie and Mike (heading to Tanzania) & Ben and Britta (heading to France). We also had two other couples sitting in on the activities of the week; Andrew and Natalie (missionaries from Italy) & Bob and Janice (missionaries from Ecuador, directors of The America's at Avant). What a powerful week of teachings on the basics of what it means to be a leader, always being a learner, and fully relying on God for all things. Trust and grace are so important in team building, knowing that without them relationships fail to grow.
We focused on the great commission, going over John 20:21, Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:18-20, and Acts 1:8. We were able to break down and partake in the ways each of these applies to us and understand the importance of applying what we know. It caused me to have a deeper conviction in God's authority, knowing we are leading His mission! Loved the quote Jack said, "Leadership is Follwership!" Remembering always that we are leading, but we are following Jesus! Also knowing that everyone is basically incompatible... apart from the Grace of God. There were so many great quotes of the week.. I could literally write a whole blog on them.. hmm maybe an idea. :) "Dead positionally, alive practically," was another great reminder from Jack about where the real power lies.
I enjoyed learning more about being an ambassador for Christ. Talking about and listening to people share their testimonies of success and appeared failure at sharing the gospel... encouraged by how God is willing to use us, these broken and scarred vessels, yet He delights in us! Another funny quote from Jack, "God could use the gospel blimp," but he uses us because He wants to! :) Remembering also that we never graduate from John 3:16... remembering that it's about the basics... the challenge is in doing and remembering... Keeping the first things first!
This is only a glimpse of a few days, I have so much more to digest and go through, and I will probably be writing more about it... I already have a few future blogs playing out in my head! Stay tuned :)
