Each morning during our international Mission Adventures Circle of elders gathering, one of us gave a short devotional thought to start our days. As I reflect back on our time together, I feel like these are lasting words for us all. Here's a short synopsis:
Be Honest with One Another
We started our time together with a challenge to be real, honest, and transparent with one another. At first, this seemed like something very easy for us to do because we have all known each other for many years. But then we were challenged with the idea of what it means to really know one another. It was good to consider this and see that God is calling us to a deeper level of friendship and intimacy with each other.
Immerse Yourself in the Word of God
Each of us was given a stone and then asked to consider the Pacific Ocean. If we are the stone, and the ocean is the Word of God, where do we want to be? It was obvious to us that we spend far too much time on the shore only occasionally getting wet. We felt a clear call to spend more time reading and meditating on the Bible as well as practicing the presence of the Word himself.
Be Childlike not Childish
We discussed the time Jesus told the disciples that in order to be a part of the Kingdom it's necessary to become like children. It was clear to us that even as adults, we find ourselves acting child-ish, instead of child-like. We found it interesting that Jesus made this distinction when the disciples were concerned about their position. This is a clear call to us to create a family-like circle that's based on pure relationships and not on position, authority, or power.
Celebrate One Another's Gifts
We finished our time together by celebrating our diversity. We took time to share with each other the different gifts we see in each other. It wasn't really a surprise that we didn't have enough time to even finish this. However, the takeaway was that as we grow closer together to God and each other, we will have a greater appreciation for the strengths, gifts, and callings we see in each others' lives.
Of course, the iMAC included lots of other discussion, but we think a main theme of our time together was to create the kinds of relationships where candor, trust, and even love can abound. And it's in this kind of environment that God somehow extends covering through us to our Network around the globe. In the same way, we encourage you to create these kinds of relationships in your teams and circles where you are.