"For as long as it's still God's Today, Keep each other on your Toes so Sin doesn't slow down your reflexes." (Hebrews 3:13 The Message)
"Lets us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another. (Hebrews 10:25)
Practice the "One Anothers" of Scripture in context of a committed community.
The Holy Spirit is on a Salvation move were people switch jobs, leave communities and turn over relationships at an astonishing rate. The problem as God sees it is consequently we are a society solely based on acquaintances, colleagues and allies but no real friends. We may know how to work together to get things done, and we may be gifted in small talk, shop talk, and weather talk, but we Trust no one with the last 10 percent of ourselves. In a crisis we don't know who to call in the middle of the night, there is no one we Trust with Our Lives.
Covenant groups are a particular kind of small group designed to take participants to deep levels of the soul with one another. They provide a vehicle for continuity and development of relationships that attend to peoples' stories as well as the hard questions concerning lifestyles, priorities, goals, and Spiritual Well-Being. Because the Trust and Safety needed for this kind of Self-Revelation takes time, Covenant Groups tend to be Long-Term and closed to people dropping in to try it out as the covenant group decides together whether to bring in new members or spit.
As Trust builds, members learn how to Listen Deeply to One Another in the Presence of Christ.
They Promise to Encourage, Help Support, Challenge, and Pray for One Another.
Intentional Spiritual Nurture, Care and Listening are Primary Reasons For Gathering(S).
Therefore, the Major Portion of Group Time is Devoted to Authentic Sharing By and Prayer For Each Member.
Covenant Groups may sign a written covenant the Addresses Availability, Prayer, Openness, Honest, Confidentiality, Accountability or so forth. Or the Covenant may be a verbal promise to remain faithfully engaged with others on the journey. In either case the Deliberate and Intentional nature of Covenant groups Requires Shared Commitment. Such would include challenged one, corrected one, cried with one and held one in their Pain kept them on Track.
At times covenant groups take on projects or ministries together. One covenant group may consist of seasoned reborn spiritualists in the faith involved with different ministries in the greater Chicago area. They may decide that the one thing they can do together that would incorporate their gifts and desires would be to lead a Spiritual Pilgrimage in which introduced spiritual practices of Ignatius of Loyola, Teresa of Avila, and John of the Cross.
Share: Spiritual Disciplines Handbook - Practices That Transform Us.
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