After a wonderful breakfast on Tuesday morning in the retreat center dining room (excellent food!), we went into more sessions with Bob. We always started the sessions with question and some interaction. The questions were always "gray" areas of ministry with "what would you do in these circumstances" type of answers. Very interesting questions and answers every time. Some times it was hard to discern the grace you needed to offer people and the obedience that scripture requires. Working through all of these was fun and thought provoking.
It was Tuesday morning that I learned a lot about myself. About 4 weeks before the retreat, each pastor had taken an online assessment called a "DISC" assessment. This was a behavioral study that took into consideration your personality, work style, values, and helped you understand how God wired you. It was very interesting to learn about yourself and how you work and communicate best. We had a wonderful lady named Elizabeth Jeffries come in and go through the reports with us for the better part of 2 hours. It was absolutely amazing how much you learned and how much you became aware of in yourself during this session. I think this type of learning is so valuable. At the end of the session she offered to do these same types of assessments with the church leadership (elders and staff) and I'm hoping to get that going in the near future.
We went to lunch and then another session about life at Southeast A.B. (Life at Southeast Christian Church After Bob). Bob stepped down officially in June of 2006. We went though this session and learned how you can build a church God's way and position it for growth and ministry beyond your tenure there. This time was invaluable too. I learned a ton. I was constantly reminded throughout this retreat what I already believed in my heart. This is God's church, not the elders, not my church, nor any other staff member or church member. God is holding the keys. When a church does things God's way, God-sized things happen. And amazing things at that.
After that we went to the Louisville Slugger bat factory. We got a tour and they made us some custom bats. That was really neat. Then we got to meet with one of their top execs, a man named Bill Clark. He loves his church and works with many in ministry and gave us a lot of insights about leadership. He had a great illustration that stuck with us about "swimming with the fish". It was great. Louisville Slugger is a great company run with integrity and Christian values and we all learned a ton there.
From the bat factory we ended the evening with a meal at Ruth Chris Steakhouse. It was awesome! The food was exquisite and the service was excellent. We were treated like royalty and enjoyed just sitting there with Bob and listening to him tell stories and answer questions. Tuesday was a great day.
I know that I'm running a day behind, but duty calls in this line of work many times. More posting later. Thanks for your patience.
God is so good. Take a moment and thank Him for all of the wonderful things He's done for you!
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