We spent Friday evening and most of the day Saturday at the Renovare conference in Camp Hill, PA. Renovare is the ministry of Richard Foster, best known for his book, Celebration of Discipline, which we both were required to read in seminary in the early 1990s.
The word "renovare" comes from the Latin translation of 2 Corinthians 4.16: That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed [renovare] every day.
It was a good time of spiritual renewal. It was also good to hear Richard Foster teach. Along with Foster, Juanita Rasmus, who pastors St. Johns United Methodist Church, along with her husband Rudy Rasmus, was also a presenter at this conference. Juanita is a dynamic communicator.
Here are some things I took from the conference …
Spiritual Disciplines — doing what you can do to be empowered to do what you can’t do.
It does not depend on the skill of the instrument but on the grace of God.
Producing "patient endurance" (James 1.2) allow us to be response-able (able to respond).
Between God’s Promise and God’s Provision, is often a Problem (e.g. Joseph, Moses, Saul, etc.).
Westerners go to God primarily with their head and mouth; Koreans go to God primarily with their ears and heart (this one especially caught my attention because we recently decided to adopt from Korea!). It’s the The head/mouth approach is the McDonald’s Drive Thru approach. We pull up to the board, place our order, then drive to the window to get our order.
2 Peter 1.5 "make every effort" — The opposite of grace is works, not effort.
I’ve always loved Mark 1.35-38. Juanita called the disciples’ response "holy distractions" …
Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Later Simon and the others went out to find him. When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.” But Jesus replied, “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.
Again, it was a good event for us. Many of the events we attend are leadership/personal growth oriented, so it was good to attend an event for spiritual renewal. It came at a good time, too, with the big events of the past week!