Inward Bound

Besides our Leadership Retreat, we do 2 spiritual formation retreats at NCC- Inward Bound and Upward Bound. Upward Bound focuses on connecting with God by experimenting with different spiritual disciplines. Last fall, we used the tabernacle as a metaphor for the weekend, and we explored communion, baptism, prayer, journaling, worship, and Bible meditation. We even set up prayer stations that represented different components of the Tabernacle.

This weekend is Inward Bound, the flagship NCC retreat. This was always Pastor Mark's baby, but he has turned over the reins to me this year. We are going to be exploring how God has wired us and discovering the story that he is writing in our lives. The sessions will look something like this:

• Orientation- Begin at the end. It sounds a bit morbid, but we will challenge folks on the first night of the retreat to think about their death bed. What have they learned? What have they accomplished? Whom did they influence? What investments will follow them to heaven and which will not amount to a pile of ashes?
• Session 1: Interpreting Your Past. We will provide a framework for people to begin writing their life story. Dividing their life into "Chapters," they will list people, places, and events that were significant in their personal development and life trajectory.
• Session 2: Discovering Your Spiritual DNA. We will talk about Dual Destiny-- our universal destiny (to become like Christ and share him with others) and our unique destiny (what discipleship and evangelism look like in our own lives)
• Session 3: Preparing for Your Future. We will list 1oo life goals.
• Session 4: Understanding Your Present. We will talk about the importance of being plugged into God's word and accountability relationships, the importance of delays and detours, and the spiritual discipline of living day by day.
• Session 5: The Jealous Author. In order to understand the story that is being written in our lives, we must know our Author. Our Author is a jealous God who loves us and deeply desires relationship with us.

We will head to the retreat site, Rocky Gap, on Friday and stay through Sunday. It should be a great time.