Really enjoyed speaking to the men of the Anaheim Vineyard last weekend on the topic of "Living in the Power of Four". It was an "in house" mini-retreat on the Church campus that went Friday night and through lunch on Saturday -- a nice way to pack in a good time together, including two meals, worship and some ministry time.
One of the key themes around the Power of Four teaching that Dr. Steve Bagley and I have developed is the question: "Who do you need in your life at this time to become the man God has called you to be?" Just a note here: we mostly present this to men, but more and more women are enthusiastically embracing the P4 model so their core question would be "Who do you need in your life at this ime to become the woman God has called you to be?"
The Power of Four concept is about four members of the same sex setting their own time and place to meet, usually weekly, to walk with each other as Christ-followers who are seeking to be real, transparent, and available to know one another and be known. A P4 group is not a Bible study, prayer meeting, accountability group or recovery group - although Scripture, prayer, accountability and restoration all "show up" whenever believers get serious about really sharing their lives with one another in a "safe" environment.
I have been in P4 groups for several years now and find it to be one of the most anchoring, empowering, life-changing and fulfilling chunks of time I spend with others in the course of a week. At the Anaheim gathering, Paul Mills, one of my fellow group members (along with Dr. Bagley) shared some of his testimony of what it is like for him as a "thirtysomething" to give and take with a guys who are in other seasons of their lives (I'm in my fifties and Steve is in his sixties). He also shared about some of his personal struggles and how God has used our group to enable him to be a better husband, father and Jesus-follower.
The guys were very receptive and it is my hope that new P4 groups will form out of the 80 or so men that came to the event. The whole thing was recorded and also filmed, so watch for how you can get in on this! I'm also very happy to come to your church, retreat or other setting and share about the benefits and "how-to's" of "Living in the Power of Four".
1 comment:
we're trying to fold this kind of thing in at our faith community...which is in transition from a more attractional model of doing church to more missional (although still in transition)...i know of a few who are jumping in to this and it seems really healthy
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