On Expedition +

ALIGNING WITH GOD’S HEART

Evelyn’s statement above is typical of many who have been wounded by others in life. Even though she had become a Christian and was involved in leadership and ministry, Evelyn continued to feel unloved at a deep level. She felt she was unworthy and poor. That was before she took our On-Expedition Phase 3 training: “ON-EXPEDITION PHASE-3: ALIGNING YOUR HEART WITH THE FATHER-HEART OF GOD.”

WOUNDS: WE ALL HAVE THEM

On our recent trip to Uganda we led our Phase 3 training for the first time in the western city of Rukungiri. When we asked the participants to write one word on flip charts that described their fathers growing up, here is some of what they wrote:

• “Violent”
• “Absent”
• “Unkind”
• “Not loving”
• “He beat me”
• “Harsh”
• “A fighter”
• “He hurt my mother”
• “Abusive”
• “Drunkard”

Only one person wrote that their father was “Loving.”

LIES, LIES, LIES

Wounds are often inflicted by the kind of fathers listed above, but there are many sources by which we are wounded. These wounds leads to lies, like Evelyn’s: “God can’t use me!” Others say things like:

• “I am unworthy!”
• “I am ugly!”
• “I am unlovable!”
• “I don’t matter!
• “I can’t have an impact!”
• “I will not succeed!”
• “I am helpless!”
• “I am useless!”

These are just a few of the actual statements that the leaders we are training made. Our Phase 3 training is designed to help these leaders address the wounds, lies, agreements, accommodations, and masks they unconsciously accumulate—and instead align their hearts with God’s heart toward them. Here is the format we follow:

SESSION 1: Welcome, Introductions, and Teach Back…

SESSION 2: Our Father’s Heart for His Sons and Daughters

SESSION 3: Our Wounds, Lies, Agreements and Poses (Masks)

SESSION 4: Healing Our Wounds, and Rejecting Our Agreements, Lies and Poses

SESSION 5: Living from Our New Heart

SESSION 6: Engaging in the Battle, the Adventure, and the Rescue

SESSION 7: Forgiving, Taking Risks, and Becoming Spiritual Fathers (and Mothers)

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TRANSFORMATION

How exciting it is to see the light of God’s truth shine in the hearts and minds of those engaging in our training. In place of the lies and agreements, to hear participants grasp God’s love and what God thinks of them:

• “I am loved!”
• “I am not a failure!”
• “I matter in His eyes!”
• “I am empowered!”
• “I have what it takes!”
• “I am not an orphan!”
• “I am precious in Christ!”
• “God believes in me!”
• “I am God’s beloved son!”
• “I am a head not a tail!”

Like Evelyn, they are experiencing healing and empowerment. In Evelyn’s words:

“I thought God couldn’t use me, but now I know I am loved and rich in Christ! I have used what I learned in Phase 3 to encourage others who feel unloved and have been wounded. My testimony of forgiving people who wounded me, even some who are dead, has been used by God. My heart was a wide-prison but now I am free.”

PRAYER AND THANKS

Thank you for being on this Divine Expedition with Jesus and with us as we seek to free people from the wounds of life so that they can fully engage in “multiplying viral, missional, church planting movements.” Pray that God will continue to empower those we train to multiply the On-Expedition training. Pray that He will rise up laborers, as “the harvest is great but the laborers are unequipped” [my paraphrase].

Thanks for being part of transforming lives and equipping leaders to impact our world for Christ and His kingdom.

Linus and Sharon