What was the Aprentis Conference Like: Day 1

A mentor/group leader/ friend of mine asked me to share more about my experiences at Aprentis. I thought it was a good idea to share some of my gleanings from the conference, and think through why I liked it so much. Also, since it is a first year, it might be helpful to think through what I would like to see done differently.

FRIDAY

Conversation with Dallas Willard and James Bryan Smith--This was mainly Dallas speaking. I thought it was helpful, but I was discouraged that a lot of what we got seemed to be more "stock" answers and talk. I thought Dallas was insightful with a lot of what he had to say though.

Some thoughts that stood out to me:

• Are we practicing spiritual disciplines as a means of spiritual transformation, or is the experience an end of itself. It should be the former rather than the later.
• We need to train our bodies in disciplines that we form our spirit.
• "In the living of life one of the most important things is to do without the things you want....this is central to true spiritual formation and transformation"
• Evangelism is most effective when it is done by transformed people
• "Instead of asking 'if you die tonight' ask 'if you don't die tonight' when you are attempting to reach someone for Christ

Ministry Demonstration--Aprentis. I found this workshop to be enormously helpful. In it, a church that used the Aprentis program sucessfully demonstrated and explained how it was used by their church to grow believers into Christlikeness. I got a feel for how the series came about, how it was designed for small groups in the church, and how it could be a great tool in the church I served. Since this meeting, I have listened/read about half of THE GOOD AND BEAUTIFUL GOD on CD. I think I am going to use it with our church after the beginning of the year.

General Session--Dallas Willard--For me, this was helpful review. Dallas presented his vision-intention-means understanding of how true spiritual transformation takes place. This is written about in depth in his book RENOVATION OF THE HEART, which I read several years ago. I needed the VIM reminder as I look at my own life, but also as I look and where I am leading others. Dallas pointed out that churches often move past vision and intention, and try to push "means" (i.e. program or system) on people in order to grow them. This, he suggests, short circuits the VIM process. A great quote during this talk, "Spiritual formation is not a set of practices, it is what happens as a result of participating in those practices." For several of the chats after the talks on the stage, Willard kept asking the question, "Does God let us 'get away' with anything? It was a thought-provoking question as we probed deeper into the issue.

General Session--James Bryan Smith--A great speaker, Jim Smith has a top notch mind, and a youth pastor like charm when sharing what he knows with people. One of Smith's helpful approaches, both in his books and in this speech, is that spiritual transformation does not happen unless we have healed and healthy narratives about who God is, who we are, and what our role is in the body of Christ and the world. His system for helping people grow spirtually is great, and I am appreciating a lot.

Well...that is all I have time for. Maybe I will try and share more later in the week....