ERWIN RAPHAEL MCMANUS THE EXPERIENCE 2 PART powertochange.org 2010 Power to Change
SESSION ONE WE ARE ALL SOJOURNERS 1 WE ARE ALL SOJOURNERS FACILITATOR S OPENING COMMENTS Welcome to Soul Cravings: The Experience. This course is based on the book, Soul Cravings Prequel, in which author Erwin McManus shows us that we all have cravings, and those cravings point to the existence of God and our need to connect with Him. Soul Cravings: The Experience will help us try out a new way of discussing our faith a way that doesn t change the message, but changes how we engage with people. In this first session, we are going to work on two major things: 1. Paradigm Shift: We will discover a new way of approaching discussions about our faith one that recognizes that our culture has shifted significantly in the last 30 or 40 years. The way we used to engage people in faith discussions may not work anymore. 2. Self-Discovery: We will embark on a journey of self-discovery so that by the end of this course, we can each articulate where God has intersected our own lives in any or all of the three cravings. Up until now, you may not have thought you had any meaningful life stories to share with others, but during this course you will be reminded of how God has met you in your deepest longings. Once you can see where God has intersected your own life within your cravings, the resulting humility enables you interact with another person as a fellow sojourner who has experienced the same kinds of longings. This will help us engage others with genuineness and integrity, as opposed to meeting them with a memorized script. Throughout this course, we will be emphasizing the role of the Holy Spirit. If you have made Jesus your Savior but he is not fully directing your life, Soul Cravings: The Experience may be the key to revealing to you your need for the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit. Our connection with God through the Holy Spirit is vital in hearing and sensing God s heart as we engage with others in a way that reflects God s love for them. WE ARE ALL SOJOURNERS We are all sojourners on a common quest. We are all part of an epic story a trilogy. We are on a quest for intimacy, a quest for destiny and a quest for meaning. All of us. Christians and non- Christians. Believers and unbelievers. Saved and unsaved. The found and the lost. Us and them. God has placed cravings in your heart that will either drive you insane or drive you to him. We re all struggling to figure ourselves out. We re all afraid to expose our souls to those who might judge us, and at the same time we desperately need help to guide us on this journey. If we re not careful, we might find ourselves with everything this world has to offer and later find we have lost ourselves in the clutter. We are all searching for ourselves, trying to understand who we are, hoping that we might discover our unique place in this world. We are all sojourners on a common quest. PREQUEL, ERWIN MCMANUS, PAGE 9 Finding out that our quest is ongoing can actually be a really good thing. 1. It frees us to be honest. We are all hypocrites in transition. 2. It allows us to find common ground with our friends and neighbors. The real obstacle that most people struggle with when it comes to Jesus is this thing called Christianity. As we start the DVD, you will see that the key points and quotes have been included in your viewing guide so you can follow along. We will be stopping several times along the way for discussion and application, and we will conclude this session in 90 minutes. PAGE 2
SESSION ONE WE ARE ALL SOJOURNERS SHIFT IN THE CONVERSATIONAL STARTING PLACE CRAVING FOR DESTINY When we stop dreaming, we start dying. Whether it s striving for success or longing for significance, whether it s trying to create a better world or become a better person, there is a drive within us all. We are designed with a need to move forward. Without it our lives become only shadows of what they could have been. You can live without pursuing a dream, you can function without passion, but with each passing moment, your soul will become more and more anemic. Your soul longs to become... Without a vision for your life, without a sense of purpose, you will begin to die a slow death. To live an aimless life is to live an unfulfilling life. When we believe that God has created us to create, it begins to change everything for us. When we use a Soul Cravings approach in evangelism, we don t set out to prove that God exists as much as to help people identify where God might, in fact, already be speaking to them. I don t know how to prove God to you. I can only hope to guide you to a place where you and God might meet. Discussion Leader s Hint: Don t be afraid of silence. Some questions require time for people to gather their thoughts before they can answer. Does it make sense to you that God draws people to Himself through their deepest cravings? Do you agree that people who know Jesus can still experience soul cravings? Have you tried sharing your faith before? What was your experience like? PREQUEL, ERWIN MCMANUS, PAGES 13, 16, 18 How do you relate to the craving for destiny (what do you dream about)? If you struggle to dream, why? How can your story of craving destiny be a point of connection with someone who doesn t know Jesus? CRAVING FOR INTIMACY Love exists because God is love. Our souls will never find satisfaction until our hearts have found this love we so desperately yearn for. A life without love is no life at all. PAGE 3
SESSION ONE WE ARE ALL SOJOURNERS Whether it s Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Judaism, or any other ism, when a religion is created on the subtle premise that God withholds his love and you must submit to the system to earn that love, I consider it the worst of corruptions. But again, these traps work only because of two things: we long for love and we are convinced that all love is conditional For centuries, the church has been telling us that if we want God to love us, we need to follow the rules. It s been far more important to focus on the sin problem than the love problem. Like Solomon s lover, God is going up and down the streets of the city, traveling the most obscure paths and untamed wilderness, walking on unnamed roads in the most desolate of places, searching for the one he loves and that one is you and me and every human being who has ever walked this earth; has taken a breath; has longed for love. What people are afraid of isn t actually God; it s religion. What in the world would happen if people actually began discovering the actual message of Jesus Christ that love is unconditional? What would happen if we began to realize that God was not, in fact, waiting for us to earn his love, but that he was passionately pursuing us with his love? What would happen if the word got out that Jesus was offering his love freely and without condition? PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE Strangely enough, the best opportunity for building meaningful relationships is admitting up front that you re not perfect and you ve got issues. But when he, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. JOHN 16:13-14 Effectiveness in sharing the gospel is not about being a great communicator, or knowing the answers to all the possible questions. It s really about sharing an overflowing passion for Jesus. Where are you in your relationship with Jesus today? PREQUEL, ERWIN MCMANUS, PAGES 25, 30 Discussion leader s hint: If you tend to run short on time, try having one group member answer the first question, the next group member answer the next question, and so on. If you get through all the questions and still have time, group members can choose a different question to answer and start over. Is unconditional love something we truly understand? How has the idea of unconditional love impacted your life? How could your experience of craving intimacy be a point of connection with someone who doesn t know Jesus or even a discouraged Christian? How can we change the focus of our conversation to better reflect the irreligious nature of God and his passionate pursuit of each of us? STOP THE DVD AND REFLECT Facilitator, read the following instructions to the group: 5 MINUTES On your own, reflect on the question of where you are in your relationship with Jesus today. Mark on the graph above where you believe your relationship is, with a zero being nonexistent, and a 10 meaning I take every situation to Christ. Remember: it s not so much about where you are now, as it is about the momentum in your life. Are you a 3 moving to a 4, or are you an 8 moving to a 7? PAGE 4
SESSION ONE WE ARE ALL SOJOURNERS After you have identified on the graph where you are and the direction you are headed, write a prayer asking God s Holy Spirit to fill you and guide every part of your life. Ask him to satisfy your cravings, then trust him to answer your prayer. Dear God, STOP THE DVD AND PRACTICE IN PAIRS Turn to the person next to you and practice introducing the booklet using an opening such as, I ve been reading a book lately that talks about how we all have cravings for destiny, intimacy and meaning. I m finding it really interesting. Have you ever thought about stuff like that? Homework for this week: Give someone the Soul Cravings Prequel and ask them to read it, and set up a time to talk with them about it later. Here are ways to connect with people using the concept of soul cravings: 1. When the conversation naturally goes there and someone shares a frustration or a longing with you, make a point of connection to your own story of soul craving. 2. Take the initiative to share a situation that reveals a soul craving in your own life with someone and give them an opportunity to share some of their story with you. 5- Can you think of a time in the past few weeks when you saw evidence of a soul craving either in your own life, or in the life of someone around you? Knowing what you know now, how difficult would it have been for you to initiate a deeper level of dialogue? Other ways to use the idea of soul cravings to connect with people: 1. Use an opening question. 2. Listen to their response. 3. Ask questions to determine where they re at. 4. Share your story as it relates to theirs. 5. See where the Holy Spirit leads. FACILITATOR S CLOSING COMMENTS During this session as we have talked about the first two cravings, it has become clear that we must each have a passionate relationship with God. We cannot share what we do not have. Perhaps for some of us, this Soul Cravings Experience is an opportunity to do some personal soul searching. Ask yourself, Am I truly experiencing a Spirit-filled life, or am I still trying to meet my cravings through other things success, fame, sports, work, etc. The purpose of this experience is not only to help us engage in meaningful conversations with others, but to step back and first be reminded of all God has done to meet us on our spiritual journey. We are all being invited to a place of revival in our own hearts first. In the next session we will learn to articulate how God has met us, so we can walk side-by-side with another person on their path to discovering how God can similarly fill their deepest longings. You heard that our homework for next time is to give someone the Soul Cravings Prequel, ask them to read it, and set up a time to talk with them about it later. In order to get the most out of our next session, it is important to experience what it is like to offer the booklet to someone. So please prayerfully approach every day and see who God brings across your path that has soul cravings you can talk with them about. Bring your story of offering someone the booklet to our next session. Everyone will be asked to share what happened, and whatever your experience, we will all benefit from hearing it! PAGE 5
SESSION TWO SHARING THE JOURNEY WTIH OTHERS 2 SHARING YOUR JOURNEY WITH OTHERS FACILITATOR S OPENING REMARKS Welcome back to Soul Cravings: The Experience. We ll have time in a few moments to share how our homework went, but first let us set up the two main concepts we will be working on during this second session: 1. The Art of Meaningful Conversations: Meaningful conversations go two directions effective speaking and effective listening. We will learn to effectively articulate our own stories, then we will move to perhaps the more important part of meaningful conversation, which is to genuinely listen to the stories of others. It is only when we can effectively connect our story to their story that a true connection takes place between people. Because this is a relational approach more than an informational approach, we will learn that sometimes it is helpful to offer someone the Soul Cravings Prequel, and sometimes it is not. 2. Intentionality: As we close 90 minutes from now, we will be encouraged to be more intentional about having meaningful conversations, and to think about specific people we would like to approach using this strategy. We will be reminded that we can trust the Holy Spirit to guide us to people who are ready to engage in a faith discussion, and we can also rely on his help during any discussion he leads us to have. HOMEWORK RECAP We learned last time that we are all part of an epic story a trilogy actually. We are on a quest for intimacy, a quest for destiny and a quest for meaning. All of us. Christians and non-christians. Believers and unbelievers. The found and the lost. STOP THE DVD AND SHARE TOGETHER AS A GROUP Did you have a chance to ask someone to read the book? If not, why? If you did, how did it feel to take that step of faith? What surprised you about the experience? CRAVING FOR MEANING Every one of us is on a search for meaning. We are all on a quest. We have to make sense of life. Discussion leader s hint: If you tend to run short on time, try having one group member answer the first question, the next group member answer the next question, and so on. If you get through all the questions and still have time, group members can choose a different question to answer and start over. Part way through this last video Erwin makes the comment that the dark side of meaning is a life filled with doubt despair and cynicism. What do you think about that? Has that been true for you at times? Do you think it can be true for others? Why does it matter so much to us that we know what life is all about? Share what the search for meaning has looked like in your life. Have you experienced the dark side of meaning? If yes, was it before or after you came to faith? You may not realize it, but even if you ve experienced or are even experiencing the dark side of meaning, it doesn t disqualify you from being able to share your faith with others. It doesn t make you an impostor; it makes you human. It makes you a fellow traveler. PAGE 6
SESSION TWO SHARING THE JOURNEY WTIH OTHERS When we search for truth, we search for God. Our souls crave the One who is true. Jesus answered, I am the truth JOHN 14:6 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. JOHN 8:32 Our soul cravings are God s fingerprints on our soul. When our souls drive us to search for truth, we are actually longing for God. 5 MINUTES Discussion Leader s Hint: Don t be afraid of silence. Some questions require time for people to gather their thoughts before they can answer. We just heard Erwin acknowledge the sometimes the world doesn t make sense. How does Jesus change things? How could you share the thought that Jesus satisfies our cravings in life with someone else? JOHN 7:37B-39A To be filled with the Spirit is to make Christ the centre of our lives. When he s in that place, we can be confident the Holy Spirit is guiding what we say and do. That s the promise. When we re connected to God, we re able to do things that we should not be able to do, because it s Him, not us. Our initiative and our strength come from the Holy Spirit. How have you experienced God s Spirit working in and through you? How do you believe he will help you in sharing with others? CONNECTING YOUR STORY TO A CRAVING 5 MINUTES CONNECTING TO THE SOURCE OF LOVE Our goal is to feel comfortable just talking with people and journeying with them. If you don t feel like you could do that, don t worry because it s not all up to us. But when he, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. JOHN 16:13-14 My soul doesn t crave something from God; my soul craves God. And by the way, so does yours. Either the soul craving that resonates most with you, or the craving that connects best to your life as a whole can be a great jumping off point for sharing your faith. Your entire life your past, present and future--has God s fingerprints all over it. STOP THE DVD AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS 15 MINUTES On your own, choose ONE of the cravings and answer the questions pertaining to that craving to help you connect your story to the craving. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses ACTS 1:8A If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. By this he meant the Spirit PAGE 7
SESSION TWO SHARING THE JOURNEY WTIH OTHERS CONNECT YOUR STORY TO THE CRAVING FOR INTIMACY 1. At what point in your life did you realize that you had a need for love? How did you try to fill that need? CONNECT YOUR STORY TO THE CRAVING FOR DESTINY 1. Did you ever wonder at some point in your journey, There has to be more to life than this? 2. Did your craving for love ever leave you disappointed or unsatisfied? 2. Have circumstances stopped you from dreaming? 3. Have people you cared for ever let you down? 3. In what ways do you want your life to be significant? 4. Have you ever struggled with the idea that God loves you unconditionally? 4. When Jesus says, come follow me, what does that look like in your life? 5. At what point in your life did you realize that Jesus was pursuing you with His love? What did you do about it? 5. What gives your life purpose and direction? PAGE 8
SESSION TWO SHARING THE JOURNEY WTIH OTHERS CONNECT YOUR STORY TO THE CRAVING FOR MEANING 1. Do you struggle with making sense out of life in the face of issues in the world like injustice and suffering? PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE Now we will use the results of the worksheet to practice sharing your experience of that craving. Just beware of going into spiritual tour guide mode, where you inadvertently stop listening to what people are saying and instead, try to move through the itinerary as fast as possible. 2. Have you been disappointed by believing in something, only to find out it wasn t real, or true? 3. How do you relate to people when you don t trust them? Do you see a relationship between truth and trust? STOP THE DVD AND ROLEPLAY WITH A PARTNER 15 MINUTES First watch a sample conversation demonstrated by your facilitator. Then, referring to the questions from the Connecting Your Story to a Craving worksheet, turn to a partner and practice. One partner explains a problem they re having, and the other partner asks questions and looks for soul cravings common ground. At the end of your roleplay exercise, share with the whole group how it felt to engage in a spiritual conversation using this method. Accuracy is less important to us than authenticity. Our ability to listen to people can actually be more important than anything we might say. Don t feel like you have to fill the conversation. There s power in pauses. 4. How did you find God trustworthy in your life? Some thoughts about being a good listener: Pay full attention to what the other person is saying. Show that you are listening. Give feedback to let the person know you hear what they are saying. 5. What are the things that give meaning to your life today? Respond thoughtfully and appropriately. Affirm them for sharing their ideas honestly. Don t try to win a debate: seek to understand them. PAGE 9
SESSION TWO SHARING THE JOURNEY WTIH OTHERS Ask the Holy Spirit to give you insight into their life and a love for them Other ideas: Use the questions listed in the back of the Soul Cravings Prequel as discussion starters. Forward links to the video clips from this series, available online at icravechange.com/resources, then ask the person what they think. Connect them with an online mentor who can answer their questions at icravechange.com. Inquire about being an online mentor yourself at thementorcenter.com. FACILITATOR S CLOSING REMARKS As we have progressed together through this course, hopefully people have come to your mind with whom you could be intentional about starting a meaningful conversation. We all need to realize it s not just the down-andouters who need Christ. More often, it is the people right beside us, at work, at play, at school, where we shop, where we bank, and so on. It s not so much a matter of finding people to talk to, as it is being ready to engage with the people we already know. Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone. APOSTLE PAUL, COLOSSIANS 4:5-6 (NLT) To know him. This is what your soul craves. We are all sojourners on a common quest. We are all seekers. What better way to sum up everything we have been talking about in this course! If we could paraphrase this passage using our Soul Cravings language, it might sound like this: Listen carefully to those who are not believers, so as to engage with them when they refer to their cravings for destiny, intimacy or meaning. Let your meaningful conversations come out of the heart of a fellow-sojourner, humble and Holy Spirit-powered, ready to connect your story of soul cravings to God s power to fill the cravings of every heart. Before we conclude, we are going to have one final discussion and prayer time to solidify our decision to use what we have learned here to help us connect with someone in our lives who may not be a believer. DISCUSS AND PRAY IN GROUPS OF 3-4 Share the name of at least one person God has brought to your mind that you would like to engage in a meaningful faith conversation. Optional: Collect the contact information of your group members, and the name of the person they are praying about initiating a conversation with, and encourage each other in the coming weeks by continuing to pray for each other and checking in on how it s going. PAGE 10
SESSION TWO SHARING THE JOURNEY WTIH OTHERS Pray together. Pray by name for the people God has revealed to you. Pray that God would cause them to realize they have soul cravings that they can t satisfy on their own. Pray for each other, that you would be more aware of the people that cross your path occasionally or regularly, and be ready to engage them in a conversation that ties your story to their story of craving. Pray that God s Holy Spirit would give you boldness to initiate meaningful conversations, and would guide the conversation towards the answers we have in God. Ask for his guidance about whether or not to give people the Soul Cravings Prequel booklet to help keep the conversation going by having a follow-up discussion. PAGE 11