WILD AND FREE the leader guide

WILD AND FREE the leader guide

WHY LEAD A WILD AND FREE GROUP? Wild and Free is a book that has the potential to break open tiny little cracks women didn t even know they had and allow God to pour His light in and heal, grow, and redeem. We believe that any solid look at God should begin with Scripture, so we wanted to lay out the idea of Wild and Free for you so that you can do so for your group. Wild and Free started as sort of a rally cry for us when we ran up against something that was hard. We d say #WildandFree and encourage each other to live out the identity we knew God had given us, even if it felt weird. We were done with fake and domesticated living, and wanted the wild freedom we knew God granted us on the cross. So, Wild and Free began In earnest with the idea of: WILD: Walking in who God created us to be our Eden Identity FREE: Resting in the work Jesus has done for us our Redeemed Identity It s not an either/or, Instead it s a both/and.

BIBLICAL BACKGROUND FOR WILD AND FREE Genesis 1:26-31 Then God said, Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground. Then God said, I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground everything that has the breath of life in it I give every green plant for food. And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning the sixth day. This idea of very good is the word ט וב (towb) in Hebrew you say it tobe like ear-lobe in case you were wondering. Towb means good, pleasant, excellent. Jess unpacks this whole idea in Chapter 5 and it is GOOD. I would encourage you to read Chapter 5 before you start your group so that you have a good handle on this concept.

BIBLICAL BACKGROUND FOR WILD AND FREE For the idea of free, we look especially to Galatians 5:1, It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. The Freedom in this passage is the Greek word ἐλευθερίᾳ which you say eh-loo-tha-ross and it means free and in Scripture it is used in a few different ways. - Free, in a born sense. You were not born a slave which points to your Eden Identity (Wild). - Free, in an obligation sense. You don t have to do anything. - Free, from the consequence of Mosaic Law. You are free from the bondage of sin which points to your Redeemed Identity (Free).

OTHER SCRIPTURE PASSAGES TO DIG INTO Chapter 1 Genesis 2:22-25 1 John 3:1 2 Corinthians 5:20 Matthew 6:28-29 1 Peter 2:9 Chapter 2 1 Peter 3:3-4 Matthew 5:5 Romans 12:2 John 14:27 1 Peter 5:7 John 4:7-19 Chapter 3 Hebrews 1:3 Psalm 25:14 Hosea 3:1 Romans 8:39 Romans 5:8 Zephaniah 3 1 John 4:8 Chapter 4 Luke 15 John 10:27 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 Psalm 139:7-10 Proverbs 19:21 1 John 1:7 Chapter 5 Genesis 1 Genesis 1:26-27 Genesis 2:7 Ephesians 3:20 Ephesians 2:10 Luke 1:46-49 Joshua 2:11 Chapter 6 Romans 6:6 Romans 13:14 Psalm 139:1-16 1 Samual 7:12 Chapter 7 2 Corinthians 12:9 Pslam 16:6 1 Peter 2:9 Chapter 8 Proverbs 31:25 I Corinthians 15:56-58 Philipians 3:14 Proverbs 19:23 Psalm 34:10 Psalm 16:6 Romans 15:13 Proverbs 16:9 Psalm 139:16 Ephesians 2:10 Galatians 5:22-23 Colossians 1:22-23 John 11:4 Philippians 1:21

OTHER SCRIPTURE PASSAGES TO DIG INTO Chapter 9 Isaiah 54:17 Romans 8:37 2 Timothy 4:2 Ephesians 4:2 Romans 2:4 Romans 16 1 Peter 2:9 Chapter 10 Exodus 2:22-23 2 Corinthians 11:20 John 15:5 Galatians 5:22 Philippians 3:3 Hebrews 13:21 Galatians 5:1-5 Colossians 3:3 Psalm 119:114 Exodus 12:33 Exodus 1:9-11 Exodus 2:11 Exodus 3:9-10 Exodus 5:11,17 Chapter 11 Proverbs 27:17 Isaiah 61 Ephesians 6:10-18 Hebrews 10:24-25 Chapter 12 Matthew 19:26 Philipians 4:13 Matthew 28 Philippians 3:13-14

TIPS ON GATHERING A GROUP Wild and Free is a great summer or fall read for a group of women. It s not set up like a typical Bible Study, so there s no homework but utilizing the teaching videos and leader guide should give you all you need to dig in together. Some tips for starting a group: - Pick a rhythmic time that works for your group: once a week, twice a month, or once a month. - Set clear expectations for what you ll aim to read each time you meet, but cover one another in grace if it doesn t get done! - Group discussion works awesome in groups of 5-15. If you have fewer than five, it may be a little too quiet and if you have more than fifteen, consider splitting into smaller groups for intimacy sake! - Spend time praying with one another and for one another. - Practice calling each other up and not out. Speak life over each other and your wild and free-ness. - Put action to what you learn: be on mission together, live out your wildness together, join one another in freedom. Let your hearing become doing TOGETHER. - As a leader, pray for your women and ask them to pray for you.

TIPS FOR ONLINE BOOK CLUBS OR SHARING If this isn t the season for you to gather with other women in the flesh and study together, don t despair. There will be thousands of women using the hashtag: #wildandfreebook and we believe God will be building community there! Share what you re learning and speak into the other lives who are learning as well. Many women are hosting online book clubs via their blogs, facebook groups, and online communities. Our best tips for doing this are to be vulnerable and ask questions that really call for feedback. We ll provide questions in the pages that follow! Other ideas: - Make your own hashtag or graphic for people to share! - Periscope about the book and let people ask you questions. - Ask your questions via twitter during an online book club hour.

DISCUSSIONS QUESTIONS: Chapter One: In what ways are you currently living tame and tethered? How did you get there? Chapter Two: Which description of women living defensively hits the closest to home for you? See page 43. Chapter Three: Is God allowed to be wild in your life? Do you find yourself viewing Him in a box or keeping Him in one to protect yourself? Chapter Four: Do you feel free to live in the light? What would it look like for you to stop hiding today? Chapter Five: Page 102 says that what God has called good, we will not call anything else. Do you call yourself good? Chapter Six: How do you preach the gospel of freedom to yourself daily? How could your friends encourage you in this process? Chapter Seven: Which descriptions of a wild woman feel the most natural to you? Which ones feel like you d need some Holy Spirit help to walk in? Chapter Eight: Which descriptions of a free woman feel the most natural to you? Which ones feel like you d need some Holy Spirit help to walk in? Chapter Nine: Where have you traded tolerance for tameness in your life? Chapter Ten: In what ways do you prefer captivity? What scares you the most about walking in freedom? Chapter Eleven: What could you do TODAY to spread wild freedom? Chapter Twelve: What would it look like for you to be burdened with the freedom of other women? How would that change your life?

OTHER RESOURCES Don t miss out on our Wild and Free teaching videos! They re free if your preorder 5 books and will be for sale after the book launches for a small price. There are four teaching videos and they re not your grandma s Bible study videos Jess and Hayley are painting the entire time they re teaching, so they re also visually appealing. wearewildandfree.com/preorders wearewildandfree.com/store We ve created a facebook group for leaders to connect with one another, share insights from the book, and ask Hayley and Jess any questions they might have. Ask to join here: facebook.com/groups/wildfreeleaders If you preorder ten books before May 3 rd, you can have Jess and or Hayley call in to your group some time this summer or fall. Find out more here: wearewildandfree.com/preorders If you d like Jess and Hayley to come to your church or town to have a Campfire Commissioning and encourage your women, Find out more information here: wearewildandfree.com/events