2009 Men’s Retreat Testimony — Andrew Coverdale

Sojourner Andrew Coverdale provides a quick recap on the 2009 Men’s Retreat: Act Like Men:

This past weekend’s Sojourn Men’s Retreat was tremendous in every way possible…meeting new dudes in small groups…the free time & relaxation, the worship, my cell phone being OFF, the messages themselves. A room full of men lifting their voices to an awesome God is a filling experience.

I think that each of the talks could have been their own retreat, full of insight and challenges—too many to sum up, so I’ll just relate one thing from each that I’m trying to apply:

1) Daniel – Men as Kings – identify and attack the ways and the reasons you’re in the “fetal position” in life, avoiding major decisions or decisive action because of being overwhelmed, confused, afraid, or your own excuses. Prayerfully step into situations that are unclear, do something, and understand that God’s grace will round off the edges if your action isn’t exactly the “right” action. God’s grace is of no value if you do nothing…can’t help those in the fetal position. Struck a lot of the same chords as a great book called The Silence of Adam which has really impacted me.

2) Robert – Men as priests – Be alert! Use I Corinthians 13 and all the qualities of love as a mirror to evaluate how alert you are in your love toward the people and situations in your life…a really penetrating inventory.

3) Rob – Men as prophets – really, really loved the way he dealt with Psalm 119 in particular, and how he breaks it down, and specifically how he dealt with the word “meditate,” in practical ways, talking about the huge difference between “ice skating on top of the Word” and allowing it to soak into our deepest parts through the daily ways we can integrate it into our life.