Cultivating Transformation

C U LT I VAT I N G

TRANSFORMATION

a field guide

for growing the fruit of love, joy, and peace in your life.

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PREPARE YOUR PLOT Colossians 3:9-11 Prepare your heart to receive what God has for you. God calls us to become new in him as he seeks to set us free in every aspect of our being. This guide includes practices that will assist you in pursuing transformation.

Transformation is a lifelong journey that God leads us on. Often when we pray, we are hoping that God will change our situation or another person but more often than not we find that God changes us first.

The process of transformation begins when we humble ourselves before God and allow his Word to speak into our lives. We hope that you experience the grace of allowing God to set you on a new path.

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NOTICE Hebrews 4:14-16 When we are in relationship with people across cultures, sometimes interaction may provoke feelings in us of hurt, regret, shame, or fear. It can be easy to try and deal with these feelings by dismissing what someone has said or by getting angry. When you feel yourself becoming angry or starting to check out, take a moment to notice what the original feeling was and its cause. Take a moment to acknowledge the feeling in God’s presence knowing that he is faithful to meet you in that place and show you the way forward.

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REFLECT 2 Peter 1:3-9 As you spend time with God acknowledging this experience ask Him to show you the areas where He would like to do something new within you. Take five minutes to gently pay attention to what God may be producing in you.

Is there a story from your past that you are remembering? Is there a passage of scripture that has come to your mind? What would you have to change if you allowed God to speak into this area of your life?

What would you lose? What would you gain?

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RESPOND Colossians 2:6-7, 3:12-17 God calls us to respond to his movement in our lives. The inside of this field guide has some ideas on how to follow the process of transformation. God calls us to a wholistic response: some of the responses are ones you can make right away and others you can pursue over time, some you can make personally between you and God and others you will pursue in relationship.

Read the responses with an open heart knowing that the freedom God offers to us is worth the pain of facing the parts of ourselves that we may not want to face.

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you “ Itourge live a life worthy

of the calling you have received.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. – Ephesians 4:1-2

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VISION Revelation 7:9 We need a vision from God’s word of what He is calling us to.

Revelation 7:9 provides a powerful vision of God’s intention for all people including across cultures to be brought together through Him. When we follow Him we carry both the unique expression of our culture and the unity of belonging to the Kingdom of God. As we discuss issues of culture and the church we need God’s vision for His people to be our truth when we are tempted to focus on our own experience.

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LAMENT Jeremiah 9:9-11 Take time to authentically tell God about the hurt, pain or anger you are carrying. There is space before God for everyone to express their personal lament of grief and disappointment. As you give voice to your own lament be careful not to allow your personal story to block your view of what others have experienced. It can be powerful when we acknowledge the lament of people who have a different life experience.

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CAPTURE EVERY THOUGHT 2 Corinthians 10:5 When we are in conflict with people who are different then us there is a temptation to paint the other person as less than human. This temptation is the foundation of prejudices and stereotypes concerning other people. Pay attention to the ways that you think and talk about people from a culture other than your own. Commit to replacing these thoughts and words with the truth that God is the creator of all cultures and that every person is his beloved child.

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CONFESSION 1 John 1:9 When engaging in relationships you may feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit that you have allowed yourself to think negatively of people different from you. God calls us to confess our sinful attitudes and actions before him. When we do, he is faithful to forgive us and show us a new way of responding to him. Take time to confess your sins before God. It can be helpful to find a trusted friend and confess your sins to them so that you can hear God’s word of forgiveness to you from them and they can help you to develop a plan to change.

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ROOT OF BITTERNESS Hebrews 12:15 When we let grief, disappointment and hopelessness go unexpressed and unhealed, they can take root in our spirit. These bitter roots are often present when we have allowed ourselves to think negatively about a group of people. There is a temptation to blame personal problems in our own life on the existence of someone else who isn’t like us. Take time to confess where the root of bitterness may be growing in your life and accept the healing God has for you.

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TRUST Psalm 4:5,7-8 Do you trust that God has good for his Church as we witness Canadian culture shift around us? In what areas are you relying on your own understanding and desire when it comes to the ministry of your church? Can you lay down your expectations of what you think church should be to be able to receive the new life God wants to breath into your community and you?

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HEALING Galatians 5:1 God never leaves us where we are. He desires us to be free of the effects of sin, including the wounds we have received through other people’s sinful actions. You may be reminded of ways that you have been hurt by the Church. Take time to invite God into the hurt places. Sometimes God uses others to assist us in the healing journey. If you find yourself carrying old wounds it is good to seek a professional who can walk alongside you in your journey towards healing.

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THANKSGIVING 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 We are called to give thanks in every situation. We do not have to be thankful for everything that has happened to us, but in every season we can look for where God is moving and give thanks. There is much to be thankful in this season of the Canadian church as we discover the beauty that God intended for his Church. One example is that we live in a place and a time when God can gather the diversity of his people together in one place to celebrate in a more complete picture of what he intended.

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RECONCILIATION 2 Corinthians 5:16-20 God provides us with an ability to see people in a new way.

Who may God be calling you to see through his eyes?

What is one commitment you can make towards being reconciled with that person or group of people?

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