This fall we kicked off an exciting new experiment within our adult education ministry called “Spiritual Formation L.A.B.S.”
The reason for calling them LABS is twofold.
One, we intend to conjure the image of hands-on, experiential, and experimental learning. Our Spiritual Formation LABS are just as much about doing and creating as they are about thinking and learning. These labs combine in-depth classroom learning with dynamic out of class experiments.
The second reason is because each of the four letters of LABS stands for a different category that each lab will address.
The first spiritual formation lab we offered, which is being led by Kyle Huhtanen and Holly Duncan, has been a great success as it has done experiments with the “A” category of LABS – Action on Behalf of Others.
This post is here to invite you to consider our second Formation Lab that will begin Sunday, December 2nd.
Our second Lab will be led by none other than Joyce Tomblin and will focus on the L category – Life Skills.
And as is fitting with someone like Joyce, the life skill that this spiritual formation laboratory will address is the most important one of all – “Cultivating Authentic Relationships.”
We called these labs Spiritual Formation LABS because their goal – regardless of the category, teacher, or topic – is to make us more like Jesus.
And in the LIFE SKILL of relationships, Jesus embodied two things – a complete love for God and a deep love for others. He had a way that accepting others, sincerely welcoming others into His life, and loving people regardless of where they came from or how they treated Him.
He also had an deep and intimate relationship with His Father in heaven, freely opening Himself up in his pain and in His joy.
As His people we long for a life defined by these two greatest commands. Yet we find that we encounter a great number of barriers to living this out. Whether it is a life stage we have entered, a change in circumstances, or just the same old conflicts that always get in the way of the healthy relationships we want, we all struggle to relate freely and comfortably with others and with God.
If you are ready and willing to experiment with practices for cultivating authentic relationships with God and others, this LAB is for you.
L.A.B.S 02 will be an experiential journey to discover what within us helps to create these barriers and the development of relationship habits and spiritual disciplines that will allow us to relate the way God designed us to.
Joyce Tomblin will lead this spiritual formation laboratory. Her professional qualifications, genuine spirit, and spiritual depth make her the perfect one to guide us into practices that will cultivate authentic relationships with God and others.
This Life Skills Lab will begin on Sunday, December 2nd. Since it will require a higher level of investment than traditional Sunday School classes, those interested need to get more information from Joyce and make a commitment before Sunday, December 2nd. You can do that by:
- Meeting with Joyce Sunday, November 18th after worship in the seating area outside the worship center behind the cry room
- Meeting with Joyce Sunday, November 25th at 9:30am in Room 204
- Getting the folder for the lab from Joyce or Shawn Duncan
- Contacting Joyce by email jtomblin@aol.com
