It was a crazy week with a full load of classes, papers, all-nighters and Dunkin’ Donuts. But by God’s grace, I was able to finish everything for the 1st week of class (one more week to go). I finally arrived to the first women’s retreat of HMCC on Friday night.
Christina spoke to the women Friday night. I was scheduled to speak on Saturday morning and Saturday evening. I came as the reluctant servant – I am more of the guy’s guy and I wanted to speak to the brothers in our church. But due to the circumstances I was forced to be the Asian T. D. Jakes (Woman, Thou Art Loosed)… haha!
I noticed some things at this retreat:
1) There was a level of spiritual hunger in the lives of the women in our church that I have not seen before. I think it was always there but I just never paused long enough to notice it. Thank God for the sisters in our church – they are strengthening our church to become a spiritual church.
2) If you strip away the male gender from the room, it is amazing to see the focus on the ladies’ faces (and please I am not saying this in a negative way). In fact it is amazing how this was true for the brothers at the men’s retreat. I talked with some leaders at the men’s retreat and they came to the same conclusion. Maybe when we remove all the distractions in our lives, we begin to create space for God to work in our lives
3) When a person is outnumbered 113 to 3 by gender (thank God for Josiah and Elliot), it is easy to be self-conscious and feel a bit awkward. But when you see your daughter in every single one of the women in the room, you are able to minister to them with a father’s heart.
I believe the retreat (both the men’s and the women’s) set us in the right direction as a church.