IS THIS ALL THERE IS?

This question unsettles us when it bubbles up inside us, especially when we ask it at church! In an online article written for Christianity Today entitled, “Is This All There Is?,” Fritz Liedtke dares to explore the question that makes church leaders squirm. Liedtke is not ungrateful for his faith that was developed over his many years in church. But somewhere along the way Liedtke’s formerly sturdy faith runs out of steam.

Liedtke writes, “After 40 years of sermons and studies, I don’t really need any more knowledge right now… What I need are… people who can show me the truth not just talk about it… I need leaders who actually deeply experience God, who deeply know him, not just about him, so that they can help me deeply know him too.”

As a former church pastor for over three decades, this article touches me in a very tender place because for too long I would have struggled to provide the kind of spiritual leadership Fritz Liedtke needed, produced by a soul freshly intimate with God.

Sadly, experience tells me I am not alone. Many church leaders long for that deeper knowing of God their parishioners are searching for. But surprisingly, leaders don’t always know where to turn for that deeper knowing.

The Transforming Center is uniquely positioned to guide Christian leaders into a deeper experience of God so they can provide spiritual leadership for the Liedtkes of their congregations and ministries. For example, in 2013:

• Due to increasing demand, we started two Transforming Communities with over 70 leaders in each—both communities filling up before the registration deadline.
• We continue to develop new Transforming Resources®—reaching a broader national and international audience.
• We have finally produced Transforming Worship™: The Lord is in our Midst CD. These fourteen original compositions by Rory Noland emerged from our worship together in the Transforming Community experience.
• We convened our third Pursuing God’s Will Together: Discernment Summit for Leaders. This is our largest to date, with the majority of participants coming in teams.
• We continue to develop our Transforming Church™ initiative and pilot our Leading a Transforming Church program.

Recently a lead pastor shared changes his elders had noticed in his leadership as the result of his Transforming Community experience. They observed that their pastor approached decisions differently—“being very deliberate and seeking out the will of God” and that he was “more authentic —living into who and whose you are”.

This pastor’s church did not have the resources to send him to a Transforming Center community. Thanks to the generosity of people like you, this pastor was able to participate in a Transforming Community and is operating far differently today.

We thank you in advance for your gift—fueled by a desire to see the Body of Christ so spiritually transformed that the question, “Is this all there is?,” will one day be a distant memory!

When you give a gift of $150 or more (by December 31), we will send our newly-released CD Transforming Worship: The Lord is in our Midst. Our prayer is that it will help you experience God’s transforming presence in your own worship.

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