Please note: Enrollment in this course is contingent upon approval by SIBI, as outlined in the Learning Plan provided upon enrollment. Applicants must complete the acceptance process before payment. This course is residential.
Class is Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:20-12:00 (CDT)
Course Description:
Paul's prayer for the believers in Colossians asks "God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better." (Colossians 1:9-10 NLT) The plea is for believers to be transformed into the likeness of Christ. It is a transformational process for the duration of the Christian walk that is culminated at the moment when "the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality" (Romans 15:54 ESV). Until that day arrives, God calls us to "build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit...keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life...have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy" (Jude 20-22).
One of the greatest challenges we face while aiding others in their transformation to spiritual maturity is growing in our emotional and spiritual health. "Emotional health and spiritual maturity are inseparable" (Peter Scazzero) and are both part of the transformational work of a relationship with God, the body and the lost.
Relationships are essential in spiritual nurturing; however, we each must take responsibility for our own spiritual and emotional growth. How do we feed ourselves spiritually? What will we do when we face times of spiritual drought? How can I keep my focus when I am overwhelmed by activity around me? How do I maintain a good relationship when it seems all is against me? When I feel all alone in ministry, what will sustain me in the times of trouble?
Our study together will not only give you a foundation in nurturing yourself emotionally and spiritually, but it will also equip you in fulfilling the second part of the great commission, "...teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you..." (Matthew 28:20). We must be prepared to teach new converts these spiritual principles of spiritual and emotional growth and nurturing. These foundational principles will provide the framework for us to have emotionally healthy spirituality in our lives, the lives of the body and those seeking God.
- Teacher: Zane Perkins