Spiritual Retreat

by Randy Knutson

In His Heart A Man Plans His Course,
But The Lord Determines His Steps. Proverbs 16:9 

Introduction:

Here is a description of our Ministry Life Assessment Process here in the desert. We call this process a spiritual retreat. It serves a variety of options depending on the profiles we use in a two-day interview such as:

• Interns entering ministry
• Church planters
• Mid-career evaluations for seasoned pastors
• Staff blending assessments for team building
• Ministry reviews for pastoral search committees.

What Is A Spiritual Retreat?

It is an intentional time set aside to encounter God and examine how we are converging upon our purpose in life. It's putting aside time to refocus the lens of our life because the terrain around us is constantly changing.

A Spiritual Retreat is like half time in the game of life. Spiritually, the players of ministry pull aside to rest, eat some oranges, drink some water, adjust their gear, strategize, and prepare to finish what they started out to accomplish. We all need to do this because our lives have natural cycles where we need to refocus and converge towards the goals God has placed within us. We like to think of this as a half-time talk with our coach, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Why Retreat?

Because the tyranny of the urgent squeezes out our time for personal reflection in our schedules. By pulling away from the sounds of the city, we can stand at attention to receive our orders from our Master. If we do this, we will finish well.

1. To Clarify Our Direction
   We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which He prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph. 2:10) In Psalms139:16, we are told that the book of our life was written out before we entered our time on this earth. So, understanding our assignment is important.
2. To Focus On Our Purpose
   God wants us to seek His Spirit as we walk with Him. He wants us to continue to depend upon Him for instruction to get to the next chapter of our life's purpose.
3. To Hear God Speak To Us
   This type of retreat is an act of withdrawing, especially from the sounds of the city, in order to seek the mind of God. It involves a place affording peace, quietness, and privacy so that you can reduce your RPM's from 6000 to an idle of 2000 and hear God. What does it take for you to lower your RPM's so that you can hear God's direction for you?

As you fill out the material provided, prayerfully ask God the questions being posed to you. If you do, the results will be most beneficial. Please notify your intercessors to pray for you during this period also.

Two-Day Interview For Focusing Ministry Direction

History shows that in almost every arena of life there is a vacuum waiting to be filled by someone who can impart vision and steer people's energies into the" best" endeavors. For this reason, Church Resource Ministries in Palm Springs has developed an intentional assessment process to help place others into ministry based around their gifts, passion, and long range ministry direction. The following summary will explain what is involved in this process.

1. What is involved in a two-day interview?
   It's a two-day interview on location here in Palm Springs. The interview acts as a catalyst for clarifying where the client's ministry formation is evolving for ministry placement
   
   
2. How to preparation for the interview?
   You will need to purchase The Ministry Assessment Packet from CRM-PS and fill out various ministry tools as part of your spiritual retreat. This will help you think through many issues before you come in for the interview. It will take commitment on your part. This packet equals what you would do in a one-week intensive course. When you have completed your material, make an appointment with our office for the interview dates you would like.
   The two-day interview is set up for both the client and their spouse. Our approach involves a high degree of client participation as you interpret your self-scored inventories during the interview. As you reflect upon your actual experiences, we record your responses and feedback what we hear being said for clarification. This gift of listening helps you sort out your vision and become more intentional in exploring your ideal ministry role. In the end, you will hear your own description coming back to you through the ears of the assessor.
   
   
3. What tools and worksheets do you use for preparation?
   • Dimensions of Behavior DiSC - 2800 . .
     . To identify personality profile and team-building skills
     
   • WorkStyle Preference Inventory . . .
     To determine actual and preferred leadership & management style
   • Developing Leadership Giftedness . . .
     To examine your leadership giftedness of natural abilities, spiritual gifts, and acquired skills
   • My Personal Time Line . . .
     To help you understand how God has processed you into a leader and developed your ministry values
   • Developing My Mission Statement . . .
     To help you clarify your future ministry direction
   • The Mentor's Toolkit . . .
     To develop your mentoring systems for future ministry growth
   • Strategic Planning Questionnaire . . .
     To determine your long-term ministry plans
     
   
   
4. What is required of a spouse during assessment?
   Your spouse is asked to only fill out the Personal Profile System in preparation for the interview. Their role is to assist you in clarifying priorities from better to best and verifying your view of the experiences that have shaped you as a family in ministry. If the spouse is seeking ministry involvement also, we simply adjust the interview time one more full day and encourage your spouse to fill out the rest of the packet also.
   
   
5. What are the benefits for you in this assessment process?
   
   • You will begin to develop a ministry direction around your gifts and interests for your next steps in leadership development.
   • You will acquire a higher degree of anticipation of where God is going to use you in the future.
   • You will have tools to assist you in composing your biographical sheet, resume, and description of who you are in ministry.
   • You will begin to perceive others in terms of their unique leadership development and become more deliberate in your selection and training of emerging leaders.
   • You will experience how to use these tools and interview process with those you lead.
     
     
6. How does this effect your ministry?
   
   1. It helps those who coach you to do so intelligently in your best interest.
   2. It helps you recognize, select, and encourage your emerging leaders.
   3. It helps you focus on finishing well by gaining a big-picture perspective which enables you to converge toward your ideal role and place.
   4. It helps you to grow, create, innovate, think, and contribute to something that counts beyond yourself.
   5. It helps you to remove barriers and obstacles and transform the thinking required of church leadership to develop a positive attitude for how to bring out the best in those you lead.
      
      
7. What are the costs? . . . $400.00 is requested as a donation to our regional office to off set expenses.
   
   • The Ministry Assessment Packet . . . $ 100.00
     This individual assessment packet includes handling/shipping. It is $ 185.00 if your spouse desires a separate assessment packet. We ask that this expense be paid upon receipt of the assessment packet. Please make all checks payable to CRM-PS.
   • The Two Day Behavioral Interview . . . $ 300.00
     This process includes 18 hours of interview, prayer, and write-up of assessment summary. Complete the Ministry Assessment Packet at your earliest convenience and make an appointment with our CRM office in Palm Springs. For parents concerned about childcare, arrangements should be made that allows for your full attention during the assessment process. Payment for the interview process should be paid the day of the interview.
   CRM-PS has created this Spiritual Retreat for those interested in pausing as they explore what it means to converge upon their next stage of life. We pray that this process will assist you in clarifying your interests, identifying your options, designing your next ministry assignments, and becoming proactive about your future.
   
   
8. DIRECTIONS, HOTELS & STARTING TIMES
   
   • DIRECTIONS TO OUR OFFICE:
     24600 Cook Street, Suite 110
     Palm Desert, CA.
     Email: rknutson@earthlink.net
     Take the Cook Street Exit off of the 10 Freeway. You will drive for three miles and see Merle Street . Our office in the building on the corner called the Sunrise Building . Suite 110.
   • MAKING YOUR HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS:>br> The desert is one of the most popular winter locations in the country. If you do not know the 800 number of your favorite hotel, the Palm Springs Visitor Center will make your accommodations for you and within your price range. Call them at 800-347-7746 to make your reservations today.
   • STARTING TIMES:
     Note the free time you and your spouse will have during this assessment. No working! Just enjoy each other and the desert. Remember to bring your golf clubs or tennis racket. If you like hiking, we can suggest some cool trail to various water oasis and waterfalls. Our two-day spiritual retreat gives you a lot of free time. We begin at 9:00 AM and finish by 4:00 PM the first day. The second day, you have the morning to enjoy. We begin the second day at10: 00 AM and finish by 1:00 PM so you can make your travel plans.