Graduation Retreat Paying It Forward

Graduation Retreat—Paying it Forward

Agenda
7:00 - 9:30 / Meeting #1 - Regroup, book and Scripture Review
Friday
Meeting #2 – Letter from God exercise
Saturday 9:00 - 12:00
Lunch, free time, and dinner
12:00 - 7:00
7:30 - 9:00 / Meeting #3 – Year in Review Conversation
7:00 - 9:00 / Breakfast and Clean up
Sunday
9:00 - END / Meeting #4 – Vision, Challenge, and Commissioning
Departure

Graduation Retreat—Meeting #1

Friday Night

Timeline

7:00 Prayer

Open with prayer. Ask God to bless our time on the retreat and to speak to us and give us ears to hear His voice and courage to obey what He tells us.

7:05 Regroup

Go over the schedule and logistics of the retreat, including start and stop times, meal plans, recreational activities, etc. Resolve everyone’s anxiety about what’s going to happen and when. DO NOT GIVE OUT COPIES OF THE AGENDA OR THE SCHEDULE. THIS GIVES YOU THE FREEDOM TO CHANGE ‘ON THE FLY’ AS THE HOLY SPIRIT LEADS.

7:15 Scripture Memory Review

“So isn’t there some reference to making disciples in the Bible?”

Wait for someone to volunteer and quote Disciple-Making - Matthew 28:19F20: Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

NOTE: Making disciples is not just the churches job; it’s everyone’s job. Embrace it and be intentional. Start with your kids (if they’re still at home) and go from there. A disciple is a believer, learner and follower of Jesus Christ. The Great Commission calls us to be disciple-makers, not just evangelists. A little effort may be all that’s needed for that person God puts in your life to give you the opportunity to be involved in their spiritual journey. Don’t miss out by being afraid or asleep.

Then ask . . .

“So where’s the idea of mentoring others come from? Is it in the Bible?”

Wait for someone to volunteer and quote Mentoring - Psalm 71:18: Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come.

NOTE: This verse sums up Radical Mentoring. Will we, “declare your power to the next generation” of Christians? Of unbelievers? Will we, through our lives and our words, “declare Your mighty acts to all who are to come?” It’s all about INTENTIONALITY

Continue the Scripture memory drill until you’ve exercised everyone on all the verses. This is your last review. Make it a long and thorough one

7:55 Break

8:05 Book Discussion

Begin with an informal, conversation0starting question like this one . . .

“Ok, who wants to share what they got out of this book? Go ahead and pass out your net-out and tell us what your takeaways were.”

As soon as he’s finished, ask:

“Ok, who wants to speak next? And from here forward, we only want to hear WHAT YOU GOT

OUT OF THE BOOK THAT WAS DIFFERENT AND WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO DO OR BELIEVE

DIFFERENTLY AS A RESULT OF THE BOOK.”

Continue until everyone has shared and passed around copies of their net outs.

NOTE: FACILITATE A DISCUSSION OF THE BOOK’S PRINCIPLES AND TRUTHS. DON’T ALLOW THOSE “WELL, IT JUST WASN’T VERY WELL WRITTEN” KIND OF COMMENTS. THIS

ISN’T A BOOK CLUB. THIS IS ABOUT LISTENING TO GOD AND “MINING” GOD’S TRUTH AND GUIDANCE OUT OF THESE BOOKS FOR US.

Close out this time by sharing your thoughts—from their net0outs AND from yours (what applicable points will change your life based on your experience and the big ideas from the book). Also, share any other points you want to make at the end—principles, quotes, or real life examples.

9:00 Finish

Close out in prayer when you’re done.

“Tomorrow morning, we’ll start at 9:00 am and talk about what’s next.”

Graduation Retreat – Meeting #2

Saturday Morning

Timeline

9:00 Prayer

Open in prayer. Ask God to give us ears to hear and eyes to see.

In preparation for the Letter from God exercise, read through the Mentor Notes (below). Have each guy open to Revelation and read chapters 203.

Mentor Notes: Letter from God

As you prepare for the retreat, review the letters to the churches in the book of Revelation and note the following pattern in each of the letters (chapters 2-3).

Salutation: He knows your name. He starts by calling the church by its own, unique name.

Affirmation: What God sees that is good about you. He begins by pointing out positive qualities or attributes of that church. About the church at Thyatira He says, “I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance. You are now doing more than you did at first.” To the church at Ephesus He says, “I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men…” that “you have endured hardships and have not grown weary.”

Rebuke: What God holds against you. In each letter, after spelling out the things He admires about that individual church, He lodges His complaint: “But this I hold against you,” then spells out his grievance with that specific church. To the church at Ephesus He says, “You have forsaken your first love,” and then goes on to point out how they have fallen away from the things they did at first. To the church at Laodicea He says, “You are neither cold nor hot,” and graphically refers to His urge to “spit them out of His mouth.” Get the picture?

Challenge: What God wants you to do differently. In each letter, the Word spells out what God wants each church to do, or begin to do again. To Ephesus He says, “Repent, and do the things that you did at first.” To Sardis He says, “Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey and repent.”

Consequences: The results of failing to change. He makes clear what will happen to the church if it doesn’t respond to His rebuke. To Ephesus He says, “If you do not repent I will come to you and remove your lampstand” (take away your influence). To Sardis He says, “If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief and you will not know at what time I will come to you.”

Reward: God’s promise if we respond and positively change. He tells the churches what the positive result of changing will be if they obey. To Ephesus He promises, “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life.” To Pergamum He says, “To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna.” To Sardis He promises, “He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and His angels.”

9:10 / Letter from God
Take a few minutes to review what you read in Revelation and the pattern in each of the
letters outlined above. Now ask each man to write his own Letter from God. (Pass out the
Letter From God Handout and review it with the men.)
Emphasize the importance of being completely alone with God and to let His Spirit have its
full place in your center. This exercise can lead to incredible interaction with the Creator. So
you may have a man take significantly longer than others.
One young man who had been a professing Christian since childhood came back with his
letter and proclaimed, He took over two hours and the rest of the group was done long before him, yet there was a supernatural patience among the group while waiting for him.
· Everyone goes silent from now until everyone is back – not just until you are done. This
could be one and half to two hours.
· Remind everyone to take their time. Be sure to have some good, solid quality time before
you start. Acknowledge God for who He is, confess and thank Him for His forgiveness.
Really get everything cleared out of your head and your heart before you ask Him to write
the letter to you.
· No one will be required to read their letter. This is between the man and God. So it can be completely
private. Don’t filter anything He says for public consumption.
Go Silent

9:20 Review your Notes on the Letter from God exercise and prepare to discuss as you write

your own Letter from God.

Letter from God

1. Salutation . . .

Go silent. Have a quiet time and get on the same page with God. Confess anything that needs to be confessed. Praise Him. Thank Him. Get everything clear between yourself and your Heavenly Father. Then turn to a new page in your journal and write: “Dear (fill in your own name),”

2. Affirmation . . .

Now ask God to tell you what He is proud of you for. Whatever He says, write it down. You’ll find it hard to write down good things about yourself; that’s false humility coming through, as well as the devil still trying to convince you that you are your old self. Just write down His encouragement.

You know He is the perfect Father and He knows you better than anyone else. Don’t question it, at least not now. Just listen and write down what He tells you.

If you don’t hear Him at first, focus, ask again and listen. If you hear negative or irrelevant stuff, then either your mind is wandering or the enemy is trying to distract you.

3. Rebuke . . .

Now ask God to tell you what He holds against you. Just as with the seven churches, He’ll take you right to the thing you’re holding back from Him—that thing you’re holding on to. Write down, word for word, what He says to you.

4. Challenge . . .

Now ask God to tell you what He wants you to do to correct the area of rebuke He told you in #3 above. He may tell you to stop doing something, to do something you have never done before, or to begin doing something again.

Know that God will be specific. God’s challenge will not be vague and will be evidenced, in part, by the fact that you, and often others, will be able to clearly tell the difference in you if you accept God’s challenge.

5. Consequences . . .

Now ask Him to tell you what the consequences will be if you don’t surrender this thing, this behavior, this relationship, this habit, this addiction, this unbelief, whatever it is that He told you in #3 above. Write down what He tells you, word for word. This can be very, very scary. God is a just God, and His justice is as strong as His grace.

6. Reward . . .

Now ask Him to tell you what the reward will be if you DO obey His voice: if you surrender that area to Him or make that change in the way you respond when you’re angry or whatever He told you that He held against you in #3 above. He may give you a vision of what life will be like without that addiction or habit. He may tell you how He feels about you and how proud He will be of you when you have surrendered that area of your life to Him. He’ll likely describe what life will be like for you when you’ve overcome this and connected with Him in a deeper way.

7. Signature . . .

Sign the letter: Love, God.

NOTE: You will be encouraged, not required, to share your letter

(Meeting #2 Timeline Continued . . . )

11:00 Discussion Letter from God exercise

Gather and break silence.

What did you think about the Letter from God exercise? Would anyone like to read their letter?

Take your time here; give them time to warm up. Remember that they were promised they did not have to share this. Don’t put any pressure here; let the Spirit lead and do His work

What is eye-opening about this exercise is how each guy realizes and discovers how available God is to us. If we approach him as Samuel did, “Speak for your servant is listening,” with a clean heart and an open mind, He’ll speak to us personally – and often profoundly

Encourage the guys to read their letters from God every day for the next week. Then hold onto the letter and read it periodically, just to remind them of what God wants for them.

If you’re led to, share your personal letter from God.

12:00 Break

Break for lunch and free time. Remind them of times for the next session, etc.

Retreat – Meeting #3

Saturday Night

Retreat Meeting #3

Saturday Night

Timeline

7:30 Homework Assignment Discussion Reflection

“We started with the goal of becoming men who live God-centric lives. I’d like to hear from

each of you.”

“What have you learned this year?”

“What is the most significant thing that God has shown you this year? AND what are you

doing with it?”

“What’s been the biggest change in YOU this year?”

Go through and let each man share. Mentors may share but do not have to—only if you’re led to. This discussion should take the majority of your allotted time together tonight.

Give each man a copy of Vision for Radical Mentoring Graduates