The Gathering

Norwegian Ridge School for Disciples, September 9 -11, 2011 begins with a meal, then Prayer Talk!

The big rhema WORD God is giving us right now is "GATHERING"! God is gathering the cohort for our NRSD class! You are the experiment! But what an experiment it will be! We have a lot to learn and experience together for the next 2 years, and it will be so good.

We are praying that each of us would be hungry for more of God, longing for a deeper knowledge of his Word, a deeper and more real experience with prayer and just God's presence. You have a purpose here on earth. God has a plan for your life. He has a place in his Kingdom for you. That is what will become more and more clear as we figure out our gifts, personality, strengths and calling. The knowledge of Bible, study, ministry, and more will equip us to fill our unique place in his Kingdom.

As you all probably know, we have tweaked the schedule for the Unit Retreats to make the school more do-able. We will start with a meal on Friday nights, 6 pm, then have our first class together Friday evening. Those will be important ones, because they are PRAYER TALKS.

Then our regular classes will be all day Saturday and Sunday. Full days! But won't it be wonderful to be digging into God's Word and learning about our world and how to minister to it...

Here is the information you need to be ready for Unit Retreat1-1 (UR 1-1):

Required Texts:

· Foundations of the Christian Faith: A Comprehensive and Readable Theology, Dr. James Montgomery Boice, IVP, 1986.*

· How To Study Your Bible: The Lasting Rewards of the Inductive Method, Kay Arthur, Harvest House Publishers, 1994, Precept Ministries.· Making Small Groups Work: What Every Small Group Leader Needs to Know, Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend, Zondervan, 2003.· The Beginner’s Guide to Intercession, Dutch Sheets, Regal/Gospel Light, 2001.

These books are chosen because of their value in your personal growth in these areas, but also because they are very user friendly, and will be useful in any ministry you might be involved with now or in the future. Here are the reading assignments:

Reading Assignments for UR 1-1:

· Systematic Theology: Boice, Part 1 & 2 – pages 19-98

· Saturday Seminar “How To Lead Small Groups”: Cloud & Townsend,· Prayer Talk: Sheets, chapters 1-5

We will be learning how to study the Bible by studying the Bible. We will use Kay Arthur’s book that explains hermeneutic principles and inductive Bible study methods as we study the gospel of Matthew over the course of NRSD year 1. In preparation for NRSD 1-1, read the gospel at least once through (or more). Familiarize yourselves with Arthur’s book.

· The Saturday Seminar will be on the topic of teaching and the Small Group Ministry. The “Boundaries” guys’ book is a good manual to have in your library because it has the basic principles and rules for successful small groups as well as the giving the reasoning for small groups in a myriad of settings in life. I recommend reading as much of the book as possible in preparation for the seminar on September 10th.

*Some of you already have a Systematic Theology book that you like. (i.e. Wayne Grudem) You may use the book you have if you wish, just find the section that corresponds to our first Systematic Theology class topic: God’s revelation through scripture – Inspiration, Illumination & Authority.

Please get your applications in as soon as possible so we can plan and be ready for you on September 9-11!