S P R I N G 2 0 1 6

DECEMBER 2012

Updates THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS met October 25-28 in Redding, CA for their annual retreat. The role of our board is to oversee the direction of the ministry, provide encouragement and accountability, including legal and financial oversight. Special thanks to our dedicated staff and board members! OUR LEADERSHIP COACH, Scott Simms, is a gifted, dedicated shepherd to 64 leaders, from Portland to San Diego. Big job! Please keep him in your prayers. SPECIAL THANKS to Cheryl Isaacson of Lincoln Street Studios, and Sentinel Printing, both in Santa Cruz, CA. Cheryl donated her time and talents to update our logo and communications pieces; Sentinel donated the printing of redesigned business cards.

The Beautiful Mess: Our ministry to the next generation

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Evan became the man of the house when he was eight-years-old, when his dad walked out on the family, forever. In a sense, Evan lost both parents: His mom went back to work by day, and to college by night, leaving him to “raise” his younger brothers. Every night since third grade, Evan went to bed wondering why it happened and what he did wrong. He is caught between desperately wanting the love of his father, and never wanting to see him again. Evan is stuck. And he is not alone. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, one out of three children in America grow-up in a home without their biological father. Stop and soak that in. The implications are staggering. Now, at 24, Evan is exploring a relationship with God. He’s searching for “something more.” Think about what pulses through Evan’s mind and emotions as he tries to relate to God the Father. This is ‘ground zero’ for reaching the next generation.

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STAFF Shirley Jairett, Financial Manager Scott Simms, Leadership Coach David Smith, Lead Navigator Patti Snyder, Webmaster BOARD OF DIRECTORS Paul Griffin, Sandy, OR Robert Nielsen, San Jose, CA Ben Slick, Petaluma, CA David Smith, Aptos, CA Joe Sommers, San Jose, CA Jim Williams, La Quinta, CA Theodyssey is a 501(c)3 non-profit.

theodyssey.org

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When best intentions and hard work lead to a spiritual rut An excerpt adapted from the new Theodyssey curriculum, Desire Want to get in shape? Make more money? Start a business? Launch a new career? Our default formula for success is: Knowledge plus hard work. It’s how we get things done in the boardroom, classroom, and the workplace. So it makes sense to pursue the same formula when it comes to our spiritual lives. Do you want to know God? The equation for spiritual success looks something like:

Spiritual Disciplines + Frequency + Willpower= Spiritual growth

We rarely ever think this through; it just seems “natural.” We just assume that this is how to form a relationship with God. We determine the goal, harness our willpower and start doing the things that will result in spiritual growth:

• Bible study • Prayer • Fasting • Attend church • Tithing • Ministry

However, this map for success doesn’t work when it comes to knowing God. For a season, we get excited by all that we learn and do. Our hearts get “attached to the feelings they get from the devotional life. We focus on the affect, and not on the substance of devotion.” (John of the Cross, Dark Night of the Soul) We soon find that if our efforts lag, our spiritual life sputters; if we stop performing, our relationship with God grinds to halt. We continue to circle around the same religious cul-de-sac, enduring countless cycles of start-up and burnout, fueled at first by hope and desire, then bullied along by guilt and shame. Quaker pastor Parker Palmer writes, “The way we know becomes the way we live.” That is, our understanding of reality determines how we approach life. If our map is flawed, our approach to life may be misguided and our experience distorted. We need to rework our “map” for knowing God.

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I believe the greatest trick of the devil is not to get us into some sort of evil but rather have us wasting time. This is why the devil tries so hard to get Christians to be religious. If he can sink a man's mind into habit, he will prevent his heart from engaging God.

Donald Miller,

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

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Election Day and Christmas Day: An Eternal Perspective

Since the first Wednesday in November, I have a recurring conversation with Christians who feel despondent, even hopeless, as a result of the recent elections. On a flight to San Diego, a 50-something executive expressed her wish to “skip the next couple of decades and go straight to heaven now.” At a Starbucks in Portland, a middle-aged teacher shared despairingly that “the days of Christian influence are over,” signaled by the victory of, seeming, “anti-God” candidates and ballot measures. My response: You have forgotten what it’s all about! Think about this: If we could elect our entire panel of preferred candidates and pass every ballot measure to our satisfaction, what change would result in the spiritual condition of people’s hearts? The answer is: Nothing. Yes, I voted. Yes, we must advocate for our values in the public square. Yes, we must take up the cause of the unborn, the unfed, and the unprotected. Yes, Wilber Wilberforce is, genuinely, one of my heroes. But don’t miss this: The spiritual foundation of this planet was solidified during 300-years of Roman persecution. Early Christ-followers couldn’t vote for conservative Roman magistrates or oppose local ballot initiatives supporting infanticide. Despite being subjected to multiple and crushing forms of persecution, Jesus transformed their lives to the point of becoming contagious lovers of others. And, because of what happened in their lives, the world changed! Yet, some live in despair today because their ballot measure or candidate didn’t win. I wonder what an early Roman Christ-follower would say to us about what God can do? In the early 4th century A.D., transformative faith had a major decline. Ironically, it happened when emperor Constantine made Christianity the state religion. Finally, our candidate was in office. A “Christian” mandate took force in the public square and all were incentivized to fall in line. And what effect did this have on the spiritual condition of people’s hearts? Same answer as above. Jesus did not come to this earth that we might simply believe in Him. . .or identify with His cause. . . or advocate for His value system. This is not what it means to be a Christ-follower. Instead, Jesus invites us to become disciples—which means to be like Him. That is, to be transformed from the inside-out— every dimension of our lives. As that happens, we will begin to love others with the same outrageous love that Jesus has for us. And the world will change one transformed human heart at a time. Is the love of Christ deeply transforming your life for the sake of others? That may be the most significant question to ask during this post-election Christmas season.

Jesus did not come to this earth that we might simply believe in Him. . .or identify with His cause. . . or advocate for His value system.

David Smith

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The Beautiful Mess (Continued from page one)

The search for God, for a postmodern twentysomething is, typically, not concerned with finding theological answers. It has little to do with the Bible or apologetics. Instead, the spiritual quest begins with questions. Their questions. Painful questions. Guilt. Why does it feel like I can never do ‘enough’? Shame. What’s wrong with me? Unforgiveness. How do I let go of my anger? Unprotected. Why didn’t God stop this from happening? Unloved. Why did God do this to me? ‘Beautiful’ happens as the Evans’ of this world encounter the deep love of Jesus. Once they taste it, this love unleashes a dynamic process of transformation. And the net result is a growing love for others, including: bosses, co-workers, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, neighbors, relatives, strangers, adversaries, hurting people and. . . You get the idea. We see it happen on a regular basis. There is a resurgence of faith bubbling under the surface of our fractured culture; God is in the middle of the mess, making all things beautiful. And with the aid of your support, we’re right in the middle of the pile with Him. Thanks for your commitment to partner with us. It matters!

A note of grat i tude Two words about you: Faithful and generous. One word about us:Gratitude.

As the year comes to a close,we again want to say “Thank You” for your financial support. God has usedour partnership together to change lives, both in many states and several countries—dynamic, life-­‐changingtransformation that continues to grow exponentially, impacting others for Christ.

We exist solely on the support from individuals like you. This past this year we received contributions rangingfrom $10 to $25,000, each and every gift incredibly valued and carefully stewarded. Please make yourchurch your highest priority for giving, and then give to the poor. And finally, as God directs you, invest inother Christian ministries and institutions that are making a tangible difference for Christ in the lives ofothers, like Theodyssey. We trust God entirely for what He wants to do through you. Know how grateful we are for your support andcommitment.

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Our present map goes back to snowy a Christmas day in 1642, to a two-bedroom, grey stone farmhouse in central England, where Isaac Newton was born. He set out to explain through mathematics how the universe worked— how pieces fit together and related to one another like parts of a huge clock.

Newton’s invention of modern physics and calculus changed the way we think. For the first time we could mathematically describe and predict the cause and effect relationship between any two objects. Output was exactly proportional to input. The

world could be calculated and predicted based on a cause and effect relationship. A + B + C= Predictable outcomes. Surprisingly, perhaps, that formula doesn’t work when it comes to God. Like fish in water, we are so immersed in the cause and effect map of reality that we take for granted how it influences our approach to God.

Factory worker model of spirituality Newton’s work was the match that lit the flame of the Industrial Revolution. This new knowledge made it possible to engineer and construct elaborate machines, which would soon dominate the workplace. As the workforce migrated from the fields to the factories, an agrarian culture quickly became an industrial society, powered by the physics and formulas Newton unleashed upon the world. And with this revolution came a new rhythm and approach to life—a new way of thinking and understanding. And with this shift came cause and effect Christianity: like a factory worker, a predictable outcome in the spiritual life was assumed to be attainable through the proper application knowledge and effort.

Farmer model of spirituality

Instead of factory workers, Jesus invites us to be farmers. He assures us that, on our own, we cannot produce our own spiritual growth. There is no spiritual cause and effect relationship.

If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

Jesus’ comments assume that growth is an organic process, and that we are entirely dependent upon His life alive in us. Our role is to partner (“remain”) with the process. While factory workers are productive, Jesus invites us to be fruitful. And instead of manufacturing results, we are encouraged to cultivate a place where mystery can grow. The differences are profound—and life changing. There’s a lot to be said here about how this gets worked out in everyday life. That’s what the Theodyssey journey is all about.

When best intentions and hard work lead to a spiritual rut (Continued from page 2)

Blessings this Christmas Season

PMB 6254 10556 Combie Road Auburn, CA 95602

Christmas is ultimately about a restored relationship with God and what follows from it, like ultimate purpose, genuine hope, and the power to choose joy. We all have a lot to celebrate, in particular, the reality that despite whatever our circumstances—triumphant or trying—God is with us. Merry Christmas from all of us at Theodyssey!