If you were to design a spiritual fitness training program comparable to the one you use to keep physically fit, what could it consist of?  Why?

What "rites of passage" would you set up for a young Christian aspiring to lead?

What were you raised to believe a Christian can and cannot do?  If a friend was being swayed by these teachings today, what would you say?  Do?

Review

Goals

Participants may:

1. Reflect upon the experience of studying Christian Training together.

2. Rejoice in what you have learned and experienced.

3. Come together for a "review" to the class.

4. Plan together for future use of what they have learned and experienced.

5. Review together the high points of the study.

6. Summarize for one another the most vital insights gained in class.

7. Experience Christian community with the group.

Opening Prayer

We look back at the past and see that we have had opportunities to learn, grow, and come to love you and others better.  Thank you for the time we have shared.  You will see to it that our experiences of this class will continue to live in our memories, in our skills, and in the relationships we have with others.  Amen.

In Review

In a basic sense, there is no way to review a course on any aspect of Christian leadership as though a formula had been devised which could assure success whatever happened or needs to happen.  Troubles have a way of resolving themselves or emerging into new forms even more destructive than before.  However desirable it might seem to be able to get every thing settled so that the trainees might live happily ever after, the fact is that life simply does not move that way.

What actually happens when a person is trained is that the  person becomes able to cope with the variety of circumstances with which he has to strive, without being overwhelmed, or thwarted in his onword course.  It is a truism that most problems of life are actually insoluble.  This does not mean that certain adjustments cannot be made, it does mean that basically the resolution is in the person rather than in the situation.  Years ago St. Paul put the matter this way.  "I am able," he said, "to meet any situation through Christ who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13. paraphrase).

The secret of success, therefore, lies not so much in changing circumstances as in a training process whereby the person is strengthened to deal with that which is part and parcel of his life.  It is in this sense that training seeks to enable the individual to cope with life in all its complexities, recognizing that there is no way he can be spared the adversities and frustrations which are inevitable in the normal course of life.  The essence of training, therefore, is the momentary lifting of the burden which is crushing the life out of the person and the making available of resources upon which he can draw, so that he may take up the load again with some prospect of success.

So it is that the trainer welcomes the varieties of skills which have bee developed through the tears for lightening the burden and making it possible for the person to reach their goal of satisfactorily completing God's training program for them and graduating to their home and family in heaven.

Training happens in many arenas of action.  You are equipped with the unique tools of Christian training anc increasingly aware of the nature of your calling.  The unique vantage point you bring to the hurt and broken world makes you very important along with all other healers and helpers.

Success in Training

What is success in training?  It is helping a person find the will of God for his life, providing the support which is necessary for that person to move toward God's will, and then seeing the individual grow in his relationship with Christ.  In the process, something of your life, your emotions, your intellect, your time, and your energies are invested in that person.

Success in training is seeing individuals whose lives were headed in the wrong direction make changes which give them a hope and a new future.

It is watching children grow up in a home which would have been destroyed had not God used you in some way to help a trainee realize how foolish it would have been to throw away a marriage for the thrill of a make-believe, illicit relationship.

It is watching individuals who could not function without the support of a vast rainbow of drugs stabilize their emotions, begin to grow emotionally and spiritually, and relate to life in a way they never have before.

Success in training is helping individuals rise to their full, God-given potential, not because you are so bright or clever, but because you learned the importance of letting the Holy Spirit chip away at the rough edges of the person whit whom you worked, allowing Christ to live in the life of your trainee.

Some things we must learn by experience, and every person who becomes proficient in training will have learned from his or her mistakes.

Success in training comes by persevering until a relationship has stabilized.

Breaking off training too soon can be very crushing to your trainee.  The process of restoration may take time.  No progress takes place in a straight line.  People will make improvement, fail,  try again, and fail again.  Only when they stop trying do they quickly begin to slide downhill in the training process.

How do you handle failures?  In just the same way you help a child learning to walk - you help pick up your trainee, get him walking again, and gradually turn loose.  In helping a trainee gain strength and maturity to overcome persistent failures, you should take the person through this process:

Re-establishing broken relationships is not a do-it-once-and-you're-finished-with-that-for-life kind of thing.  Continuing problems can be worked through with the same questions:  What happened?  How did you respond?  How should you have responded?  What do you need to do or say to correct the situation?

Be empathetic and warm in your relationship with the people you help.

There is a difference between empathy and sympathy!  Empathy means "I care."  To a degree, You hurt with your trainee, but if your emotions carry you away so that you lose control, both of you will need help.

Dr. William Glasser, author of the book Reality Therapy, believes that if just one individual believes in an other person, that individual can be the anchor to reality which keeps the person from slipping over the precipice of irrationality.  You as a trainer may be that anchor!

Earlier in this course, I encouraged you to pray as you train, asking the Lord to give you insight and wisdom as you work with your trainee.  Praying with your trainee should be just as natural and relaxed as the conversation you have with him or her.

Prayer is a kind of spiritual therapy through which God forgives sin and the Holy Spirit cleanses a person's conscience.  It is a means of relieving tension which allows fruitful communication to follow.  It is extremely difficult to tell the Lord how you feel about an issue, hold hands with the person with whom you are in conflict, and then hurl angry words at that person.

As a trainer-leader you need to pray for the person you are trying to help, asking God to undertake the healing and restoration of the one who has come to you.  When I pray and ask God's help, my expectancy is increased.  Having asked Him to do something,  I expect problems to  be resolved.

The power of prayer in training has yet to be fully appreciated and practiced, but it is one of the greatest resources available to us.

Flow with the Spirit

Writing to  the Galatians, Paul cataloged the acts of the earthly nature - the problems that bring many people to us - and then contrasted the fruit of the Spirit with these.  he wrote, "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit"  (Gal. 5:24, 25).  The word Paul uses, translated "keep in step," means "march" or "follow."  Yes, you can train in the Spirit as you pray, utilize the Word of God, and guide your training into the path of God's will.

This, of course, means that you need to be filled with the Spirit, making Christ Lord of your life, allowing His Word to guide you in your personal life.

As David wrote long ago, "The Godly man is a good counselor because he is just and fair and knows right from wrong" (Ps. 37:30, 31).  May God help you to be that person as you train others.

Integrating Theology and Training

In this Course the intent has been to take you beyond theorizing about theology.  Christianity is,  above all, practical.  Its exercises, benefits, and demands begin not in the sweet by and by, but here and now,  What I hope you have received from God through this course is confidence, inspiration, and excitement about your potential for unique and vital training as a Christian, with the insights of caring and theology wedded inside you.

may the peace and Joy of almighty God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit go with you.

Homework

Discussion Questions

1. How ready do you feel to go out and exercise uniquely Christian training and relating?

2. How might your training be different since you've read and studied this course?

3. What are some of the insights you have gained in studying Christian Training?

4. What is unique that we as Christian trainers bring to our hurt and broken world?

5. How can what you've learned be put to work to make your organization an even more distinctively Christian group of people.

6. How can you share with others the gifts you received in this study?  Who are some people with whom you would like to share what you have received?

7. Evaluation:  In one sentence, what have you learned from this class so far?

8. What distinctive gifts have you discovered in yourself during this study?  What gifts can you name in others in your group?

9. What was the most special moment for you during this study?

10. What have you learned about yourself as a Christian and about your relationship with God during this class.

11. What have you learned or gained as a result of the Christian community we have shared?

12. 12.  How have you already used what you learned in these sessions?  Describe in some details if you can.

13. How do you expect what you have learned to be most helpful in your everyday life?

Closing

may our God who is present with us now fill our lives with awareness of his care for us.  May he continually bring to our remembrance the love, the fellowship, the training, and the growth we have shared together.  May he fill our hearts with courage and joy so that we can go from this class willing and able to share our gift of giving distinctively Christian leadership to those we encounter.  And may the continual presence of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be with us now and always.  Amen.