God’s Art Gallery of Spiritual Friendship

In the midst of spiritual crisis, we need spiritual connection—spiritual friendship. But just what does spiritual friendship look like? Would we know it if we saw it?

Allow me to guide you on a tour through God’s art gallery filled with walls lined with pictures of spiritual friendship. View pictures of spiritual friendship as:

Art Gallery Portrait One: Spiritual Friendship as Sacred Companionship

Spiritual friends are sacred companions. I’m convinced that one of the primary reasons that we fail to experience Christ’s power is because we fail to take our friendships seriously enough.

Our close friendships are sacred. They’re holy and sanctified, committed and consecrated, serious and mysterious, beautiful and blessed by God.

A sacred companion dares to enter the holy place of your soul—the messy rooms filled with fear, darkness, chaos, and confusion. She also thrills to enter the redeemed core of your soul—that central room touched by God, yet rarely tapped into or stirred up by the mere acquaintance. A sacred companion is someone who cares about you so much and knows you so well, that he helps you to taste God’s goodness and grace where others only see suffering and sin.

Even more, your sacred companions courageously encourage you to enter the Holy of Holies of your soul—to live face-to-face with God in intimate integrity. No wonder the author of Hebrews directly links bold entrance into God’s presence (Hebrews 10:19-23) with the bold encouragement shared between brothers and sisters in Christ (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Art Gallery Portrait Two: Spiritual Friendship as Voice and Touch

Spiritual friends connect voice and touch. In the prologue to Leadership Jazz, Max DePree writes about his granddaughter, Zoe:

Zoe was born prematurely and weighed one pound, seven ounces, so small that my wedding ring could slide up her arm to her shoulder. The neonatologist who first examined her told us that she had a 5 to 10 percent chance of living three days. When Esther and I saw Zoe in her isolette in the neonatal intensive care unit, she had two IVs in her navel, one in her foot, a monitor on each side of her chest, and a respirator tube and a feeding tube in her mouth. To complicate matters, Zoe’s biological father had jumped ship the month before Zoe was born. Realizing this, a wise and caring nurse named Ruth gave me my instructions. “For the next several months, at least, you’re the surrogate father. I want you to come to the hospital every day to visit Zoe, and when you come, I want you to rub her body and her legs and arms with the tip of your finger. While you’re caressing her, you should tell her over and over how much you love her, because she has to be able to connect your voice to your touch” (DePree, Leadership Jazz, p. 1).

DePree concludes with these insightful words. “God knew that we also needed both His voice and His touch. So He gave us His Word (His Son) and also His Body (the Church). God’s voice and touch say, ‘I love you’” (Depree, Leadership Jazz, p. 2).

God’s Word is his voice speaking to you. God’s people are his touch speaking his Word into your soul.

Art Gallery Portrait Three: Spiritual Friendship as Christ Incarnated in Christians

Spiritual friendship is Christ incarnated in Christians. Dave is one of my best friends from seminary days. One night when his daughter, Kristen, was about five or six, she awoke from a bad dream. Hearing her cries and whimperings, Dave got out of bed to comfort Kristen. He hugged her, and she was still. Then they prayed together. His prayer was meant to reassure her that Jesus was watching over her. But when Dave finished praying and was about to leave Kristen, her whimperings began again. Dave reminded her again, “You know that Jesus is watching over you.”

Kristen responded, “I know, but I need Jesus with some skin on him!”

That’s what God calls us to be for each other: Jesus with skin on him. Spiritual friends give each other small tastes, samples now, of how good and gracious Jesus is.

Spiritual friendship is a human relational bridge that reconnects our soul to God. We are more than professionals, or practitioners, or pastors; we are fellow pilgrims. We journey with one another through the valley of the shadow of death. Then we lay down our lives for each other, forming a bridge from the valley of death to the oasis of hope—the oasis of God’s goodness and grace.

Join the Conversation

Which portrait of spiritual friendship resonates with you?

Note: Excerpted from Spiritual Friends.

Life’s 7 Ultimate Questions

In ministry, when people ask you deep questions, where do you turn for ultimate answers?

During my next How to Care Like Christ seminar (see below for details), we’ll explore together how to change lives with Christ’s changeless truth.

We’ll discover scriptural answers to life’s seven ultimate questions:

1. What is truth? Where do I find answers?

2. Who is God? Can I know Him personally?

3. Who am I? What makes people tick?

4. What went wrong? Why do we do the things we do?

5. Can people change? How do people change?

6. What’s my purpose? How does my future destiny impact my present reality?

7. How can I help? How can I change lives?

Learn More About How to Care Like Christ

*Date: Saturday, January 23, 2010

*Time: 9:00-4:00 (Registration and Continental Breakfast Begins at 8:30)

*Place: Douglas Memorial Community Church, 1325 Madison Ave, Baltimore, MD 21217. Phone: 410-523-1700

*Online Information: Visit the church web site for more information.

Cost: $25.00. Cost includes continental breakfast, snacks, lunch, complete set of seminar notes, and full-day seminar.

To Register

You have several registration and payment options:

1. Register online and pay by credit card here.

2. Call Douglas Memorial Community Church at 410-523-1700 to register and pay by check.

3. Mail a check to the church address (see above).

4. Contact Minister Vivian Ferebee at: vferebee@douglaschurch.org, 410-523-1700, ext. 17.

5. Pay by cash in person the day of the seminar.

Space is limited, please be sure to register early.

Be Equipped for One Another Ministry

Do you care deeply, but sometimes struggle to know how to care like Christ?

*Find God’s Answers to Life’s Seven Ultimate Questions: Learn how to relate Christ’s changeless truth to our changing times.

*Learn how to understand people biblically: Discover how God designed us to live, love, and relate.

*Learn how to diagnose problems scripturally: Uncover what went wrong—why do we do the things we do?

*Learn how to prescribe God’s solutions effectively: Apply Christ’s answers for our daily life problems.

*Learn how to weep with those who weep: Offer sustaining care for discouraged people—empathize with people.

*Learn how to give hope to the hurting: Offer healing comfort for suffering people—encourage people as you relate God’s truth to daily life.

*Learn how to be a dispenser of grace: Offer reconciling care-fronting for sinning people—enlighten people as you speak the truth in love.

*Learn how to disciple, coach, and mentor: Offer guiding counsel for growing people—empower people to tap into Christ’s resurrection power. 

RPM Ministries’ First-Ever Webinar!

One of life’s 7 ultimate questions is, “How can I help? Do I have a purpose and how do I fulfill it?” I want to help you to answer these questions…for free.

I’m excited to announce that I’m able to offer you something very valuable for the low price of…$0.00!

You’ve heard me talk about my How to Care Like Christ seminars.

Now, for the first time, I’m presenting part of that seminar as a webinar. From the comfort of your home and the privacy of your computer screen, you’ll be able to hear my presentation while viewing the entire PowerPoint presentation.

But That’s Not All!

But that’s not all. I’m working in partnership with three other nationally-known biblical counselors. Their three webinar sessions also cost…$0.00!

Over the course of two weeks, we’ll offer four interactive sessions that each last an hour. Topics include:

 1. How to Identify the Ruling Idols of Your Heart (Rick Thomas, December 1, 2009, 7-8 PM EST)

2. How to Help People to Overcome Addiction to Pornography (Luke Gilkerson, December 3, 2009, 7-8 PM EST)

3. How to Care Like Christ (Bob Kellemen, December 8, 2009, 7-8 PM EST)

4. How to Revise Conflict and Revive Romance in Marriage (Brad Hambrick, December 10, 2009, 7-8 PM EST)

All sessions will include practical advice, examples, and a Q/A time.

What You’ll Learn to Do in My Webinar

Everyone wants to do biblical counseling and to be a spiritual friend, but what does it actually look like in practice? In my webinar you’’ll be equipped to:

1. Use God’s Word to bring Christ’s hope to people’s suffering.

2. Offer sustaining care for discouraged people by weeping with those who weep—learn how to empathize with people’s hurts.

3. Bring healing comfort for suffering people by exploring Christ’s hope in the midst of people’s grief—learn how to encourage people with Christ’s truth.

The Details

The date/time for my webinar is December 8, 2009, 7-8 PM EST.

For more details and to register for any or all of the four webinar sessions,  click here.

This invitation is being sent to over 200,000 (not exaggerating) people, and we only have room for the first 1,000 people for each webinar. So registering quickly is a good idea.

Be equipped to care like Christ.

Visit and Follow Our New Website, Receive a Free E-Book

RPM Ministries has a fresh, new look. Same name, same purpose, same address, but easier to navigate and nicer on the eyes.

Visit us at: www.rpmministries.org.

Win a Free E-Book

Win a free copy of our E-Book, How to Care Like Christ. In this 55-page e-book, I summarize my entire model of biblical counseling. Learn what makes counseling truly Christ-centered, comprehensive, compassionate, and culturally-informed.

Normally $10.00, I’ll send you your copy for free when you:

1. Visit the site: www.rpmministries.org

2. Become a Follower of the site. Just scroll down on the left of the home page to the Follower area and add yourself.

3. Send me an email at rpm.ministries@gmail.com so that I can then email you your free copy of How to Care Like Christ.

Note: This offer is good for the first fifty followers of the new site.