The Rev.Summer Gross serves as a deacon and Director of Soul Care at Holy Cross Cathedral, Loganville, GA. She’ll be leading our workshop on Spiritual Formation during Synod 2017.
“The longest journey in life is the one from the head to the heart.” – Ravi Zacharias
How do people move from knowledge to relationship, from the head to the heart? The ancient fathers agreed that many could get stuck on that pilgrimage. Without meaning to, we can create barriers for people to experience a rich and abiding life in Christ. We preach and stay in the head, assuming that with all our theological mutterings people will know how to take that knowledge into their daily lives. We leave them with plate of manna, but tie their hands behind their backs.
J.I. Packer said it this way: “You can have all the right notions in your head without ever tasting in your heart the realities to which they refer.”
This is a travesty. How do we come alongside people as they try to make this 18-inch journey? The need has never been more dire. People outside our walls and inside our pews are aching for freedom from deep anxiety. How do we wrap our minds around such massive amounts of internal pain? Ephesians 3 and Romans 8 both point to the fact that being rooted in God’s love is what enabled Paul to experience contentment, while living in a profoundly insecure world. Paul didn’t just preach the gospel, he was transformed by it from the inside out.
In ten years of serving in spiritual direction, teaching contemplative exercises, and providing spaces for God to touch his children through inner healing, I’ve discovered simple, transformative tools to share with others. These are tools I’ve lived as God has walked me from brokenness to healing, anxiety to peace, and insecurity to rooted love.
It’s essential to realize that although these are simple and effective tools, they are never simplistic. There’s no such thing as “Three Quick Steps to Intimacy with God.” In this Synod workshop, I’ll share how you can facilitate this beautiful work in your location and position people for the Presence.
Registration is now open for Conference & Synod 2017: Mission Matters. Join us November 3-4 as we explore how local churches can be on mission in today’s world, reach out to our communities with the Gospel, worship, re-connect, learn, and discern together!
Visit the Conference & Synod 2017 site to learn more about speakers, workshops, lodging, and the weekend schedule.
Rachel Moorman
Communications Associate
news@adots.org