Obviously, every pastor and every church has a desire to shepherd and care for their people well. All pastors want to live faithfully into that Biblical mandate, but what Robert helped us do was to bring a robust biblical and gospel-centered framework to our efforts.

During his consulting visit, we were able to develop a plan that was not only pragmatic, but more importantly, a plan that flowed right from Scripture.

“What am I doing here?”

The thought floats across Sarah’s mind yet again, as she folds yet another load of laundry. Every day feels the same, and she’s not sure of her purpose. She feels like she’s always behind, always running to catch up--but not even sure what the goal is. So she fills her life with busyness, to try to find a purpose. She runs from errand to appointment to soccer game--but she feels like she’s drifting in slow motion. That nagging voice in the back of her mind keeps asking why she’s here or what she’s supposed to be doing.

Maybe you feel like Sarah today. You’re not sure of your purpose--is there a reason why you’re here today? Are you here just to live, work, and then disappear? Is that all there is to your story?

There is more--but we can only understand it through God’s story.

When I first entered into the Restore experience, I was entering one of the most challenging seasons of my life.

My reality was one of ever-deepening depression and disillusionment driven by ministry trauma and the way in which my heart was responding to that trauma. My day-to-day relationships in the ministry I worked for at the time were characterized by betrayal, manipulation, and a passive hostility that seems to breed particularly in ministry contexts. I showed up to Restore with my emotions locked in the basement of my heart.

When we started, I struggled to connect with Scripture, to connect with other believers, and to see how God could be at work in my life. I battled fears of being transparent, the temptation to hide behind nice platitudes (“How are you?” “I’m fine.”); all the while, I was desperate for relief from the relational pain I was experiencing in ministry.

Every virus has a Patient Zero--the first person who got sick with that virus; the first person to spread it. Once a virus becomes widespread, affecting thousands of people, the hunt is on. They need to find Patient Zero. Once scientists find this first person who got sick, they can learn how and when that person caught the virus, and how it spreads.

Humanity has its own virus--one that manifests itself in many ways. A real virus hijacks your cells, and uses the same systems that produces new healthy cells, to produce more of the virus. It warps what was a good thing. The same thing has happened with us. We have “common struggles,” things that are natural, normal things, but can be twisted by sin and hurt to harm our souls.

As a ministry leader, Restore has proven to be an invaluable tool for both discipling and caring for others.

I have found that there is oftentimes a disconnect between the truths we know about God and life’s struggles and pain. Trying circumstances can appear to loom larger than God. Sin and suffering can feel beyond the Redeemer’s touch.

Restore does not ignore our reality nor does it allow for endless introspection. Instead, it creates space to face our realities afresh and bring them before God, allowing Him to reframe how we view our own stories in light of His greater redemption story. Restore gives participants opportunities to experience the intimate healing and redeeming hand of God. 

What’s so important about a story? 

You might be curious why Restore focuses so much on stories. You’d agree that you want to give your soul rest, and that you want to grow closer to God—but a story seems a strange way to do it. We’re more used to programs offering us action steps, or rules to follow, or “3 Things We Need to be Closer to God.” Those are practical things, that all claim to help you.

So why would we focus on stories instead?

Stories are how we see the world. It’s the only way we can make sense of it. Our brains are wired to see a when, why, and how for everything—a story in everything. It’s much like a crime scene or a mystery: we see clues and instantly start piecing together the story of what happened.

Autumn is a season of change—of old stories become new again, of slipping into familiar patterns of work and school. But with the familiarity comes a chance at newness as well—this is a new season. 2020 has been an overwhelming year. There have been so many fears, distractions, and struggles. But God loves to redeem broken stories. What better time then, to jump into a study of Restore together?

We’re going to spend the next 7 weeks digging into Restore: Changing How We Live and Love. Over those seven weeks, we’ll see how God’s love can transform our stories, and bring restoration and rest to our hearts. We want to go from being overwhelmed by life to being overwhelmed by God’s love—and we want you to join us!

Here’s how it works:

As the Lead Pastor of Local Church, I wanted to equip our core team with a few resources as we prepared to plant. Restore was at the top of that list.

Restore positions a person to receive from the Lord by abiding in His Word together with others. Each week builds on the last, but the central exercise of each lesson is to simply listen to the voice of the Lord through His Word. As a person practices this and takes time to reflect in the group, the Lord brings a greater awareness of His love, forgiveness, restoration, and hope to the particular brokenness of one’s own story.

Community is a popular word lately--but do we really have it?

The world offers a multitude of communities: Facebook groups, clubs, and notifications in group chats that affirm that you are in, that you are connected, that you are part of something.  But are notifications and pixels real connections?

Our groups can be connected only by taste in music, or the latest film, or our opinion on sports. While those things are nice, are they enough? Can those connecting ties hold the weight of struggles with sin and suffering?

“I had the privilege of attending the Restore Weekend Retreat with some of our church leadership. What an amazing time of being together with others as we experienced Jesus as a family!

God had something very personal for me during this time, as I came away with two lasting gifts for my heart. First, I received a deep and lasting encouragement in the presence, promises, and power of God for both my life and the life of others. God has allowed me to hold onto these realities for myself and believe them for the good of others.

You’ve probably heard the saying, “Love makes the world go ‘round.” But if that’s true, why is it so hard to find love?

You may long to be loved, but you probably also struggle with wondering whether or not you are worth loving. You desire deep friendships but also struggle to love others who are different from you.

Why is it so hard to love? Why is it so hard to be loved? Is the love we’re yearning for real, or is it merely a romantic notion that can only be found in movies or novels? 

Does your life feel like a battlefield? Maybe it feels like everything is warring against you. Your struggles surround you, the booms of past failures and hurts still rattling in your ears. Every time you think you’ve weeded out a sin, it pops back up again. It feels like a struggle just to survive.

In the midst of this chaos, we can easily choose to go numb, or to be angry at God. After all, if he loves us, and is in control, then why is life so hard? But we forget we have an enemy--several in fact.

Participating in Restore enabled me to see the story of my life through new eyes.

The past was in the past, and I could not change it. However, re-examining the patterns of responding in my past which influenced my present, learning that many of the struggles of my heart were common to mankind, and understanding that I was created for communion with a God who has entered into the broken world in which I live, helped me to reframe my story in the light of God's redemptive story.

In Restore, I tasted the sweetness of…

Have you ever looked over a landscape covered in clouds? Everything has a grey coldness to it; everything feels far-off and distant. You know that the hills are over there, and you know the tall trees are beside them--but you can’t really see them. They are so faded, you wonder if they’re even in your world, or just illusions far away. The only constant thing is the fog, shrouding your window, covering all else.

Have you ever had the same feeling when you were trying to look at God?

Has he ever felt far-off, and distant? You know that his love is there; you know his transforming power is there--but you can’t really see them.

Restore: Changing How We Live and Love released today! This Study Guide is the fruit of almost 25 years of ministry and over 7 years of seeking to understand how God’s story offers hope and help; and it’s breathtaking to see it arrive in such a physical way. God has had His hand in this whole process, and we’re grateful for His kind and faithful leading. 

We’re passionate about this work, as we believe it fills a great need in the church--if not, the book wouldn’t have been written! But don’t just take it from us…

How confident are you in your God?

We believe that He exists, and we know in our minds that He loves us. Yet we are still overwhelmed by life, and unsure how the Gospel makes any difference. We struggle, and the questions rise. “Why does God feel so distant? “Does God really love me?” “Does He even know what’s going on in my life?”

We know about God’s love, but we don’t experience it…

“I’m so overwhelmed.”

Have you thought this lately? Has it felt like everything is piling on top of you, making it hard to concentrate, and even hard to breathe? Whether it is worries about a job, our family, or the future; everything can feel like it’s just too much. We look ahead and are overwhelmed with the uncertainty of what’s to come. We look back at our lives, and are overwhelmed with the struggles we’ve had.

What do we do with the things that overwhelm us?

Growing up I had a longing for things to be different, better, deeper.

As a girl, I would collect materials from around the house and use them to build additions onto my dollhouse. I thought, “With just a little will-power, creativity, and work, I can make this the DREAM house it was destined to be!” I would work to the best of my ability, only to be let down at the end, when my finished product never turned out the way that I had envisioned.

I was left discouraged and let down.

Do you know your own story? 

At some point, we all ask, "Why am I here? What’s my purpose? Why did these things happen to me?”

But rarely do we know the answers.

We can feel lost—drifting about aimlessly, in an ocean with no rudder, not sure where we came from or where we’re going. But it’s not only our stories we feel lost in, we can be confused about God’s story too…

Church leaders often grow weary dealing with constant waves of suffering and sin. The challenges of ministry are overwhelming, demanding, and relentless.