CenterPoint Society

Welcome to the homepage of the CENTERPOINT SOCIETY

You can explore the meaning and method of having deeper relationships for personal and spiritual growth - centering on Christ and pointing to the world - through the vehicle of a Covenant Friendship. Thank you for taking the time to read through the posted pages. God bless you!

THE CENTERPOINT SOCIETY'S MISSION

                                                        -CENTER-

                                              On Christ

To focus Christians on the concept of “Incarnational Witness” by building a network of men and women who are centered on Christ, committed to each other and commissioned to share God’s love personally through all their relationships.

                                               -POINT-

                                            To the World

To equip and link Christians by providing places and events for study and retreat, to inform and inspire participants to develop innovative ministries based on “Covenants” for personal and spiritual growth, and for their collective Biblical witness and service in the world.

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Thank you for visiting.

Our web site is still under construction. At present we can provide you with Covenant Vows for Personal and Spiritual Growth," "Something More and Someone Deeper," an Incarnational Theology for "Dummies," and an opportunity to order the book, ONE MAN'S HEART.

In the meantime you can contact us at our e-mail address: garydowning@hotmail.com

or go to www.friendmakerforgod.com

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                         COVENANT VOWS FOR A MINISTRY PARTNERSHIP

                                To deal Biblically with the issues of being

                                         Christians in today’s society

VOW #1 - SACRIFICE: Dealing with sexual expression

We commit ourselves to being people who love God, our bodies and others as people, not objects. We want to be noble, responsible and committed in our relationships. We recognize that only God can meet our deepest needs. We are willing to be accountable to be examples of a Spirit-controlled expression of love in our family, fellowship and friendship relationships.

VOW#2 - STEWARDSHIP: Dealing with money

We commit ourselves to a positive use of the time, talents and treasures God gives us. We realize that we do not own anything. We strive not to let anything control or enslave us. We will place our security in God and dedicate our lives to witness and service for Jesus in the world.

VOW#3 - SUBMISSION: Dealing with power

We commit ourselves to growth in our spirituality and ministry. We are willing to be accountable for our study, prayer, fellowship, worship and ministry. We want to find ways to express our unity in Christ through all our relationships. We affirm our reliance on God’s Spirit to be the integral force in our lives helping us to be a living expression of God’s love.

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As Christians who want to serve Christ and witness to the world as “friendmakers for God,” we commit ourselves for a year as partners in this Covenant of Incarnational Ministry:

Signed: ______________________    _______________________

Date: _______________

“When anyone is joined to Christ, s/he is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come. All this is done through God, who through Christ changed us from enemies into friends and gave us the task of making others His friends also.”

[I Corinthians 5:17-18, TEV]

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SUGGESTED ACTION STEPS:

VOW #1

I will affirm the goodness and beauty of my body and my God-given capacity for loving relationships.

Action Steps:List 10 specific qualities about my physical body for which I can praise God.Give thanks to God for the gift of my self and health.Consider ways in which I habitually abuse or fail to be a good caretaker of my body, and pray for God’s grace to change.

I will support my family as the priority for loving service as a follower of Christ.

Action Steps:Describe examples where my family has been of real support to me.Talk about ways to affirm the importance of my family as my 2nd highest priority.Describe any tendency I have to go along with my culture that puts my work ahead of my family and faith relationships.Ask God to show me ways to talk to and affirm members of my family.

I will commit myself to an honest disclosure of my failure to be the unconditional loving person God calls me to be.

Action Steps:Carefully, prayerfully, humbly and honestly share my failures with my partner and pray for grace to receive God’s forgiveness.Seek God’s healing and touch of wholeness and ask for a deep willingness to be dependent on God’s merciful love.

I will acknowledge my need for God’s deliverance from the effects of my dehumanizing thoughts and actions.

Action Steps:Ask God to guard our Covenant and keep it confidential (unless I am going to do something to seriously hurt myself or someone else).Share my sexual history (beginning as far back as I can remember), my current struggles and areas where I feel guilty.Pray for forgiveness, healing and a renewed commitment to be a “noble lover for God.”Ask God for the will and the strength to “disconnect” from dehumanizing fantasies and my capacity to treat people as objects instead of real people loved by Jesus.

VOW #2

I will give thanks for all that God has given me and will assess and acknowledge the particular gifts God has entrusted to me to use in His ministry.

Action Steps:Discuss specific talents God has given me and ways they could be used for service to others.Affirm the ways God is using my partner’s gifts for witness and service for Jesus.Assess the spiritual gifts God has given me and ways I am using them for the Kingdom.

I will be accountable for the ways in which I spend my money, influence, power and time.

Action Steps:(With permission of my spouse) share a monthly income and expense statement and compare it with my stated budget and priorities.Pray for areas where there is financial conflict.Share my tax returns and make specific note of where I need to change my lifestyle by God’s grace.Set up realistic goals and concrete actions steps for my time and money management.

I will develop a lifestyle of financial integrity, moderation and discretion as an act of love for the poor and oppressed of the world.

Action Steps:Look for ways to tithe my income and time for the sake of the Kingdom.Pray for guidance for ways to invest in ministry to people less fortunate or in need of God’s love.Look for ways I can share in ministry with my covenant partner.

I will commit myself to a personal ministry of outreach and nurture with a specific group of people as God directs me.

Action Steps:Identify a particular ministry area where God is nudging me to be involved.Share that idea with my partner and ask for strength and the willingness to do what God calls me to do.Meet regularly to discuss my progress and difficulties and to pray with my covenant partner.Look for ways to join my efforts with other like-minded people to multiply my ministry.

VOW #3 I will commit myself to a pilgrimage toward a deeper Christ-centered spirituality and maturity.

Action Steps:Plan for a significant block of time (a day, weekend or week) for a spiritual retreat.Look for daily time alone to allow the Holy Spirit to guide, inspire and change me.Pray for discernment, direction and grace to undertake some specific spiritual disciplines to be more open to God’s love and to human needs.

I will be accountable for my personal growth in a specific area of my life to my covenant partner.

Action Steps:Define my major purposes in life.Pick out one purpose and write down some specific, measurable intentions I can fulfill in the next 3 months as God leads me.Ask my partner to check in with me regularly to see how I’m doing.Use a journal to reflect on ways God is making a difference in my life.

I will rely on the Holy Spirit to empower me in love to pray for regularly, share insights with, encourage, guide and constrain my covenant partner.

Action Steps:Develop deeper ways to communicate with God and become more sensitized to God’s guidance through Scripture reading, meditation, prayer and other spiritual disciplines.Pray regularly for my partner and find ways to encourage him to grow on his journey of faith.Pray for the needs of others by keeping a prayer log and interceding on behalf of those who God brings to mind.

I will work to adopt a Biblical lifestyle that accords with the mode of my Lord in my personal and social values and practices to show God’s love and saving grace through my words, thoughts and deeds.

Action Steps:Regularly reflect and choose to renew the commitments I have made to my partner.Share in gratitude the ways in which the Holy Spirit is making changes in my life.Pray for a growing vision of where God is leading me for the year to come.

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{Our outdoor "poustinia" prayer chapel located on a bluff overlooking the Zumbro River}