Moving From Religion to Romance
A Conference by Anne Barbour
“I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.”
~ Psalm 73: 23-25 ~
This 5 session conference bridges the gap between a pedantic life of religious practice, and a vibrant intimate experience of walking with God. It examines the Bible for answers to questions like these: What does it mean to feel as though your life with God is more about discipline than experience, so that you might label it “religious?” What does it mean to have an awareness that there might be an “other” plain of existence with God, where you are meant to be & even desire to be; a place you might label “Romance?” Each teaching session begins with personal time with God and a bank of scriptures to explore in His presence.
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Session 1: “Soaking Worship” – Scripture Reading, Worship & Prayer
Session 2: “Describing the Dissonance” – Teaching Session
Session 3: “Describing Intimacy” – Teaching Session
Session 4: “Describing Forward Motion” – Teaching Session
Session 5: “Describing the Tension” – Teaching Session
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What might we confess by acknowledging we are a people of religion? What might we confess by asking for romance in its place? Perhaps we know we are missing something core. Every soul has some sense that they are designed to experience harmonious union with something/someone outside themselves. That derives from a God shaped soul within us. Most people spend the best of themselves searching that out… searching someone out, but unless that searching ends with Creator God, nothing satisfies; nothing fits.
The sessions in this conference were born out of a personal compulsion to move from “information gather-er” to one who truly experiences the Living God, day in and day out. To experience God is, in a word, intimacy. It is romance on a level deeper than anything I imagined possible. It is more diverse, more out of the box, and more comprehensive, blowing my small dreams about what it might mean to follow Jesus, right out of the water.
When I draw into the company of the Living God, I am drawing into a diverse multifaceted relationship that encompasses many kinds of connections, all of which have the potential for intimacy; for deep meaningful connection; for romance. God intends to be known and experienced by His children. These teachings help unlock that door, opening up a plain of existence to better understand what it means to live with God: Father, Son and Spirit. I hope you will join me in the pursuit of moving from religion to romance.
~ Anne Barbour
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