OTD's BSSM Weekly - Solitude for Community
Week Seven in the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry
Hello friend!
I hope the past week went great for you?
For me, every week gets more humbling. In my first week’s roundup, I noted that one of the key things I sense the Lord has for me on this journey and this phase of my life is understanding the place of community and being intentional about its growth and wellness.
I quickly accepted the fact that there is a close embrace between my understanding and acceptance of my identity and the growth of the community, which is really, the body of Christ. Hence, much of these past weeks have been about sitting one on one with the Father, both in groups and in personal devotional moments. It has been a lot of laying down, unlearning, learning, and saying ‘Amen’ to all that God is doing. I’ll probably be more poetic about it in a couple of months. Haha. For now, it’s an unpretty process of smelting and scooping off impurities.
As I open up and embrace God’s love, even more, I also find myself growing in love for His bride. My love for the church and desire for unity is getting purified and strengthened. This is weird because I have mostly been in solitude in the past two months and haven’t participated so much in communal activities. My ability to say ‘no’ is also getting stronger and I’m setting up boundaries and gates for healthy interactions. I do believe that strong units build strong houses.
This week, I also had what will definitely go on my most impactful classes list. I listened to an amazing woman speak on the gift of administration. Through the years, I’ve had people speak to me about my organizational, strategic, and administrative skills. It never made sense to me. I have a hard time keeping my room clean or my personal calendar set-up! It was so good to hear her say the same words too! I only recently started embracing this part of my life and it was so beautiful to hear her share her experience and the importance of this gift and leadership skill. It brought more clarity and a sense of freedom. What’s more? She’s also a creative person who was going to study music theatre before the detour to administration! Incredible. I love it. Administering a movement requires a lot of creativity. I’ll share more about it in future.
One of the most engaging parts of my lessons this week was on covenant relationships. I’m still in the process of understanding it, and more importantly, intentionally opening myself to establish or consolidate relationships that transcend the immediate. A friend I shared this with said it is a great project topic for a school of theology. It totally is.
Something I’d like to mention about this though is that God's covenant with us is so beautiful. Jesus did not come just to show us how to fulfill our end of the bargain. He came to be the fulfilment for us. All we have to do is accept His own scorecard as ours, and allow Him to do the work through us. Incredible!
If you’d like to get an overview of Covenants, check out the Bible Project’s videos and notes.
I’d also like to share this Teaching Moment with you. It’s by Brooke Ligertwood of Hillsong at the Bethel WorshipU in 2019 - Loving the Church.
That’s week 7 already. Wonderful.
Love and love,
OTDamilola,
For King and Kingdom