The PASTORS’ OVERVIEW . . .

A Clergy Introduction to theWesleyan Building Brothers Process

It’s about engaging men in the process of Intentional Discipleship

Did you know?

Our Society is in crisis because  . . .

• Destructive impact of broken families

• Staggering addiction to alcohol and illegal drugs, and criminal activity at all levels of our culture

• 47% of Christian families said pornography is a problem in their home

• $12 billion porn industry revenues in the US are larger than the NFL, NBA, and MLB combined

• Christianity is under assault on many fronts

The [Christian] Church is in crisis because . . . 

Statistics provided by The Fuller Institute, George Barna, and Pastoral Care Inc.

• 90% drop in professions of faith in just four generations

• 3,500 people a day left the church last year

• 1,700 pastors left the ministry every month last year

#1 reason pastors leave the ministry – Church people are not willing to go the same direction and goal of the pastor. Pastors believe God wants them to go in one direction but the people are not willing to follow or change.

Families are in crisis because . . .

Sources: General Board of Discipleship, Center for Disease Control, U.S. Census Bureau, and Alabama Policy Institute

• Men are absent from the home because of focus on career, death, addiction(s), divorce, incarceration, and abandonment

• Nearly 40% of children in the U.S. are born out-of-wedlock into a fatherless home

• 71% of all high-school dropouts come from homes without dads

• 63% of all youth suicides are from homes without a father

• The U.S. has entered the 4^th generation of biblically illiterate people

Men are in crisis!

• Only 33% of men attend church

• Men are finding their identity outside of the church

• 95% of Christian men do not have close male friends

• The Church is not considered as a masculine (safe) place for men

• Men have a distorted image of God, they see Him through the lenses of their earthly fathers

How can the Wesleyan Building Brothers Process help?

 When Christ laid the foundation for the Church, He chose 12 men and reproduced His passion and heart in them. They carried this reproduction model into the first century Church and turned the world upside-down! It is time for us to apply this same model to today’s Church. This is the goal of the Wesleyan Building Brothers Process . . . to call the male leaders, in partnership with the pastor, to come together in the pursuit of God, grow to spiritual maturity and then reproduce that same process in other men.

The Wesleyan Building Brothers Process is to serve the local church by assisting them in developing a leadership core of men who are pursuing God, becoming spiritual fathers and capable of reproducing that pursuit in the lives of other men within the church. A key element in this reproduction process is establishing a clearly defined pathway to lead men from spiritual immaturity to spiritual fatherhood.  

Pastor Ricci’s Story

            “I have personally experienced that most pastors don't realize that discipleship is the key. As pastors, we tend to focus more on "Bible studies" than on "intentional discipleship," which is about forming us to become more like Christ, using the Bible as the guide. It's important that we know God's Word, but so often in typical Bible studies, we tend to lose the character development and healing in the midst of the study. That's the power of the [Wesleyan] Building Brothers process: it assists in putting the pieces in place to allow men to go deeper into relationship with Christ first, and with other men secondly … Building Brothers has become a part of the fabric of my personal ministry with men and within our church. I thank them for being willing vessels to serve me and the men of my church!”

Rev. Ricci Arthur, Senior Pastor, Dresden (Ohio) United Methodist Church

Who should attend the Pastors' Overview?

ALL pastors should plan to attend this 1-day event! And, it's highly recommended that pastors seek out one or two men of the church to accompany them. The men selected need not be elected leaders, but men who have an appetite for service and growth in their spiritual maturity, and a heart for intentional discipleship with other men of the church.

The concept behind the Pastors' Overview is for you, the pastor, to gain insight and understanding of the Wesleyan Building Brothers Process and confirm why it is crucial for men to be in a process of spiritual transformation, and to acquire the fundamentals to help them to grow and mature into Spiritual Fathers. Although it's permissible for only pastors to attend, it's highly recommended they be accompanied by men under their spiritual leadership.

Spiritual Leader and Coach

Dan Schaffer, who will be facilitating the Pastors' Overview, is the founder and president of Building Brothers. He has a deep spiritual passion to build Spiritual Fathers within the Church, and has been a Spiritual Father in the lives of men for over 30 years. Dan was one of the four men who founded Promise Keepers and was responsible for developing the Key Man and Ambassador training material. He can be found living out his passion in the Colorado Rockies as a hunter and fisherman. Dan would sum up his purpose in life this way, "That I would pursue and reproduce the pursuit of God in others, as laid out in Philippians 3:10."

Schedule and Cost

On Wednesday, January 26, pastors and men will begin arriving at about 8:30 a.m. for coffee, donuts and fellowship. The Pastors' Overview, led by Dan Schaffer, will begin at 9:00 a.m. and end by 4:00 p.m., with time allotted for stretch breaks and lunch.

Cost: $60 per person

The registration fee includes snacks, lunch, the Introduction to Wesleyan Building Brothers handbook, and Dan Schaffer's book, Spiritual Fathers – Restoring the Reproductive Church

SPECIAL OFFER

First Generation graduates – men that have completed Phase Training – who would like to review some of the WBB fundamentals, or come in support the Second Generation men of their churches, should take advantage of this special offer.

Cost: $35 per person

(Includes lunch and snacks only, no books)

Seating is limited to 70

Pastors are eligible for 0.6 CEU Credit