2008 - Randy has been a tremendous help in my continued growth as I have wrestled through deep seated areas of brokenness in my life. He has received me with such grace and acceptance while never shying away from speaking truth to these places. The way that he calls out my truest person and calls me to be more the man that God has created me to be has inspired me to continue to make better choices on my road to beautiful. Randy has a … [Read more...]
Sheri Nenov – Small Group Leader, Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, IL
2008 - My time with Randy over the last few months has helped me grow both as an individual and as a small group leader. Randy has given me the tools to successfully lead a small group of women by both validating and uplifting me as a leader. He has also given me ideas for discussions as well as ways to handle situations that have come up. My individual growth has blossomed since meeting with Randy. He has helped me realize how to become … [Read more...]
Andy Tucker – Small Group Leader – Axis, Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, IL
2008 - I met Randy a few years ago working with a small group ministry at our church. His passion for developing people and "loving on" them was obvious. Recently I have had the opportunity to meet with him to work through some things that I really needed a trusted mentor to help me with. It takes very focused work these days to address and take action to improve the state of ones soul. I find that that is exactly what Randy is interested in … [Read more...]
Eric Flood – Associate Pastor, South Park Church in Park Ridge, IL
2008 - I was ready to give up on the concept of coaching/shepherding before meeting Randy. I was overseeing a growing network of small groups at our church as the Associate Pastor/Adult Ministries. It had grown beyond my ability to give personal attention to each leader. I was concerned about the health of our groups. I was hearing from more than one voice in small group literature that it is necessary to hire staff to coach small … [Read more...]
Blake is Battle-Tested
Blake's Background: “My father was in and out of jail several times when I was young. My parents divorced when I was two or three years old. Our family split up with them. My two older sisters went to live in one place with my mother. My older brother and I went to live in another place, with our Great Aunt Martha, in a town about 20 minutes away. It was supposed to be a temporary solution, but it wound up being permanent. “My mom … [Read more...]
Breath Prayer
Breath Prayer This month’s update describes a spiritual discipline called a “Breath Prayer” that can be very transformative if practiced seriously. I discovered my first breath prayer in the late 90s. I prayed my specific breath prayer regularly for over a year, probably close to two years. God did some incredible work in me through that simple prayer. Read on to discover what my breath prayer was and what it did in me. The following is … [Read more...]
Surfing For God
"Surfing For God" by Michael John Cusick The back cover of the book “Surfing for God”, published in 2012, states that there are over 68 million internet searches for pornography every day in this world, and over 70% of Christian men reported viewing porn last year. Not all of the people who searched for or viewed porn are going to become addicted, but if historical predictors carry forward, probably about 10% will become addicts. … [Read more...]
Tommy’s Discipleship Experience
A Heart For Discipleship: Tommy Bowman is the Directional Leader of Mission Church, a church plant in the Southwest suburbs of Chicago. Tommy and I have been meeting for about a year now. Tommy has a growing heart for discipleship, and seeing discipleship woven into the culture of their missional church. It all starts with the man in the mirror. My old leaders used to asks us, “Who’s your man? Who’s your woman? Who is one person you … [Read more...]
Soul Care Exercises
Below are some time-tested exercises to help you listen to and assess the condition and capacity of your soul. They are wonderful resources to return to again and again, especially when your soul feels depleted. May these simple exercises bless you into fullness and abundance of being. Step 1 - Invite the Lord into the Process: It can be so tempting to rush head-long into things like this, trying to figure them out on our own strength and … [Read more...]
Corporate Shout Out / HGTv & Me
Randy's March, 2013 Update: Shout Out to U.S. Cellular: U.S. Cellular, a telecommunications company, has a matching contribution plan whereby the company matches any charitable contributions made by their employees, including contributions made to faith based organizations like Legacy Shepherding Ministries, Inc. Fortunately for this ministry, one of Legacy Shepherding’s supporter’s works for U.S. Cellular. At the end of the year, the … [Read more...]
Andrea’s Story
Randy's February, 2013 Update: Meet Andrea: Andrea is a very gifted woman. Before we met, she was doing incredible work through a large relief organization trying to help alleviate world hunger. She worked really hard, but was in a role that was not well suited to her giftedness. Eventually, burn out set in, and she was left feeling like a failure. One of the hopes of this ministry is to help young people discover and live out their … [Read more...]
Twelve Goodbyes, or Where’s My Kleenex?
Randy's January, 2013 Update: Twelve Goodbyes Last Year (Where's My Kleenex?): Twelve people completed their season of spiritual mentoring through Legacy Shepherding Ministries in 2012. (Note: Each of the twelve is represented by an original painting done by a current mentorees of Legacy Shepherding. More details at the end of this update. Enjoy the paintings along your reading journey.) Like the twelve disciples, they were … [Read more...]