Confession. I’m not going to beat around the bush…this is a tough one. This is a practice that requires a lot of vulnerability. And if we’re being honest, most of us struggle to get to a place of complete vulnerability. You know, where we actually open up and share the deepest and darkest parts of ourselves.

But as hard as it may be, confession is an incredibly important part of our spiritual formation journey. We need it. Not only does it kill our sin (because it’s been dragged into the light - it’s been exposed), it brings healing to the soul. Unconfessed sin produces anxiety. It produces a sort of depression. David expresses this beautifully in Psalm 32. But when you’ve confessed your sin in the presence of a loving community (which may only be one or two trusted individuals), you no longer have to look over your shoulder anxiously wondering if someone is going to find you out. You’re known. And when you’re known, you’re free.

Now, I want to be honest. Confessing your sin is not always going to feel great. In fact, it may suck at first. People aren’t always going to have the best reaction. And you may have to work through some of the repercussions of your sin (like broken relationships, broken trust, etc.). And that won’t feel great. But over time, as the dust settles, it does bring about genuine freedom. Because, as we’ve said, you’re known. And when you’re known, you’re free.

In this episode, Ryan dives into the practice of confession. He sets the stage by highlighting the goal of our confession, examines some of the reasons we may struggle with confession, and - in a moment of vulnerability - shares a little about his journey with this practice. So stick around. We hope you enjoy this lesson as much as we did.

Resources Ryan used in preparation for this talk:

John Mark Comer: Live No Lies: Recognize And Resist The Three Enemies That Sabotage Your Peace

Dane Ortlund: Deeper: Real Change for Real Sinners

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community

Martyn Lloyd-Jones: Seeking the Face of God: Nine Reflections on the Psalms

Visit our website at wearesfc.org

What defines a Christian community? What makes it different from any other sort of positive community (outside of the Church)? Now, that’s a great question. I think it’s easy for us to think of our Christian community like any other type of positive community. It’s filled with people who generally like each other and who have similar interests. Maybe they’re even on mission together, pursuing some good cause. But is that all Christian community is, or is there something more?

According to what we see in the New Testament, Christian community is marked by two key elements that set it apart from other communities: 1) Guidance, and 2) Fellowship. Christians aren’t just people who get together because they like the same thing. No. Christians are people who are committed to one another. They’re committed to one another regardless of likes and dislikes, political beliefs, or cultural backgrounds. They’re committed to seeking the Spirit together and walking in the light. That’s what makes a Christian community different. That’s what makes a Christian community compelling.

In this episode, Alie dives into the disciplines of guidance and fellowship. She does a great job defining the disciplines - explaining what they are and what they’re not. These aren’t disciplines that we talk about all that often. And whether that’s because we weren’t aware that these are, in fact, disciplines, or because we assume that we know what they are, these disciplines are worth talking about. They’re worth leaning into. So tune in and spend some time chewing on this one. We’re confident that you’ll be challenged to think about the disciplines of guidance/fellowship a little bit differently.

Resources that Alie used in preparation for her talk:

Richard J Foster: The Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth

Visit our website at wearesfc.org

YOU play a special role in the body of Christ (the Church). Did you know that? Or better yet, do you believe that? You have been uniquely designed and gifted by God. But you aren’t meant to keep these gifts to yourself. No. These gifts are meant to be shared. You were given these gifts SO THAT you might go and serve others.

Now, this may not be news to you. You may already know that you were given gifts by God for the purpose of serving others. But that doesn’t mean that serving is always easy, right? Sometimes, serving is hard. We don’t always feel like serving others. And even if we are motivated to serve, we’re not always sure that our serving is actually doing anything. It can often feel like we’re not making much of a difference.

In this episode, Ryan dives into the spiritual discipline of service. He discusses the biblical basis for service, explores the (biblical) motivations behind our service, and encourages us to get to know the REAL needs of the people in our community – so that we can better serve our communities. If you’ve ever struggled with the discipline of service - or just wanted to know more about the discipline of service - then this episode is for you!

Resources that Ryan used in preparation for this talk: 

Donald Whitney: Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life

Eugene Peterson: A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society 

Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey: Disciple Making Is...: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion and Confidence

Visit our website at wearesfc.org

Okay, fasting. Abstaining from food (or maybe from something else we really desire) for the purpose of seeking God. If you've been around the Church for any amount of time, then you've probably heard about the spiritual discipline of fasting. But what does this have to do with skiing and snowboarding? Why on earth are we talking about fasting on a podcast about ski and snowboard ministry. Great question! I would argue that fasting has a lot to do with ski/snowboard ministry...mainly because of what fasting teaches us. Fasting is a practice that teaches us that we don't need to give our bodies what they want all of the time. And it might seem silly...depriving the body of food for a period of time to seek the Lord. But consider the implications of what this practice can do over time. The more that we implement the discipline of fasting into our lives...it moves beyond the concept of food. We learn soon enough that we don't need to give into the desires of our flesh. And soon, we'll start to seek communion (with God and others) over comfort (living into our desires all of the time).

So yeah, fasting has a lot to do with ski/snowboard ministry. It's easy in the ski/snowboard world to get caught up in the HYPE of the culture. It's easy to make skiing and snowboarding all about you (getting your turns, getting your tricks, getting your shots, etc.). But part of what makes the mission of SFC so unique is that we know that it's not all about us. It's about others. And in a culture that is all about "self", that type of mindset sticks out. So fasting teaches you to seek God when everything in your flesh may want to seek its own comfort.

In this episode, Ryan and Alie give a short teaching on the importance of fasting and what it's meant to do in our lives. Like previous episodes, this talk is broken down into two parts. In part one, Ryan teaches about the practice of fasting and what it's meant to do for us. In part two, Alie gives us some practical tips on how to implement fasting into our lives. This is an exciting talk. We hope you enjoy it!

Resources that Alie and Ryan used in preparation for this talk:

John Mark Comer: Live No Lies: Recognize and Resist the Three Enemies That Sabotage Your Peace

Richard Foster: Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth

Richard Foster: The Purpose of Fasting (Article)

Visit our website at wearesfc.org

Reading the Bible. We know it's important. But how do we do it well? That's a great question! In fact, that's a question people have been asking for hundreds of years. How do we take this book - that reveals who God is and contains special revelation to His people - and actually apply it to our lives?  

In this episode, Ryan and Alie do their best to answer this incredibly important question. If you've ever struggled with your Bible reading - if it's ever felt dry and lifeless - then know that you're in good company. We've all struggled with the discipline of Bible reading at one point or another. But maybe, just maybe, there are some things that can help make your Bible reading process more life-giving. Maybe all it takes is a simple shift in your perspective. Maybe it's just adding a simple grid and/or method to your process. Whatever the case, we're confident that you'll find some helpful tidbits in this conversation.  

Resources that Ryan and Alie used during their preparation:  

Dr. Robert Mulholland Jr.: Shaped by the Word: The Power of Scripture in Spiritual Formation 

Jen Wilkin: Women of the Word: How to Study the Word with Both Our Hearts and Our Minds

Visit our website at wearesfc.org

Soooo…prayer. Is it just basically talking to God? Does it always have to be asking or can it be telling too? Do you have to say specific words or be in a specific place or posture?

In this episode, Alie Heenan teaches on the topic of prayer. And similar to past episodes, this episode will be broken up into two parts. Part 1: Shifting our perspective on prayer. And Part 2: Simple methods that lead to a whole and life-giving prayer life. Part of what makes this talk so special is Alie's vulnerability about her own prayer life and the work she’s been doing to improve this practice. 

So if you've ever wondered about prayer; how it works, how it DOESN’T work and why we struggle with it, then you’re at home here with us! Don't go anywhere. Grab your headphones and settle in to a comfortable position, because Alie has some great thoughts on prayer that we think you’ll connect with.

Resources Alie used in her preparation for this talk:

Timothy Keller: Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God

Visit our website at wearesfc.org

The Spiritual Disciplines. Man. That phrase can conjure up a lot of feelings in a person. For some, the spiritual disciplines remind us of sweet and intimate moments with our Creator. Moments of joy. Moments of peace. Moments of rest. And moments of change. 

For others of us, though, the spiritual disciplines remind us of dry and boring practices that we were forced to do by our parents and/or spiritual leaders. We've struggled with the disciplines. We've struggled to see the point of the disciplines. And we've struggled to see how the disciplines bring about greater joy and peace in our lives. 

In this episode, Alie and Ryan hit on this very thing - the tension that we feel about the disciplines (moments of joy and moments of struggle). They share about their respective journeys with the disciplines - in some pretty honest and vulnerable ways - and share a framework for how to think about the disciplines. So don't skip this episode! We think that this talk will resonate with you in some pretty deep ways. 

Resources that Alie and Ryan found helpful in their preparation: 

M. Robert Mulholland Jr.: Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation (This resource was instrumental for Ryan in his preparation).

Eugene Peterson: A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society 

Donald Whitney: Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life 

Rich Villodas: The Deeply Formed Life: Five Transformative Practices to Root Us in the Way of Jesus

Well, we're back with another series! And this time, we're shifting in a new direction. In series 2 of the podcast, we're going to be addressing the topic of Spiritual Formation. And it's going to feature a series of talks that Ryan Leeds and Alie Heenan gave at the SFC Boot Camp (a 5-day teaching conference that took place in New Hampshire a few weeks ago). Now, I can already see the questions pouring in? Why are we talking about Spiritual Formation on a skiing/snowboarding podcast? Great question! Well, Spiritual Formation affects every aspect of our life. As you'll hear in this episode, we can't avoid spiritual formation. The reality is - whether we realize it or not - we're all being formed into someone? We're all leaning into certain cycles of formation. The question, then, is simple: "What kind of formation are you engaged in? Who are you becoming?" This is an important question to wrestle with...especially for skiers/snowboarders. So don't go anywhere. We're confident that this series will resonate with you in some pretty deep ways.

In this episode (EPISODE 1), Ryan and Alie introduce the topic of spiritual formation to the group. They discuss the biblical foundations of Spiritual Formation, define it, and then highlight some of the competing cycles of formation that are at play in our world. And while this may be a little bit longer of an episode, we think that you'll find the content pretty relatable. 

References/resources that Alie and Ryan used in their preparation:

John Mark Comer: Live No Lies: Recognize and Resist the Three Enemies That Sabotage Your Peace

Rich Villodas: The Deeply Formed Life: Five Transformative Values to Root Us in the Way of Jesus

M. Robert Mulholland Jr.: Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map to Spiritual Formation

M. Robert Mulholland Jr.: Shaped by the Word: The Power of Scripture in Spiritual Formation

Tony Reinke: 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You

Barna Group: “Signs of Decline & Hope Among Key Metrics of Faith”

Barna Group: “ChurchPulse Weekly Conversations: Ben Windle on Leading Millennials”

Pete Greig: The Vision and the Vow: Re-Discovering Life and Grace

James K.A. Smith: You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit

St. Augustine: The Confessions

Tune in to hear some announcements regarding series 2 of the SFC podcast!

We’ve made it. This is the final episode of our first series. Engaging. This is one of the more “fun” values that make up our mission at SFC. We LOVE skiing and snowboarding, and so it only makes sense that we would want to spend time engaging with other skiers and snowboarders. We have similar values, passions, and interests. And we speak the same language. So it just makes sense.

But more than that, engaging is how Jesus modeled his ministry. He WENT to the people. And so like Jesus, we want to meet people where they’re at. Like it or not, the Church (church buildings) can make certain people feel uncomfortable. It reminds them of past spiritual trauma, or signifies a place of judgment. And so rather than expecting people to meet us there, we meet them where they are. After all, WE’RE the church, right?

In this episode, Randy Schroeder interviews Hannah Mennega. Hannah is a long-time SFCer and an accomplished snowboarder/wakeboarder. If you ever get a chance to watch Hannah on a board, trust us...it’ll blow your mind. But what’s cool about Hannah is that she’s not only incredibly invested in the culture, she’s all in for Jesus. And it shows. So tune in and listen to Hannah’s story. We trust that you leave challenged and encouraged.