Dr. Steve DeNeff and Rev. David Drury developed SoulShift as an accessible way to help the church understand God’s desire to change how His people live by changing who they are. The authors indentified seven “shifts” of understanding throughout the Gospels that help believers grasp what it means to be disciples. Rather than the characteristic, performance-driven spirituality that can be the default in many congregations, the authors/pastors called churches to focus upon outcome—the characteristics and perceptions of a life lived like Christ.
Dr. DeNeff, senior pastor of College Wesleyan Church in Marion, Indiana, where Rev. Drury also serves on staff, said, “When you take the message of holiness out of the gospel, you are left with a gospel of sin-management.”
Tour organizers said the response was compelling. Leaders were not only grateful for the resources to equip, but also personally challenged and renewed to engage in this vitally important ministry of spiritual transformation. Based upon evaluations from attendees:
- Nine in ten said the conference was very valuable for their own ministries;
- Two-thirds responded that SoulShift would be helpful in developing a Spiritual Formation strategy for their own churches; and
- Over 90 percent of those attending indicated a decision to use SoulShift as either a church-wide event or in their small group ministries.
In addition to the book, WPH introduced the SoulShift Church Resource Kit. Also well-received by the attendees, the kit equips pastors and leaders with all of the tools and strategic resources needed to launch an eight-week, church-wide SoulShift journey, from the smallest congregations to the largest.
Dr. Jim Dunn, General Director of Spiritual Formation for The Wesleyan Church, sums up the spirit behind the new ministry to local churches: “I was impressed by the motive of this resource most of all. It is all about assisting local churches in realizing that our life with and activity for Christ must come from a perspective of love, not dutiful obedience. We do not do this out of obligation, but an ongoing, deepening relationship of love.”
If you would like to learn more about how you can bring new transformation to your church, go to www.oursoulshift.com.
