Minnesota Fellowship Weekend
by Carol Hoffman

The Minnesota Fellowship Weekend was September 29-October 1. Friday started with introductions and sharing of why we were there. Later, John Shank taught from the scriptures, that after accepting Jesus Christ as our savior, we are temples of the Holy Spirit. He said that he used to picture a dove flitting around some-where inside himself, but he explained that we really are the naos (Greek for sanctuary or shrine) of God.

On Saturday morning we were "revisited" by Norman Grubb, via some video tapes taken in the 1980’s. We heard about the stages that are taught in 1 John: children, young men and fathers. On the first tape, Norman clearly taught that we are not independent selves; we are containers, first containers of Satan’s false spirit and after becoming Christians, containers of Christ’s Spirit. After some questions and discussion, we took a break and the men worked up a sweat playing foot-ball. Later, Pat Max taught us that we are three parts: body, soul and spirit. She and others explained how that works in daily life. There were again questions from newer folks that brought on further sharing and discussion. It came to a quick halt when some of the men dashed off to rescue our car top carrier from the middle of Interstate 494 (I’ll explain later). Topping off the day, Vikki Bedell and Ron Max gave their testimonies. Each spoke about how selfishness (Satan) ran their lives, abusing and hurting those around them. Their way out was believing who they were (Christ in their forms) and work
ing the twelve steps. Personally it was a pleasure to hear and see the changes God has brought in both of their lives. Afterwards we split up and went to the places we were staying, each of us having opportunities for more fun and fellowship.

Meanwhile, the children, led by Scott Prewitt, did some learning of their own. They studied some of Jesus’ parahles, including: the sower of the seed, the good Samaritan, the prodigal son, the lost coin and the lost sheep. Saturday afternoon the youth went to the Mall of America and browsed through shops and rode a ride at the inside amusement park. On the way back to the church where we were meeting, our car top carrier fell off on the middle of the highway. Amazingly, it didn’t cause an accident; however, it was a shock to Scott and the children.

After calling the police, they came back for our help in retrieving it.

The Sunday session started with Dave Hoffmann sharing his testimony. Afterwards, we opened up the meeting for more questions. They ranged from "Where does prayer fit in?" to "What is an addiction?" Thankfully, Christ as us has the answers and solution to such questions. Later the children joined us for lunch, and afterwards, most of us went to "The Malt Shoppe" (where Jonathan Shank works) and had some pretty unusual malts or shakes. Best of all, it was a pleasure being with old friends and new folks and having the opportunity to share what we know, which is Christ in us, our only hope of glory.