Retreat Illusions

by Mario Vega The main danger of any type of retreat is the thinking that the retreat will bring instant sanctification. The reality is that there are no shortcuts or alternative ways to a holy life. The only way is the daily application of the Word of God under the...

Encounters are Dangerous

by Bill Mellinger, lead pastor at Crestline First Baptist, a traditional church in transition to becoming a relational church that is sold out for Jesus Christ. You should seriously consider the dangers involved before holding an Encounter. One of the primary goals in...

The Dangers of Encounters

by Byron Staube Just like in other retreats and spiritual activities, Encounters can be distorted by wrong procedures and ways of doing things. When Encounters divert from the centrality of Christ, the Word of God, and the principles of the Christian life, many...

Stay on the Track

by Jeff Tunnell One recurring difficulty that occurs in our small-sized cell church, is not having enough people completing the steps of the training track at a similar time in order to conduct encounters regularly.  When this issue surfaces, individual progress is...

Beyond Encounter Retreats

by Joel Comiskey We’ve looked at the positive aspects of Encounter Retreats but what about the dangerous side? One key danger that we’ve already mentioned is straying from the Word of God and entering into strange psychological regression based on emotion...