[Lead Like Jesus] Singles Leaders Retreat 2017 Part 1

From April 29 to May 1, the leaders of singles from across Jabotabekdung (Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang, Bekasi, Bandung) attended a retreat. This event was held at Green Forest Hotel Bogor and carried the theme Lead Like Jesus. I was invited to be one of the participants and also entrusted with the task of serving on the music team and as the PIC for the event Appreciation Dinner.

Saturday, April 29

I left for Bogor with TJ - Sonia and Elise. We departed at 9 in the morning in TJ's old Jeep. The trip to our destination took about 3 hours. For those of you who have ever ridden in a Jeep and sat in the back seat, you know that a 3-hour trip feels longer than it should. The bright weather and music made our trip more enjoyable. At around 12 o'clock we arrived at Green Forest Hotel, the place of our Retreat which is located not far from downtown Bogor.

I sat in the back seat of TJ's Jeep during the trip to Bogor

As soon as we arrived, we went straight up to the 15th floor where registration was held. We arrived right at lunchtime. After eating, I met brother Yance and received a short briefing about the Appreciation Dinner that would take place later that night. After lunch, the retreat was officially opened. Brother Vincent and Andre, as committee heads, welcomed around 300 leaders who were present at this event. Before the first lesson, we were asked to open the event booklet and fill in 5 spend time slots that were scheduled throughout the retreat. We were also asked to meet with our retreat group. I was placed in the Tomas group led by Niko and Feli from North singles.

The atmosphere in the hall just before the opening

The first lesson at this Lead Like Jesus retreat was delivered by Pastor Budi Hartono. The theme of this lesson was "I Am The Bread Of Life". As the title suggests, we discussed John 6 about Jesus feeding the multitude and focused on Jesus' words, "I am the bread of life". Pastor Budi divided the lesson into 3 points. The first point, "Jesus Fulfills," taught that as leaders we must bring others to satisfaction in Christ and how we should give out of the fullness and joy we receive from our relationship with God. The second point, "Jesus Strengthens," taught that as leaders we must strengthen those we disciple by first building a consistent relationship. The final point, "Jesus Sanctifies," taught about His sacrifice on the Cross, which means that as leaders we must also sacrifice for the growth of the group.

The first lesson by Pastor Budi Hartono

After the first lesson ended, I met Pastor Budi and thanked him for the lesson he had given. It was 2:30 PM. The committee informed us that we had 1 and a half hours of free time and 1 hour for spend time. After that there would be a womans class which meant the brothers had an additional hour of free time. I did the math and realized that I had 3 and a half hours of free time and spendtime! What would I do with that much time?

I decided to accompany Andrea (Pastor Budi's child) and Henry and his child to the Mini Zoo. We saw animals such as spotted deer, rabbits, an albino buffalo, and porcupines. After about 30 minutes walking around the Mini Zoo I walked back to the lobby for spendtime with brother Filbert from North singles. I have known Filbert since I was still in the Teens. We shared with each other about how to have a consistent relationship with our mentors and those we disciple. After spendtime I was called by Brother Yance for a meeting about the appreciation Dinner. I explained the concept of the event, as well as the preparation and participation needed.

After the meeting I decided to take a shower. It was 5:45 PM when I walked toward the 15th floor. My room was on the 11th floor, so instinctively I had to go up 4 flights of stairs. But I did not know that the hotel did not have a 13th and 14th floor. As a result, I did not arrive on the 15th floor but on the hotel's rooftop Already being upstairs, I was interested to see the view visible from the rooftop It turned out that the view from the rooftop was very beautiful! Green Forest Hotel is the only multistory building in that area, which allowed me to see a full 360-degree view without obstruction. Mount Salak was clearly visible to the west, the city of Bogor to the north, and Mount Pangrango to the east. Everything stretched out beneath the blue-orange evening sky. I decided that this rooftop would be the place where I would have my quiet time tomorrow.

The view from the rooftop. 5:45 PM

I went down to the 15th floor and found that the womans class was over and the brothers had already filled the hall. The mens class Lead Like Jesus was about to begin. Mens class was delivered by Pastor John, the congregational leader in Depok. The theme of this class was "I Am The Light Of The World" and discussed the book of John 8:12 where Jesus says that He is the light of the world. In Matthew 5:14 Jesus says that we are the light of the world. Pastor John reminded us that because we have already become light, we must live like that light. Like Pastor Budi's lesson, this lesson was also divided into 3 parts. The first point, "A clear vision of power," taught how we can change if we can clearly see God's power. The second point, "A clear vision of holiness," was the point that touched me personally the most. Pastor John challenged the brothers with these words "Do we feel safe with our group? Are we 100% open with our mentor? Do we bring every sin in our lives into the light?". The third point, "A clear vision of influence," closed the lesson by giving me confidence that a true leader will surely have influence.

"Do we feel safe with our group? Are we 100% open with our mentor? Do we bring every sin in our lives into the light?"

Mens class by Pastor John Sinaga

After the lesson was finished, it was time to announce the plan for the Appreciation Dinner to the. Appreciation Dinner is a surprise in which the brothers would serve the sisters during dinner. The purpose of this event was for the sisters to feel safe and comfortable with the love of the brothers, which would ultimately help them guard their purity. As someone whose love language is acts of service I really enjoy "designing" events like this. I had already done it in my group and at the campus retreat I told Yance about it, and a week before the  event he asked me to do it as well for the retreat this time. Even though it was very sudden, I knew that this event would be very memorable for the brothers and even more so for the sisters.

Just as I did at the campus retreat the concept of this Appreciation Dinner was a fine dining experience. We would transform the hall into an elegant dining space complete with round tables, arranged tableware, candles, and live music. The brothers would act like restaurant servers or butler. We would stand at each table, deliver the food directly to the sisters' seats, and serve them fully. Of course, everything would be done with sincere smiles.

Pastor Budi helped me direct the approximately 100 brothers in making preparations, from set up the tables, preparing the eating utensils, to lighting the candles. The brothers were very enthusiastic, and we were able to do it all in 20 minutes. One interesting thing is that Pastor Budi studied hospitality and even attended college in Switzerland. During the preparation for this event, this was the first time I saw him put his expertise in arranging a banquet into practice. He gave examples of how to arrange the chairs, how to position the cutlery (fork on the left, spoon on the right, soup spoon above), and when carrying dinner plates he casually carried 4 plates at once! At around 7:30 PM the brothers lined up in front of the elevator ready to welcome the sisters, who knew nothing about this event.

Brother Harry was helping light the candles for the appreciation dinner

The sisters coming out of the elevator looked very surprised to see us lined up to welcome them. We then escorted them to their tables in the dim hall lit by candles. The music team playing Jazz songs made them even more amazed. After most of the sisters had taken their seats, bro Mumu and Michael opened the event by explaining its purpose. The two MCs emphasized that the brothers would be ready to serve whatever they requested. The food was delivered by the brothers, who brought it directly to the tables, and the same was true for the drinks. I was very encouraged to see the brothers truly serving with such enthusiasm.

The sisters were waiting for the food that their brothers would bring them.

After about 1 hour, the brothers came back to clear the dirty plates and several went up on stage to give a performance which was singing. We also gave chocolate to each sister while encouraging them. At the end of the event, several sisters shared about how they felt. I was moved to hear their sharing most of them said that they had never been served like this before, and it made them even prouder of the brothers. After the event ended, they were escorted out of the room with applause from the brothers. The event went very well, a truly beautiful night!

Bro Julio led the prayer, while the others brought soup to the sisters' tables

After the Apperciation Night of the Lead Like Jesus Retreat, the leaders who also served in the song ministry gathered to listen to the sharing from sister Regina and Nowela. They are professional singers who won the Indonesian Idol competition in 2012 (Regina) and 2015 (Nowela). They shared about how to serve God in the area of music. I learned that my heart and my preparation are very important when I am going to sing or lead praise.

After the Sharing I hurried down to the lobby to meet with my group and practice our cheer. There were about 18 people in the group, coming from different ministries. I only knew about half of the group members. After introducing ourselves and practicing, I went to my room to sleep.

To be continued in Singles Leaders Retreat 2017 PART 2