1. Far, but Far Away

ICEBREAKER
If you could become an expert in any skill overnight, what would you be able to do tomorrow?

Once you've broken the ice, see what this Spotlight is focused on by clicking the "focus" below.

Let’s talk about the drive to get to the top.
Listen to this audio clip when you’re ready to begin today’s Spotlight.
(And welcome, by the way! It’s great that you’re here!)

Hopefully that makes enough sense to get you started.

Pray this prayer to get into it:
Lord,
The desire and drive to achieve are so common,
so universal, and so desirable
that they can easily be used to distract us
from the love you offer
that is here with us and enough for us.
Keep our drivenness from being used to drive us far from you.
Amen.

Welcome Perspective: Those who care about getting really far just might end up far away.

The freely-given love and promises of God offer much needed rest. It's easy to get caught in the wave of striving and pushing. Use the presentation below to take a breath and find a moment of worshipful calm and rest. 

Worship Perspective: Jesus comes to us when achievement's temptations pull us far from him. 

God has created us with things to do, gifts to give, and skills to carry out. But he wants us to understand the ways that the devil will try to turn those into something dangerous. 

Learn Perspective: Achievement becomes dangerous when your hopes turn into your idols. 

God calls us to action, even sometimes to exhaustion - but not in service of ourselves.

In the serve section of this series, we're going to take a look at what might be called "Achievement Culture." It's a multi-billion dollar industry.

Here's a Dalle take on what it might look like in the "more, more, more" meme style: 

Imagine your group was going to write a blog post called "10 Signs You Might Be Caught Up in Achievement Culture." This is the brainstorming session: you need to generate some ideas. Take 5 minutes to come up with as many possible signs as you can. 

For the rest of this week, be on the lookout for achievement culture articles, ads, or other signs of it. You'll share some of them next week!

Serve Perspective: We are constantly surrounded by the push and allure of achievement.

Prayer Pair-Up Activity
Connect and support each other through the power of prayer. We are going to spend some time in prayer, sharing our needs and praying for one another. Take this as an opportunity to get to know and to encourage one another.

• Please pair up with someone in the group. If there’s an odd number, form a group of three. Consider pairing with someone you don’t know well.
• Take turns sharing a prayer request with your partner. This could be anything on your heart. Remember, what is shared here is confidential and is to be treated with respect and care.
• Pray for each other’s requests. You can pray aloud or silently, whichever you’re comfortable with.
• After praying, take a moment to thank your partner for sharing and praying with you.
• Regroup as a larger team for a closing prayer led by the facilitator.
• Consider following up with your prayer partner in the coming days to offer continued support and encouragement.

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. | Galatians 6:2

Farewell Perspective: The drive to "go far" need not distract us from what God's doing right here.