For Stephanie and Shawn, Summit is a place of formation.
Shawn and Stephanie Wattles have been a part of Summit for…a while. We tried to nail down an accurate number of years, and I think we landed somewhere around 15. In all those years, they have led and been a part of several connect groups. We sat with them for an afternoon to talk about how their experiences as connect group leaders have strengthened their personal relationships with God, and how they have been able to encourage spiritual growth in others.
What has been a way you have been intentional in growing closer to God, and investing in your personal relationship with Him?
“Several years ago, Brandy Parker hosted a women’s event on sabbath, and then later on, John Parker did a similar talk. That was when Shawn and I came together and said yes, this is really important. So we have implemented Sundays as a sabbath – we schedule less activities, we don’t work, we cook less. Even now, when the kids are away, I ask them ‘are you finding time to rest?’” – Stephanie
“We made a conscious change, and it has made a dramatic difference for us. Rest is an important part of our life on earth. We are meant to be in-tune with God’s design, and being busy, and working, and scattered and distracted all the time isn’t good. Being able to focus and rest and spend time meditating and worshiping is an important part of our experience and how we were created.” – Shawn
With a house full of busy people, how did you make that work?
“When you rest on Sunday, you have to prepare ahead of time to do that. Practical stuff, like making meals ahead of time. And then with studying the word, having some type of a plan, and then always be open to the Holy Spirit leading you to do something else. And if there were things on a Sunday that couldn’t be avoided, we would make the effort to find another day of the week to observe a sabbath.” – Stephanie
“I would say that deliberate choice is probably the most important part of it. Because even if we say ’I’m not going to do anything on Sunday afternoon,’ if we don’t have a plan, it’s going to get filled up with something – Netflix, sports, whatever the distraction is. And those things can be restful – they’re not bad – but this is the time God has defined for us to refuel our soul. It is a way of spiritually preparing, as opposed to just physically resting.” – Shawn
Looking forward, we will be talking a lot about spiritual vitality. How do you think rest allows spiritual vitality to flourish?
“Rest brings vitality. You think of those as opposites, but one leads to the other. It reminds me of the book of John and the upside kingdom – the more you rest, the more vitality you’re going to have. And we’re only going to help people by having more vitality.” – Stephanie
“Rest is an important part of our life on earth. We are meant to be in-tune with God’s design, and being busy, and working, and scattered and distracted all the time isn’t good. Being able to focus and rest and spend time meditating and worshiping is an important part of our experience and how we were created.” – Shawn
The Wattles and their Summit group.
How have you encouraged the spiritual growth and vitality of your connect group members?
“I would almost flip the question the other way around - I feel like the community that we have is what feeds our spiritual vitality, because it is such a meaningful and fulfilling part of our lives. Church is where we go to form our relationships and our community, but our connect group and those close relationships is where it really grows deep. The relationships that we’ve had with the people here feed me on a daily basis. That’s why I feel responsible for preparing, and having good questions, and having something to talk about, and having a good study each week.”
–Shawn
Written by Kaylee Di Nunzio, Lake Mary Hospitality Coordinator.