The SFC Podcast

Welcome back to episode five  of this season of the SFC Podcast. In this season, we’ll be diving into some talks we had at our annual SFC conference in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire — which was held back in November. Many of you have just worked through an entire winter season doing ministry out on the hill, and as you begin to reflect on your season, we would like to offer you the opportunity to listen to some of the discussions that were had regarding, “Shred Ministry in a post-Christian World.” And that’s what this series is all about. In the SFC: The Conference Files, we wanted to give you some pointers about cultivating relationships in the current state of the Church.  In this episode, Marcus Corey, the Director of Loon Mountain Ministry and Tim Smith, the President and GM of Watervlle Valley Ski Resort, will be talking about cultivating relationships between our ministry and the leadership at our local hill.  We hope that you’ll find this conversation helpful and encouraging as you finish up your season. 

Visit our website at wearesfc.org Check us out on Instagram @sfcinternational 

More info about the SFC Girls retreat

Well, we've made it to the end of another series! This episode marks the end of the SFC: Ask Me Anything series. We really enjoyed reading and fielding your questions...even the challenging ones. Since we've started the podcast, our mission has been to help us all SHINE BRIGHTER and BRIDGE BETTER. That's the goal. Encouraging one another to live into our God-given calling to the shred culture. And so capping off our season with this series felt fitting. It felt fitting because talking through some of the difficult questions/topics that you all are wrestling can help us to think about/approach ministry differently (with confidence). So thank you for submitting your questions. Hopefully...these conversations were helpful! 

In this episode, Josh Stock and Alie Heenan tackle the question: "Why should we be a part of an organized, in-person, local church when online options are available? It's an extremely relevant question for us today, because many of us had to get used to attending church online during  the COVID pandemic. And some of us just got used to it. We liked the convenience of attending any church we wanted to attend from the comfort of our own home. But is this the healthiest and most fruitful option? While online Church communities meet a need, and while they can be helpful...should this be our default? That's the question that Josh and Alie seek to answer. And in our opinion, they do a great job navigating this important topic. So give it a listen! We think you'll be blessed by their conversation. 

One final note: We will be taking a little break from the podcast in order to gather/create more content over the summer...so don't go unsubscribe! We will be launching our next series this Fall, and our plan is to continue the podcast through the next winter season. Thanks again for tuning in! We've really enjoyed trying our hand at something new, and we hope that is has been a blessing to you!

Ministry looks/feels different for different people. If you’ve spent any time around the Church, then you know that every church has its own unique set of challenges. Shred ministry is no different. Every community and every group has its own set of unique challenges and needs. And what we’ve found, in the short time that God has allowed SFC to minister in these different shred towns, is that God has set specific people - people that are uniquely gifted/positioned - in certain places to help meet those needs. This week, for SFCs: AMA series, we welcome Anna Schrafft, leader of SFC Girls, to help answer the question: How does shred ministry look different for women? In this episode, Josh Stock and Anna have an interesting question about some of the unique challenges/differences that women in shred ministry face. 

Did you know the words “The Trinity” are nowhere in Scripture?

You can search from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single place where Moses, David, Job, Paul, or any other author says “The Trinity.” But what you will find is that the Trinity is everywhere in Scripture. From the very beginning, God in Genesis 1:26 says, “Let us make man in our image”… Somehow God refers to himself as an US. Plural.

This week, for SFC’s AMA Series, we welcomed back Pastor Jim Howard to attempt to answer: How in the world can God be Father, Son, and Spirit simultaneously? As you’ll hear, no one can grasp this. How God is one and three is a grand mystery that we will never fully be able to understand. But what we can do is understand why God being one and three is integral for our faith. And a sweet, sweet gift to us who know him.

This week, the SFC: Ask Me Anything series has been hi-jacked (or in this case, hi-joshed). As two of the last three episodes have been our host Ryan Leeds asking questions to SFC’s International Team Captain Josh Stock, the tables have now been turned.

This bizarre movement comprised of skiers-for-Jesus and snowboarders-for-Jesus is…well, it’s UNIQUE to say the least. Our two favorite passions placed together often sound like oil and water to those we meet. A long-held tradition of commitment to the world’s most famous God-man doesn’t naturally combine well with the fad of sliding over frozen-water-covered-death-mounds on elaborate sticks. Even for us who have been doing this for years, the two don’t always slot together in our minds, our hearts or our actions as conveniently as we’d prefer. Often times, our love for all-things-shred push past their right boundaries into other areas of our lives. Other times, our expectations and best intentions for the Kingdom of God push us to dumb down the importance of the context of the culture we’re living amongst.

On this episode, Josh and Ryan navigate the choppy, often-unexplored waters that are comprised of our calling: How do we balance our passions for Jesus and for shred?! How do we appropriately do justice to this movement, to our mission to shred-for-Jesus?

"What does the Bible say about social justice and LGBTQI+?" We’re halfway through our SFC AMA Series, and, true to the series title, we invited you, our community to share questions you had about literally anything related to shred ministry so that we could Shine Brighter and Bridge Better together. We knew, and even hoped that you would ask questions that were challenging, because only by talking through them can we learn how to effectively respond in love to the people and situations in our everyday lives In this week’s episode, Ryan Leeds interviews Jim Howard to answer the question, “What does the Bible say about social justice and LGBTQI+?” We actually received a few questions on this topic, and it felt appropriate to combiner’s them into this one episode. Jim’s answer and encouragement reveal a beautiful picture of the heart of God on this topic, and we hope that you find it both challenging and encouraging. 

In this weeks SFC: Ask Me Anything episode, Josh Stock seeks to answer the question: "How do we keep the stoke for ministry alive in dry seasons?" 

It can be so easy to be motivated to fulfill the mission of SFC when we see God drawing people to himself, moving in miraculous ways, and transforming our communities to look like His kingdom. The fruit propels us, and it continually affirms us that this mission, this effort, is worth it. 

But what about when we aren't seeing that? What about when we aren't seeing fruit from our labors? How do we gain the conviction and energy to keep going? What are we supposed to do when we're not "feeling" it (when we're spiritually dry?)? 

That's what Josh seeks to answer today. We pray this episode encourages you in your personal ministry within the ski and snowboard culture, however that may look for you right now. We hope that you find this conversation helpful! 

Well, it's been a while since our last post, but we haven't forgotten about you! We've been hard at work recording episodes for our next podcast series, SFC: Ask Me Anything. The first episode of the next series will drop Monday, April 11th. So stay tuned! We're only a week out. In the meantime, here's a special bonus episode for you. In this episode, Ryan sits down with Pastor Dane Ortlund, author of the popular book, Gentle and Lowly, to discuss the heart of Jesus for sinner and suffers. We hope that you find this conversation as encouraging as we did! 

So before we jump into our third series of the SFC Podcast (SFC: Ask Me Anything!), we thought it would be a good idea to share a couple of bonus episodes with you. For the next couple of weeks, we'll be dropping a few short devotionals from a couple of different SFCers. In this first bonus episode, SFC's National Director, Randy Schroeder, shares some thoughts on Romans 12:2 - "be transformed by the renewing of your mind." We hope you enjoy!

Okay, so we’ve made it to the end of another series. Man. Time flies when you’re having fun, right!? We hope that this series has been a blessing to you and that you’ve been challenged to think about/approach the disciplines a little bit differently. Remember, the goal isn’t just to add more things to your schedule. The goal is to develop a deeper and more intimate relationship with Christ that results in YOU reflecting the light of Jesus to the world around you.

Now…we wanted to conclude this series by highlighting an integral part of the spiritual formation process - the community. According to the authors of the New Testament, we need other believers in our life. We need it because we’re broken. True. We’re reconciled. And our sin no longer defines us. But we are still susceptible to the lies that the Enemy tries to sell us. Really…we’re enthralled by them, because they appeal to the desires of our flesh. And as we’ve said throughout this series, it’s hard to fight the desires of our flesh. And that’s why we need community. We need Christian brothers and sisters in our life who can lovingly point us back to the gospel, and who can continually stir us up to love and good works.

In this episode, Ryan and Alie argue that spiritual formation should always take place in the context of community (if that’s available to you). Spiritual formation is a community project. So please don’t go it alone!

Resources Ryan used in preparation for this talk:

Confession. I’m not going to beat around the bush…this is a tough one. This is a practice that requires a lot of vulnerability. And if we’re being honest, most of us struggle to get to a place of complete vulnerability. You know, where we actually open up and share the deepest and darkest parts of ourselves.

But as hard as it may be, confession is an incredibly important part of our spiritual formation journey. We need it. Not only does it kill our sin (because it’s been dragged into the light - it’s been exposed), it brings healing to the soul. Unconfessed sin produces anxiety. It produces a sort of depression. David expresses this beautifully in Psalm 32. But when you’ve confessed your sin in the presence of a loving community (which may only be one or two trusted individuals), you no longer have to look over your shoulder anxiously wondering if someone is going to find you out. You’re known. And when you’re known, you’re free.

Now, I want to be honest. Confessing your sin is not always going to feel great. In fact, it may suck at first. People aren’t always going to have the best reaction. And you may have to work through some of the repercussions of your sin (like broken relationships, broken trust, etc.). And that won’t feel great. But over time, as the dust settles, it does bring about genuine freedom. Because, as we’ve said, you’re known. And when you’re known, you’re free.

In this episode, Ryan dives into the practice of confession. He sets the stage by highlighting the goal of our confession, examines some of the reasons we may struggle with confession, and - in a moment of vulnerability - shares a little about his journey with this practice. So stick around. We hope you enjoy this lesson as much as we did.

Resources Ryan used in preparation for this talk:

What defines a Christian community? What makes it different from any other sort of positive community (outside of the Church)? Now, that’s a great question. I think it’s easy for us to think of our Christian community like any other type of positive community. It’s filled with people who generally like each other and who have similar interests. Maybe they’re even on mission together, pursuing some good cause. But is that all Christian community is, or is there something more?

According to what we see in the New Testament, Christian community is marked by two key elements that set it apart from other communities: 1) Guidance, and 2) Fellowship. Christians aren’t just people who get together because they like the same thing. No. Christians are people who are committed to one another. They’re committed to one another regardless of likes and dislikes, political beliefs, or cultural backgrounds. They’re committed to seeking the Spirit together and walking in the light. That’s what makes a Christian community different. That’s what makes a Christian community compelling.

In this episode, Alie dives into the disciplines of guidance and fellowship. She does a great job defining the disciplines - explaining what they are and what they’re not. These aren’t disciplines that we talk about all that often. And whether that’s because we weren’t aware that these are, in fact, disciplines, or because we assume that we know what they are, these disciplines are worth talking about. They’re worth leaning into. So tune in and spend some time chewing on this one. We’re confident that you’ll be challenged to think about the disciplines of guidance/fellowship a little bit differently.

Resources that Alie used in preparation for her talk:

YOU play a special role in the body of Christ (the Church). Did you know that? Or better yet, do you believe that? You have been uniquely designed and gifted by God. But you aren’t meant to keep these gifts to yourself. No. These gifts are meant to be shared. You were given these gifts SO THAT you might go and serve others.

Now, this may not be news to you. You may already know that you were given gifts by God for the purpose of serving others. But that doesn’t mean that serving is always easy, right? Sometimes, serving is hard. We don’t always feel like serving others. And even if we are motivated to serve, we’re not always sure that our serving is actually doing anything. It can often feel like we’re not making much of a difference.

In this episode, Ryan dives into the spiritual discipline of service. He discusses the biblical basis for service, explores the (biblical) motivations behind our service, and encourages us to get to know the REAL needs of the people in our community – so that we can better serve our communities. If you’ve ever struggled with the discipline of service - or just wanted to know more about the discipline of service - then this episode is for you!

Resources that Ryan used in preparation for this talk: 

Okay, fasting. Abstaining from food (or maybe from something else we really desire) for the purpose of seeking God. If you've been around the Church for any amount of time, then you've probably heard about the spiritual discipline of fasting. But what does this have to do with skiing and snowboarding? Why on earth are we talking about fasting on a podcast about ski and snowboard ministry. Great question! I would argue that fasting has a lot to do with ski/snowboard ministry...mainly because of what fasting teaches us. Fasting is a practice that teaches us that we don't need to give our bodies what they want all of the time. And it might seem silly...depriving the body of food for a period of time to seek the Lord. But consider the implications of what this practice can do over time. The more that we implement the discipline of fasting into our lives...it moves beyond the concept of food. We learn soon enough that we don't need to give into the desires of our flesh. And soon, we'll start to seek communion (with God and others) over comfort (living into our desires all of the time).

So yeah, fasting has a lot to do with ski/snowboard ministry. It's easy in the ski/snowboard world to get caught up in the HYPE of the culture. It's easy to make skiing and snowboarding all about you (getting your turns, getting your tricks, getting your shots, etc.). But part of what makes the mission of SFC so unique is that we know that it's not all about us. It's about others. And in a culture that is all about "self", that type of mindset sticks out. So fasting teaches you to seek God when everything in your flesh may want to seek its own comfort.

In this episode, Ryan and Alie give a short teaching on the importance of fasting and what it's meant to do in our lives. Like previous episodes, this talk is broken down into two parts. In part one, Ryan teaches about the practice of fasting and what it's meant to do for us. In part two, Alie gives us some practical tips on how to implement fasting into our lives. This is an exciting talk. We hope you enjoy it!

Resources that Alie and Ryan used in preparation for this talk:

Reading the Bible. We know it's important. But how do we do it well? That's a great question! In fact, that's a question people have been asking for hundreds of years. How do we take this book - that reveals who God is and contains special revelation to His people - and actually apply it to our lives?  

In this episode, Ryan and Alie do their best to answer this incredibly important question. If you've ever struggled with your Bible reading - if it's ever felt dry and lifeless - then know that you're in good company. We've all struggled with the discipline of Bible reading at one point or another. But maybe, just maybe, there are some things that can help make your Bible reading process more life-giving. Maybe all it takes is a simple shift in your perspective. Maybe it's just adding a simple grid and/or method to your process. Whatever the case, we're confident that you'll find some helpful tidbits in this conversation.  

Resources that Ryan and Alie used during their preparation:  

Soooo…prayer. Is it just basically talking to God? Does it always have to be asking or can it be telling too? Do you have to say specific words or be in a specific place or posture?

People have been studying prayer and trying to wrap their heads around what exactly it is, what the best ways are to do it and why it’s important for, oh, maybe a couple thousand years. I remind myself of that fact so that I can settle down and not get too worked up when I realize I don’t have it all worked out in my own life.

In this episode, Alie Heenan teaches on the topic of prayer. And similar to past episodes, this episode will be broken up into two parts. Part 1: Shifting our perspective on prayer. And Part 2: Simple methods that lead to a whole and life-giving prayer life. Part of what makes this talk so special is Alie's vulnerability about her own prayer life and the work she’s been doing to improve this practice. 

So if you've ever wondered about prayer; how it works, how it DOESN’T work and why we struggle with it, then you’re at home here with us! Don't go anywhere. Grab your headphones and settle in to a comfortable position, because Alie has some great thoughts on prayer that we think you’ll connect with.

Resources Alie used in her preparation for this talk:

The Spiritual Disciplines. Man. That phrase can conjure up a lot of feelings in a person. For some, the spiritual disciplines remind us of sweet and intimate moments with our Creator. Moments of joy. Moments of peace. Moments of rest. And moments of change. 

For others of us, though, the spiritual disciplines remind us of dry and boring practices that we were forced to do by our parents and/or spiritual leaders. We've struggled with the disciplines. We've struggled to see the point of the disciplines. And we've struggled to see how the disciplines bring about greater joy and peace in our lives. 

In this episode, Alie and Ryan hit on this very thing - the tension that we feel about the disciplines (moments of joy and moments of struggle). They share about their respective journeys with the disciplines - in some pretty honest and vulnerable ways - and share a framework for how to think about the disciplines. So don't skip this episode! We think that this talk will resonate with you in some pretty deep ways. 

Resources that Alie and Ryan found helpful in their preparation: 

Well, we're back with another series! And this time, we're shifting in a new direction. In series 2 of the podcast, we're going to be addressing the topic of Spiritual Formation. And it's going to feature a series of talks that Ryan Leeds and Alie Heenan gave at the SFC Boot Camp (a 5-day teaching conference that took place in New Hampshire a few weeks ago). Now, I can already see the questions pouring in? Why are we talking about Spiritual Formation on a skiing/snowboarding podcast? Great question! Well, Spiritual Formation affects every aspect of our life. As you'll hear in this episode, we can't avoid spiritual formation. The reality is - whether we realize it or not - we're all being formed into someone? We're all leaning into certain cycles of formation. The question, then, is simple: "What kind of formation are you engaged in? Who are you becoming?" This is an important question to wrestle with...especially for skiers/snowboarders. So don't go anywhere. We're confident that this series will resonate with you in some pretty deep ways.

In this episode (EPISODE 1), Ryan and Alie introduce the topic of spiritual formation to the group. They discuss the biblical foundations of Spiritual Formation, define it, and then highlight some of the competing cycles of formation that are at play in our world. And while this may be a little bit longer of an episode, we think that you'll find the content pretty relatable. 

References/resources that Alie and Ryan used in their preparation: