What is Fel­low­ship of the Burn­ing Heart?

It is a dis­persed com­mu­ni­ty of Jesus’ friends who long for deep­er inti­ma­cy with the Tri­une God. 

Fel­low­ship of the Burn­ing Heart's pri­ma­ry pur­pose is to help mem­bers grow as dis­ci­ples of Jesus — for their trans­for­ma­tion, the world’s good, and God’s ever­last­ing glory. 

What does it mean to be a mem­ber? What is the commitment?

Fel­low­ship of the Burn­ing Heart is a tan­gi­ble way to seek deep­er inti­ma­cy and trans­for­ma­tion in Jesus in community. Members commit for one-year to: 

• the Ren­o­varé Covenant
• the Fel­low­ship of the Burn­ing Heart Core Values
• meet month­ly in a two-hour Lis­ten­ing Group

Your commitment can be renewed each year - and these groups only get better with time!

What is the Ren­o­varé Covenant?

In utter depen­dence upon Jesus Christ as my ever-liv­ing Sav­ior, Teacher, Lord, and Friend, I will seek con­tin­u­al renew­al through spir­i­tu­al exer­cis­es, spir­i­tu­al gifts, and acts of service.

What are the Core Values of Fel­low­ship of the Burn­ing Heart?

1. We val­ue a high Chris­tol­ogy regard­ing the per­son and work of Jesus Christ. 
2. We val­ue Scrip­ture as a sure guide for growth into Christlikeness. 
3. We val­ue wor­ship and prayer as cen­tral in our lives.
4. We val­ue peo­ple as God’s image bear­ers. In our inter­ac­tions we resist the temp­ta­tion to man­age impres­sions, lever­age rela­tion­ships, and fix one another.
5. We val­ue com­mu­ni­ty as vital to our trans­for­ma­tion into Christ­like­ness. We offer avail­abil­i­ty and vul­ner­a­bil­i­ty as we hon­or each person’s unique jour­ney with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 
6. We val­ue lis­ten­ing. As a com­mu­ni­ty we seek to be atten­tive to the Holy Spir­it and one anoth­er. This facil­i­tates a wel­com­ing and con­fi­den­tial cul­ture where it is safe to know and be known.
7. We val­ue hon­esty and open­ness, seek­ing to love with wise bound­aries and dis­cern with­out judgement. 
8. We val­ue humil­i­ty and the free­dom it brings, draw­ing us into a life of grat­i­tude, joy, laugh­ter, cre­ativ­i­ty, and lightheartedness.
9. We val­ue lov­ing respect. We are for one another. 
   We give encour­age­ment as often as possible.
   We share advice once in a great while.
   We bring cor­rec­tion only when absolute­ly necessary.
   We con­demn never.
10. We val­ue hos­pi­tal­i­ty of heart, seek­ing to learn from our differences. 
11. We val­ue sta­bil­i­ty. We live into this prac­tice by com­mit­ting to the Ren­o­varé Covenant, these Val­ues, and our month­ly Lis­ten­ing Group.
12. We val­ue var­i­ous local expres­sions of spir­i­tu­al for­ma­tion efforts—rela­tion­ships, fam­i­lies, small groups, and church­es. Spir­i­tu­al for­ma­tion always has a local address.

Prac­ti­cal­ly, what does it mean to com­mit to the Ren­o­varé Covenant and the Fel­low­ship of the Burn­ing Heart Values?

A vital part of belong­ing to Fel­low­ship of the Burn­ing Heart is liv­ing into the Ren­o­varé Covenant. One spe­cif­ic way we do this is by choos­ing a word of inten­tion and one or two spir­i­tu­al prac­tices to intentionally engage with for the year. 

Fel­low­ship of the Burn­ing Heart's Core Val­ues serve as a mutu­al guide for how we intend to be with one another.

What is a Lis­ten­ing Group?

Listening Groups are a unique small group time that uses an Order of Meeting (liturgy) and very specific guidelines that help facil­i­tate lis­ten­ing to God, to oth­ers, and to our own hearts.

For one year, four to seven mem­bers com­mit to meet once a month­ for two hours. We have both online and in-per­son groups.

While each group has a Coor­di­na­tor who will help set up the group and teach members the group process, the struc­ture is designed for all mem­bers to take turns facil­i­tat­ing (don’t wor­ry, it’s easy).

How is a Lis­ten­ing Group dis­tinct from oth­er small groups?

We cel­e­brate all formats of Christian small groups. Fel­low­ship of the Burn­ing Heart Lis­ten­ing Groups are unique because there is a crafted order of meeting—a liturgy of sorts—that makes space to:

• hold prayer­ful silence with one another
• forgo fear of judgment, impression management, and advice giving
• lis­ten with­out fix­ing one another
• grow in the capac­i­ty to discern the voice of God
• be intentional about spiritual growth with oth­ers on a sim­i­lar jour­ney

Is Fel­low­ship of the Burn­ing Heart a good fit for me?

Burn­ing Heart is unique­ly designed for fol­low­ers of Jesus who are long­ing for a con­ver­sa­tion­al rela­tion­ship with God and are will­ing to be vul­ner­a­ble with oth­ers. Each of us has dif­fer­ent needs and sea­sons, and this may or may not fit where you are right now. Below are some state­ments to help you discern.

Are you drawn to expe­ri­ence and com­mit to a group where you…

• …sit with oth­ers in extend­ed times of prayer­ful silence
• …lis­ten with­out inter­rupt­ing, ask­ing ques­tions, or giv­ing advice
• …have grace for dif­fer­ing viewpoints
• …resist the temp­ta­tion to con­trol or change others
• …choose and engage with spe­cif­ic spir­i­tu­al practices
• …share hon­est­ly about your jour­ney with God
• …receive prayer and pray aloud for others
• …lis­ten for God’s voice and, when appro­pri­ate, share what you sense God is saying
• …focus on first things — love of God and love of neighbor

If you respond to these with a heart­felt ​“Yes!” or ​“I’m will­ing” then Fel­low­ship of the Burn­ing Heart may be a good fit for you.

Is there a fee to join? What does the fee cover? Is there an ongoing cost?

There is a one-time fee of $125 due upon accep­tance, which helps cov­er admin­is­tra­tive and mate­ri­als costs, including a leather journal and Order of Meeting booklet.

While there is no ongoing membership cost, Listening Group members will have the opportunity to help keep the movement healthy and accessible by "paying it forward" with a tax-deductible donation.

How long does my mem­ber­ship last?

Mem­ber­ship is good for as long as Fel­low­ship of the Burn­ing Heart exists, offer­ing you the poten­tial for a long-term community. And these groups just get richer with time.

Your mem­ber­ship begins with a one-year com­mit­ment to meet month­ly in a Lis­ten­ing Group. Each year you’ll have the oppor­tu­ni­ty to decide to recom­mit to the same Lis­ten­ing Group, take a break, apply to anoth­er Lis­ten­ing Group, or apply to become a Coor­di­na­tor and start your own group. 

What if there are no avail­able groups that work for me?

Groups become available as Coor­di­na­tors are trained. You are wel­come to add your name and con­tact infor­ma­tion to our Interest List. And while you're waiting, we invite you to join one of our online drop-in Listening Groups.

You can also learn how to become a Coor­di­na­tor to start a group here.

What is the appli­ca­tion process?

We ask that all applicants participate in one of our online Drop-In Listening Groups as part of the discernment process. You may register for one or more here.

Under our Join a Group tab, click on the Apply but­ton for any group that works for you. (Please apply only if the loca­tion and meet­ing time are appro­pri­ate.) 

After we receive your appli­ca­tion, you’ll be con­tact­ed by the group Coor­di­na­tor who will schedule a time to meet with you. Together, you’ll dis­cern if Fellowship of the Burning Heart is a good fit for you in this sea­son. 

Once all mem­bers for a group are approved, you will receive a link to register and pay the registration fee.

Note: The appli­ca­tion will take a lit­tle time to com­plete. It includes these questions:

• What attract­ed you to Fel­low­ship of the Burn­ing Heart?
• Where have you been sens­ing God’s invi­ta­tion in your spir­i­tu­al jour­ney recently?
• What does a healthy small group par­tic­i­pant look like?

What if I have anoth­er question?

Email us at fbh@​renovare.​org.