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- The Shape of the Journey -

TS Eliot wrote that the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. Back in black and white Kansas, Dorothy realizes if her heart’s desire isn’t in her own backyard, she never lost it to begin with. That’s it. We only take the journey to learn we didn’t have to.

The person you are meant to be is already standing inside you right here and now. The journey simply strips everything away that is not who you really are. And that happens naturally as you travel through four primary landscapes: healing, learning, mentoring, and serving. Service is what you make of it, but we can help with the other three…

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Healing

Counseling and Recovery Services

Are we ever fully healed? Healing is a lifelong process, but being healed enough to bring our lives into a manageable state is the foundation for any further growth. If you want to teach a starving person, you feed him first. If you want to grow spiritually and personally, there has to be enough emotional and relational stability to take first steps.

If you’re wondering why things don’t seem to get better, if relationships remain difficult or out of reach, if there’s grief, substance abuse, depression or other active issues you’re facing, there is groundwork to be done that therapy or recovery counseling can assist. Sometimes finances, employment, or parenting and other relational issues need to be addressed with life skills coaching and counseling. In an initial call we can establish a connection and a plan forward with counselors or therapists from our staff or your local area.

Mentoring

Coaching and Spiritual Direction

No one takes this journey alone. Spirituality is by definition a relationship—with God, Higher Power, each other. The interaction between us in community and one on one is the whole point and process. But just as being alone is limiting, the beliefs of certain groups or churches can limit as well.

This is where the spiritual director comes in–the coach who can help grant permission to think outside the limits and begin the process of living the paradoxical spiritual relationship in a way that can be modeled and practiced. It’s always been done this way between humans and just because we now have instant access to the world’s wisdom, we are not exempt from one on one connection as the basis of our journey. When the student is ready, the teacher appears. When healing has established a foundation and the student has learned enough to know he or she now needs to engage in an entirely different way, a relationship with the right teacher can make all the difference.

window man
window man
Mentoring

Coaching and Spiritual Direction

No one takes this journey alone. Spirituality is by definition a relationship—with God, Higher Power, each other. The interaction between us in community and one on one is the whole point and process. But just as being alone is limiting, the beliefs of certain groups or churches can limit as well.

This is where the spiritual director comes in–the coach who can help grant permission to think outside the limits and begin the process of living the paradoxical spiritual relationship in a way that can be modeled and practiced. It’s always been done this way between humans and just because we now have instant access to the world’s wisdom, we are not exempt from one on one connection as the basis of our journey. When the student is ready, the teacher appears. When healing has established a foundation and the student has learned enough to know he or she now needs to engage in an entirely different way, a relationship with the right teacher can make all the difference.

Learning

Listening, Discussing, Reading

Learning should be continuous through life. Learning informs the healing process and precedes and continues through and beyond mentoring. But the amount of information available today is so vast and varied--where to turn for the right resources and materials?

Just having someone who’s plowed a row or two ahead can narrow the field and point out the main holes that need filling. In terms of distance learning, we have podcasts, blogs, vlogs, books and audio below. At theeffect website, you can find suggested reading lists, articles, links, an archive of recorded messages and classes. If you’re local, you can attend live weekly sessions or stream if you’re not. Click and see.

Learning

Listening, Discussing, Reading

Learning should be continuous through life. Learning informs the healing process and precedes and continues through and beyond mentoring. But the amount of information available today is so vast and varied--where to turn for the right resources and materials?

Just having someone who’s plowed a row or two ahead can narrow the field and point out the main holes that need filling. In terms of distance learning, we have podcasts, blogs, vlogs, books and audio below. At theeffect website, you can find suggested reading lists, articles, links, an archive of recorded messages and classes. If you’re local, you can attend live weekly sessions or stream if you’re not. Click and see.

Podcast

Get Back to Center. Find Your True North

Each week in our Podcast, we talk about the things that can bring you back to center, whether God, spirituality, community or family or all of them.

the effect

Never esoteric or abstract for its own sake; always practical and full of common sense, we’re interested in exploring the effect of what we believe on our lives and questioning what we believe in light of the deep connection we’re meant to live.

Subscribe to our podcast
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true north
Podcast

Get Back to Center. Find Your True North

Each week in our Podcast, we talk about the things that can bring you back to center, whether God, spirituality, community or family or all of them.

the effect

Never esoteric or abstract for its own sake; always practical and full of common sense, we’re interested in exploring the effect of what we believe on our lives and questioning what we believe in light of the deep connection we’re meant to live.

Subscribe to our podcast
google play button
itunes button
Thoughts along the way

Blogs & Vlogs

A Personal Ghetto

If the first three Steps of AA are a serial surrender of the illusion that we can manage our lives isolated from the greater power of community and God, then Steps 4-7 are a serial healing of the damage those […]

A Short Fall

Made a decision to turn our lives and will over to God, a power greater than ourselves…Step Three of AA…sort of a let go and let God. Sounds so easy, but it’s only as easy as our grip on whatever […]

Centurion Moment

Looking at the 12 Steps of AA as a rite of passage: separation from the now too-small world we knew, to a disorienting transition, to reincorporation—a changed person returning to community. It’s the shape of every human life, but the […]

fifthway

The Fifth Way

A Western Journey to the Hebrew Heart of Jesus

When Jesus of Nazareth presented his view of God and life, he did so in a deeply ancient and Eastern way. A way completely unlike the four ways we normally approach life--a Fifth Way. Deep inside our Western world views, there is a difficult intellectual and emotional way to the Way that must be negotiated first. A jarring movement from West to East that brings us only to the starting point, to the gate of the Way to the freedom Jesus promises.

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the lords prayer

The Lord’s Prayer

Living the Aramaic Words

The most well-known prayer in Christianity has become a fixture in Western culture as well; but do we have any idea what it means? Until we peek under the veneer of translation and see the Hebrew intent underneath, we'll never understand that this model prayer was never intended to be read or recited, but to be lived. When understood from an Aramaic point of view, the five lines of the prayer jump out as a reordering of the attitude, process, and priority of our daily moments and form the basis of Jesus' one and only Way to the Father.

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the beatitudes

The Beatitudes

An Aramaic Portrait of Jesus

Haven't you often wondered what Jesus looked like? We are sometimes frustrated that there is no description of him in the Gospels. But this is not so; there is a detailed description of Jesus in the book of Matthew. The first lines of the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, paint a detailed picture. And if we want to know what Jesus “looked” like, what it was like to walk and live with him, we just need to understand these sayings from an Aramaic point of view. Because if Jesus was not the model for the Kingdom-person he describes, who is?

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the twelve steps

The Twelve Steps

and the Way of Jesus

While it's obvious why someone recovering from alcohol or drug addiction would need the Twelve Steps of AA, it's not as obvious why they would be relevant to anyone else. Truth is: we're all recovering from something... Very few of us are so healed that the Twelve Steps don't have something vital to teach. This tour through the Twelve Steps considers each step, not from the viewpoint of alcohol and substance abuse recovery, but from its most open and spiritual application—one that Jesus articulated two millennia ago, yet still applies to each of us today.

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the james book

The James Book

The Wisdom of Jesus’ Brother

Did you know Jesus had a brother? Called ``the Just`` by the earliest followers of Jesus, James led the Jerusalem church for the first thirty years after the crucifixion, was the pillar of the Eastern Church and yet is relatively unknown in the West. As one of the most Jewish books of the New Testament, James gives us a uniquely clear view into the teachings of Jesus. Looking through Hebrew eyes, we see how James taught and led his brother's followers through those first difficult decades of misunderstanding and persecution from both Jewish and Roman worlds.

amazon button

The Fifth Way

A Western Journey to the Hebrew Heart of Jesus

When Jesus of Nazareth presented his view of God and life, he did so in a deeply ancient and Eastern way. A way completely unlike the four ways we normally approach life--a Fifth Way. Deep inside our Western world views, there is a difficult intellectual and emotional way to the Way that must be negotiated first. A jarring movement from West to East that brings us only to the starting point, to the gate of the Way to the freedom Jesus promises.

amazon button
the lords prayer

The Lord’s Prayer

Living the Aramaic Words

The most well-known prayer in Christianity has become a fixture in Western culture as well; but do we have any idea what it means? Until we peek under the veneer of translation and see the Hebrew intent underneath, we'll never understand that this model prayer was never intended to be read or recited, but to be lived. When understood from an Aramaic point of view, the five lines of the prayer jump out as a reordering of the attitude, process, and priority of our daily moments and form the basis of Jesus' one and only Way to the Father.

amazon button
the beatitudes

The Beatitudes

An Aramaic Portrait of Jesus

Haven't you often wondered what Jesus looked like? We are sometimes frustrated that there is no description of him in the Gospels. But this is not so; there is a detailed description of Jesus in the book of Matthew. The first lines of the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, paint a detailed picture. And if we want to know what Jesus “looked” like, what it was like to walk and live with him, we just need to understand these sayings from an Aramaic point of view. Because if Jesus was not the model for the Kingdom-person he describes, who is?

amazon button
the twelve steps

The Twelve Steps

and the Way of Jesus

While it's obvious why someone recovering from alcohol or drug addiction would need the Twelve Steps of AA, it's not as obvious why they would be relevant to anyone else. Truth is: we're all recovering from something... Very few of us are so healed that the Twelve Steps don't have something vital to teach. This tour through the Twelve Steps considers each step, not from the viewpoint of alcohol and substance abuse recovery, but from its most open and spiritual application—one that Jesus articulated two millennia ago, yet still applies to each of us today.

amazon button
the james book

The James Book

The Wisdom of Jesus’ Brother

Did you know Jesus had a brother? Called ``the Just`` by the earliest followers of Jesus, James led the Jerusalem church for the first thirty years after the crucifixion, was the pillar of the Eastern Church and yet is relatively unknown in the West. As one of the most Jewish books of the New Testament, James gives us a uniquely clear view into the teachings of Jesus. Looking through Hebrew eyes, we see how James taught and led his brother's followers through those first difficult decades of misunderstanding and persecution from both Jewish and Roman worlds.

amazon button

About Dave

Dave Brisbin is a published author, speaker, coach, and songwriter. He is the teaching pastor of theeffect, a faith community and recovery ministry in San Clemente, CA serving those searching for deeper spiritual expression within the Christian tradition, free from limiting beliefs and behavior. He is also the executive director of Encompass Recovery, an addiction treatment center in San Juan Capistrano. Working in ministry and non-profit endeavors for the last 20 years, his prior experience directing corporate communications enables him to understand the concerns of corporate executives and bring solutions for centered living. He holds a BA in English Lit/Writing, a Masters in Divinity, and is board certified as professional pastoral counselor by the AACC and AACT.

What they are saying about us

Almost immediately, I was struck by the sense that the Holy Spirit had brought you and your book along, and my growth has continued at a meaningful pace as I have made my way through your book. I am absolutely blown away. It has directly touched on some powerful truths.

Bill G, Basehor, KS

Several months ago, I listened to one of your messages. A whole new door opened up for me after listening to that first one. Your messages have allowed me to see things in a different way than I was looking at them. They helped me in my relationship with God, my wife and children.

Ralph S, Wausau, WI

“Dave and I met briefly at year twenty in my Christian journey and now our lives have merged again at an important crossroads, not just for ourselves but for the entire global community. Dave proposes a Fifth Way; for what it’s worth, I think he’s right.”

Graham Kerr, Author and Former Media Person (Galloping Gourmet)

"Of all the books in the Christian marketplace today why should you read this one? To renew your mind, refresh your heart, and restore your soul.”

Chuck Smith, Jr, Author and Spiritual Director for Reflexion

“Reading The Fifth Way is like spending time with the author, Dave Brisbin, who has a gift of making simple the complicated religious mess we have collectively made of Christianity."

Chris Falson, Singer/Songwriter/Composer, Author

If I was not 3000 miles away, I'd be your man. I've have laid off sharing my "Daveisms" with others to a point. A friend coined the phrase, "Pastor crush" to describe this certain condition.

Don M, White River Junction, VT

I can’t begin to thank you for being an internet angel! My daughter will be 60 days clean, tomorrow, and one of her biggest motivators is going to your Tuesday night gathering and meeting and to your Sunday meeting.

Orla M, Fullerton, CA

In searching for a way to reconstruct my faith, I listened to a podcast that referenced your book at the end, and as I searched for it I found your website. It helped me validate that the compassionate love I feel from my savior is real.

Nina P, Phoenix, AZ

I live in Arizona, and I have been listening to your sermons for over a year. Your message is profound because it speaks of such a deeper truth than what most churches expound. Thank you for your honest, vulnerable and authentic work.

Becky J, PhD, Scottsdale, AZ
Contact

Get in Touch. We want to hear from you.

Whether you want to explore the benefits of one on one connection or the community of our Sunday worship and weekly workshops, we want to hear from you.

You can fill out the form at right, or if you’d like to talk right away, feel free to call the number below. And if you’re in our local area, you can join us for any of our weekly gatherings or schedule a time to talk. See our calendar for gathering times.

949-218-2228, Prompt #2

27124 Paseo Espada, Suite 801, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

Schedule Your 15 Minute Call

Just fill out this little form, and we’ll get right back to you so we can schedule a time to talk about you and your journey.

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