|
By Kirk Potter
CHURCH retreats are a tradition that goes back to the origins of camping itself,
and the ‘Brush Arbor’ movement early in the previous century.
But why exactly are church retreats so effective?
Primarily, it is the lack of distractions. Retreats are so productive because
they provide a concentrated time focused on spiritual objectives and
relationships, in a setting removed from the distractions of everyday life.
Not long ago, I was involved in a protracted process to lease some camp
buildings. The process took almost nine months, mostly because of the delays in
passing each message and proposal between two principals and their attorneys.
A message sent to the other principal could wait for hours or days to be dealt
with, depending on his workload. He eventually passed a message to his
attorney, who had to find time to deal with it along with his other
responsibilities.
After he had considered it, he would pass the message on to our attorney, who
would pass it on to us. Our response would eventually filter back, through the
same process.
By comparison, a friend of mine’s father was a partner in a major development and construction company.
When negotiations commenced for a project, all the parties and lawyers met in a
neutral setting for several days of face- to-face negotiations. In a matter of
days, they processed complexities light years more advanced than my lease
project.
Continue article >>
|
The difference: no distractions, no interruptions, no other clients and no
competing priorities. As well, the trust built up in this atmosphere yielded a
level of productivity that could not be achieved by emails, phone calls and
meetings.
Retreats are similar. A weekend retreat is worth months of Sundays and mid-week
meetings, because of the lack of gaps and distractions. Add to this the
relationships built as you share the retreat experience with others, and the
effectiveness of the retreat is even more pronounced.
A retreat is not unlike a vacation. You set aside all the distractions of
everyday life for a time away, dedicated to a particular purpose, which often
includes deepening relationships with family and others. And someone else is
doing the cooking, serving, table clearing, dishwashing and, in some cases,
child care. It is like going out to eat five times in one weekend with a group
of friends. There is ample opportunity to sit around the tables and have a nice
chat.
Retreats work for all ages, and for many purposes. Adult retreats are great for
focusing on relationships and spiritual needs. That is why they are so
effective for groups like Alpha.
Youth groups benefit because of the opportunities for leaders to build
relationships with students over the course of a whole weekend, in a way which
is simply not possible two hours at a time with a week between meetings.
Church retreats are a great way to accomplish many of the objectives of church
ministries – without the daily distractions of our busy lives.
Kirk Potter is director of conference and community ministries at The Firs in
Bellingham, Washington.
June 2010
|