I want to introduce you a section of a sermon by C.H. Spurgeon that gives me pause during this time of harvest. He was a pastor in London in the late 1800’s, but he had a real affinity for the countryside and the outdoors. In his book, Farm Sermons, you can read some of his messages to country congregations. They are very insighful, especially to urban dwellers who, in his words, live in a world surrounded by “dungy bricks.”
The time is ripe for outdoor ministries to pop up in local churches because it meets profound needs for leadership development in our culture today. One of the next bubbles that we might see pop in this generation is the leadership bubble. People today are so busy they don’t even know who they are… we need wise wilderness shepherds who can persuade people to be brave, stop, and listen to the Heavenly Father’s voice…
The ropes course was thrilling, but I knew that my soul needed to be refilled. The wilderness was wooing me. I’m not just into the adventure. I’m into adventures with Jesus. With that attitude, outdoor adventures becomes another opportunity to experience God.
Great leaders, don’t necessarily long for those hills to run, but they know hills can’t be avoided for growth to occur. Hills we climb in ministry are like mile markers in a leader’s journey.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to attempt a 16,000’ foot peak in Cotopaxi National Park in Ecuador with about 20 youth leaders from all over Latin America. It is freeing for me to admit that I reached my limit yesterday. In my pride I wish I could say that I had the energy and strength to bag that peak, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. You could stick a fork in me. I was baked.
