" Earth’s crammed
with Heaven, And every common bush afire with God;
And only they who see, take off their shoes; The rest sit around it
and pluck blackberries." - Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Virtually
nothing on the landscape of Christian ministry is more powerful, or
more effective in producing long-term, lasting, spiritual change, or
bearing "fruit that remains" (John 15) like expertly-facilitated
adventure ministry.
Adventure
ministry is, by design, intensely personal, intensely introspective,
and intensely focused. It's also incredibly corporate, decidedly truth-focused,
deeply experiential and incredibly challenging - just like the life
of faith in Christ. Its deep parallels and inherent metaphors of the
spiritual life are what so deeply empower it for life change. Through
adventure, participants are emersed in experiences that make the concepts
of Scripture come alive. Faith is never so tangible than when we're
gripped by adventure.
The
reality is that life itself is a Journey of epic proportions. Each
day we face decisions and experience situations that can have a deep
impact on our lives and our futures. Adventure ministry and adventure
challenges provide a parallel, a microcosm, a laborotory of sorts,
in which to understand and process the dynamics of our spiritual lives
and provides opportunities to grow as a person - physically, emotionally,
and spiritually - in ways that most people never experience. The lessons
learned through adventure experiences "stick", and have
a much higher chance of producing positive life change that is both
significant and lasting, simply because they are intense and experiential.
Well-facilitated
adventure
experiences have a unique way of opening people's hearts and minds
to new ways of thinking and processing life's challenges. That growth
then opens the door for them to step beyond their normal comfort zones
and experience expanded opportunities as they apply those new thinking
processes to their daily lives. Adventure is a powerful tool that
can speak deeply to the heart.
But
beyond just the psychological dynamics of adventure experiences lies
the real, bedrock-level reality of its spiritual import. If our lives
are nothing else, they are living story lines of risk and reward,
joy and pain, good and evil, glorious victory and agonizing defeat.
Our small stories are, though we often forget the fact, all part of
the truly epic story of God's dealings with man.
From
the days of creation, God has been telling a story - one He has invited
us to participate in through an intimate, living relationship with
His Son, Jesus Christ. It's an adventure and a journey that has it's
roots in eternity and it's future in Glory. It's a day-by-day process
of participating with God in His work of transforming us into the
image of Christ - for that is His ultimate goal. (Romans 8:29)
Adventure
ministry provides pictures, analogies - what we call Spiritual Parallels-
of that Journey that we are making if we are Christians. Adventure
experiences, combined with focused processing, and reflective times
of silence can help to clarify our purpose in life and better understand
the process of following Christ in life's Journey. God speaks in powerful
ways through adventure experiences, simply because they so perfectly
mirror life in the Spirit.
