I recently came home from a men’s retreat in the mountains, and I’ve been thinking about what made this one feel different.
For many years, CITR retreats have followed a familiar pattern. I prepare the material. Participants listen, take notes and hopefully carry some useful ideas home with them.
There is nothing wrong with that.
But this retreat was different.
Rather than beginning with what I wanted to teach, we began with questions worth pondering. We opened with a short reading. We talked. We asked a question. And then we gave people time to sit with a logbook and write their own words.
Around the fire, they could share as much or as little as they wanted.
Our final morning, as we finished our final conversation, I told the group:
“This retreat has not been about my words that you take home in a binder. Rather, this retreat has been about your journey, your reflections, your words, and your intent for the days ahead.
My job was simply to create the space.”
And the space matters.
We camped in the mountains. We learned and practiced outdoor skills. We adapted to rain and changing weather. We cooked some remarkably good food together. We fished. We laughed. We sat around a fire.
And somewhere within all of that ordinary life together, conversations became surprisingly intimate.
Two of the men had attended Christ in the Rockies camps before. Independently, both told me how much they appreciated this new format, particularly the depth and intimacy of the conversations around the fire.
I loved what I saw happen.
Not because we delivered a lot of information, but because we created a setting where people had time to ponder a meaningful question, find their own words, and share those words with others.
It seems simple.
But after experiencing it together, I think there is something wonderfully valuable about simply creating the space.
For You:
Christ in the Rockies is creating retreats around this idea: small groups, outdoor adventure, good food, meaningful questions, time to reflect, and conversation around the fire.
If something about that sounds inviting to you, I’d love to hear from you. We will host upcoming retreat opportunities, and we can also help create an experience around a group of people you already have in mind.
Just send me an email at mikehadd@christintherockies.org and let’s begin a conversation.
Maybe what you need isn’t another binder full of someone else’s words.
Maybe you just need some space to find your own.