Like a fire

The Listen Retreat

I just finished the Listen Retreat for my youth group. It was a great weekend and for some it was an amazing weekend. The basic idea for this retreat is that theology is for people who don’t hear God. If we heard God (at least perfectly), we probably wouldn’t need theology. So in an effort to help our teens listen more and teach them less knowledge, I decided to go for a more monastic approach to this retreat. It was very different from my normal retreats, because I usually program a lot of what happens. In this retreat, I had to trust God to show up and make himself known. I wasn’t disappointed.

The first night, I intentionally didn’t give much direction. I walked in and sat down and let them explore a bit. Then I lit some candles and had them come and sit in silence for a while. I then told them the story of Arsenius.  I told them that we would be trying to hear from God and that I was going to give them some tools that would help them. They had about an hour that night of silence and solitude. The most ADD Hyperactive kid in our group told me later that night that it was going to be the best retreat he had been on. Th next day we did more of the same and had a prayer walk (beautiful weather) led by Zeb, one of my leaders who is particularly inclined to the outdoors. By the end of the weekend, I think everyone had a good sense of somethings that would work for them in trying to listen to God.

I learned a lot too. It wasn’t a particularly encouraging retreat, since most of the time was spent in solitude. I didn’t get a lot of the feedback I would get in leading discussions. I also prayed more during this retreat, which I think was better, though it didn’t seem to connect with the teens as much.

All in all, I think it is a retreat that we will do again, but not everytime. Some kids got more out of this kind of retreat, but some would get more out of a directed retreat like I am used to.

Here is the booklet, if you are interested.

3 Comments

1. 

   Sigh. Why must it always be an either/or? Either the church or God. Either theology or listening. Either contemplation or formation. Either discussion or prayer. Either "absurd" love or "logical" truth. True monastics do not live either/or lives; they are both-and people. (Even St. Francis, that most "absurd" of monks, never believed in the false dichotomy between church and God.) Moreover, monasticism is not monolithic: there are various kinds of monks, ranging from more contemplative (Trappists) to more active (Cistercians); from more intellectual (Dominicans) to more emotive (Franciscans) Check out the image at http://tinyurl.com/cl5g2s and then the article at http://tinyurl.com/aabmq5. It's an extract from Corinne Ware's "Four Spiritual Types." Some of us respond to head spirituality; some to heart spirituality; some to mystic and some to kingdom spirituality. It's important to recognize what our natural tendencies are, and to explore new ways of relating to the Lord. For a long time Evangelicals have only countenanced head spirituality, and Penteconstals have only permitted heart spirituality. Vital ministry--whether to youth or adults--will challenge us to grow in all these areas, as per Luke 10:27, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart (heart spirtuality) and with all your soul (mystic spirituality) and with all your strength (kingdom spirituality) and with all your mind' (head spirituality) and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" God bless you as you serve Him, and care for your kids.

   Beth / 11 Feb 2009 / 2:19 PM

2. 

   oops, the scond tiny url link is broken. It is meant to refer you to http://www.youthministry.org.nz/?sid=134

   Beth / 11 Feb 2009 / 2:21 PM

3. 

   Beth, thanks for commenting. I agree that there is definitely more room for both/and. In fact, I have already blogged it (it just hasn't been posted yet). What I was trying to do on this retreat was to focus on one to balance out the other. I have often just appealed to understanding so I wanted to try something different. I have a leader who could do a whole retreat on "doing", but that would have to e his retreat, since I can't lead them where I haven't been. Interesting about the diagram. I think I would naturally lean more toward the mystic, though that word has too much baggage for me. I usually balk at the meyers/briggs stuff, but I like this one because it addresses how extremes can be unhealthy. I'll see if I can find the book.

   Paul / 11 Feb 2009 / 2:35 PM