There are a ton of goals that we set when preparing for camp. Only last night I sat down with a group of leaders and talked about where we’re going and the path we’re taking to get there. Maybe we’ve misled people (I don’t believe we have) but no one ever expects the journey they take in the course of a trip around the world.
Our goals are not that our World Racers would accomplish a lot of good. We don’t hope that they become superstar preachers or evangelists (although we aren’t disappointed when they find life in sharing truth and hope). We don’t even expect them to blossom into even more mature, disciplined, amiable, competent people (although, again, that wouldn’t be a horrible outcome).
As I told our leaders last night: training camp is about beginning the journey to brokenness.
“Brokenness?!” You ask? They raise $15,000 to get broken?!
… yep.
The reality is, life is messy. People are messy. People’s backgrounds are messy. People’s coping mechanisms are messy, their fears are messy, their attitudes are messy, their relationships are messy, their families are messy. As I have heard before: where there’s poop, there’s life.
We’re not here to mold people or exalt their abilities, skills or natural talents. We exist to help people on their track to brokenness because once they reach that crossroads, change can truly occur.
Think about it, when has your faith been the strongest? I would venture a guess that it’s in the times of deepest crisis and worst hurt. We don’t truly learn how to trust God nor live a life of faith, until we’ve been broken. We must come to the end of ourselves to truly understand what a life dependent upon God truly looks like.
Because, let’s be honest: a life dependent on God is a good, nay, the best possible place we could be…right?
