What is Initiation?
The first time I heard this term described in detail
was in a class called Introduction to Short Stories at Texas Tech University.
The term was traced back through literature as an overarching
theme in adolescent works and marked as a very important aspect to maturity.
I also learned that movement typically characterizes a
protagonists’ initiation story: a physical move symbolizes a gaining of deeper
insight and experience. Moreover, the protagonists’ state of mind is typically
challenged in a way that sparks a permanent change.
Here’s an example: The protagonist leaves home, their secure
place of childhood and goes on a journey. They are confronted with new situations
and new cultures, opening their eyes to a new world. They return home a new man, with a matured state of mind and purpose.
The second time I heard this term was at World Race
training camp. The World Race markets itself as an initiation process, an
“epic pilgrimage� around the world, and a journey of self-discovery. Jimmy
McCarty, the training department supervisor, describes initiation as a ‘rite of passage’ similar to traditions
other cultures around the world hold dearly. It is a journey that at its least
can turn sheltered children into world changers. But more than a journey,
initiation ends with Mobilization: “the reality that you become a contributing
factor in your world, live empowered to make your destiny a reality, and make
your life about something significant.�
This IS in fact what the World Race was to me: initiation.
It was a season of growth,
permanent maturity and to all of our family’s relief: it was followed by a return home.
As for mobilization,
I’ll get to that in coming blogs. 😉
I strongly believe that everyone should go on some sort of
initiation journey in his or her young adult years and here at Adventures in Missions I have the opportunity
to tell people this on repeat.
While
my 6-month apprenticeship has me recruiting participants to go on the World
Race and our shorter Real Life trips, my personal goal is never numbers, it
is just, “GO somewhere, DO something.�
I encourage young people to “go� for themselves, to “go� for God, and to come
back changed with a confidence in their identity. The Race simply provides an
outlet (an epic one at that) for an initiation
to take place, one that everyone NEEDS to experience in some way or another.
Last thoughts:
We are all created for something, a divine purpose that God
decided in the deepest places of our hearts before He knit us together in our
mother’s womb. Initiation transforms
and renews our minds to believe that as TRUTH.
So I encourage everyone:
Do it.
Go.
Take the Plunge.
In whatever outlet you find.
Change
then return home and BE the change.
Only after we have established who we are (in Christ) can we
walk in the knowledge of who we are and walk in the authority God has
given us.
If you’d like to partner with me in mobilizing our
generation to bring kingdom to orphans, trafficked, and the broken
around the world click HERE to get started!
