At training camp, Seth Barnes and Adventures In Missions staff challenged all World Racers to leave their phones at home while they go on the World Race. They told us that WIFI is easily accessible around the world and that it will be a distraction on the race. They told us smart phones keeps racers from being present on the race because it has happened in the past.
I don’t know what Adventures staff expected to happen at training camp, but I think it falls somewhere between every single racer deciding to leave their phone behind and most racers deciding to leave their phone behind. I’m not certain how many racers actually made that decision, but I don’t think it was as many as Adventures expected.
I say that because a week after camp, Seth Barnes posted a blog asking people for their opinion on the question, “Should Smart Phones be Banned on the Race?” He got a lot of comments from a variety of people. His post and the comments even convicted a lot of my squaddies. As a result of his post, many of them have since decided to leave their phones behind. I am really proud of everyone who listened to God and made the difficult decision that was best for them and their race.
But, I was not one of those people. Since training camp, I have been praying about “the phone issue,” I have listened to God, and I have sought wise counsel on this topic. God is not telling me to leave behind my phone. God is telling me to take my phone. He is telling me that having a phone on the race the best decision for ME. And I have had many wise people in my life confirm what God is telling me.
Unfortunately, I don’t like what God has told me. Yes, I want to bring my phone on the race, but I do not want to be the person with the phone. I don’t want there to be anything to make me stand out or make me a misfit on my squad. I also don’t want anyone to think I am not trusting God or have less faith because I am bringing my phone. I feel pressured by Adventures because it seems like they think leaving the phone is the ONLY right decision for racers, but God has made it abundantly clear that it is NOT the right decision for ME. I know Adventures does intend for me to feel this way; it is not their heart. I know that they don’t think I am lacking faith because I am taking mine. These feelings are not what they want.
But, because I am feeling the way I am feeling, it took me longer to make this decision and I had to process through and understand my emotions. That being said, I want to be the person with the phone or not be able to relate to the struggle of not having one. I know my phone won’t make me an outsider, but it feels like that.
All this being said, I want to share a few of my thoughts on the phone situation because I do not agree with Adventures at all on the issue. Leaving things behind on the race is part of it and very important. Leaving things behind that will distract you from the present is VERY important. But the issue isn’t the phone – not for me, and not for many others.
I don’t believe Adventures should be asking racers to give up their phones or considering putting a ban or regulations on phones for the race. I believe it would be more productive to ask each racer to prayerfully consider what they need to leave behind. I would ask racers to think about what they do at home that distracts them from the present. I would encourage them to ask God to reveal to them what is going to get in the way of them and God, them and their squad/team and them and their ministry. The phone isn’t necessarily the issue.
God has made it very clear that I do not need to load a hard drive full of movies and take it with me on the race. That is how I leave the present. I isolate myself and watch movies to avoid hard emotions, stress, and people. When I don’t want to be present I leave my phone, I don’t touch social media, text messages, or phone calls. I turn to something that is not going to force me to connect on any level or require me to feel anything. I am certain that I am not the only millennial who doesn’t have a phone addiction.
Adventures could make not taking a phone a stipulation for going on the race to help keep people present on the field. I’d say 80 – 90 percent of millennials and an even great number of people in Gen Tech (those born after 1995) would benefit from a phone ban. But, by making a blanket one size fits all solution, the 10 – 20 percent of the category I fall into isn’t benefiting and people like me are being hurt.
I mentioned before that God told me I need to bring my phone on the race. He told me this because of who I am and what I struggle with. For most of my life I have struggled with social anxiety and I have avoided meaningful relationships. In the past, I have made a habit of not asking for help because of a lack of trust, isolating from people when things get hard, and cutting off relationships when they got to deep. Even though I have walked miles in the right direction working on these issues, I still have more to work on.
Making communication back home harder for me is not a good thing for ME. If I feel the need to reach out to my prayer team at home because things are really hard for me, I am more likely to do it if I can walk a few block and find a WIFI hotspot than if I have to go out of my way to find an internet café, boot up a computer and then send the email.
For me, not having a phone is going to make it easier for me to cut and run from my support system back home. A system that Adventures recommended, at camp, we have. But, what is good for me, is not good for everyone. A prime example, my little brother. He leaves the present by playing games on his phone; I leave it by isolating with movies and TV.
The last thing I want to point out is the question that Seth Barnes and many others on Adventures staff asked us at camp. The question was, “when else in your life will you be able to not have a phone for a year?” The answer to that question is never!
But, I challenge that notion. Phones aren’t like other things racers leave behind. Many of the racers who are leaving their phones behind have an addiction to their phone. They NEED to constantly be on it, it is filing a need/desire in their life, and they don’t know how to be without it. If they are aware of the problem, they can’t manage the problem.
Addictions are a tricky thing. Addictions are one of those things where you have to completely cut it off. Alcoholics who get clean can never drink at all and the same applies to phone addicts. The problem is, once that racer comes home they will need a phone. Most jobs require smart phones and constant connection. But the person cut off their phone for 11 months. They let go of what they were addicted to and then they came back and suddenly have it again. Like all addictions, they will fall back into the pattern they had before the race.
I don’t think that asking phone addicts to leave them behind is helping them in the long run. Seth is right, we will never be able to not have our phones for a year. But the question that I would like to ask is: When else in a racers life will they be able to learn to manage their problem?
On the race, people are surrounded by Godly community, people are being stretch and are growing constantly, and people are in cultural settings where phones aren’t a necessity. Racers have 11 months where they can learn, with help, to manage their phone problem.
People do need to be present on the race. Setting racers up for success on the race is what Adventures is trying to do. But there are 2 fundamental problems with the “smart phone issue”.
(1) What is going to make one racer successful isn’t necessarily going to make another racer successful. One of my squaddies, Christina, isn’t bringing her phone. That is what is best for her. She has surrendered her phone is trusting God through it. I am bringing my phone, and I am trusting God in that. We are both making the decision to follow what God has asked each of us individually to do. God knows what is best each of us, but it is different for each of us.
(2) Setting people up for success on the race is important,, likewise, setting people up for success when they come home is important. That means that learning to manage the phone problem on the race could be really beneficial for some racers. Some racers need to bring it, for some it doesn’t matter, for some they need to use their race to learn to manage it, and for others need to leave it. Helping racers make decisions that are best for them, helping racers learn to manage the phone problem, and creating a community to support each other wherever they are is very important. All racers are different, everyone’s race is different, but racers do come home. I think helping people learn to manage their phone problem on the race will help set them up for success when they get home.
I trust Adventures In Missions. I believe they seek God and listen to his wisdom when making decisions. I know that phones are a huge distraction to many racers. I trust they will do what God leads them to do. I pray that leadership at adventures makes the best decisions and I pray that they receive discernment about this difficult dilemma. I would like to petition anyone reading this to do the same thing.
