Why spend time on a retreat when you could be working for the Lord in the church?
Where does it say anything about retreats in the Scriptures?
Can't I just have a retreat at home?
I'm just too busy for that sort of thing!!!
I've never done it before anyway!!
What Can Retreats Be Helpful For?
1. For a Sanctuary
from the business of life and the stresses of the pulpit.
2. For Personal Nourishment
This may be because of a dry patch in one's spiritual walk, or just to further your walk.
3. For Healing
Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual healing.
4. For Personal Encouragement
By reading some books, studying some topic, further enhancing your grip on the Scriptures
5. To Meet With Your Soul-Mates This may be to meet with pastors of standing friendships or common goals or common problems.
6. For Personal Renewal or Revival
7. Vision Getting For the future planning of the church by yourself, with your wife, or with the church leadership teams.
8. Time-Out From Prolongued Loss of Privacy. Pastors lead a very public life where people inevetibly drop in, call on you or your family. You lose your privacy and often your time-out. Retreats can help you or your family to be by yourselves without all those interruptions from the outside world.
9. Long Range Planning
10. Periods of Crisis These usually are 1. When a pastor is one Year out of college, 2. 5 years out of college, or 3. during the immediate times preceding and after retirement.[1] Other reasons may be because of burn-out etc.
These periods could be after prolongued business and stress, or during some split in a church. Retreats can often help you re-focus and see things from a different perspective.
11. Fellowship With God
Where this is the primary focus and reason for the retreat. i.e. No agendas.
12. Marraige Enrichment
This may be done in a course or weekend format.
13. Missionary Retreats
This may be for new missionaries heading out to the mission field or simply for debriefing after time on the field.
14. Pastors Retreats
Where pastors from all walks of life get together, have workshops, special speakers, group discussions etc.
15. For The Writing Of Books, Sermons, etc.
How Long Do They Go For?
Any period of time could suffice; 1/2 day, one day, week, 2 weeks, 40 days sounds like a nice round figure, whatever.
Tailor make it to your needs.
Retreats Mean Planning It In Your Diary
For many the problem is not the inability to discover and articulate a vision. The problem more often than not is more basic; interruptions and distractions hinder you from seeing where God is leading (e.g. daily devotions, sermon research, pastoral care, familiy life, administration, etc.)
Times do come, when always being available drains you, you lose perspective and vision is hard to come by.
Plan your retreats before your busy-ness outplans you.
Mark your prayer times, retreat times out in your diary before other plans are made for the year.
Retreats Can Be Risky
Moses heard God on the mountain away from all the business of the people. Getting away takes risks.
Some of these risks may be;
1. Some trauma will happen in the church while I am gone
They will get angry. Maybe they might be able to cope without me.
2. I will be misunderstood
Some might think you slack, overpaid to take a retreat.
3. I will go away and come back empty
4. My vision may get vetoed
Joel Hunter said I felt if I didn't take risks, I'd never gain a vision for the congregation.[2]
If the vision is from God there is no need to despair.
Further Observations On Retreats
Figures in America show that 20% of America's 300 000 plus full-time clergy suffer from long-term stress. Pastors often need time-out in busy ministries as Jesus did.
1. Prayer never diminishes the amount of work one can do.
2. It multiplies accomplishments.
3. Prayer increases flow of ideas.
4. Multiplies pastoral effectiveness.
5. The church appreciates future planning.
6. They help in charting past progress and future direction.
7. Allows the creative juices to flow.
Things To Think About When Organising a Retreat
(Joel C. Hunter, Leadership[3])
1. Plan ahead with the family, secretary etc.
2. Choose the right setting; no TV; keep eating and drinking to a minimum (if eating)
3. Pray for it and expect God to talk to you.
4. Call home every night. Calls earlier in the day tend to make you think of the church routine or your family. Let your wife fill you in on events or messages.
5. It is normal to miss family, a call helps you sleep and concentrate for the next day.
6. It seems more productive not to pray about a specific agenda but simply to pray for a sense of God's love and leading in your life. Thinking things through in the presence of God is good preparation to discover God's agenda.
7. God may be calling you to fast.
Biblical Examples
1. Moses; on mount Sinai x2
2. Daniel fasting and humbling himself for 21 days Daniel 10:2-3
3. Elijah in cave on Mount Sinai 40 day fast (1 Kings 19)
2. Jesus' 40 days of fasting and many times of solitude with God Matthew 4.1-11
Other Precedents
Martin Luther: At Wittenburg Castle had extended times for prayer, study and the writing of the German New Testament.
John Bunyan: saw his prison for many years as his spiritual retreat.
Charles Spurgeon: regularly went to Menton in France to have spiritual retreat. Often it was for prayer, sermon preparation, sermon editing, book reviews, for the writing of books, holidays and convalescence.
Richard Wurmbrand: In prison where he formulated many of his powerful sermons.
Rees Howells: Often went on personal and joint retreats.
Paul Y. Cho; Pastor of the Yoido Full Gospel Church, Seoul, conducts prayer and fasting retreats 24 hours a day at Prayer Mountain Seoul, called the Haven of Prayer.
The Final Rap On Places To Go
1. Get away from people, unless your objective is to meet with others on the retreat. Jesus went to the wilderness and Moses went to Mount Sinai.
2. Some like being in nature, some like a little room, some like the top of a pole (as did some of our mystic ascetic fathers). Go where you feel comfortable. Personally its not the pole sitting I warm to.
3. Go to a place where there is no TV, Radio, Tape deck etc. to distract you.
4. You could think of other retreat sites such as; Camp-sites, caravan, unit, motel room, hotel, beach resort, holiday shack, tenting, whatever.
5. Meal times need to be flexible. Some retreat places may be inflexible on the meal arrangements. If no routine was one of your objectives try somewhere else.
Resource Organisations
1. Christian Growth Ministries, 3 Tahlee st, Burwood, NSW 2134
2. John-Mark Ministries
Bibliography
Articles
Chandler, Russell, Help For Christian Workers Christianity Today XXIV (May 1980) 50-52.
Hunter, Joel, C., Clearing Leadership XII (1991) 120-124.
Raby, Steve, Where the Hurting Pastors Go Christianity Today XXXVI (Nov. 1992) 12-15.
Raines, Robert, Finding Nourishment & Encouragement The Christian Century CIX (March 1992) 236-238.
Robbins, Martha, The Desert-Mountain Experience: The Two Face of Encounter With God Journal of Pastoral Care LXXI (1974) 345-351.
Books
Cho, Y., Prayer: Key to Revival (Waco: Word, 1984) 96-111.
Foster, R. F., Celebration of Discipline (Sydney: Hodder & Stoughton, 1978) 84-95.
[1] Chandler, Russell, 52
[2] Hunter, Joel, 123.
[3] Hunter, Joel, 122-123.
