Drivenness . . . Giants . . The Shack . . . Emmaus
“A common characteristic of driven people is that, at some point, they forget the purpose.” Mark Buchanan
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We had a house full of happy Giants fans last night. All right, not exactly Giants FANS; just people who either didn’t want the Pats to be 19-0 or were tired of AFC wins in the Super Bowl.
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Last week I read The Shack
Mack, the grieving father who is burdened under “The Great Sadness” (of losing his daughter), receives an invitation to return to the shack out in the Oregon woods where his life was upended. The novel takes a rather bizarre twist at that point; but it spoke powerfully to me — about God, about incarnation, about evil, about freedom, about prayer, and about reconciliation.
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Included in my sabbatical break will be a Walk to Emmaus. I’ve heard such good things about the experience. Anyone want to share what that time meant to you?
Thanks. I have a Barnes & Noble gift card burning a hole in my pocket and needed a good book title.
Have you ever read Pat Conroy’s “My Losing Season,” Mike? It’s about his senior year playing basketball at The Citadel — they went 8-17. He calls it the most important year of his life. I highly recommend it.
I’ve been to better retreats than Emmaus but when I needed to know honest seekers come from a lot of traditions and backgrounds, God saw fit to bless me with a walk. Fight the urge to analyze each component; just open up and experience it to the glory of God!
Mike, who is sponsoring you on the Walk? Please send us an email.
IMHO, Ditto on *don’t analyze*, and let people serve you. You’ll be glad you did.
Mike, who is sponsoring you? Please send us an email.
IMHO, Ditto on *don’t analyze*, and let people serve you. You’ll be glad you did.
RE: Emmaus, the live chicken sacrifice is (more than) a little disturbing, but it’s all OK in the end.
Golden Spread #132 qb
Squeaky sponsored me several years ago on a walk. I think Eddy nailed it as far as how to approach it. I’m very interested in hearing your reactions.
You already know my reaction to the Walk, Mike. Eddy hit right on the spot with his advice. It would be so easy to fall into ‘analytical’ mode, what with your active intelligence, but my prayer for these past days has been that you will be able to just relax and be one of participants. Enjoy and just let it flood over you.
And qb – you would be the one to give it away. Grrrr!
ETA: ask your questions of Joe Almanza!
Yea, Giants!
You are the second person to recommend ‘The Shack’ to me in the past week. Sounds like it’s getting added to the stack.
Your Walk will be exactly what God intends. Don’t anticipate. I can’t wait to hear from you afterwards.
Evidence that we live in a fallen world:
Eli Manning has a Super Bowl ring.
I also just read The Shack and loved it. Words really can’t describe its impact on my heart.
Re: the Walk – God honestly used it to change my life – completely. I am grateful to have been able to participate in it. My prayer for you, Mike, is that it will be exactly what God wants it to be and that will be more than enough.
Mike,
Blessings on your Walk. I heard so much “hype” about Emmaus before hand that I honestly fought against going. But the Walk represents a transition point for me from thinking that God was experienced in “right” belief or practice to the full experience of God as Love. Allow it to be Love for you and you’ll be blessed abundantly.
From my reading the Emmaus thing sounds very cultish. I would walk away, no RUN from it.
welcome to another cult Mike
I just finished The Shack this weekend. HOW AMAZING!
The book literally wrapped me up like a warm blanket.
I haven’t weeped and laughed through a story in a long time.
Be prepared to read a couple times in order to see EVERYTHING.
weeped = WEPT
so I’m not an academic…
My Walk to Emmaus was incredible. You have heard, and certainly preached better messages than you will hear there. But just go and delight in the love and service you are shown. Enjoy the unity of believers and the witness of God really working in people’s hearts during the retreat. Just go and know that God will show up and enjoy whatever gift he chooses to give you.
DeColores
Just last night at our Super Bowl Party I had a couple of people offer to sponsor my wife and I to go on a Emmaus Walk. I’ve heard much about it from a number of prospectives. All have been good.
God speaks to us though all sorts of people if we are willing to listen. I’ll resist my urge to give a smart reply to Allison and just wish right now that God will one day let her go on one of those weekends and that He will show up so that her heart is on fire.
I agree with Allison. As fast and as far as you can as quickly as possible. That comes from not having read about it, but actually have gone to it. I have related my experience to your wife. She can fill you in.
CS
Mike, as you know, there is NO subject we all agree on, and Emmaus is no exception.
IMHO, cult it is NOT. If you choose to continue you can, if you decide not to, after the weekend, you don’t have to. For instance, I loved my walk, but really don’t engage in much of the follow up, no time, as much as I’d might like to. Consult your sponsor and fellow preachers/pastors/ministers that have gone on a Walk, if you have any doubt. Believe me, Satan will use every trick he can to keep all Pilgrims off the Walk. That pre-Walk struggle is very real. So walk, not run, WALK to Emmaus. You’ll be glad you did. God has something personal and wonderful waiting for you that weekend!
I’m speechless.
Mike,
My Emmaus experience was wonderful. My advice and prayer for you is to go and bask in the Lord as he delights over you. Thanks for all you do:)
Walks are about the heart not the head, about repentance not resistance. God will do a number on you so just go and enjoy his goodness and be amazed! I’m sure Bill Nash has been on you to go for years, so I’m glad you’re finally going!
Google “Walk to Emmaus and Churches of christ.” I don’t believe a christian should be involved in this mind control movement.
Mike…..I just happened to drop by your blog today to see how things were going on your sabbatical. May God richly bless you during this time of rest brother. I went on a walk to Emmaus one time and quite honestly my lfe has not been the same since. The walk is nothing more than a tool, just like many other tools that God uses from time to time to help us on our journey. It was however a tool that God chose to radically change me from a card puncher to, I hope, a man living and embracing Jesus every day. What I was most amazed about the walk was that the only motive was to inspire men and women to go back into their churches and be examples of Christ in a greater way than before they went on their walk. I give you my word brother…..that is the only motive for the walk to Emmaus. It did exactly that for me but oh so much more. I think I became a better husband and dad as well and it opened up my small and narrowminded world of the church of christ to the vast and wonderful world of the Body of Christ.
If the walk to Emmaus is a cult….give me more and please let me go again and again and again…..just kidding….one can only go on ONE walk to Emmaus.
your friend and fellow journeyman….Rob Cunningham
One of our former players from HU is on the Giants – Tank Daniels. It’s his second year in the NFL and he’s on a Super Bowl winner! Tank is a Godly man and great all around guy. He has two kids with his wife Courtney. We’re in church with them during the off-season at the Downtown Church in Searcy. God has been very good to Tank and we’re praying that God will be glorified through Tank’s experiences.
But has Tank walked to Emmaus?
I love the Superbowl description! Ha! My feelings exactly! Who really cares about the Giants, but I wanted ANYONE to beat the Patriots! Loved it! I was pleasantly SHOCKED!!!!
I am reading The Shack right now. I am moved. My eyes are being opened. Please don’t anyone tell the ending… I’m right in the middle.
Hope your weekend is a blessing to your heart… (I was about to make some smart remark with regards to the comments, but I’m refraining!!!!)
Dan, thanks for the link. It lets me know what “mind control movement” you are a part of.
Dan,
I just googled it too and I can’t believe you actually asked Mike to look at it. My reaction is “how sad!”
“The Shack” – oh, sorry, never mind — I thought you were talking about the funny Super Bowl commercial with Shaq.
The remarks of Eddie Sharp were so sad. He actually teaches at ACU, at least then.
C’mon, Amy — let’s hear it.
“Mind-control movement?”
“Cult?”
*chuckle*
Some of you people are a real piece o’ work. Nobody’s ever tried to enforce anything on me since I went on a Walk to Emmaus 8 years ago; the whole thing just exposed me to a group of laypeople for whom selflessness is a way of life, a bunch of people who find great joy in serving others without expecting anything in return.
qb
BTW, if you have some time to waste, go ahead and waste it at http://www.piney.com so that you can see for yourself the attitude that underlies all that garbage about Emmaus being a mind-control cult. If you’ve seen the incredible, slanderous activities that have been directed at Al Maxey lately, piney.com will look and sound awfully familiar.
qb
qb – all that hate within what is supposed to be the family of God and directed at other members of that family – makes me cry and makes me sick to my stomach. NO wonder there are so many that want nothing to do with “organized” religion. How terribly, terribly sad.
Mike
Some of my dearest friends in the body of Christ sponsored my walk to Emmaus. I have been to other retreats and some were better but what stood out to me at this one was the way it comes from the heart. A truly diverse group of believers all with one goal. To help all of us see God clearer and worship Him more genuinely and above all see each other as His children. Anything that does that can only be pleasing to Him. My time there came at that moment when I was emotionally drained and spiritually dry, so the overflowing love of others toward me was so needed and welcomed. I pray God will meet you there as part of your ongoing renewal this winter. Walk to Emmaus is the embodiment of Zephaniah 3:17. Blessings to you
My walk was an amazing experience–filled with love and hope. I’m not sure what the whole chicken sacrifice is about–that didn’t happen on my walk.
Summer
Mike,
I’m certain you will be blessed from your weekend–I sure was! Go and listen for the voice of God–you will hear it in many different ways. Minimize your overall expectations and you will be pleasantly surprised to see God’s love revealed to you in significant ways! Enjoy!
Mike:
I’ve experienced the Walk to Emmaus (here in CA) and didn’t love it at first but I was so blessed by it later. Just remember for yourself to not anticipate anything and just rest this weekend. For your wife, remember that she will be missing you tremendously while you are gone so be very encouraging and loving to her this week and next. God bless you both!
Guacamole anyone?
Mike, now remember again why you are on sabbatical.
Mike, I believe you said on your sabatical you wanted to be able to have time to seek God with your whole heart. Emmaus is a tool for doing just that. I think Emmaus weekends are some of those Thin Places, where heaven and earth meet. There will be many times of quiet and contemplation, and in my experience, God made himself so evident. Nothing miraculous, no lightening bolts, just the still small voice I needed to hear. Sure, there are fun times and fellowship with other Christians from many walks of life and many denominations, but it was the quiet that touched my heart the most.
Don’t anticipate.
Don’t analyze.
Feel free to participate in the Emmaus community afterwards–or don’t if it’s not a fit for you.
I hope the remainder of your time away from us is rewarding.
We miss you.
sarah s
Let me clarify. I never intended to imply it was a mind control cult. It is just that my experience, especially what I learned after the walk, specifically the preparation that went into it beforehand by the people involved (supposedly praying for me and my family, while at the same time knowingly working against my family by spreading lies and untruths that they knew were false at the time they were doing it!).
Lest anyone doubt the story, I have the apology letter to prove it!
That is my “walk” experience.
Hope yours is better.
Charlie Self
It started out as a Catholic outreach. Although this particular “walk” is filtered through the United Methodist Church, it still has heavy Catholic influence. Yes, there are definately psychological aspects to it.
Mike, far be it from me to give you advice. But I humbly offer this: stay away from your blog (or at least THIS comment section) until after your Walk.
May you be blessed in this walk and in this time with Him.
Mike,
I pray that your sabbatical is a walk with God–just the two of you.
I pray that God will refill your spirit, that He will cover you with His grace and mercy as you walk with Him.
I was at Stream Franklin. I heard your cry for renewal, restoration, and repentence, your plea for time to grieve.
When we are soul weary, listening for Him is the best.w
GREAT Advice, Uncle Steve!
Kathy, you are so right…it’s nauseating, sad, anger- and shame-inducing, exhausting, and all the rest. While the Mike Copes and the Al Maxeys of the world try to direct our distracted attentions to the core of the Gospel – the Kingdom of God, embodied and energized by the crucified, risen, and ruling Christ – the Kenneth Subletts and the Brian Yeagers will not rest until they have either intimidated us into adopting their GroupThink [TM] or gleefully consigned us to the fires of Gehenna.
I’m not sure I buy into everything that is posted here, but the fruit of this little cyber-pseudocommunity is pretty telling: it is the fruit, by and large, of people who have learned to disagree on the more peripheral matters (the mint, the dill, and the cumin, as it were) and still receive one another in love (justice, mercy, and faithfulness). Vitriol is largely absent here, and when one judges the tree by its fruit, one finds much to commend around these parts. The same cannot be said of the aforementioned pulpits in El Paso and Tennessee; what I find there is smug self-righteousness, a hastening to judge, shrillness, and a refusal to listen to any points of view other than their own.
qb
For me “Emmaus” is/was all about trust. I knew NOTHING about it until some I absolutly trust tod me to clear my calander. Nearly left the first night! No escape,alas. WAS CERTAIN I would be feed lentil soup, hard bread and old cheese.
Left having been “re-baptized” in Grace and a new awareness on how big the Body of Christ is.
Looking forward to hearing your reactions. The Road is long and we all are at a different place on it. I am suspect the Emmaus detractors have not been.
Will be ready to share the “secret handshake” with you!
de colorous
Foy J
A quote:
A quote:
“Emmaus is for fostering unity in Christ, not for theological debates and arguments about denominations. Emmaus tries to foster appreciation and openness to the different faith perspectives of the participants. Bring the spirit of Christian tolerance and unity toward others, including members of other denominations. If you cannot affirm your unity with other kinds of Christians, if you tend to define Christianity narrowly and legalistically or are intolerant of those who see things differently, then Emmaus is not for you.”
So if you are a Bible believing Christian, who holds to God’s word you might as well forget it. While they make it ‘soft’ by suggesting it’s “probably” not for you,, you know that if you, a believer, open your mouth with scripture, you will not be welcome. You better not attempt to teach the Gospel of Christ or you will be asked to leave.