Regaining Your Spiritual Poise

Mark Twain once observed that “a classic is a book everyone wants to have read, but no one wants to read one.” I think there is a corollary in the Christian life. Everyone wants to have led a dynamic, sold out, impactful Christian life—but no one wants to lead one. Most Christians have a conversion experience that starts off their Christian lives with a great deal of energy and focus. Much like a rocket ship they blast off with great vigor and enthusiasm in their new found faith. However, just as the gravitational field of the earth pulls the rocket ship back towards the launch pad, the Christian is pulled back to unbelief (or at least towards lethargy) by the cares of this world. Sin, boredom, cultural attractions, doubt and fear all rob the Christian of the energy needed to lead the Christ centered life God has planned for His people. I won’t pretend that this one small book written by a layman will provide all of the insights necessary to inspire every professing Christian to become a spiritual giant. However, I do hope in some small way that some of the observations contained herein will be helpful in moving Christ seekers just a little further down the path of spiritual maturity. My primary focus will be on recapturing an all but forgotten practice of personal retreat. In particular among the American Protestant community, the concept of taking time out of one’s “busy schedule” to spend time in isolation for the purpose of prayer and contemplation seems archaic and unappealing. Even among those churches that have men’s or women’s “retreats” they almost invariably take the form of corporate seminars with “guest speakers” who often give self-help messages. This lack of understanding of true retreat robs the average Christian from the energy source necessary to sustain someone through life’s spiritual ups and downs. Just like the rocket ship which launches from earth with limited fuel will crash, so will the Christian who does not have a chance to refocus and refuel periodically. By background and training I am a Certified Public Accountant and an attorney. To say that I am left brain dominate would be an understatement. As such, when addressing the subject of retreat I won’t be approaching the idea from a “touchy-feely” perspective. To thy own self be true. Rather, I have tried to lay out the idea of retreat from an historical and practical perspective. Under the general theory of informing people by telling them what you are going to tell them, then tell them and then telling them what you told them, I have approached the topic of retreat using the following approach. Chapter one will lay the groundwork for why retreat is so necessary in our lives. One of the most succinct summations of the need for retreat in our lives comes from the English Christian mystic Evelyn Underhill. She stated-- We come (in to retreat) to seek the opportunity of being alone with God and attending to God in order that we may do his will better in our ordinary lives. We come to live for a few days the life of prayer and deepen our contact with the spiritual realities on which our lives depend—to recover if we can our spiritual poise. We do not come for spiritual information, but for spiritual food and air—to wait on the Lord and renew our strength—not for our own sake but for the sake of the world. If spiritual retreat is so necessary, then why is it so lacking in the Christian world today? That will be the focus of Chapter two of the book. Notice that I focus on that it is lacking in protestant world today. That is not to say that retreat as a spiritual practice is totally lacking in the Christian world. A quick search of Christian retreat centers on the internet will list hundreds of retreat centers in the United States. However, a cursory review will tell you that the vast majority of those listed (in excess of 80%) have a connection to or were founded by one of the Roman Catholic holy orders. Chapter Two will explore this phenomenon as well. Chapters Three and Four will explore the monastic movement. Beginning with the early desert fathers of the fourth century through the later monastic movements of the middle ages, we will examine the call to live lives with a singular focus on spiritual connectivity to our Lord and Savior. A cursory observation may be that the monastic movement would have little applicability in the modern Christian’s life. My goal is to demonstrate that the calling of these early monks and sisters in reality is the same call we are answering in our own limited way when we enter in to retreat. Chapter Five will explore the topic of Christian spirituality. In particular it will examine the lives of select men and women who exhibited a life of focused intensity of the triune God. In Chapter Six there will be a short overview of those classic spiritual disciplines that are most appropriate to practice in a retreat setting. This does not mean that these disciplines can’t be practiced outside of retreat. However, without some insights as to the activities to be undertaken when someone makes the time in their schedule to “get away” there is always the potential that a “spiritual retreat” will just turn in to a “weekend away”. For too many western Christians, the idea of practicing the spiritual disciplines in a retreat scenario may have the negative connotation of “eastern mysticism” and feel taboo. The reality of the matter is that Christian mysticism or spirituality has a deep history in the Christian tradition. Unlike eastern religious mysticism which is often designed to empty your mind (and thus let anything in), Christian meditative practices are designed to bring singular focus on our God and Savior. At this point, most discerning Christians should ask the legitimate question, “this all sounds good, but what does the Bible have to say about the idea of retreat?” The short answer is “a lot.” Jesus Christ himself set the pattern for retreat and that will be the subject of Chapter Seven of the book. Now, presuming I have you convinced that you want to make spiritual retreats a part of your life, Chapter Eight will address the question of “how do I get started?” Chapters Nine and Ten will address the practical side of the structure and potential content of your retreat. Although this book was written to extol the benefits of retreat, the real goal is to encourage individual to keep the spirit of retreat alive throughout the year. Chapter Eleven will address this topic. Finally, in Chapter Twelve, I will discuss some personal history and why I felt compelled to write this book. I will review the story of Mahseh, the Christian retreat center that I helped found and now work at. The lessons learned over the last seven years form the basis for most of the content of this book. The story of Mahseh is one that is confirming to me of God’s desire to act directly in each believer’s life to see that individuals grow and mature in their faith. My sincere hope for all who read this book is that it be half as edifying for them as it was for me to write it. I also trust that the experience of spiritual retreat will allow the reader to grow in their own personal walk of faith and thereby enhance their lives and the lives of those around them.