I'm going on my first retreat this weekend. I'm pretty excited. I kind of have a personal vendetta against retreats/conferences because I always wonder how "real" people are in that setting. I see so many people go on retreats and come back on this spiritual high. But then it dies after awhile, and they just sit around waiting for the next retreat to take them out of their slump. I see how easy it is to fall into a cycle where retreats become your crutch and you depend on them to revive you. Yeah I think retreats should stir something in people and renew their passion, but I also think it's a dangerous thing to depend on them...which I think happens without you even knowing it. Also at retreats people hella get into worship and are so expressive with their faith. And I wonder again how genuine they're being. Why aren't they like that normally at church? Is it just the atmosphere that induces such an outward display of worship? Is it the music, the lights, the influence of others around you doing the same thing?

And then there's also all the games people rave about during retreats. Don't get me wrong, I definitely think retreats should be fun. And what's more fun then silly, crazy games? But it's a problem if those games become the focus of the retreat and the most memorable thing you take away from the experience. And actually I don't think that even bothers me that much. If someone told me, "Oh yeah, the coolest thing on retreat was this game where we did this and this. And oh man it was so much fun! I love retreats! We play such great games!" well I wouldn't hold that against them. I'd be like, "Oh cool. I wish I was there to play," or something like that. It just bugs me if people try to pass the retreat off as being this great, moving experience that changed their spiritual life, when the only thing they really gleaned from it was that great game. I don't want people to pretend that the focus of the retreat was God when their heart wasn't actually in it the whole time. Fine, go on retreat, have fun with your friends, sing crazy worship, but don't try and pass it off as something it's not.

This entry wasn't meant to be a condemning upon all retreat-goers. My opinions aren't actually grounded very firmly because I've never actually been on retreat before. I draw my conclusions from my observations. And retreats work really well for some people; I'm not denying that. And this entry was directed mainly toward Youth group type retreats anyways. My church, Jubilee, is a very small, family-oriented church. The retreat I'm going on this weekend, isn't just for college kids...because then there'd be like ten of us, max. Ha. It's a retreat for the entire English ministry. So lots of young adults and their families.

I seriously intended this entry to be two sentences long. All I wanted to say was that I was going on retreat, and I was excited. But I obviously sidetracked. Dammit, it's 1am. []Deace out.