What happens in the woods, stays in the woods. Well, sometimes. Next week, June 5th-7th, the men of Mars Hill West Seattle are advancing into the woods for a weekend of sharpening, fellowship and fun. Last week I posted the Top Ten Excuses for Not Attending, so this week I’d like to put a more positive spin on reasons for attending. The top ten reasons include:

#10 Life. Life doesn’t happen in a vacuum, but in relationships. Advances (aka retreats) can do for relationships what an entire year of card games can do. Its amazing what an intense weekend of life with other brothers in the woods can do for our maturation, development, sharpening and clarity of calling.

#9 Break. Sometimes, amidst the busyness of life, it is helpful to step out of our normal routines and ruts to connect with God, evaluate life, consider our legacy, relationally connect, and radically refocus our priorities.

#8 Fun. Enough said.

#7 Dudes. This is a great opportunity to meet the other brothers who Jesus has placed you on mission with in West Seattle – to aid in their sharpening and to be sharpened. The biblical image of the church is that of a human body (1 Cor 12; Rom 12) of which we all play a role. Advances help to clarify our role and unify us as a body.

#6 Legacy. Its helpful to reflect on our legacies (individually and corporately) once a year and one of the purposes of the Advance is to give you this opportunity.

#5 Mission. Whether you realize it or not we’re all living as part of the story of God. Life isn’t about us. We are not the main characters. We don’t determine how the plot resolves. We don’t produce life and write the script. Getting on mission is entering into the story of God, participating in it as it unfolds all around us, and extending the word of life to those who have yet to encounter the living God (Heb 9:14).

#4 Serve. Another purpose of the Advance is to get you to consider where Jesus is calling you to serve the church for the forward progress of the gospel.

#3 Lead. Men and women are called to lead, though in different capacities. God has built men to sacrificially, courageously, boldly and confidently lead themselves, lead the church and lead their families. The Advance is designed to call men up to fulfill their calling as men.

#2 Sin. What often prevents men from growing, leading, and taking risks for Jesus is sin. Sin has a numbing effect on our lives to keep us content with less than Jesus is calling us to. Sin makes us think we’re fine when we’re not fine. Sin blinds us to our need for God and others, particularly other godly men, to speak into our lives. The Advance is intended to call men to humbly (1 Jn 1:9) and violently (Mt 5:29-30) deal with their sin.

#1 Jesus. It’s all about Jesus. (Col 1:15-19) This is his story.

For the sake of the gospel in Seattle, I invite the men of the Westside to join us next week as we ask Jesus to do big things in, thru – even despite – us for his glory and our good.

Advancing with Jesus,
-Pastor Adam

Note:

Sign up HERE. Prices jump by $30 Saturday the 30th, so sign up today!