Get Away

What is up with all of these geese?

I’ve been in St. Louis this week, and I’ve never seen so many in all my life. I didn’t realize the Show-Me-State capitol was such a Canadian waterfowl hub. This is especially true on the campus of the University of Missouri at St. Louis, where I have been spending the majority of my time.

So why am I here? To see the Edward Jones dome and the Rams? Saw it from a taxi, but football season is over and the few remaining Ram fans are happy to see this one go. To see Busch Stadium and the Cardinals? No – baseball season has yet to begin, for which I’m sad. I have been here to learn from Greg Nelson, the Annual Giving Manager at this school. I hold the same job title at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and I have had a great time learning best practices from an 18-year veteran in this field.

I could have learned these practices through e-mail. Greg could have FedExed me some UMSL material, shown me last year’s gifts compared to this year’s projections, and I could have picked and chosen which parts of his campaign to bring implement at UALR. But by being here, I can focus all my attention and energy on how UMSL works. And I can do that without the everyday distractions and interruptions I would have if I were back in my office.

Getting away to learn something new or be reminded of something previously understood is a common practice. In fact, a few weeks ago I returned from a retreat with guys from my Thursday morning men’s group. We take one every year, and for the past two we’ve gone to the same remote cabin in the backwoods of Jasper, Arkansas. We spent the weekend hiking, eating meat, playing Risk, burning stuff, reading, praying, and just being together out of our normal element. It was exactly what all of us needed. For three days, there was nothing else for us to do but hang out with guys that encouraged and challenged each other. There were no interruptions from wives or fiancées, no distractions from TV shows or after-hour office work, and no worries about paying bills or fixing the drip in the kitchen faucet. All we were there to do was to get away from our world and focus on the one God had waiting for us.

I think church staffs should practice this more often. When you get away from your normal environment, it’s pretty cool how differently you can interact with people. Think how great it would be to just sit around a bonfire and have a coke with the guy who plans your worship services, or the guy who does the preaching, or your youth ministry team? How incredible would it be to see the wives of staff members intermingling together, sharing the burden of being married to a minister, yet in so doing, sharing the joy of such an opportunity? How closer could your staff be if you collectively took the time to just be together in a setting that had nothing to do with work? How much could you learn about each other? Yourself? Your strengths and weaknesses, and those of the staff you serve with? How much better prepared could your staff return from such a getaway?

This is a topic I haven’t researched, so I don’t know if any literature even exists to support my claim. But I have experienced the benefit of getting away from my normal surroundings and coming back with a better understanding of my purpose. Chances are, so have you. Whether your church staff is undergoing conflict, trying to overcome multiple obstacles, or just trying to figure out how to work together and relate to each other better, off-site retreats are well worth the time and expense.