What if Jesus’ words were serious? “Those who lose their life will find it.” Everything in culture tempts us to hold too tightly to what psychologists have called our “Ego” – and in the process of holding tightly to our inner life, we miss out on a life more rich with meaning and purpose than we even knew awaited with us. Jesus said, “The way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Often, it’s the injuries and trauma we face that signifies the pathway to our transformation. So, most avoid the journey. This transformative pathway was always cast as “the wilderness” in epic Bible tales. Without the wilderness, leaders like Moses and Elijah would not have become who they were destined to be. It’s through the pathway of the wilderness that God reveals our true selves. In this two-part series, we’ll learn about that path and how walking it is one the scariest, most important things we can do as Jesus-followers. So, get ready to go “Into The Wild.”

When we break through the wall, the journey isn’t done. God must un-form the malformed parts of our soul; and often, that looks like disorientation and a word we are becoming more familiar with in American Christianity: deconstruction. What if what we think is the end of many people’s spiritual story is only the middle? But we must beware. We can get stuck in the fourth stage of spiritual formation: the wilderness. It’s not enough to get through the wall; we must travel through the wilderness to be fully formed people. This message will help us learn to traverse the scariest part of our faith formation without losing our faith. 

Exodus 15:22-18:27