Am I the Only One?

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What passion, what zeal, what drive do you have that gets you up every morning, that you can’t get out of your mind?

And, does anyone share your same dream?

Adam Shoalts, a young Canadian explorer, tells the story in his book, “Alone Against the North-An Expedition into the Unknown”, of his insatiable passion to explore an uncharted river in the Hudson Bay Lowlands of northern Ontario and Quebec. 

At the age of 22, he got his dad, Mark (age 49), to join him on the journey.  They brought the cedar-strip canoe that they both built. This would be the adventure any son would want with his father. Three days in, Mark called it. He was done. They hadn’t even reached the uncharted Again River, and Dad was done. 

Adam’s heart sank. Yet, he understood his dad’s limits. They returned to their home west of Niagara Falls, Ontario, where Adam planned to tackle the Again River the next summer.

At age 23, he and his long-time friend, Wes, scrounged up a 40-year-old fiberglass canoe and outdoor gear. The deal?  Wes agreed to go on this expedition if he could be back in time for his sister’s wedding; otherwise, his family would disown him. 

A week into the expedition, it was clear to Adam that there was a 50/50 chance of Wes making it back in time. Once again, Adam called it. With no GPS and no satellite phone, they found their way back to the drop-off point hours northeast of Cochrane, Ontario. Another attempt scratched.

By now, Adam was pushing 25, and this insatiable obsession with exploring the Again River was burning a hole in his soul. Was there anyone who would team up with him?  Going solo would be insane!

Along came a buddy. Brent.  Same age, a classmate since grade school. Brent was a master athlete with the drive to win regardless of the cost. At 25 and still living at home, with little work, Brent agreed to spend a large part of his summer exploring Canada’s north with Adam.

Plans were made and as in the past attempts, you guessed it, well into the expedition, Brent called it. He was done. He didn’t have what it takes to complete the expedition. This time, they had a satellite phone and called for a float plane.  Ten hours later, Adam watched Brent take off into the clouds. Adam was alone on the shores of Hudson Bay, in prime polar bear country.

You can read the rest of the story for yourself, but what caught my attention in the early chapters of this amazing true adventure story is this: Here is a young man, in his early-mid-twenties, who will not give up on an obsession to accomplish something no one else has ever attempted. And, with that, he struggled to find someone with the tenacity that matched his to see it come to pass.

It makes me wonder how Paul felt in the early days of the Church. Once a staunch enemy of the Church, hard-bent on seeing Christians arrested and even killed, Jesus supernaturally grabs him, blinds him to get his attention, all to redeem him for greater causes.

My view is that the drive he had to eliminate any trace of Jesus was supernaturally redirected to saving souls through the power of the Gospel.  Nothing seemed to stop Paul. His passion, his drive, and his obsession to see people come to Christ were insatiable. Unstoppable. 

Sure, he invested in Timothy and Titus and others, for which we are grateful. You and I would not be here, and hopefully, responding to the Gospel had it not been for men like Paul and those he invested in.

It still brings to question why certain people don’t share the zeal, the passion, the tenacity that some have for the impossible. 

Is there anyone who shares your dream? Is there anyone who will push through, enduring hardship and suffering all for the glory of seeing the Gospel bring life to others?

Perhaps we who claim Jesus have been softened by the culture around us.  Hey, I like my comforts. My Pepsi, sleeping in, eating out, and air-conditioning. But, if all of that went away, would my passion for mentoring other men into an all-out pursuit of godly manhood in Christ take off like a rocket or fizzle?

I say this NOT out of arrogance or pride (don’t misread me), but I long for more men to share a passion for mentoring. Not that I am the gold standard, rather Christ is.

Excuses

“But I have only so much time. I have to be back for my sister’s wedding, and I need to take care of my aging parents this weekend. I have to work overtime. I really would like to mentor someone, but I just don’t have the time.”

Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:61-62

Ouch!  That’s me at times. Perhaps you?  

This is not meant to be a guilt-trip. I have no interest in arm-twisting. Neither does Jesus. 

All I desire is this: if you share a God-given passion for coming alongside young men to walk with them into a Christ-centered manhood, then we want to hear from you!

Reach out to our helpline at info@mentoring-warriors.com

It’s time to ask Jesus to be your passion for mentoring.

Warrior On!