Planting Space

Last summer I went with friends from church to hike to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite NP. If you haven’t been to Yosemite, put it on your bucket list.

It is still very warm during the day in late August, so we planned our hike to begin at night. We hit the trailhead at midnight not only to beat the heat, but to be on top of Half Dome for the sunrise. It is a 16 mile round trip hike with a 4,800 foot elevation gain (yes, and descent). We attempted to do all of this inside of 12 hours so that we could be back to the valley floor for lunch and then drive home.

I tried to do a little training, knowing that it would be a difficult hike. I ran a couple of mornings in June and July, but wasn’t able to be consistent about it. My normal exercise routine is walking to my car, or maybe lifting another soda to my mouth.

We hit the trail full of excitement and took the first hill at breakneck speed. After about 10 minutes of that I almost collapsed. We had made all of about 3/4 of a mile and still had over 7 to go to reach the top. I finally did make it, but slowed the group down considerably as they had to wait for me to take a breath every few minutes.

Planting a church is a lot like that. If you go in with a flabby spirit and no spiritual discipline, you might make it to the top for the glorious sunrise, but only by the seat of your pants and with great suffering. I wasn’t able to walk for a week afterward. Trust me, you don’t want to follow my example. Be prepared. Have a spiritual exercise regimen. Then you’ll be able to enjoy the journey and the sonrise.

featured on newchurches.com

Tags: No Comments