Thoughts of a Modern-Day Mountain Man:A Field Guide to Leadership in the Great Outdoors Chapter 37

This is the thirty-seventh of a weekly blog series that will focus on leadership in the outdoors and how to get the most from the least. Even though the title is called, “Thoughts of a Modern-Day Mountain Man”, it will hopefully cover topics that are useful to everyone.

Chapter 37: Working against what you are working for.

32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. 34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

35 For I have come to turn

“‘a man against his father,

a daughter against her mother,

a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—

36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.” Matthew 10:32-36

I have often found myself waxing poetic about the golden age of the mountain men and the life they lived. The romantic in me sees beauty in running wild through the mountains with little worry or care about the civilized world and the stresses that often accompany living around large groups of people. In reality, the mountain men of yesteryear lived a life filled with a great deal of worry, stress, and life threatening situations. The camping and conference world is no different. Looking back I certainly remember the great times I have had and oftentimes I fail to remember how arduous the journey truly was.

Very rarely did I ever find myself questioning whether or not I should continue to work professionally in the great outdoors. The good almost always outweighed the bad, especially when I could visibly see how the programs I was leading were having such a positive impact and influence on the participants. Like all things, there are exceptions to this rule. The times where I have really questioned my commitment to a company is when I realized that the very purpose and mission of the company runs counter to my ethics and Christian beliefs. Luckily for me, this has only happened on three occasions during my many years of working for many different programs, boards and directors throughout the United States.

Undoubtedly, the reader may find himself or herself in this very predicament, questioning if they can continue, knowing that the very job they are doing is counter to what God’s plan is. It is possible that things may start out great during the early employment timeframe, or “honeymoon” stage, but after some time fully experiencing what the company represents you may realize that you cannot continue without some dramatic actions. These actions could include speaking to a supervisor about your concerns, working to make a change in a positive way, or the ultimate decision, leaving for another company to utilize your skills, talents, and abilities for a program that can morally and ethically align with your fundamental beliefs.

I have had many discussions over the years with co-workers about some of the situations I have found myself in the midst of, and one of the most common replies I have heard is “I don’t have a problem with how things are and I can look myself in the mirror at night before I go to bed.” This statement used to suffice for me as well, but as time has passed, I have realized the great error in this thinking by anyone. As humans, God gave us free choice, which is His greatest gift to us, and sometimes we rationalize and tell ourselves things are just fine, when in reality our actions run counter to God’s plan and intentions. Saying that you can live with your choices is incredibly subjective, who beside God can determine our moral and ethical compass?

In the camping and conference industry, many facilities that bill themselves as Christian organizations run counter to the very mission and purpose they should be delivering. I have found myself in the middle of such organizations and staff, with action needed on my part, but no clear answers or solutions on the horizon. Making decisions, especially when your family is directly involved can be very difficult. When your whole professional life and well-being is tied to the very place where you live and work every small move or action may seem like a huge mountain to overcome. Luckily God has blessed me with a wonderful wife and children who have been by my side from the beginning of this grand adventure and, more so than anyone, Mrs. Modern-Day Mountain Woman is not willing to forego objective morality for a paycheck. I greatly appreciate the insight she brings to our family and we have spent many late evenings in discussion and prayer about what to do to bring about real change to a bad situation. One of my favorite quotes from the Indiana Jones film franchise is when Indy’s father tells Indy as they are heading deep into enemy controlled territory, “we are pilgrims in an unholy land.” This is certainly how it can feel at times as Christian outdoors leaders, especially if we find ourselves employed by an organization that is expressly atheist.

We will often find ourselves as the sole and lonely voice of reason, especially as the world is heading on a trajectory away from God and His all-encompassing plan. It is important to remember that we are never truly alone. God is with us during our biggest and even our most trivial battles. We must not stray from His word and the precedent it sets for how we should live and act. One of the things I was always enamored with concerning the historical and fictional mountain men of yesteryear was their nonstop quest for a good fight or argument. The more good experiences they had the better fighters they became. This is our call as Christian leaders, we must never back down from a challenge and not be afraid to go looking for a spiritual or intellectual fight. Even though we know how the war will end we must win some battles on behalf of mankind in the here and now. Onward Christian Soldiers!

I have often pondered about how many high level researchers and scientists who started out with an intentionality of disproving anything biblical or Godly, found out at the end of the line that all of their time, resources spent, and calculations were leading them directly to God the entire time. I can fully appreciate the conundrum they must have felt. If they speak out to what the evidence has shown as fact, that our world was created by God as accurately described in the Bible, they would not only be mocked, ridiculed and terminated from their lofty positions, but may very well lose all of the people they also considered friends. If only the biblical truth was more well-known and accepted, people would not need to trade their beliefs and values for not possibly offending others or being ostracized themselves. Factual evidence is often cast aside for political, social or economic gain in all professions, but especially in the scientific fields. This is where Christian leaders must step up and take actions to make the story of God’s creation known to all. We will not be alone, some of the greatest thinkers and minds to ever walk the earth had profound Christian beliefs. In the twentieth century alone, over sixty-five percent of Nobel Prize winning scientists identified as Christian in their beliefs, with almost seventy-five percent of the chemistry winners being Christian.

Millions of Years or Millions of Dollars. Better Say One or You Won't See The Other.

In conclusion, sometimes you may find yourself in a proverbial field of obstacles as an outdoor Christian leader, with the very company you keep and work for being the antagonist in your daily life. Through prayer and actions, we can, and must be willing to act on behalf of Him who created us. There will be stress, there will be conflict and we must face these challenges to the best of our prepared ability. We must stay away from seeing another place and time as being inherently better than the situation God has placed us in, waxing poetic about something you view better from afar will not fix the problem that is directly in front of you. If and when the time comes to move away from a situation that cannot be reasonably and timely corrected, we must be intentional about finding another program or mission where we can best utilize the skills and talents our Creator has given us. If enough of us as outdoor leaders can make the small changes around us and not be afraid of the worldly consequences, we can change the entire world for the generations to come.