Why a Silent Retreat?

Eric McIntyre, Director of Spiritual and Character Formation

Greetings from The Master’s Institute!

Mark 6:31 says, “Then, because so many people were coming and going that they (the apostles) did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’”

MI students are required to take solo silent retreats for three consecutive years.  What a great invitation from Jesus in Mark 6… “Come with me”.  Neither the apostles nor MI students are told to “get away”.  There’s a difference.  Are you going to a quiet place because you are being told to or because you are accepting Jesus’ invitation?  How sweet is the beckoning of the Lord.

Also notice that Jesus’ followers did not even have a chance to eat. Sound familiar?  Many in ministry and most MI students utter those very words.  Yet, rather than allowing them to be scheduled when life isn’t so busy (summer), silent retreats occur during the school year.  Why?  Because that’s how life will be.  There will never be a completely convenient time to go away for two or more nights when demands have to be paused and listening only to God is the single item on the agenda.  During one’s years at MI, silent retreats are experienced in order to establish a lifelong rhythm and a yearning for regular times away with Jesus.  “Come with me…. and get some rest.”

From our students…

“It is amazing to just be in His presence without any other responsibilities and to just bask in His glorious creation.  I always pay particular attention to all my senses during this time because I do not want to miss even one thing that He is showing me.  I always leave with an uplifted heart and rested soul.  This is one habit that I have started during my seminary process that I will continue for the rest of my life.”

“This silent retreat left me repeating the words of John the Baptist: He must increase and I must decrease.”

“The intricate yet simplistic way of life for these three days was a breath of fresh air that I absolutely needed. I had space to let everything go but God. Just being able to leave technology, emails, phone calls, and text messages behind was so freeing. It gave me a renewed clarity of letting these things go throughout the day even if it is for a few moments.” 

“Trust was a theme from this retreat. I used to come to these times with a lot of specific questions and try to wrestle through a lot of things. However, this time, I trusted that God would do what He wanted to. I trust that God is bigger than I think He is and that He will work it all out, in His timing and for His kingdom purposes.”