As we gear up for another year of Whistler School and begin looking forward to deep snow, meeting new students, and walking out life and mission together we’re excited about the transformative work God has in store for each of our lives and for the lives of the people around us.
As we tell the story of Whistler School to people we are often asked why we would run a discipleship training school in Whistler, BC? Isn’t Whistler too hedonistic, too transient, and filled with too much consumption? It doesn’t really fit the qualifications of a monastery or holy environment, does it?
It’s true. A discipleship school in Whistler doesn’t look like most discipleship schools; it’s not hidden away on a hillside, on a private island, or in a backwoods farmhouse. Whistler School is part of Whistler’s culture, we’re deeply connected here, and we believe that effective discipleship happens in the context of real life.
- There is no hiding.
- No holy huddles.
- And no spiritual cloistering.
In Whistler we follow Jesus with other Christians beside us but we do it in the context of a world that needs to see Jesus changing lives. We can’t hide our transformation in a holy huddle somewhere. People far-from-God need to see lives being changed by him, the change in your life is something people need to see!
Yes, it’s harder and the choices more difficult, temptations are greater, and you’ll probably find yourself in situations you never thought you would at a discipleship school. Yet, if we’re actually going to follow Jesus we must follow him to the places Jesus went – to the broken, the hurting, the party-goer, and the far-from-Christ. It’s in these places and with these people restoration is found and Jesus’ name was made great.
And don’t you want to be where Jesus is? I do.
Here’s why: because everywhere that Jesus went restoration and redemption followed him. Jesus said, “Come, follow me” and in Whistler that means we follow him into the dark places, we be light, and as our lives change, grow, and are transformed by Jesus the lives of the people around us will too.
