Occasionally [a] Musing

I sat down for a cup of coffee with a good friend, Rawd Jones, at the end of our fifth summer of leading voyages. I was telling him about a summer full of great trips.  I felt we had something very different to offer than any other organization. But it was becoming more difficult to define what we did for potential clients. “Are we a mission organization that leads great service opportunities around the world by connecting people to unmet needs? It seems like so many churches want mission trips but that is not exactly what we do.”  Rawd sipped his coffee as I thought out loud. “Are we a pilgrimage organization that primarily leads spiritual journeys for Christ-seekers? Or are we adventure tour guides, teaching people to live life?” Still Rawd sat quiet. “I just don’t know how to properly define the type of trips we lead anymore.”  Rawd looked at me as if he was the center of universal wisdom.  But it was that kind of look that I knew would bring the wisdom I need. “Shawn, you guys aren’t a mission organization, tour guides or a pilgrimage company.  You led Wonder Voyage’s, unique trips with their own vibe and rhythm.  Nobody else in the world does that. It is what you do.  It is who you are.”

Those unique voyages were the offspring of our core values.  Some of these ideals were a part of the organization from its inception. But many of them developed as we matured in our calling. In year four, after a particularly good summer, our volunteer leadership team sat down and asked the question:  what are the values that define us as Wonder Voyage?

Here are the ten values that make us a unique, one-of-a-kind organization. If we stay true to our core values we can only grow in depth and maturity. If we abandon them, Wonder Voyage is no longer alive.  Take a look into the soul of Wonder Voyage.

The Core Values of Wonder Voyage

The Wonder Voyage staff holds to ten core values as our pilgrimage tradition. You must be able to embrace these values to be a fundamental member of the Wonder Voyage staff and to understand the vision of Wonder Voyage.

Pilgrimage (Psalm 84:5) – our lifelong spiritual journey is at the heart of our calling

We are dedicated to providing the modern day sojourner with the unique opportunity of pursuing the heart of God in extraordinary locations, through unparalleled opportunities. Every event becomes a journey and every participant a pilgrim. To understand Wonder Voyage you must embrace a lifestyle of pilgrimage.

Wonder (Genesis 32:30)- every pilgrimage consists of defining moments of wonder

We believe God is constantly speaking through moments of wonder. We strive to make room for these ‘encounters’ with the heart of God throughout our journeys. These encounters become moments of spiritual, emotional and directional clarity. Whether in a graveyard, cathedral, on a mountainside or in a cityscape, we open our eyes to wonder.

Exploration (Daniel 11:32)- moments of adventure and exploration are waiting to be seized

At WV we believe in embracing life passionately. The ability to take risks, to understand the cultures we visit, to try new things and see with new eyes, should be a daily part of our voyages. We believe a heart of exploration and adventure are awaiting all who would embrace life as a gift.

The Unexpected (Proverbs 3:5,6)- mystery is to be embraced not shunned

Because we customize every event to the personality and individual needs of each group that joins us, flexibility and adaptation are necessities. We must be extremely sensitive to all opportunities and circumstances that present themselves to us.  As a staff we must be dedicated to listening, learning, praying and playing.

Transparency (Psalm 51:10)- absolute honesty and fearless self-evaluation allows us to grow

A safe environment to be transparent must be cultivated. Grace, mercy and love prevail as we explore our humanity.

Vibrant Reasonable Faith (1 Peter 3:15)- we define our theology through the Creed

Our faith demands thought yet, is also comprised of the mystical and functional. We take great pleasure in the communion of the saints; the vast practices and traditions of those around the world who are followers of Jesus Christ.

Constant Humor (Proverbs 17:22)- we love to laugh at all times

If you have no tolerance for the absurd or the funny side of life, you will not enjoy involvement in Wonder Voyage. Laughter is often the medicine that heals the soul.

Customized to Community (Eph. 4:13)- each event is tailored for each unique community

We strive to customize each event to the personality and needs of each group. Our focus must be drawing teams closer to each other and the Lord, strengthening them through Christ, as a collective fellowship. We are an ecumenical organization committed to the Word of God, the unity of the saints, and a living, passionate, Savior.

Sacrifice (Matthew 16:24)- A posture of servanthood is a necessity as a staff membe

You must be willing to serve our pilgrim participants, persuading them forward on their journeys. Our experienced staff does the work so other pilgrims can enjoy the benefits. One must lay their life down to gain life.

Ownership (Eph 4:11 -13)- We desire to empower our staff in their call

We believe in unique-gifted leadership as opposed to needs-based. Needs based leadership says, ‘I need you in this spot. Do the job.’ Unique-gifted leadership says, ‘You are unique, thus your call is unique.’ To take ownership you will need mercy-filled aggressiveness, a strong sense of responsibility, a steadfast determination, a distinctive individuality and a longing for community.

2004 brought twelve more trips to Wonder Voyage; into Ireland, New Orleans, New York City and San Antonio. Our core values were now firmly in place, Cheryl became the part-time office manager, Molly began leading trips, while Shawn spoke with potential clients and prepared for the summer. One of the more notable things to come from 2004 was a deliberate movement by Shawn toward sacramental worship.

Wonder Voyage was heading towards ancient forms of worship, but a specific verse encouraged us to dive into the world of the sacramental wholeheartedly:

This is what the LORD says:

“Stand at the crossroads and look;

ask for the ancient paths,

ask where the good way is, and walk in it,

and you will find rest for your souls.” – Jeremiah 6:16

These were the words Wonder Voyage took into 2004. The year opened with the organization putting on a retreat called Sanctuary in January, with more Sanctuary weekends following throughout the year. The short retreats featured the use of old monastic practices to assist participants in drawing closer to God.

Wonder Voyage Logo (2002 - 2009)

It quickly became obvious to Shawn that we could take elements from Sanctuary and use them on our trips. Pilgrimage was already an “ancient path.” It was and is a spiritual discipline largely forgotten or ignored by our Western culture. The incorporation of ancient disciplines (also often neglected) fit well into the summer voyages. Soon, we were making room for times of silence and reflection in our schedules. We began looking for places where we could journey with Christ through the Stations of the Cross. We read scripture aloud to our groups in Lectio Divina. We reached out to God through these ancient paths in hopes of encountering him and we were not disappointed. Soon, hundreds of students would be following long departed Christians on well-worn roads in hopes of meeting God.

Though they often don’t know it, our pilgrims are becoming part of a tradition that we often take for granted in or modern world. It is the history of men and women who followed Christ and met him on the road and they were forever changed. It is our constant prayer as we journey: to walk where the good way is.

Mike Flickinger has been leading Wonder Voyage trips for four years and works full-time as Shawn’s administrative assistant.  He has been commissioned to write this series of articles documenting the history of our organization. This articles covers 2004, the fifth year of Wonder Voyage.

The Four Leadership Keys that Rocketed Our Organization into Epic Expansion

Occasionally someone comes into our life at just the precise time and just the right way. As I read through my journals from 2003 I found some notes that reminded me of such a person.

I was working as a consultant for a local student ministry in Dallas. Balancing my time between the church and the rapidly growing Wonder Voyage was a bit of a dance. But the dance was going well.  One of the volunteers in the student ministry I was consulting for was a man named Steve Farris. Steve had done well in the field of entrepreneurial marketing but he always found time for the teens at his church. Wherever he was needed, Steve was willing to serve.

We saw each other on Wednesday nights at the youth meetings and struck up a friendship. For a reason I still do not understand Steve pulled me aside one night. He told me how thankful he was that I was helping at the church. He asked me several questions about Wonder Voyage. As I excitedly shared the vision for the organization he seemed to light up. Start-ups were his specialty. He then caught me off guard by saying, “Let me take you to breakfast tomorrow. I have a big gift I want to give your organization.” I drove home that night wondering how much money the dream check would be.

At breakfast the next morning Steve sat down with me over scrambled eggs and bacon. “Shawn, I am a consultant in demand. People pay me thousands of dollars to spend a few hours with them assessing their businesses. You have told me enough about Wonder Voyage that I believe I can now give you the gift of my time. If you will accept a bit of wisdom I believe it will help launch your organization into a whole new realm.” Suddenly, a big check did not matter. Steve was about to give me wisdom.

Over the next hour, Steve would share a handful of business secrets with me that became the catalyst to one of Wonder Voyage’s greatest moments of growth. I madly took notes, filling up a napkin with my thoughts, and trying to process the gold he was generously handing to me. These would become the keys that helped me solidify the unique culture of Wonder Voyage.

If you are curious about what Steve shared than keep reading. (Those who own their own businesses or run any sort of organization will find this interesting.) Please remember, this is not a self-help article. This is a chance to learn something about our history as an organization and too remember the hundreds of moments of wonder that make up where we are at today.

Cultural Shapers

Any effective organization understands that their success rises and falls on how successful they are at shaping the culture around them.  They can easily identify and communicate their organization’s cultural ethos, primary mission, and unique call.  If you cannot shape the culture around you then you will take on the culture and be washed away in the minutiae and monotony that most people drown in.

EX. Wonder Voyage creates and leads trips in a way NO ONE else does.  We have a unique ethos and culture we have created. In staying true to that calling we have lost some potential business but we stay busy enough and we all love what we do.

Cultural Gatekeepers

Thus the CEO, director, manager or business owner becomes the cultural gatekeeper.  Their number one focus needs to be on keeping the mission steady, the ethos pure, and to remind all of your staff of the unique call of the organization.  If he or she does this, the rest will come.  That is, of course, if the idea or product or service is of high quality and meets a unique need.

EX. I spend about 25% of my time developing those within our organization, 25% developing strategies and future projects, 25% maintaining excellence in the organization and 25% communicating our unique call to those who would benefit in a partnership with Wonder Voyage.

Info-gathers

The best organizational directors are efficient info-gatherers. They have systems in place to get honest feedback from every level within the organization and from the cliental they serve. This also requires a personality and ego that allows honest feedback (both positive and negative) and the ability to truly care how others perceive your organization, abilities and the quality of what you offer.

EX.  On every level of Wonder Voyage, we CONSTANTLY assess how we are doing.  This sometimes drives the staff crazy but it has allowed us to target potential critical issues and focus on constantly improving the quality and consistency of what we do.  This causes a reinvention of our materials, our staff training and trips every year.  A lot of work but the payout has been massive.

Bringing on Staff or Volunteers

When you are interviewing new volunteers or new staff, only bring into the organization those who mesh with your culture. When hiring make sure they meet the following criteria in the following order (as an example: Attitude is much more important that Experience):

• Attitude- are they passionate, willing to learn, and a good fit into the culture you are creating?

• Aptitude- do they have unique skills that will help the organization to grow or skills that will enhance a specific need of the organization?

• Flexibility- do they have both the ability to adapt into the organization and bring something unique that will cause the organization to mature?

• Experience- what have they experienced in life that will show their track record as a person and potential volunteer or employee? When interviewing, ask questions about non-work topics that reveal if this person will mesh with the unique culture of your organization.

Over the next few months, I applied every bit of the advice he gave me.  That next year Wonder Voyage grew 60%! Within three years we were 400% larger than we were before I met with Steve. There are innumerable factors to that growth but Steve’s wisdom was a major factor in our health and success as an organization.

I want to thank you, Steve Farris, wherever you may be, for taking the time to listen, to learn and to care. Thank you for believing time is far more important than money and that wisdom far outweighs its worth in gold.

Dominick's Hill at Esker Monastery, Ireland

2003 was a pivotal year for Wonder Voyage. It was the first year that Shawn made a full paycheck. Expozure was taking off. Shawn found his source material for the Via Crucis (which he would go on to eventually publish). A lot of things started to go right in a history where there had previously been much hardship.

It’s hard to claim one particular event during the year as a “turning point” or “pivotal moment,” but to those familiar with Wonder Voyage’s history, one trip stands out in 2003. It was a pilgrimage an unlikely combination of two different groups; one was an Episcopal church led by youth minister named Molly Wren, the other was an Assemblies of God church with two lay-leaders: Shane and Georgia Small.

Their voyage was to western Ireland. In the west, we stay at a place called Esker Monastery. Esker sits deep in the Irish countryside, a picturesque hamlet that would look at home on a postcard. The church there has served its community for hundreds of years and provides a quiet sanctuary for our pilgrims in Ireland. When people reflect on their time at Esker, however, many of them mention Dominick’s Hill.

The Hill has become a sacred place in Wonder Voyage’s history. Many of our staff can relate a story about it- it is a place where many of us have heard the call of God very overtly. Often, it has been a call to sacrifice and a reassurance that God is sovereign and good. Dominick’s Hill was a place of worship for persecuted Christians seeking refuge from English soldiers laying waste in the footsteps of Oliver Cromwell. Three priests, running from Cromwell’s invasion force, used the hill as a hidden sanctuary for their congregation. The place of refuge allowed their parish a view of the surrounding territory and early warning of English patrols. Today the people of Esker and the nearby towns don’t have to go up to Dominick’s Hill to worship, but it remains as a place full of mystical relevance. It is a reminder of God’s connection to us in times of hardship.

The Hill is a special place for us. When teams go up there, we retell the story and encourage them to talk to God and to listen for His voice. Our prayer there is “Lord, your will be done in our lives.” The Hill is a place that bespeaks love, dedication and sacrifice- and God has met us there. On that trip up Dominick’s Hill in 2003; He spoke to Molly Wren, who became the first director apart from Shawn to lead trips with Wonder Voyage; and He spoke to Shane and Georgia Small, who went on to be integral to our Expozure retreats. And He’s spoken to many of us since in that same place. God has often altered our plans and sent us in new directions up on Dominick’s Hill.

In a sense, that pilgrimage in 2003 was a metaphorical walk up the Hill for Wonder Voyage. Through it, God pushed the organization in new directions and brought new people to journey alongside Shawn. Our prayer was “Lord, your will be done.” And from this trip, several things emerged: we realized that every trip was a story in itself and needed a title; it was the first time we saw our service work as creating legacy by partnering with long-term local outreaches (and asking them for “the job that nobody else wants”); it was the first time we brought in local storytellers to give our pilgrims a rich cultural experience; and it was first time we utilized Stone Soup, in which the team creates community meal with food purchased from local markets. All of our pilgrims have seen at least one (if not all) of these facets of our current trips. From this trip new pieces of the puzzle moved into place, pieces that have become part of our ethos and our culture at Wonder Voyage.

One doesn’t have to go to Dominick’s Hill to hear God’s voice (thankfully!). By being willing to listen to God’s voice, and because a few courageous people sacrificed themselves and let Christ direct their steps, Wonder Voyage’s 2003 became a pivotal year.

Mike Flickinger has been leading Wonder Voyage trips for four years and works full-time as Shawn’s administrative assistant.  He has been commissioned to write this series of articles documenting the history of our organization. This articles covers 2003, the fourth year of Wonder Voyage.

A steady rain was beginning to fall, but that is not the reason we pulled the car over onto the side of the road just outside of Austin that unusually warm October. Cheryl, who had been driving, was now staring into my eyes waiting for me to speak. I was shaking as I held the fine crafted wood box in my hand. Could I really give her this gift? Was I insane? The thing I now held, so close to handing over to her, would either be the end of our marriage or the beginning of something we had never experienced before.

We married young.  I had just graduated college and we were both green to the ways of the world, let alone marriage. We were both the children of broken homes and no one we knew had insisted we enter into any sort of pre-marriage counseling. We were young and stupid enough to believe love alone would carry the marriage for the next fifty years. Children came quickly and so did my religious vocation. By the age of twenty-two I was the youth minister at a very unhealthy and destructive church of 8000. By thirty, I was let go from my second dysfunctional church.  In ten years of marriage we scarcely survived three life-threatening car accidents, two damaging churches, three miscarriages, near poverty, unemployment and the pain that comes from two lifetimes of unresolved hurts.

Now in the third year of Wonder Voyage, our long stagnant and unsettled issues burst to the surface. I came from a family who dealt with conflict by pretending all was well. It was a deadly unrealistic optimism. «If we pretend there are no problems they will eventually fade away.» Cheryl’s family used volatile anger to deal with. The first few years of Wonder Voyage brought no money, odd jobs, a plethora of problems and a thin slice of hope. It is no wonder the stress of this new endeavor caused the marriage to eventually detonate.

By the time the kids and I returned from Ireland the summer of 2002, Cheryl and I had decided to separate. We had been two strangers living under the same roof for six months. The separation in Ireland did not help to heal the marriage: we were about to enter the most painful season of our lives.

I stayed at the house with our three children while Cheryl moved to her own weekly rental apartment down the road. We traded the kids off on the weekends, went to school events as a couple and even ate together as a family twice a week. And we talked. We talked for hours and hours every week.  We had nothing to lose and nothing to hide. All our years of pain, frustrations, hidden agendas, false thoughts, unbridled anger; it all was laid out on the table. By October we ran out of words. So we had one more step before divorce. We took a week to join a marriage intensive retreat in Austin, Texas.

This was the day we were to start the retreat. But now we sat on the side of the highway as rain blurred the windshield and cars whipped past our vehicle throwing water onto the hood. Throughout our marriage, I had collected wooden boxes from around the world for Cheryl. She had several from six different continents. Now I was handing her what might be her last box. “Cheryl, this box represents everything we have had in our marriage. All our joys and laughter; our adventures and hardships. They are all contained in this box. All these years, I have held onto these memories and these moments. I now give them freely back to you. Whatever happens this week I return your life to you. If we decide to part ways I will let you go- no strings, no fight; Your life is back in your hands.” She sat staring at the box as tears rolled down her cheeks like rain rolling off the windshield. But she did not speak. She started the car and headed to our hotel.

There is much more to this story that will be developed in a future book but as you already know we stayed together. The box is proudly displayed in our home, a testament to the miracle of marriage. Though we have our ups and downs, our marriage has been what we always dreamed a marriage could be: a joining of two best friends. And the box continues to deepen as more memories fill it every day.

‘The Box’ is an except from an upcoming book by Shawn in 2012 presently titled Moments of Wonder.