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The Story Behind Come Aside / by Penn Clark

LEARNING TO COME ASIDE

     During the 21 years that I pastored a local church in the foothills of the Adirondacks, I often sought out places to retreat and rest in the bountiful settings found in upstate New York and Northern Ontario. This added life to my life and helped me keep perspective during my ministry and mission work.

 

    As I shared what I was learning about coming aside with others, I noticed that they rarely took the innovative to retreat like this on their own, but would come with me if I would help them do it. What they needed was an “outfitter”, which became more apparent as I read the following text from Mark 6:30-32:

“The apostles had just returned from their time of outreach and came to Jesus, reporting everything they had done and taught. Then He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” For there were many people coming and going, and they had no time for leisure or even to have a chance to eat. So they went by boat to a wilderness place to be alone with the Lord.” (My paraphrase)

    This section of scripture provided an insight that not only re-enforced the need to come aside, but showed me that people need to be led into it. The apostles, had been working hard doing outreach and came back to Jesus and told Him what had happened. He listened to their report then told them to come aside. Notice He did not tell them just to “go aside”, but said, “Come aside”. He led them; He went with them; He even chose the right place for them to have some rest and ensured that they had time for leisure. He was their outfitter.

 

    One aspect of my pastoral ministry that I really enjoyed was leading people into different kinds of retreats so they could get alone with the Lord. This ranged from all night prayer meetings to camping trips for our young people. It included retreats at old camps for my Care Group Leaders, to staff meetings at a lodge on Beaver Lake. Not everyone is the outdoors type, so some times we even retreated at a hotel. One time, we just all spent the night at a nearby house, which was not only cost effective, but illustrated the fact that it is not always about the location or an event. We just need to come aside.

     I have always believed that the church needs to learn to rest in order to be refreshed and inspired. We need to find the source of continuous renewal, which can only be found as we stop the world and get off. All of this takes time and discipline which we are in short supply of these days as our lives accelerate at an amazing rate.

 

    Jesus is not opposed to leisure. He does not mind us snowmobiling or taking time to go fishing or golfing. In fact, He will provide for us to be able to do these things if we are putting the Kingdom first. Those who have done it know that it is a good thing to do after a time of hard work. He was also interested in them getting away from people and simply enjoying good food. He wanted them to have some meals together.  

    I have noticed that the Lord will put it in my heart to stop ministering in order to come aside. I will sometimes take an aimless road trip or take some time to enjoy some out-door photography. Sometimes I will go camping on a deserted beach where I can watch sunrises and sunsets. It always involves a few good meals, which are good for the soul. After doing this for a time, He always speaks to me and ministers to some need in my life. 

    Having done this for many years and finding life in it, I began inviting other pastors to come with me. I invited them to take time off from their busy schedules, telling them about the unique places I have found. I would tell them about the natural beaches where they can walk for miles and call out to the Lord, with no one listening. Only the deer come out to see who is singing in their backyard. I tell them about lying in the sand under a pitch-black sky that is heavy-laden with stars. As you stick your fishing rod in the sand you can leisurely catch some fish for breakfast. I tell them how the Lord met with me, spoke to me, or caused the Bible to come alive again.

FINDING STILLWATER

      I can remember the first year I took a couple of pastors up on Stillwater reservoir in the Adirondacks. One pastor was pretty burned out. This trip was going to be the deciding factor as to whether he would leave the ministry or not. He really needed to hear from God. The other pastor was simply tired and just wanted time alone with the Lord. As for myself, I was in deep warfare, having some serious confrontations within our denominational leadership. I needed to hear from God, too.  

     The weather was perfect and we had the place almost to ourselves. With a little imagination, you could put yourself on a deserted island somewhere else in the world.  

     We ate two good meals a day and had a fruit bucket we could snack from if we wanted to. We had decided before we set out that we would not talk with each other during the day. We only talked together at meal times and after the sun went down. Then we would spread out a tarp on the beach, stretch out under the stars and tell each other what was going on in our lives. Sometimes we just talked about what books we were reading or told "Holy Ghost" stories. We also caught enough fish to add to breakfast the next day. 

    The first couple of days the Lord did not speak to us in any significant way, as we would have liked. So we relaxed a bit more and just tried to unwind. I spent time reading in the hammock and walking the beaches. I just sat, walked, and sat some more. I tried to clear my head by writing in my journal. One pastor disappeared into the woods, only coming out at the end of each day. The other pastor puttered around and read and canoed a bit.

 

    Then the Lord spoke to me, telling me that He wanted to speak to me in a significant way that week. This thrilled me and put a new expectation in my heart to hear from Him. About the fourth day, the pastor came out of the woods with joy in his face and step, waving sheets of paper, telling us that the Lord had just spoken to him. He ran on the strength of that for a long time. The other pastor just seemed to be mellowed out and really at peace with himself and was looking forward with the eyes of faith. I had not heard much more from the Lord, but knew I would before I arrived home the next day.  

    The good weather had all week finally changed the last day as we awoke to storm clouds and more wind than usual. We ate our final meal, broke camp, and loaded our canoes. The smooth water now had white caps on it and we had about seven miles of paddling ahead of us. We were not seasoned canoers so we hugged the shore as we paddled into the wind. As we approached the most difficult part of trip, which was a wide expanse that often took wind from two directions at the same time, we saw other canoeists coming toward us. These were the weekend campers with their canoes loaded to the brim. We watched as some of their canoes tipped over, spilling their stuff. While I was praying that God would spare us such a fate, the Lord took this opportunity to speak to me. He overwhelmed me with His love right there in the middle of the storm. He spoke to me of His love for me in a way that really impacted me. I knew that I was not going to sink in the canoe, or in all the problems that I had been concerned about.

 

    It was not until I had been home a week or so that I realized how much that week had impacted me. The solitude, ceasing from talking, the long walks and hammock time had restored my soul. Clearing my head on paper and being able to raise my voice in prayer were life-giving things to do. The Lord speaking clearly to me had a real effect on me for some time to come.  

    As I shared this experience with other pastors, they asked if I would take them out to Stillwater. The next time I went out, I had about ten other pastors with me, all wanting to come aside for five days. We followed the same pattern of not talking to each other during the day. One young pastor told the group that the five days together had been more beneficial than a year of Bible School. Everyone took time to rest in their own way and we had wonderful times of sharing together around the campfire at night. It was later in the year this time, so it was colder and we had more rain. This did not dampen our spirits, but rather, caused us to draw closer to the Lord. By the end of the week, we had all heard from the Lord in a significant way. Needless to say, we did not have any trouble getting men to sign up the next year. That was about twenty years ago and some of the same guys still camp out together, including the pastor who came out of the woods waving the papers.  Some young guys have joined the group and our location has changed, but it is still a rich time to come aside to be with the Lord.

    It has been about 18 years now since that first trip up on Stillwater. Numerous pastors have joined the core group of regulars who consider this one of the highlights of their year. It continues to have life in it so we keep doing it. As we reviewed our own experiences from time to time we often conclude that everyone should have a chance to do this. It would add much to their spiritual lives.

     I write all of this to encourage you to do the same in your area. Find a few people to go with you and lead them into a time of seeking the Lord.  

Blessings, Penn