The Free Believers Network - Into the Wild

Darin and Aimee talk about how the institutional church is set up in the same way the world is. With almost all that we do inside of institutionalism, there is an anti-intimacy theme that many of us have missed altogether. It’s amazing how we are able to rationalize our way into relationships that are completely void of depth and intimacy and then live our entire lives without noticing it. Part of the walk in the wild is coming to a place in life where true relationship is more attractive to us then anything else in the world.

Darin and Aimee talk about how the truth of grace and love has been so distorted in this generation that many people have actually given themselves to militancy and forcefulness. Youth groups typically present the Christian life as something adventurous and dangerous. Radical names are selected that sound rebellious and angry for the group and this next generation is encouraged to see Christianity in an almost terrorist like fashion. For many people this Christian soldier mentality is something they need to feel excited about their faith. Breaking free from this mentality usually causes depression and a feeling of failure because life in general is not like this. This is a great conversation. You’ll love the story at the beginning.

Darin and Amy Ramos talk about what it takes to lift others up. For years we have been raised in a system that believes people are motivated and encouraged by someone better than them. Pastors present themselves as having arrived to a level of spirituality to everyone else must strive to achieve. Congregations demand perfection out of their leaders because they’ve been trained to expect it. When we love people we understand that getting beneath them is what’s required to lift them up.

Darin and Aimee talk about a letter Darin received from a friend, broken hearted over the abuse and pain of her past. The two get into a conversation about the things that pain and suffering “purchase” for us in our lives. Most of us have something from our past that we feel we still need healing from. We go over and over what happened and how it tore us apart. We pray and ponder why it happened or why it was even allowed to happen. It’s easy to make a lifestyle out of seeking healing while completely overlooking the greater thing we came away with after that terrible experience. In some cases it just might be that healing is not what’s needed, but a greater revelation of what that incident purchased. The greatest qualities in a persons heart are put there through the deepest suffering. Heart growth comes at a steep price and some people have paid that price without ever bothering to look at what it is they actually purchased.

Darin and Robert talk about how many of us have been deeply wounded and crippled by our present understanding of “purpose” and “calling.” Countless, sincere Christians have been raised in a letter-of-the-law mentality that has caused us to force spiritually square pegs in round holes in a desperate effort to make everything fit perfectly. Rather than ponder the things of God, we are taught to demand answers and then live by them like heartless robots. Breaking free from ideas about our purpose and calling can take awhile and usually does. Living in the wild is a time where each of us can get reacquainted with the things our heart originally desired but cast off in the name of “purpose.” It’s so exciting to realize that we just might be called to be free, and our purpose is not something we seek, but something we trust is in His hands entirely.

Darin and Aimee talk about how much of our lives are controlled and dictated by fear. When we take an honest look at our lives and what drives our decisions and reactions to things it is amazing how much fear plays a dominating role. For many of us it has become the driving force behind everything we do. Acknowledging and identifying our fears is more than half the battle, because we rarely even know that it is fear that is controlling us. Once we are able to locate our fear and acknowledge it; freedom is just around the corner. The Free Believer life is many times a path of “fear detox” where we do nothing but acknowledge what’s driving us and make a conscious decision to go another way. Religion is driven by fear at every turn and for many of us, walking away from that world is like losing an accent. The fear of rejection is the power of religion. If you have stood up and taken a stand for what you believe in, you have already conquered 90% of the fear in your life. The rest is gravy.

Darin and Robert talk about what it really takes to KNOW someones heart. There is a level of intimacy that goes beyond small talk and inside jokes. It's deeper than knowing someones favorite color or what music they like. Knowing God's heart is not about reading Bible verses and taking notes during a sermon. He's not satisfied with studying "about" Him. He created us for a deeper connection. He created us to live from the inside out in our relationship with Him. This only is possible if we experience the same hurts and sorrows that He has experienced. Seeing the world from His perspective takes more than memorization. The great thing about all this is that this level of intimacy that He wants with us, is something that He brings about in the course of our lives. It's not something we can conjure up by trying harder. All we have to do is live life and trust Him.

Darin and Aimee meet in California with Mike Myers and Stacey Robbins for a few days of fellowship. The four talk about how easy it is for Free Believers to look at their past life and service in the organized church setting, and feel as though it was all for nothing. Many Free Believers honestly feel their Christian journey did not even begin until they came to the knowledge of the His love and grace. It’s easy to feel like everything in life before this revelation was nothing but a big waste of time because it was based on false information. This can amount to twenty or thirty years for some people. The question of the conversation is whether or not life in the institutional system was a waste of time. Did the real journey begin with the revelation of grace or did it begin at birth? This can be a huge point of frustration for many people because they feel as if a sizable chunk of their life has proven to be useless, worthless, pointless, meaningless and good for nothing.  

Darin and Aimee talk about the transition many Christians go through from a principles based lifestyle to a heart based life. The idea of living life by a set of principles is really not possible if you want to be a heart person. Many of us have been raised on principles and formulas our entire lives and it can be difficult to give up that mentality and trust that the power to live life is something that happens naturally within each of us. Giving up the principles mentality opens the door to life and frees each of us to truly know Him from our hearts and become whatever He has created us to be. 

Darin and Robert talk about the undying need for hope in the life of the believer, and how we’ve been sidetracked and fooled into believing that it’s of little or no value. They discuss what has happened to our modern day understanding of hope and how it’s been torn away from the hearts of people who need it for survival in the wild. All things in life can be endured and conquered through the towing power of hope. However, when the tow line of hope is severed by religious manipulation, we become like a ship without sails. All direction and purpose is lost. Motivation, inspiration and determination take their last breath and fade away. The lifestyle of love causes us to spend a lifetime reattaching the hope lines to the hearts of hurting individuals and towing them towards the Father.

Darin and Aimee talk about the cycle that many Free Believers get caught in where they so badly don’t want to be like the institution they came from, they attempt to become the opposite of that system. Becoming the opposite of a thing is not the equivalent of freedom from that thing. True freedom comes when we are no longer concerned or preoccupied with NOT becoming one way, If we are striving to be the opposite of something we hate, we are just as much in bondage to that thing as ever. Freedom in the wild is about becoming a whole other animal that doesn’t even resemble what we’ve known in the past. It’s freedom to be whatever, without the concern for how it may or may not resemble something from your past.

Darin and Aimee talk about how even the decision making process is different in the wild. Having the freedom to trust our hearts and decide for ourselves is a huge step for many Free Believers. Many of us are still plagued with religious principals and bible verses when we face things in our lives and we’ve been conditioned to never consult our own heart. Once the fear of punishment is taken away it is literally like clearing the smoke out of a burning building. Suddenly the right to decide is much easier and less terrifying.

Darin, Aimee and Stacey Robbins talk about the importance of imparting revelation of yourself to others. For so long we have put the truth of ourselves on the back burner in an effort to help people get a revelation of Christ. We’ve never believed that there was any value in anyone getting a true revelation of us personally. We have been taught that it was all about Christ. Many of us have learned to hide ourselves away in seclusion and we call it humility. Becoming Christlike means that we will also find enjoyment in being known fully. There is something that takes place in the heart when we are known by another that cannot be replaced by anything. This is a great conversation with amazing implications.

Darin and Aimee talk with Stacey Robbins. The three discuss how we have been trained to not trust our feelings and emotions. Christians have been taught to believe they are stupid and unable to think for themselves. Because of this, many Christians have learned to not listen to their feelings at any given time. Feelings are despised in the modern day Christian world. Learning the seasons of your emotions and when you can trust them, is key to living a fulfilling life in the wild.

Darin and Robert discuss the difficulties that many people have seeing God as “father.” Detoxing from religion in exchange for a God of grace and love is far easier than detoxing from our experiences we’ve had with our fathers. Many Christians prefer to view God as a majestic, untouchable ruler of the universe rather than a loving father because of the closeness that is required in the father/child relationship. There is a difference between being carried by an all powerful super hero and being carried by our father. It may not seem different because in each scenario, we’re still being carried, but apparently to God there is a huge difference. It seems that God is way more interested in creating a family then He is in creating a kingdom of god-groupies.