Every outdoor leader I've ever spent time with cares deeply about seeing transformation in those whom they lead in the wilderness. Regardless of where one is coming from spiritually, the more I study the life and times of Jesus Christ, the more I see the absolute genius of his teaching. His proverbs provided a push for people to wear off the outer shell of their soul, so that they could see the truth clearly. Regardless of your opinion of Jesus Christ, if you are an outdoor leader I encourage you to spend some time looking openly at the way Jesus Christ led and taught people. Observing his life and embracing what he taught will only improve your ability to lead others toward transformation in the wilderness.

One of Jesus' favorite ways of teaching was through proverbs. A proverb is best understood as a pithy saying that contains a memorable statement giving moral or ethical advice (cf. Matt 6:22, 24; 7:12; Luke 16:10). According to Charles Carlston and his commentary on Blaise Pascal's understanding of the use of proverbs, The whole point of proverbial wisdom is the communication of the generally accepted, the universal, the tried and true, not the striking or innovative.... The challenge of a proverb (if any) thus lies in the realm of action, not thought.... 'All the good maxims are already current; what we need is to apply them.'[1] Proverbs make us do something with what we probably already know deep in our soul.

At times proverbs are paradoxical (cf. Mark 4:25; 10:43; Luke 14:11), but in general, they are short and to the point.[2] Many of Jesus' proverbs relate to some of life's most common tensions. For example: 1. A person's heart is where their treasure is (Mt. 6:21), 2. Don't worry about tomorrow (Mt. 6:34), 3. If you pick up the sword, you will perish by it, i.e. the spiritual battle is not one of flesh and blood (Mt. 26:52), 4. A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand (Mk. 3:24), 5. Prophets are given little credibility among their closest friends or family (Mk. 6:4), and 6. The mark of the disciple is not in how one starts the journey, but by how he continues and finishes the journey, i.e. if you put your hand to the plow, don't turn back (Luke 9:62).[3]

Traveling along the trail in the wilderness with young people affords many timely opportunities to share relevant proverbial sayings. There are proverbs that come from Scripture, as well as proverbs that are in the form of quotes or sayings that represent that which is true to life. Contemporary proverbs can come from songs young people listen to on the radio or quotes from famous people they know. Here are a few examples proverbial sayings relevant to the outdoors:

The mountain is not meant to teach us anything, it is meant to make us something.[4]

While God's glory is written all over His work, in the wilderness the letters are capitalized.[5]

Any error about creation also leads to an error about God.[6]

People today are starving for more experiential approaches to learning. And the field of outdoor leadership is aiming to provide just that. Regardless of your views of Jesus Christ or the Bible, I encourage every outdoor leader to look at the wilderness through the lens of what Jesus Christ taught and how he taught it. The clarity he offers will not only make your wilderness journey more fruitful, but it may just change your life as well. That happened to me when I was sitting atop a rock face in British Columbia when I was eighteen years old.

It was in that moment, through the solitude and beauty of the Creation I saw all around me that I had to admit that there truly must be a God, and that the God who created everything I saw around me was good, he was loving, and he was pursuing my heart. I can think of few better places than the pristine wilderness to come to the realization that God loves you and wants a relationship with you. And the way into that relationship is through God's Son, Jesus Christ. So next time you spend some time in the wilderness either alone or with a group, pull out a couple parables that Jesus taught and listen to those words as words spoken directly to you. See what happens in your soul-it may just crack open like mine did.

Footnotes:

[1]Charles E. Carlston, "Proverbs, Maxims, and the Historical Jesus." Journal of Biblical Literature 99 (1980): 88-89, Quotation from Pascal, Pensees VI: 380.

[2]Robert Stein, The Method and Message of Jesus' Teachings. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994, 17.

[3]Ibid., 17ff.

[4]Gwen Brahler, Ashley Denton, Greg Fuchs, eds. Rocky Mountain Region Backcountry Trail/River Reference Manual, 2001: 15. Quoting Oswald Chambers.

[5]Ibid., quoting conservationist John Muir.

[6]Editor. "Historical Voices on Learning from Creation." Green Cross, April, 1996, Creation Care Publication: 1, quoting Thomas Aquinas.