“The pages of your Bible are black and white until you visit the land of Israel. From that point on, you will read it in full color.” This was the description given to me by my Pastor and by several friends. I spent the majority of my days of May 2015 in Israel, hiking over 80 miles of trails that led to key biblical sites. The Word of God has never been more vivid for me. This life-changing experience is reshaping my thoughts on leadership.
A team from Carmel Baptist Church connected with a couple dozen other church leaders from around the world to “walk the text” together. The trip was planned by GTI and the content was taught in a rabbinic style by Brad Gray. This was not your normal Israel tour. 
Like other Israel tours, we were momentarily on a tour bus. We visited the most popular sites. And, on occasion, we navigated some crowded areas. However, we experienced much of Israel that most tourists miss. We carried 96 ounces of water in hydration backpacks, destroyed our hiking shoes over the roughest terrain, and even explored some of the land on the backs of camels. We experienced cool mornings and days of trekking in the 100-105 degree heat of the desert.
Upon returning home, many people want to know what it was like or what was my favorite part. In a word, it was indescribable. Life-changing experiences can be difficult to explain to those who have not been there. My favorite part was meeting with God everyday. I affirm the attribute that God is omnipresent. However, I must admit that being in the land where God defined His love, grace, and truth for all people just felt different. I believe, however, I have brought that understand back home with me.
Over the summer months, I am planning to blog often on the leadership lessons I am learning from our Israel trek. Each of the following would likely contain many posts:
Leadership Lessons from Israel
Leadership Lessons from the Shephelah (semi-desert foothills)
Leadership Lessons from the Yeshimon (uninhabitable desert)
Leadership Lessons from the Midbar (Judean desert)
Leadership Lessons from the Rift Valley (Dead Sea/Jordan River)
Leadership Lessons from Galilee
Leadership Lessons from the Coastal Plain
To follow my thoughts and the insights from this experience, you may want to consider subscribing by email to my blog (link to the right).
Shepherding Well 