Crucible Project Cult? Part 10 of 13: Real Agenda

Now for the next installment of whether The Crucible Project is a cult:
10) They sometimes ignore stated goals, misrepresent their actual techniques, and obfuscate their real agenda.

Ignore Stated Goals?
Let's start with them, straight from the site.

We sponsor THE CRUCIBLE WEEKEND, a life changing experience that is designed to challenge men of faith to go deep to discover new levels of truth about themselves. We give men an opportunity to wrestle with God over issues in their lives. Finally, we invite men to embrace their God-given masculinity and live at new levels of authenticity, passion and power.

I see three stated goals
1) discover new levels of truth about themselves
2) wrestle with God
3) embrace God-given masculinity & live at new levels of authenticity, passion, & power

1) New Levels of Truth
As I've blogged before, there are activities on the weekend which foster growth, introspection, and looking at things from a different perspective, with new tools. The staff may ask the questions; each man, in close partnership with God, digs into the truth about his life.

2) Wrestling with God
My three children *love* to wrestle with their Dad. It's playful, physical, fun. It's a place where they learn things, like hitting & biting are not wrestling. They also learn what "cheap shots" are, and that they're not okay. They learn new techniques, team up with their siblings, and we laugh and have a good time. There's almost always something someone learns during or after, and we have a quick debrief at the end, to reinforce things like don't throw pillows at the ceiling fan in Mom & Dad's room. :) When I went on my Crucible Weekend, I was afraid about what "wrestle with God" meant. In my experience, it is similar to wrestling with my kids:

• I can't really beat God, just like my kids can't beat me (yet--they're still little)
• I learn new techniques & team up with others, just like when my kids join their siblings in wrestling me
• I don't get hurt/wounded in the process, just like I don't let my kids get hurt (bumps sometimes happen; no ER trips-yet)
• I learn something new each time, just like I mentioned above
• When it is over, I'm glad I did it, just like my kids are

3) Embracing God-Given Masculinity
This is important, in a world where men in media are henpecked, dimwits, the butt of the jokes, selfish, or cruel. The weekend looks at the Bible to define masculinity in God's eyes, with Jesus as an example. Acknowledging & embracing the truth about my life can be scary; it is also refreshing & rewarding. What if you weren't afraid of how you sized up with other men? What if you realized that men have a lot more in common than you were taught? What if?

The Crucible Project: No Trap

Misrepresent Actual Techniques?
I argue there is no misrepresentation; in fact there is very little representation at all! As I blogged before here and here, sometimes men blanch at not knowing what will happen on the weekend. I can understand being uncomfortable with the mystery. Have you read the testimonials?

Sometimes it seems like things are being misrepresented when in fact they're not.

Right out of college, I was a high school history teacher. Most of my peers "reviewed" with the students the day before the test: paraphrasing the questions which would be asked on the test the next day. My approach was different. I opened every class asking if there were questions, & did not provide a study guide or "review" the day before the test. I was consistent: I never "reviewed" for the test like my peers, and I told my students I wouldn't. Instead, I challenged my students to *think* about what they read, considering what was important, why we spent time discussing & reading things since the last test. I offered to provide the context for their learning if they had questions, but I didn't give answers to test questions the day before the test.

Isn't that how life is?

And yet, to teenagers, that is the bait-and-switch. My students' peers passed the time until the day before the test. There was a hue & cry about how things were different, unannounced, in some ways harder. I understand: who doesn't want an easy grade? But life isn't a high school test. There are fewer "easy" things for adults, even fewer are spelled out for us. To an adolescent, it seemed unfair, misleading, disingenuous, traitorous...

As adults, we can see the difference between purposeful duplicity and creating an environment where people can assimilate knowledge and experience in ways meaningful to them. The former is what cults do, the latter is what happens on a Crucible Project Weekend.

Obfuscate Real Agenda?
If you've read my blog entries through this one, you'll have seen that the Crucible Project Weekend is not a cult of personality, an MLM scheme, or a mind control gimmick.

Could it be The Crucible Project is what it says, that there is no conspiracy, cult, black helicopter, or other nefarious thing hiding in the shadows? I'd say so.