May 2-5, 2024
Spring City, PA United States
Hosted by Larry Si, Todd Shaner and Tom Wolff - Priority One Delaware Valley
Wild at Heart BASIC is Wild at Heart Boot Camp led by John Eldredge and his team through video session in your local area.
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Why do I need BASIC?
A man needs a deeper understanding of his masculine heart—and why God made him just like that. What if those deep desires in our hearts are telling us the truth, revealing to us the lives we were meant to live? A man must know he is powerful; he must know he has what it takes. The way we handle the heart is everything. Basic is not a retreat about the “seven things a man ought to do to be a nicer guy.” It is a four-day quest into the recovery of a man’s masculine soul, the release of a man’s heart—his passions and his true nature—all given him by God.
From Larry Si, the Wild at Heart organizer for P1 Delaware Valley
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Recently, I had my 5th heart catheterization. Based on the results, the doctor said my heart is good. The cardiologist concluded that the discomfort I have been feeling on my upper back, shoulders, and neck in the last several weeks is not caused by my heart. It is something else that the doctors and I need to explore and determine the cause of the discomfort.
This medical experience is analogous to the life we live here on earth (this side of heaven). When we received Jesus as Lord and Savior, we have a new heart. (Ezekiel 36:26; Jeremiah 24:7; 2 Corinthians 5:17)
So, our heart is good. Yet we still experience aches and pains living on this earth. Why? you might ask. It is because we live in a world at war. Now more than ever, there is conflict. Our flesh and the world we live in are at odds with our good heart. That is why many of us (including me) would sigh and say (at least once a day, if not more often), “Why is life so hard?”
We find ourselves asking, “Do I have what it takes to ____________ (fill in the blank)?”
Do you ever wonder why we groan and ask these questions?
The Wild at Heart BASIC retreat is a video-based retreat led by John Eldredge and his
team. The BASIC website describes the retreat as follows:
A man needs a deeper understanding of why these longings govern him—and why God made him just like that. And he needs a deeper understanding of why women long to be fought for, to be swept up into adventure, and to be the beauty.
What if?
What if those deep desires in our hearts are telling us the truth, revealing to us the lives we were meant to live? God gave us eyes so that we might see; he gave us ears that we might hear; he gave us wills that we might choose; and he gave us hearts that we might live. The way we handle the heart is everything. A man must know he is powerful; he must know he has what it takes.
This is not a retreat about the “seven things a man ought to do to be a nicer guy.” It is a four-day quest into the recovery of a man’s masculine soul, the release of a man’s heart— his passions and his true nature—all given him by God. It’s an invitation to rush the fields at Bannockburn, to go West, to leap from the falls and save the beauty.
For if a man is going to know who he truly is as a man, if he is going to find a life worth living, love a woman deeply, and not pass on his confusion to his children, he simply must get his heart back.
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I can't wait to see you at the next Wild at Heart retreat.
Strength & Honor,
From a Wild At Heart Attendee
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In the weeks/days leading up to the WAH weekend, I was stoked and beyond excited. You see, I had been leading men’s groups dealing with sexual addiction for over 6 years and was burnt out. At the advice of my counselor, I needed something to get my heart back in tune with what God wanted for my life.
The day came to drive out, it was cold, rainy and I was under brutal attack by the enemy. I felt depressed, unmotivated, and I no longer wanted to go and was ready to turn around. Upon check-in, I made an unsightly first impression (sorry Larry), walked out and texted my wife that I was ready to come home and forget the whole weekend. She replied, “You need to push through the enemy’s attacks, I’m praying for you.”
I stayed, and it was the most impactful weekend of my life! While driving home, I hit record on my phone and talked to God.
This was my prayer:
“Father God, thank you for revealing yourself to me this weekend. You allowed me to invite your presence into my heart, mind, body, and soul. You have exceeded abundantly above all that I could ask or could think. You have provided hope that I didn’t even know existed. You knew I needed to find my heart and turn it back toward You. I found the answer to that longing and emptiness in my heart.
You filled a void that I desperately needed. You revealed your thoughts and truths to me in sometimes nearly audible ways. As I journaled my thoughts, I couldn’t write fast enough. You came and met me in a place I didn’t even know existed, gave me peace where I didn’t even know I needed it, and showed me what a Heavenly Father is all about. You knew how much I needed this weekend and how I would meet you there in ways beyond my imagination.
Thank you for the men around me that stood beside me and prayed alongside me, demonstrating what Godly friendship is all about. Thank you for teaching me that my heart needs to always point toward you, allowing everything else to fall into place behind it. Thank you for showing me how to be on fire for You and giving me the desire to start each day with You by my side, guiding me, teaching me. I can hear that still small voice, ‘this is the way, walk in it.’
Thank you, Father God, thank you for everything, thank You for Wild at Heart Weekend.”
— Chad