Interview with a Spiritual Visionary: Greg Huston
Introduction
Greg Huston has a deep passion for helping men be their best. And he’s interested in doing it one life at a time. His passion flows out of the wounds he experienced as a boy and the healing he’s received as a result of the work he has done in his own life.
I want to honor him because he wouldn’t be one to praise himself. He’ll tell you that God has worked through him, and that he is privileged to meet and work with a special breed of men.
It is true that Greg didn’t do it alone. but throughout his life, he made courageous choices and sacrifices that prepared him for his greatest ministry … next to being a husband and a father. Greg introduced me to truth and grace at levels I had never experienced. It is the truth and grace that heals enemies and forgives murderers or rapists. Greg and the Crucible Project literally saved my life.
Not only do I feel Greg deserves a tribute, but also, I want other men to benefit from the tools and the community that Greg has developed. I want more men who are being the best they can be, equipped with the resources and the relationships that this men’s community offers. I want men like you who are hearing the call to greater masculinity. When you answer, my community becomes stronger.
More About Greg
Last year, Greg retired from active leadership as President of The Crucible Project. After a well-earned sabbatical, he will be resuming his participation in TCP by serving on the Urban Weekend in Chicago in April. In May, will be leading the Level 2 Mission Weekend in Colorado.
Greg is passionate to see men live at deeper levels of authenticity, passion, and power. In the late 1990s, after almost two decades of pastoral ministry, Greg felt stirrings to do more personal growth work on himself. After attending a powerful secular men’s weekend, Greg became aware that he was not the only man with such needs. Greg envisioned a community where a man would be challenged to take a hard look at what is and what is not working in life, a space where that man could have the opportunity to wrestle with God and discover new truths about himself, and a way to embrace God-given masculinity.
In the fall of 2001, Greg invited six men to a Christian men’s weekend that would be unlike any other weekend they had ever experienced. Before the weekend was over, one man left. But, for the five who stayed, it was a powerful, life-changing experience. The Crucible Project was born on that weekend. Now, more than 14 years later, Greg’s vision has touched the lives of more than 2,000 men after nearly 100 retreats in Chicagoland, Texas, Colorado, Australia, Mexico, Uganda, and soon … the Kansas City area.
Crucible Blog (CB): Though retired, you’ve decided to stay connected to the Crucible Project by leading the Urban weekend in Chicago in addition to two other weekends. What attracts you to the Urban weekend?
Greg Huston (GH): My heart for men in the city grows out of my years of pastoral experience as a pastor of urban churches. In my experience, men in the city often come from homes without a father more so than in the suburbs. We provide a safe community for those men to work on their issues.
I would like to see the Church do a better job crossing racial barriers – among whites, Latinos and African Americans. The gospel is about reconciliation, not just between man and God, but also between man and man. If anybody should be breaking down these barriers, it seems to me that it should be us as Christians, empowered by this message of reconciliation.
CB: What would you like to say to a man considering an initial weekend?
GH: My passion and heart is that you be the best man you can be for yourself, for your God, for your family, and for your world. This is a great opportunity for you to get real. Look at yourself. Become a man who is fully alive.
We live in a fallen world. We all have experienced pain and brokenness, and it’s impacted us at some point in our lives. We carry that brokenness. If we don’t look at, it can trip us up because we aren’t aware of it.
At a weekend you can experience healing for the hurt and the pain that you’ve experienced in your life. You can experience community with other men like you’ve never experienced before in your life. There is a unique power and bond shared in a community with other men living in transparency.
It seems to me that many of us men have been primarily raised by women. As a result, we struggle with what it means to be a man and to embrace our masculinity. At a retreat or in a Crucible soul group, you can look specifically at these issues with other men and be held and supported by men who are serving on staff on the weekend, men who have begun their own healing work.
CB: We often talk about being a safe place for men to do their work. What is “men’s work” in your view?
GH: Men’s work provides men an opportunity to consciously look at their lives, what’s working and what’s not working— to become aware. In a community of other men, a man can get away, take a deep look at his life, and begin making changes so that he lives with more integrity, courage, and passion.
CB: What’s wrong with just living unconsciously? Ignorance is bliss.
GH: Living unconsciously greatly increases the chances to be blindsided, to experience a crash: broken marriage, missing opportunities, not taking full advantage of your God-given potential, wasting opportunities to be the man God wanted you to be, and living at a lower standard.
In my experience with men (as well as looking at many or our politicians, business leaders, sport heroes), living unconsciously doesn’t work. In the 90s, I remember a conversation with my wife saying we’re not making it. I remember my brokenness; my daughters were growing up, becoming teenagers, and pushing back against me and my parenting. I remember thinking that if I didn’t do something different that involved taking a deeper look at my life, I was headed for trouble and heartache.
So I went to a secular men’s retreat in 1996. It took me to places I’d never been in my life before. The impact on me was deep and profound. I was still a pastor at the time, and I thought, “Something like this needs to be done in a Christian context. “
CB: Thank God for that secular men’s weekend! It’s counterintuitive to lead from my need, to lead from my wound, but I’ve seen so many men leading powerfully from their weakness. I appreciate you for your time. I am tender towards you and grateful for your courage, insight, and humility. Let’s see how your ego handles my tennis game in April.
By Marc Mantasoot
Marc completed his initial Crucible weekend in 2004 and graduated from our two-year transformational program in 2008. He wants to help others pursue their God-given joy and free the world of ego. He is an award-winning poet, writer, small groups/discipleship coach, high school English teacher and martial arts trainer. He provides powerful methods for life transformation at marcmantasoot.com. His greatest joys: Creating scenes with his son, lining up My Little Ponies with his baby girl, and pursuing his irresistible wife.