Finding Your Way Back to Joy in a Messy World
The world feels messy right now. War. Violence. Division. Economic pressure. Relational strain. Is Artificial Intelligence coming for my job? Personal disappointments. Even when the headlines are not hitting close to home, they still have a way of settling into our body, mind, and soul. Add to that the ordinary ups and downs of life, and it is easy to feel worn thin, discouraged, reactive, or just exhausted.
You are not the only one living with a low-grade ache right now.
We feel it when conflict arises and when the cost of living keeps pressing in. We feel it when evil seems loud and mercy seems quiet. We feel it when our relationships feel fragile, our hopes feel delayed, and our joy feels harder to access than it used to.
Jesus understands that kind of world. He lived in the middle of political tension, cultural division, oppression, injustice, grief, betrayal, violence, and human suffering. He was not sheltered from the mess, He entered it. And in the middle of it, He kept returning to the Father. He kept living rooted, loving people, and living in integrity, grace and courage, fulfilling his God-given purpose.
That is our invitation to you!
This is not the season to drift from God, from your people, or from your own soul work. This is the season to lean in.
One of the themes we have been naming in Crucible is that you do not grow by watching. You grow by participating. Engagement protects your soul. This work was never meant to be something you graduate from. It is something you keep practicing, especially when life gets hard.
This is the time to use the tools you learned on your weekend. This is the time to move toward your fellow Redwoods so that you do not have to face this messy world alone.
Sit with Jesus about what is happening in you, not just around you. Tell the truth about your fear, sadness, anger, exhaustion, or numbness. Practice your soul work skills together. These are not luxury practices for easier times. They are lifelines in hard ones.
Reconnect with God in honest prayer. Reach out to another Redwood and stop carrying things alone. Get back in the game and re-engage your own soul work before the drift becomes deeper.
Pseudo joy is when you get through life’s messiness by pretending life is easy. True joy is found by returning to the One who holds us steady in the middle of the storm, and by walking with fellow travelers on their journey who remind us who we are when we forget.
Redwoods, God has not abandoned you in this messy season. You do not have to navigate it alone.
Lean into God and each other. Use the tools you experienced on your initial retreat. Let truth come into the light. Let grace meet you there. Let community strengthen what isolation has weakened. Trust that God and your community can bring you back to joy—not a shallow joy built on circumstances, but a deeper joy rooted in His presence.
True joy is the place from which we live and lead well. And that is the place to which God is calling us back. If you need help reconnecting to the Crucible Community, let us know.
Elder Retreat: Stepping into the Wisdom Journey
For many of us, the first half of life has been driven by building, achieving, providing, and proving ourselves. We work hard, raise families, develop careers, and try to make our mark. It’s what some call the heroic journey—the season of striving, learning, and becoming. That season has value. It shapes us. It stretches us. It forms the foundation of our lives.
But there is another journey that eventually calls to us. It’s the wisdom journey. And our world desperately needs men and women willing to step into it.
The truth is, growing older is inevitable. Growing into an elder is not. Our culture doesn’t do a great job of forming elders. We tend to celebrate youth, success, and influence, but we rarely talk about the kind of character and presence that comes from a life shaped by humility, reflection, and grace. As a result, many people age without maturing. It’s easy to become opinionated without understanding, to want respect without having earned it, or to carry years of experience without the wisdom that experience was meant to produce.
But the biblical vision of “elders at the gate” is something far richer.
An elder is someone who has walked through life with God long enough that their presence brings stability, perspective, and grace to others. They are not driven by ego or the need to prove themselves. Instead, they carry a quiet authority rooted in humility. They serve without strings attached. They share what they’ve learned. They offer guidance without controlling and wisdom without demanding recognition. They have learned to live with open hands.
At The Crucible Project, we believe the elder journey is something we grow into together. It’s not a title we claim. It’s a calling we step into—slowly, intentionally, and with the help of others who are on the same path.
That’s why we are offering several Elder Retreats this year. These retreats are designed as an initiation into the elder journey. It’s an opportunity to pause, reflect, and consider what it means to move from the first half of life into the second half with purpose and intentionality. On the retreat we learn that the skills we developed in the first half of life, won’t be the right tools to get us through the second half of life.
During our time together, we’ll explore questions like:
The elder journey isn’t about withdrawing from life. In many ways, it’s about stepping more fully into it—but with a different posture.
Instead of striving to prove ourselves, we begin to focus on serving without expectations.
Instead of accumulating influence, we begin to generously give away what we’ve learned.
Instead of leading from ego, we begin leading from character.
Our world needs servant elders—men and women who model godly character and who are willing to invest in the next generation with wisdom and compassion. And quite honestly, The Crucible Project needs them too.
Much of the strength of this community has come from people who have walked this road before others, who offer their presence, their listening ear, and their hard-earned wisdom to those still finding their way. The Elder Retreat is an invitation to step more intentionally into that role.
If you sense that you’re entering a new season of life—one where God may be inviting you to move from striving to mentoring, from building to blessing—this retreat may be the next step for you.
You don’t have to have it all figured out. None of us do. The elder journey isn’t about arriving at perfection. It’s about growing into the kind of person whose life becomes a gift to others.
We hope you’ll consider joining us. Come step away from the noise and pace of everyday life. Come reflect on the road you’ve traveled. Come discern how God might be inviting you to carry your story, your experience, and your wisdom into the next season with greater purpose.
The journey from hero to elder is one of the most meaningful transitions in life. And it’s a journey worth taking together with other Redwoods.
20th Anniversary: 2007-2009: When the Work Left Chicago
By 2007, The Crucible Project had survived its earliest years. The parachutes had opened. The Two-Year Program was functioning. Leaders were being developed. But everything still revolved around Chicagoland. All initial retreats were held in Chicago or Wisconsin. The work was growing—but it was geographically contained.
Behind the scenes, important transitions were taking place. As part of his Two-Year Program leadership project, Chris Cleghorn stepped into volunteering and eventually onto the Board of Directors. He joined Greg Huston, Judson Poling, Bob Locascio, Christ Stacey, and Pastor Doug Harsch. Together, they continued the complicated but necessary journey of migrating all of Greg’s private programs—coaching, groups, second-level retreats, and the Two-Year Program—into the fledgling nonprofit.
This was not a small shift. It required legal clarity, financial restructuring, and trust. Greg moved into full-time employment with The Crucible Project in 2010. As everything came under one organizational roof, revenue grew into the $200,000–$240,000 annual range. Stability was beginning to form.
Chris’s organizational strength quickly became evident. Over time, the board voted him in as Chair. Structure was catching up with vision. But then came a question that would change everything: What about the rest of the country?
A church minister and Redwood, Barry Thomas, had taken a position in Midland, Texas. He believed the men at his church desperately needed what Crucible offered. He began approaching Greg and the board with a persistent invitation: Bring it here.
A few years earlier, when a Detroit-area group had made a similar request, they were encouraged to start their own work. That group became Edge Venture—a ministry that continues today. But Barry would not let the idea rest. He brought Midland men to retreats in Chicagoland. He advocated. He prayed. He persisted.
Finally, in January 2009, it happened. The first Crucible retreat outside of Chicago took place at Redwood Todd Brown’s Providence Point on Lake Brownwood, Texas. A new chapter began. Interestingly, a couple of participants on that historic weekend were future Retreat Leaders and Houstonian’s John Owen and Roy Wooten.
What seemed like a simple geographic expansion quickly surfaced deeper questions. How do you run groups without certified leaders in a distant community? How do you support leaders remotely? How does the board reflect regions beyond Chicago? How do you replicate culture—not just run retreats?
These were not logistical inconveniences. They were leadership crucibles. Isaiah 54:2 says, “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.” Expansion requires both stretching and strengthening. The tent gets bigger—but the stakes must go deeper.
In the years that followed, Barry joined the board and eventually became Chair. Regional representation grew. Systems evolved. What began as a Chicago ministry was becoming something more.
Redwoods today benefit from that decision to stretch. Someone was willing to ask, Why not here? Someone else was willing to say, Let’s try. The work left Chicago and it continues expanding today.
Sharing the Opportunity for Transformation
If you’re reading this, you already know something important: Crucible isn’t just a weekend. It’s an experience that impacts you forever.
Each of us arrived at our retreat carrying our own story—our questions, our exhaustion, our hopes, our guarded places. And while the impact looked a little different for each of us, something real happened. We were invited into truth, into deeper awareness, into community, and into a fuller version of ourselves than we had known before.
That kind of transformation doesn’t come from information alone. It comes from experience.
And that’s why, as Redwoods, one of the most meaningful things we can do is simply share the opportunity for others to experience what we did.
• Not by selling a retreat.
• Not by convincing someone they should go.
• Not by arguing that it will change their life.
But by telling the truth about how it changed ours.
Scripture says, “Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story.” (Psalm 107:2) That’s really all we’re being asked to do. To tell our story honestly, humbly, and without agenda.
When someone asks why we went to Crucible—or why we’re still connected—we don’t need a script. We just speak from lived experience. Maybe it’s how the retreat shifted how you show up in relationships. Maybe it helped you face something you’d been avoiding. Maybe it reconnected you with your faith, your purpose, or your own voice. Maybe it simply gave you a place to be real when you didn’t know you needed one.
That kind of sharing creates space. It gives the other person permission to wonder, to be curious, and to decide for themselves. Jesus modeled this when he said, “Come and see.” (John 1:39) No pressure. No persuasion. Just an invitation and the freedom to respond—or not.
With 2026 retreats open for registration, there are already people in your life who are quietly longing for something deeper. They might not know how to name it yet. Your story can help them see that an option exists.
Sharing the opportunity can begin as simple as:
Paul reminds us, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.” (1 Corinthians 3:6) Our role isn’t to make something happen. It’s to plant seeds and trust God with the outcome.
As Redwoods, we are the living testimony of what Crucible can offer. When we share our experience—not as experts, but as fellow travelers—we extend an invitation rooted in respect, freedom, and hope.
Who in your life might benefit from knowing this opportunity exists?
Resources to Help Share the Opportunity
Here are a few helpful and easy resources to help start for follow up with the sharing conversation:
You don’t need to use all of these—or any of them. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can share is simply your own experience, offered freely and without expectation.
No pressure. No salesmanship. Just an open door.
Plan Your Personal Growth in 2026
December 2025
The turn toward 2026 is an invitation into a posture of intentionality. Not pressure. Not striving. But intentional, prayerful planning for the person you want to become in the coming year. Proverbs 16:3 gives us the foundation: “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” God is not opposed to planning. He is opposed to self-reliance. Our plans become powerful when they are surrendered plans—rooted in calling, humility, and listening.
Here are two questions that might help guide you:
Who is God inviting me to become?
And what practices, commitments, or goals will help me say yes to that invitation?
Notice the order. Identity before activity. Formation before goals. If we’re not careful, we’ll create goals that feed our ego instead of goals that reflect our transformation. But the work of becoming a mature, wholehearted Christ-follower requires alignment with God’s voice.
Here are some ways to approach planning for 2026:
Discern the one or two themes God is highlighting.
Maybe it’s courage. Or patience. Or emotional honesty. Or deeper intimacy with God. Or healing a relationship. Or stepping into your calling with boldness. Let the Holy Spirit name the core themes. Everything else flows from there.
Identify practices that shape your soul.
Goals are useful, but practices form us. What rhythms will keep you connected to Jesus? Silence and solitude? A monthly check-in with a Redwood? A weekly Sabbath? Regular group attendance? A deep dive in a Second Level Retreat? Real rest? If you want to grow, anchor your year in practices that nourish your inner life.
Choose one or two stretch goals.
Not ten. Not twenty. Just a few that matter. Perhaps its grabbing a Coach? Maybe it’s initiating counseling. Launching a project. Staffing a retreat. Repairing trust. Reading Scripture daily. Joining a group. Or something God has put on your heart that scares you a little. Stretch is good. Overload is not.
Make commitments visible and accountable.
Redwoods do not grow alone. Share your intentions with Redwoods you trust. Bring your goals into community and into prayer. What we hide rarely grows. What we name often flourishes.
Ask God to lead—not just bless—your plans.
Surrender is not passivity. It is active cooperation with the Spirit. When plans are committed to the Lord, as Proverbs promises, He establishes them. He gives them roots. He strengthens them. He shapes them according to His purposes.
As you step into 2026, hear this: you don’t need to become a different person; you need to become your truest self in Christ. Who God is forming in you is already there—waiting to be strengthened, refined, and called forth.
So plan boldly. Pray humbly. And step into the new year with expectancy. God has work to do in you—and through you—in 2026. Let’s enter the year with clarity, courage, and an open, surrendered heart.
Fuel Christ-like Change in 2026
As we approach Thanksgiving, I’m filled with gratitude for all God has done through the Crucible Project this year. Together, we hosted 64 retreats, served 2,093 participants, and supported over 1,100 volunteers to walk alongside men and women in their deepest soul work.
Behind the numbers are stories of healing and hope:
- Philip reconciled with his son after 12 years of silence.
- Pastor Blake returned to ministry renewed and on fire.
- Nathan and Jan discovered a new language for their marriage.
Yet, the need is greater than ever. Families are struggling. Leaders are weary. Marriages are hanging by a thread. And God is calling Crucible to bold growth.
2026 Initiatives Require Bold Generosity:
- Implement Crucible App and CRM automation.
- 2 New U.S. Community Launches.
- 2 New International Communities in New Continent.
- Increased Support of Regional Leader Teams
- Continued Leadership Development and Curriculum Development
But here’s the truth: this ministry cannot do this without your financial partnership.
Every gift of any amount funds these initiatives to reach more people in desperate need to encounter transformation.
Will you help us close 2025 strong with a year-end gift? Check out the many different ways you can financially partner with the mission.
How will your gratitude impact your generosity? Will you commit to a monthly gift of $25, $75, or $150? Would you partner with the mission through a one-time impact-gift this Thanksgiving season?
Your generosity ensures that in 2026, several hundred more people like Philip, Blake, and Jan will encounter God’s healing grace and courage to live differently.
Over the Thanksgiving meal, will you make a commitment to help us step boldly into the new year.
Together, we will fuel Christ-like change for generations to come.
Fueling Transformation in 2026
October 2025
This year has been extraordinary. Because of your generosity, more than 2,000 men and women took courageous steps toward healing and wholeness at Crucible retreats. Behind each number is a face, a family, a future forever changed.
I want to share one story with you:
“After twelve years of no contact with my adult son, I put my newfound courage into practice and wrote a lengthy apology. We are not where we want to be yet, but we are now talking. I would not have any relationship with my son if it weren’t for Crucible.” – Philip
Stories like Philip’s are only possible because of Redwoods’ prayers, presence, and financial partnership. Together, we are fueling Christ-like change through experiences of radical honesty and grace.
As we step into 2026, the call is clear: expand our reach for life transformation. Every $193 funds the gap between the registration fee and actual retreat costs for someone ready to encounter God’s healing work. Even $100 helps cover essential retreat supplies, retreats in new communities, and outreach to new referrers. Together, we make this possible.
Your generosity — no matter the size — joins with hundreds of others to make transformation possible.
Would you prayerfully consider a year-end gift so that more lives, families, and communities will be changed in the year ahead? Together, we are creating a world where people live with integrity, grace, and courage, fulfilling their God-given purpose.
Give today at thecrucibleproject.org/donate and make transformation possible for someone waiting to take that first courageous step. If you want to have a conversation about your generosity, reach out.