Embark: With Christ on a Hero's Journey

Embark

With Christ on a Hero’s Journey

“You are living in a very great story.”

J.R.R. Tolkien

Imagine yourself as the hero in your own story. You may not feel heroic, but you are, as the literary world defines hero—a story’s main character. And you are living in a very great story, divinely authored.

But your story doesn’t always feel so great, does it? On your way to Paradise, a fire-breathing dragon unleashes his unholy goons to your left. To your right, friends and allies flee. The sky is falling, the wind whips up, and waves swamp your little boat.

Do you need a bigger boat?

When Christ calls us, we embark on a faith journey with high hopes but soon discover we have enemies—external and internal. Some are in our church (Matthew 13:25), and we flounder in church politics and divisions. Other enemies rise within—doubts, discouragement, and temptations ensnaring us despite our best intentions. A dragon wages war on the saints (Revelation 13:7).

Many who followed Jesus abandoned him. Too radical. Pick up a cross and carry it? No thanks. Fire-breathing dragon? Hard pass.

Can you relate?

How do Christ-followers stay on the path God sets before them while navigating doubts, divisions, temptations, and a dragon? Story over?

God knows how to build big boats—just ask Noah. His story is bigger than you can imagine, and within it, so is His plot for your story. How can we collaborate with this author to craft an epic story?

My new book, Embark, With Christ on a Hero’s Journey, suggests a creative alternative to avoid spiritual shipwrecks and fire-breathing dragons. To pick up our crosses and find the abundant life Jesus promised.

Spiritual life isn’t random—it has structure and pattern to it—the hero’s journey.

What is the hero’s journey?

• A literary device writers use to craft epic stories.

• A storytelling structure that revolutionized my writing, faith, and ministry.

From that revolution, I charted a map connecting those mysterious dots of spiritual life that confuse us. I shared my map with others, and it became a discipleship model for Jesus followers.

The hero’s journey reveals a structure for support and growth, like a trellis for a vine. It narrows our focus to key passages of our journeys and brings order to 21st C. chaos. Engaging intellect and imagination, it sets the stage for transformative results.

I’d love for you to partner with me to produce this book!

Your support will help release a book into the church, raising a deeper awareness of the pattern and story structure of spiritual pilgrimages. Believers will be better equipped to persist in their hero’s journeys, proactively rather than reactively.

If you’re longing for a breakthrough in your hero’s journey with Christ, Embark can give you the next step.

Imagine other heroes, hiding in caves like Elijah. What if you led them out of darkness into light? Embark will equip you with tools.

Imagine activating, training, and mobilizing leaders. Embark ignites leaders looking for heroes.

Are you on board?

Here are four ways for you to get involved:

• Give: To engage professional services to effectively publish and market Embark, I set my goal at $5000.

o Phase 1: Development (manuscript prep, content coaching, editing, proofreading, cover design, text formatting, eBook): $3K

o Phase 2: Book Launch and Marketing: $2K

• Pray: would you like to join my prayer team? If you’re not already on my mailing list or FB group, let me know—I’ll send you an invite!

• Go to that share button and consider who you could share this message with.

• Suggest supporting Embark as a small group project at your church, writer’s group, or book club.

With your help, we can embark on a hero’s journey to flourish in our spiritual lives and rescue others from dragons, drownings, or spiritual shipwrecks. We can emerge from our caves and walk on water.

Thank you for prayerfully considering supporting this project and the impact you can make—local to global—and on your story.

As C.S. Lewis said, “There are no ordinary people.” Let’s go slay some dragons!

Pat Butler

Website: Mythic Monastery

FB: The Mythic Monastery

IG: @mythic_monastery