The 2023 Summit was a dud (despite it being hailed as a celebratory tenth anniversary milestone event). The venue was completely (laughably) out of scale for us +/-250 perverts. Plus, it was incredibly posh (by Samson Summit standards). You could sense that generations of rich white Texas families had poured millions of dollars into this (rich, white kid summer camp) facility there in east Texas. Why anyone felt it a worthwhile fit for a Samson Society weekend retreat, I have no clue.
The pristine buildings (meeting space, cafeteria, bunkhouses) were spread far, far apart, and like much of Texas, the landscaping (trees) was not prolific. Hence, there was an abundance of "wide open space(s)" between buildings which only exacerbated the sense of over / out-of-scale. To summarize, the retreat, to me, was filled with entirely too much necessitated traversing back & forth, back & forth from building to building to building due to the college-campus scaled venue.
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I did not ride with a crazy speed demon Samson guy as I'd done during '22. This time, it was my sweet wife and youngest daughter that accompanied me (after dropping me off in Van, they continued on to Dallas / Fort Worth for the weekend).
After retrieving me early Sunday, (11/5/23) we headed to Marshall, TX for church and then on to lunch with Presbyterian pastor friends.
Frankly, that was the highlight of the trip. Everything else felt like a raw deal. And again, much of it had to do with the extremely loose-fitting, high-falootin' venue (which continues to leave me scratching my head).
I'm afraid many guys won't be returning to the '24 Summit event due to having a similar experience as I did in '23. It simply left a bad taste in my mouth for the monies / time spent.
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This year we're headed to North Carolina. Fayetteville to be exact. And by my count, this will be Rob's 8th Samson Summit.
Hence, due to the distance, I'll be flying. And, there's an extra day baked into the Summit this year. One that's specific to facilitator training. This will allow for more THERE time which I'm very much anticipating.
Another plus: I'm semi-private rooming it this year. Every other Summit, I've stayed in the bunkhouse. That, I'm anticipating as well.
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I've said this before about these trips, and I'll close with this.
There're so many ghosts present during these retreats. So many. It is uncanny.
Samson Society is one of those ministries that simply doesn't nurture long-term commitment. And frankly, I like that. It gives guys a clearcut opportunity to receive and give of their own accord, at their own pace, with no strings attached. And that leaderless / non-goal-setting formula hasn't changed from day one. And this is what makes Samson Society so very important to me.
It's as if I'm literally wired for this specific ministry as a non-team player / loner. Thanks be to God for Samson Society.
