What is a Becoming a King Retreat?
The Becoming a King retreat is a shared experience of the like-hearted choosing to become the kind of men to whom God is glad to entrust the care of His Kingdom.
What can I receive through a Becoming a King Retreat?
Every boy knows he was made to be powerful. As an acorn carries the blueprint of the oak tree, so the heart of every boy holds the possibility of becoming a wholehearted king whose strength brings goodness to all under his care. Yet the headlines often confirm what we know too well from our own stories: the anguished consequences of masculine power gone awry.
Curated and distilled over two decades, the message of Becoming a King offers a path to restore the hearts of men in the image of our strong, present, wise, and loving God.
What would it be like to become the kind of man who has nothing to fear, nothing to hide, and nothing to prove? Join Morgan Snyder and men from across the globe as they venture together to recover strength, and restore your heart as a man.
During this experience, you will have the opportunity to pull back 50 yards from the pressures of the front lines, explore and share your story, carefully identify and tend to your wounds, recover what makes you come alive, rekindle curiosity, joy, and hope, and strengthen your soul for the seasons ahead within a multi-generational masculine environment that connects older, wiser guides with men who thirst for pervasive transformation.
The Father Heart of God is pursuing you, inviting you to become the man you were created to be.
Receive the good news: you are not alone, and it’s not up to you. All you have to do is say yes and dive in.
Join us as we engage the path and process of masculine initiation and restoration together.
As thousands of the brave like-hearted men who have gone before us can attest, engaging the Becoming a King Retreat will be one of the most rewarding risks you have ever taken.
It is recommended, but not required, that participants considering a Becoming A King men’s retreat have previously attended a Wild At Heart men’s retreat. If you have not had the ability to do so, please read the book “Wild at Heart” by John Eldredge.
If you have not read “Becoming a King” by Morgan Snyder, please read it and get up to a 30% discount for the book and study guide. To dig deeper, visit Morgan’s site becomegoodsoil.com to immerse yourself in content that is formative for this event.
Additional Information for this Becoming a King Retreat
Hosts:
This retreat is being hosted by Laurence Coppedge and Jeremiah Kuhn. Feel free to contact either of us with any additional questions.
Date & Time:
Arrival – Thursday, November 7, 2024 (Check-in between 4:00 PM – 4:30 PM)
Departure – Sunday, November 10, 2024 (Around 12:00 PM)
Location:
Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill is a landmark destination that shares 3,000 acres of discovery in the spirit of the Kentucky Shakers.
3501 Lexington Road, Harrodsburg KY 40330
Cost:
$450 per person – Includes meals, accommodations, sessions, and activities.
$150 is due at registration and the remaining $300 is due by September 30, 2024. You are welcome to pay the full $450 at the time of registration. We are able to refund any/all payments before September 30, 2024 if your plans change and you cannot attend the event.
We have some partial scholarships available for the event so please talk to Laurence or Jeremiah if you need help with the cost.
Space is limited to the first 30 men who register.
Sleeping Accommodations:
Most Shaker Village rooms are shared rooms or suites with 1-2 beds per room. Each room and/or suite have a private shared bath.
If you prefer to not share a room, we have single room accommodations available for an additional $150 for the total event.
What To Bring:
Bring yourself, an open heart, a notebook, pen, non-digital bible, and clothes you are comfortable in. Read below about this retreat being a technology-free zone. Remember, the most important thing you can bring is your heart, present to God and to your own life. Ask the Father what your heart needs in preparation, and prioritize time to receive nourishment, care, and provision from God in the days leading up to this event. Read below about this retreat being a technology-free zone.
There will be some afternoon free time each day and the opportunity to be outside. The event includes access to Shaker Village’s daily tours, exhibits, the farm, and hiking trails. You also have access to the gift shops if you want to purchase any gifts for family and friends.
We plan to have campfires each evening. Cigars, pipes, and alcohol are permitted on the grounds of Shaker Village. We will not formally provide alcohol, but you are welcome to bring your own. We ask that you please be considerate of other men and use moderation in your personal liberty.
Practices to help us slow down and hear God:
1. Technology-Free Zone
The retreat will be an internet device free zone (phones, tablets, smartwatches, etc.). Please store those items in your room/vehicle to minimize distraction. This is to allow all of us, as a community, to experience a technology-free and distraction-free encounter with God. So pack a journal/notebook and a pen! We will provide and an emergency number so your loved ones can reach you, if necessary.
2. Chimney Sweep
Dallas Willard once said, “The most important thing about a man is not what he does. It is who he becomes.” As men, we have so few opportunities to talk about who we are apart from what we do. At the Becoming a King Retreat, we are committed to flipping this script and centering the entire experience around who we are. To that end, we agree to withhold what we “do” for a living. Instead, for the duration of the retreat, we stack hands on one answer to the question of “What do you do?” Our shared answer is simply, “I’m a chimney sweep.” Anytime we need to talk about our work as a context for our masculine initiation, be sure to refer to it as a chimney sweep (Ex.: “So there I am, at my chimney sweep job, when my boss comes to me and tells me I am failing miserably….”).
A Note About Language:
Some of the film clips and stories during the BAKR contain strong or explicit language. Including this language is not gratuitous but motivated by our commitment to honesty, authenticity, and vulnerability. The mission of Becoming a King is to connect the heart of every man with the heart of God, and our hope is that occasionally including strong language helps to this end. We ask for your grace in this category, and if a man finds this choice offensive, this retreat is probably not for him at this time.
Images by Conrhod Zonio Photography, Lexington, Kentucky
Images by Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, Harrodsburg, Kentucky