Ryan George
10 min read ⭑
“When I need to purge my system of pressure, I do it one of two ways: an intentional adrenaline rush or a slow experience outdoors. Both lead me to wonder, which eventuates in worship and reframes my perspective on life. ”
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
There’s much more to food than palate and preference. How does a go-to meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind the web bio?
As an Enneagram 7, when I get into something good, I tend to test the law of diminishing returns. My wife, Crystal, explains to our friends, “Yeah, Ryan goes through food phases.” So my restaurant of choice changes, but I’ll eat at least one meal a day (almost always takeout) there until I move on to the next one, and I generally just hit the “recent order” button on the restaurant’s app, because I rarely explore menus once I find a favorite. (Friends of mine are intrigued by that since I like such a diversity of adventures.)
Daylight savings time brings sunset meals on the mountain by my house two to three nights a week. I’ll take a camp chair, the bag or box of takeout, and headphones up to a patch of grass where there’s a gap in the trees overlooking the front range of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
I’ll listen to an audiobook as I watch the sky change colors. Sometimes, I’ll switch over to worship music. Other times, I’ll pull out my laptop to process a thought I want to untangle or capture an experience I don’t want to forget. If the bugs get bad or the night grows cooler than expected, I retreat to my MINI Cooper to finish the writing there.
I’m an extrovert, but I cherish alone time on the mountain. I hear from Jesus often there.
QUESTION #2: REVEAL
We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests. So what are yours? What so-called "nonspiritual" activities do you love and help you find spiritual renewal?
When I need to purge my system of pressure, I do it one of two ways: an intentional adrenaline rush or a slow experience outdoors. Both lead me to wonder, which eventuates in worship and reframes my perspective on life.
On the raised-pulse side of the ledger, I’ve enjoyed Arctic surfing, Antarctic ice-climbing, bungee jumping, driving racecars, waterfall repelling, whitewater river boarding and skydiving. I look for a place to paraglide in every international vacation spot and have loved seeing other countries from that perspective. I revel in the exposure of via ferrata and the speed of a snowmobile.
What most people associate with me, though, is wing walking — where I go out on the wings of a WWII-era biplane and hang on while it does hammer stalls, barrel rolls and loops. So exhilarating!
Being on the outside of a plane while it's upside down is unlike anything I’ve experienced across seven continents of travel.
My primary spiritual pathway is nature. I feel God outdoors in a personal, tangible way. (That’s probably why I was drawn to an outdoor serving team at my church.)
I escape to the woods multiple days a week — alone or with a good friend. I listen to audiobooks, podcasts, Scripture and worship music during morning hikes, afternoon rounds of disc golf or full-moon walks.
I love putting my feet in a creek and watching the swirls and eddies. I’m a sucker for sunrises and sunsets, taking in one or both just about every day.
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Every superhero has a weakness. Every human, too. We're just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite and how do you hide it?
I was shamed by my parents, bullied through middle school, homeschooled through high school and then not part of one of the cool castes at college. In an effort to get people interested in me, I chased being interesting. When my career offered me disposable income and a flexible schedule, I started traveling the world to prove my worth. Unfortunately for my character, this coincided with the explosion of social media and a way to display my game pieces in the game of life. Thankfully, Jesus met me in each of those endeavors to reveal part of his character to me.
I’m grateful for a patient wife and an incredible therapist, both of whom have helped me learn how to explore for my own pleasure. They and my pastors have challenged me to share on social media only when I can do it out of exuberance (and even worship) instead of insecurity. I’ve learned to use a sovereign filter to evaluate my experiences — to look for what God was revealing about himself, specifically to me.
Public authenticity in my various prayer circles, my social media and my blog has been an antidote to that unhealthy compensation. I’ve learned the hard way that trying to feel better about myself through accomplishments can make others feel less than enough. So I’m also learning to amplify the stories of my friends and celebrate them. In a supportive community, I don’t have to strive. I can just enjoy the moments I’m blessed to absorb.
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your obsession? And why should it be ours?
As a virtual assistant, my day job allows for a very flexible life. So as I dream of adventure and work toward impact, I’ve had the freedom to explore possibilities — and even to fail.
I’ve often heard a phrase a lot that should be a compliment: “I live vicariously through you on Facebook.” My response — after a polite thank you — is to challenge my friends to follow Jesus outside their respective comfort zones. My prayer for them is that heaven’s reward of that surrender and obedience would make those acts of faith habit-forming. Just as the reward chemicals from adrenaline rushes get addictive, I hope the closeness to the heart of Jesus we feel after doing a bold or hard thing for the kingdom becomes what we all crave.
That’s why I wrote “Scared to Life” — a book about how Jesus showed up for me in my adventures and how we can experience him in everyday explorations. We get inflection moments almost daily, and it seems like we get more invitations to the precipices of spiritual adventure the more we say yes at past and current ones. Most of these opportunities for faith don’t look like ice climbing or hang gliding, and I wanted readers to look for those adventures in their daily experiences.
I also just released the first season of my podcast, “Everyday Adventures.” The long-form interviews with some of my adventurous friends and social connections illustrate that adventure comes in various forms, including adoption, church planting and standup comedy.
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Cashiers, CEOs, contractors or customer service reps, we all need grace flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it's God when it happens?
I took several of my buddies on a crazy-cool international adventure. (One friend said it was the most epic morning of his life, and he’d seen all of his kids born. Ha!) We took helicopters up onto glaciers 6,500-plus feet above sea level in the Canadian Rockies and standup paddleboarded on water that had recently melted. As with other adventures, this conquering led to vulnerable conversations.
After we got home, my buddy’s wife stopped me out back of our church. She told me her marriage counselor asked her husband if he’d lost weight or changed jobs because of his changed demeanor in his first session back from traveling with me. With tears in her eyes, she said, “What changed is that he went on an adventure with you!”
That wrecked me — that the redemption of my adventures had helped more people than just me. I’ve been intentional about who I invite and when for different kinds of adventures. I’d joked for years to wives that I’d return their husbands better than I found them. But now I had evidence that was true.
Based on the feedback I get in texts, comments and direct messages, I know this paddleboarder represents a lot of lives I touch online and offline. Men, women and even little kids. And I long to keep inviting people into a life of spiritual adventure — often using physical adventure as the onramp. If I can help people add more purpose and meaning to their current experiences, they can know what I’ve known.
QUESTION #6: inspire
Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied actions that open our hearts to the presence of God. So spill it, which spiritual practice is workin' best for you right now?
I don’t have a daily habit but rather a collection of weekly experiences that complement each other.
This sounds weird, but I experience God deeply when I try to write about him or my encounters with him. As strange as it sounds, blogging or even working on my next book can be a Sabbath experience for me.
I pray better outdoors and do it often. It’s one of the places where I cry while praying. Typically, I pray while hiking on the mountain closest to my house. I usually start before dawn and finish after sunrise, mixing in worship music and other audio content.
I get filled up while serving in my church’s parking lots, especially in our pre-serving huddle where we pray over each other up on a landscaped hill on my church’s property.
I’ve cried there and watched blue-collar dudes cry as they interceded for each other. We leave “prayer mountain” closer to each other and to Jesus. One of my friends even gave his life to Jesus behind our traffic cones during one of those huddles.
Every week, I attend a prayer and Bible study time — again, usually outdoors and often around a fire. There’s no teaching, no hierarchy — just a bunch of dudes processing life, Scripture and the intersection of the two. I leave there on such a high that I often struggle to sleep on those nights. We’ve seen miracles and mourned great losses. It fills my soul with contentment and gratitude.
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Our email subscribers get free ebooks featuring our favorite resources — lots of things that have truly impacted our faith lives. But you know about some really great stuff, too. What are three resources that have impacted you?
Oh, man. That's a tough question. Over the past six years, I’ve read an average of more than 40 nonfiction books a year.
The book that shifted my worldview and spiritual life the most is “Love Does” by Bob Goff. I’ve spent time alone with Bob since then, and he helped me with the introduction of “Scared to Life.” We’re wired the same, but he’s two decades ahead of me. He’s helped me reframe my adventures and rethink my perspectives.
Despite it being a secular book, “The Power of Moments” by Chip and Dan Heath helped codify my approach to ministry and discipleship. What people crave is to be seen and accepted, and this book gives you simple, practical ways to do that. As I’ve incorporated the principles of this book into spiritual environments, I’ve seen people respond with courageous obedience and vulnerable surrenders.
Lastly, I absorb almost all written or recorded content by Jesse Carey. I’ve been listening to one of his podcasts since the Bush administration. He illustrates how to be funny, connected to culture and deeply thoughtful about spiritual and existential concepts. He’s entertaining but also a pattern for me in how to be interesting and introspective at the same time.
We all have things we cling to to survive (or thrive) in tough times. Name one resource you’ve found indispensable in this current season — and tell us what it's done for you.
I crave my weekly therapy sessions. At first, they scared me. My fitness tracker showed my BPM rise from the low 60s to the mid-80s in the waiting room. Now, that hour each Thursday helps reset my heart for another week.
I can celebrate wins without it looking like insecure bragging. I can uncover the grossest parts of my motives. I get questions that rock my world and lead to more time in the woods. I feel seen and known and accepted there more than in any room in the world.
My counselor is a believer from a different church, and she has helped me see the heart of Jesus in a way that changes my heart.
Also, I take a lot of naps. I have a 64-square-foot pillow pit in my office with more than 100 pillows, cushions and bean bags in it.
QUESTION #8: dream
God is continually stirring new things in each of us. So give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
I’ve been living what I’m preaching and finding both wonder and pleasure in pursuing daily adventures. I’ve been posting snippets about them on social media during this book launch promotion season, but I look forward to unpacking them more in blog and social media posts after my life gets back to normal.
I’m also planning some wild travel adventures that I have no doubt will imprint me with spiritual discoveries I’ll want to share online. We’re in the process of getting my adopted daughter a passport and helping her explore internationally. I look forward to experiencing those adventures with her and then processing those expeditions as a family.
You don’t have to look hard to find the benefits of enjoying the great outdoors. Research shows that spending time outside not only provides better opportunity for exercise, but it also can boost your immune system, increase your intake of Vitamin D, fight anxiety, improve your sleep and sharpen your focus.
But there’s one more thing nature does for us — it can help us fellowship with God.
There’s something sacred about enjoying God’s vast, intricate creation, knowing that the only reason it exists and works together is because of him. Nature shows us God’s skill, yes, but also his heart, his character, his beauty and his power.
Maybe you fellowship with God best on a high mountain like Ryan George does. Or maybe you prefer to commune with him on a sandy beach or a sweet-smelling garden or simply your own backyard. No matter where you are, why not step outside and enjoy God’s creation today?
Ryan George has traveled to all seven continents and both polar circles chasing physical and spiritual adventures. Ryan is a certified wing walker, a bungee-jumping enthusiast and a via ferrata connoisseur. He has surfed in the Arctic, ice-climbed on three continents and paraglided in seven countries. He works as a virtual marketing assistant in the auction industry by day and in his church’s parking lots on the weekends. He co-leads Dude Group, a mostly-outdoor spiritual community. He and his wife, Crystal, live next to the front range of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains with their daughter, Deonnie.
