The New Frontier - The Ranger Station

Welcome to the Heroic Journey. Our hope this year is that you guys get to know each other better, as father and son, and that you get to know God more. By knowing his heart and experiencing his presence, we hope you'll be able to step into true manhood rooted in who God says you are.

Everything we do this year is, in some way or another, part of our family. Much of what we offer is based on values and rhythms we've had for many years. When you step into the Heroic Journey, you're stepping into our home. You are our guest, and we want to serve you well while you go through what we believe can be a life-changing experience with God at the helm.

We formed the Heroic Journey program, but we didn't create the Journey itself. We just discovered its Path, as you will. By humility and courage, we've done our best to walk with God on that Path, and we want to show you how. We are honored to walk with you and humbled that you've chosen to join us this year.

1. What is the Heroic Journey Process?

Here, at the Ranger Station, you will prepare for the Journey ahead. From January through August, you will go through seven waypoints, starting with The Trailhead. The first six waypoints occur before your Montana trip and the seventh when you return home.

Above is a snippet of your Heroic Journey map. You can find all seven waypoints here on our TNF App. Currently, you are at the Ranger Station prepping for your journey, but soon, you will move to The Trailhead, which will lay the foundation for our Journey. Each waypoint is broken down into three steps. Click through the menu below for an explanation of each step:

When you click on "Step One," you will find four sections: "A Father's WisDUMB," "Video Teaching," "Exploring Further," and "Calibration."

In a world full of confusion, it's hard to find what we need to lead our families well. This can often leave a gap in our dad skills. Throughout the year, we want to help you fill that gap with truth, stories, and time-tested fathering skills. We don't want to father your sons for you; we want to EQUIP YOU to father them. We believe in you and who God has created you to be.

This is why, at the beginning of every month, we offer you some wisdom that we've learned from years of either fathering our sons or being fathered by God. We spell it w-i-s-D-U-M-B because often, the wisdom we've gained is from making the wrong decision and seeing God's better Path forward. Some wisDUMB will be short bites to get you thinking. Others will have practical steps you can take with your boy. Whatever it is, we believe they will help you engage and experience all God has for you and your son this year. We are always here if you need anything or want to discuss anything further.

In this section, you will find a video that covers our Truth of the Month. We recommend you watch the video together, and once you do, go through the few following discussion questions.

This section isn't mandatory, but we HIGHLY recommend you go through it together. In this section, we take the main points from our teaching video and expand on them, using illustrations, personal stories, and discussion questions. If you do decide to do this section (which again, we truly hope you do), we recommend you read it out loud together.

Calibration is a reflection time to help you understand your hearts position, so you can align with God's heart and truth. These questions will always be about identity and manhood. They will help you see the ways you view both, so you can align with God's view of them. After calibration, you can step into life from a different vantage point. Dad, we recommend you take notes during your discussion time as each calibration will build on the other.

When you click on "Step Two," you will find two sections: "Movie and Discussion" and "Exploring Further."

Here, you and your son will watch a movie that ties into our truth for the month. We believe that stories are able to convey truth in ways a simple didactic teaching can't. They often speak to our hearts and help us see truth in new ways. Once you watch the movie, we recommend you do the following discussion questions. They help you see the connections between our truth and the movie.

Again, this section is not mandatory, but we created it to help you go deeper together and to deepen your discussion time. This section walks you through the ways WE THINK each truth of the month ties into the movie. It may open some new horizons and lead to further discussion together, which is also GREAT connection time. You don't want to miss it!

When you click on "Step Three," you will find two sections: "Mini-Adventure" and "Discussion."

The mini-adventure is a small activity that ties into our teaching for the month. These adventures will take a bit of planning, so dad, we suggest you look at the instructions at the beginning of the month, so you can plan ahead.

These are discussion questions that are a part of the mini-adventure. We recommend you read through both sections at the beginning of the month, so you understand what to do.

One last thing we want to let you know about. We will be holding a monthly meeting on the third sunday of the month. You can attend in-person and over Zoom*. These meetings are a time and space to check-in, talk about wins and struggles, fellowship over pizza and wings, and talk a bit about our truth of the month. Community doesn't need to start in Montana. It can start now! So, we encourage you to do everything you can to be at these meetings. We promise they are worth it.

*We often record the meetings, but we can't always guarantee a recording as we sometimes have tech malfunctions.

Now that you know WHAT we are doing together this year, let's talk about HOW you can step into it well.

2. Setting Your Pace

Now that you know WHAT we are doing together this year, let's talk about HOW you can step into it well. What I just laid out may feel overwhelming to you. "How am I supposed to do life AND walk through this content while engaging in a relationship with my dad/son and God?" It's okay to feel a bit overwhelmed, which is why we encourage everyone who joins us for a journey with three things. Click through the menu below for each encouragement:

My (Chris Hartenstein's) family have learned this lesson over the years as we've hiked in places like Zion, Glacier, and the Tetons, among others. On the trail, if you keep your head up and look miles ahead, your focus tends to rest on the distance between your position and the destination. After you hyper-fixate, a sense of foreboding can set in, "How am I ever going to cover this distance? It's too far!" If you've done any hiking, you know that doesn't get you anywhere.

Now, if you focus on the next step in front of you-left, right, left, right-at some point, you'll look back and say, "Wow, look how far we've come!" You'll also avoid tripping on every stone, branch, and dip along the trail. This Heroic Journey is no different. Focus on the next step. As Tolkien wrote, "Little by little, one travels far!"

Running requires a consistent rhythm. You move your feet - left, right, left, right. This rhythm of movement is HOW someone runs. It's HOW they move from point A to point B. Every runner engages this rhythm, but not all run at the same PACE. Some people jog during races, others sprint. Someone's pace is defined by various factors like how much training they have done, what kind of food they ate that morning, whether or not they are healthy or sick, or what kind of race they are in. Still, every competitor in a race has one thing in common: they want to run and finish well.

We want you to run and finish well this year, but to do that, you need a steady pace that will work for your current stage of life. If you SPRINT out of the gate, you will burn out. If you take a rest every five minutes, you'll never reach the destination, which is so good. So, you need to set a good pace.

Life happens. Unexpected circumstances arise; when they do, we often have to adjust our PACE to deal with them. This will undoubtedly happen this year. That job assignment will be heftier than you thought. That relationship will require more work than you anticipated. Your sports will take a lot longer than you anticipated. Maybe your heater breaks, your car stops working, or you break your hand. These things happen. We can't know when they will occur, but we can adjust well.

We understand that throughout this Journey, life will happen, but we want you to be able to adjust. We'd rather you engage this Journey in SOME capacity than not at all. And we'd rather you finish "late" than not start. So, we want you to know you can adjust when you need to. But we also challenge you- don't skip over this Journey or forfeit along the way. Be willing to adjust, commit, and continue.

3. The Rhythms We Recommend

We want you to think about your rhythm from now until the Journey's end. Remember, the rhythm of a runner - left, right, left, right. You need to establish a similar rhythm on this Journey. This means you need to consider what EACH STEP looks like and what it will take.

Each Waypoint Step takes about 3 hours to do (including the optional bits), which means each waypoint takes between 9-10 hours to do. We recommend you complete a Waypoint Step every ten days, so that equates to 3-4 hours together every ten days.

We recommend you set aside one to two hours together once a week (you may need to do more for the movie). If you do that, you should stay on course to complete a Waypoint about every month.

Dads, at the beginning of the month, you will receive a text from us that walks you through the entirety of the month. As soon as you get that text, we recommend you plan in advance. Sit down with your wife and dedicate available time to do this with your son.

When setting your pace look at the month ahead, consider two things: capacity and schedule. Ask yourself:

How much time will it take us to do this well?
What is our capacity together?
What do you and your son's schedules look like?
How might this Journey impact your schedules?
What do you need to remove from life to do this Journey (well) together?
What day of the week will work best for your conversations together?

Based on the answers to those questions, can you set 2 hours aside per week? If not, brainstorm a different path that is realistic. We are happy to help you brainstorm that path!

4. Last Few Things

Adventure Kits - Each month, you receive a kit with materials needed for the waypoint. Each waypoint's materials look a little different based on what you are doing. Please don't throw away any materials. Don't worry, you get to keep them, but you will need them throughout the year. Let us know if a kit doesn't arrive before the first of each month. Common materials include: Truth Cards, Stickers, and other purposeful materials.

We cover a variety of truths along our journey. Truth Cards concisely convey each waypoint's truth offered to you. Keep them in your journal. You will need them in Montana.

Stickers also accompany each packet. Visually, they reflect what we cover through each waypoint. Stick them to your TNF water bottles (which will arrive in February). These badges are reminders of your journey, and if you want to make it more fun, don't add them to your bottles until you finish the waypoint- kind of like a Boy Scout patch.

Other purposeful materials vary from waypoint to waypoint, such as journals, water bottles, compasses, etc. We will explain what each tool is for as you progress through the waypoints!

Communications - We use SMS texting to keep you up to date on meetings, trip info, and just to check in on occasion. If you haven't received any texts from us, please let us know, so we can make sure everyone is getting them. Save the number as The New Frontier on your phone, so you know it's us when we text. We may use email on occasion throughout the year, but texting is our main mode of comms. You can also use this chat to text us at any time. If you want to talk, need prayer, have a question, etc., just reach out and one of us will respond promptly! If you have a specific question for someone, just say so in your text. We can all respond at any time. If you haven't yet, subscribe to the SMS texting by sending the keyword tnfadventure to (406)988-8793.

Action Items for Dad - Dads, there are a few things I need you to do before January 1st.

Get into the Trailhead's "A Father's WisDUMB." You'll see a part titled, "A Letter for Your Son." Read through that part and follow the prompts.
Set your Pace for January. Sit down with your wife and schedule out your first month of this Journey.
Pray over the Journey ahead. This is an amazing opportunity for you to connect and lead your son into Manhood. The Enemy will do everything to throw a wrench in your plans. Even before the journey starts, pray protection around your time together. Pray over your son's heart. Pray for unity within your family. Pray for insight into your son's heart. Pray for sight to see how to father your son well. All of this will lay a solid foundation for the time together.

Well done Men!

You are now ready for the Journey. Feel free to reach out to us with any questions, concerns, stories, or prayer requests via the text thread. We want to be mentors for you as you walk the Path. We are always here to help. We'll see you again soon.