What’s The History Of The Weekend?
Shortly after his own sexual addiction and double life was exposed in 1994, Michael Cusick had a dream. It was a dream to help Christian men redefine the conversation around lust, pornography, and other compulsive sexual behavior. The idea was that if men could experience a new conversation around lust, then they could experience a new transformation from lust.
In 2012 with the release of his first book, Surfing For God, the dream became a reality. The first Surfing For God Weekend was held in the fall of 2012 and has grown each year since. In 2018 Restoring the Soul--the parent ministry of the weekend--will offer three separate weekends in Colorado.
Each weekend intensive is staffed by wounded healers who have been trained by Michael, many of whom fly in from around the country. Each team combines licensed counselors with seasoned lay leaders, and select alumni from previous weekends.
So what is the new conversation? First, it's understanding that purity and sexual integrity are not about suppressing lust or ratcheting down unruly desires. It's understanding that beneath every addiction, compulsion, or habitual sexual sin there is a holy hunger, a legitimate God-given desire. Second, it's understanding that we are broken and understanding how we are broken. And that out of our brokenness and self-sufficiency we mishandle our longings and pain and weakness. Third, understanding that there is far more available in the Christian life than we dare to believe. We are invited to leave behind lives of managing our sin and step into newness and restoration.
Who Will Be Leading The Weekend?
Michael is a licensed professional counselor, spiritual director, speaker and author of two books - Surfing for God: Discovering the Divine Desire Beneath Sexual Struggle and Somebody’s Daughter: An Experiential Guide.
Having experienced the restoring touch of God in a deeply broken life and marriage, Michael’s passion is to connect life’s broken realities with the reality of the gospel.
In addition to leading Restoring the Soul and equipping Christian organizations around the world, Michael currently serves as an adjunct professor at Denver Seminary. He holds an MA in Biblical Counseling from Colorado Christian University and an MA from the College of Education at the University of Denver.
Michael lives with his wife Julianne and two children, in Littleton, Colorado where he enjoys the Rocky Mountains, Mountain Biking, Trail Running, and a host of other activities with friends and family.