Many of you know that the very first Tres Dias weekend occurred in upstate New York in November, 1972.  Following the first several years of weekends, it didn’t take long for Tres Dias to be categorized by some as a CULT!

We would expect people who are opposed to Christianity to come out against a new movement that was generating a lot of interest and excitement.  And there are those within the Christian community who, frankly, are opposed to any move of God that doesn’t quite fit their narrative; often without fully understanding what it is that they are opposing.

But in all honesty, WE fed the “Cult” narrative because of SECRETS!

Pescadores who had attended weekends were so excited by some of the surprises that they were worried about “spoiling” the experience for others, so it became common for folks to become secretive about what happens on a weekend.  I’ll use my wife and I as an example:  In the late 1980’s, we were approached by a Christian couple we knew quite well who wanted to sponsor us for a weekend.  Here’s a rough paraphrase of the conversation:

• THEM: “We’d like you and your wife to pray and consider attending a Tres Dias weekend.”
• ME: “That’s interesting.  What is Tres Dias?”
• THEM: “It’s a 3-day Christian retreat which runs from Thursday evening thru Sunday evening.”
• ME: “Wow – so what do you in those three days?”
• THEM: “Well, we can’t tell you a lot because there are some secrets that occur during the weekend and we wouldn’t want to spoil the surprises.  We can tell you that you’ll eat a LOT – there’s always lots of food and snacks.” And lots of music.”
• ME: “Hmmmm…. So you can’t give us a hint of what’s involved?”
• THEM: “Nope – but we know you’ll love it – everyone does! And we think we know you well enough to know you would do well on a weekend.  And you won’t even need to drive yourself, we’ll pick  you up and bring you home when it’s done.”
• ME: “Hmmm…. You mean I’ll be stranded without a car if I have to leave.”
• THEM: “That wouldn’t be a problem. If you needed to leave, they would call us and we would come to pick you up.”
• ME: “Hmmmm…..  Yeah, but no thanks!  That sounds a little too secretive and ‘cultish’ to be comfortable.”
• THEM: “Well, we’re sorry you feel that way, but you would have a great time and you would learn a lot about God.”
• ME: “I’m sure the Holy Spirit will make up for whatever I might miss out on, but thank you for the invitation!”

Over some time, we began to meet more people who had been through a weekend and realized that these were all pretty good Christians with solid doctrine.  We came to the conclusion that if it was a cult, it probably wasn’t a bad one!! 😊

We ultimately said yes and my wife and I attended our weekends in 1989 & 1990 – and we’ve been deeply involved with the ministry ever since!

Over the years, there were many campaigns within Tres Dias to STOP using the word “SECRET!”  Pescadores were told that it was a turn-off to potential candidates, and it opened us up to attacks from folks who either didn’t understand, or didn’t want to understand.  We also reminded them that team members were always just as impacted by the surprises as candidates were – sometimes even more.

And just when we think we’ve stopped it, we’ll inevitably hear a candidate get up at the Closing to say “I didn’t know to expect because my sponsor just said: “It’s a secret but you’ll love it!!” ☹

Unfortunately the “cult” label still follows us after 50 years of ministry – and you don’t have to Google very far to see that we are a “Damnable Church-Busting Cult from Hell!”

• Sadly, that accusation couldn’t be further from the truth!  The reality is that one of our primary goals, as outlined in the Essentials, is to empower folks to go back to their home churches to assist their pastors as servant-leaders! And in most cases, we have solid relationships with the churches and pastors in our areas.

To that end, we’ve posted a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document on the Tres Dias website that clearly addresses EVERY aspect of the weekend, including the surprises.  In addition, the Essentials of Tres Dias outlines every requirement for a weekend, including the talks, scheduling of communion, Table Chapels (We Prayers), information about pre-Weekend, Weekend, 4^th Day, etc.

In other words, THERE ARE NO SECRETS IN TRES DIAS!  Just some fun surprises that we should be open and willing to discuss.

• Click here for the FAQ’s and and the Essentials

For obvious reasons, the only thing on a weekend that is truly confidential is any personal information that is shared about an individual’s walk with Christ, their struggles, faith issues, etc – and that makes sense.  But everything else can be freely shared.

I hope this helps to clarify an issue that just never seems to go away!

What do you think?  How about your experiences?  Feel free to engage in a conversation on our Private Facebook Page (Tres Dias International – For Pescadores).

Until the next time – De Colores!

Jeff Mehl
President
Tres Dias International