The rest of the passage....

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2 Timothy 2:1-7
1 You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. 3 Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. 5 Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. 7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

The first couple of verses here are what GBB was founded on. I ask each of you to not only disciple as verses one and two instruct but also follow verse 3 as well! Don't allow yourselves to get caught up in worldly cares but rather serve our Lord as your commanding officer, deserving of the rewards He holds for us at the Bema Seat!

Leadership

Through years of discipling younger men I now receive periodic tidbits back from them. Recently one of my guys sent me this quote about leadership. It's not directly theistic but as I read it I couldn't help but see the moral rightness of it. As we look toward leadership maybe we should look at it through the lense described below. As we hope to truly lead others we should pray that we could fit somewhere into this quote.


Leadership is an invisible strand as mysterious as it is powerful. It pulls and it bonds. It is a catalyst that creates unity out of disorder. Yet, it defies definition. No combination of talents can guarantee it. No process of training can create it where the spark does not exist. The qualities of leadership are universal. They are found in the poor and the rich, the humble and the proud, the common man, and the brilliant thinker; they are qualities that suggest paradox rather than pattern. But wherever they are found, leadership makes things happen. The most precious and intangible quality of leadership is trust: the confidence that the one who leads will act in the best interest of those who follow, the assurance that he will serve the group without sacrificing the rights of the individual. Leadership's imperative is a 'sense of rightness,' knowing when to advance and when to pause, when to criticize and when to praise, how to encourage others to excel. From the leader's reserves of energy and optimism, his followers draw strength. In his determination and self-confidence, they find inspiration. In the highest sense, leadership is integrity. This command by conscience asserts itself more by commitment and example than by directive. Integrity recognizes external obligation, but it heeds the quiet voice within, rather than the clamor without. -Author unknown

Ohio District Leadership Training

Hey Ohio Guys!!!!!

Don't forget that we're having leadership training THIS Saturday at Millersburg GBC starting with breakfast at 8:30. I'm putting the finishing touches on my part of things including an update from GBB National, the 2011 High Adventure Announcement as well as an update on the curriculum project.

I'd like to see as many of you there as possible so if you haven't told Dan you're coming please let him know ASAP! Dan Hazlett

Piled Up Posts

Wow its a busy time of year at GBB... Here's the highlights of the last month or so:

I went to Momentum Youth Conference again this year with Rittman GBC and instead of only one guy and one girl our church represented with three guys. What an awesome week full of awesome Spiritual highs, no sleep and lasting commitments!

I went from Momentum to the FGBC National Conference in Cincinnati. I met up with some great folks, had some very exciting meetings and heard some interesting speakers! Next time you see me you can ask all about that stuff but there's too much to dump about right now. I love how God is working in our Fellowship right now!

GBB weekly curriculum is just about ready to roll out - a couple finishing touches, a couple of reads & edits and everyone will have it in their hands to roll on this fall.

Rank curriculum is pushing forward and an updated leaders guide should be headed your way soon. We're working on getting the materials printed (instead of copied and assembled in my office!) so go ahead and get excited for that possibility! I know I am.

Wooster Grace will add a GBB unit this fall! Woohooo I'll add more on that soon along with contact info for their commander and leaders so you can welcome them to the ministry. Keep an eye on the Ohio District web site too!

Speaking of Ohio - the 3rd annual Ohio District GBB Family Picnic is this Saturday! At last count I heard we're expecting around 100ish for the day! What a fun time to meet the families of our GBB men and boys!

Many of you know about the Radical Difference discipleship focus day GBB and SMM sponsored in March at Wooster. Well, the FGBC churches in Alaska caught wind of that and inquired about the focus day. They've asked Viki Rife and I to come up to Alaska to talk to the churches about discipleship. What a great opportunity for God to use us to further his Kingdom through training and I'm not gonna lie - what a great opportunity for me to make a trip back to Alaska!!!

Many of you knew about the recent passing of Harold Brandenburg, a long-time member of the GBB Board of Directors. I had the opportunity to visit with Harold's family and friends when I attended the funeral in Indiana with a bunch of other GBB guys. Harold was a great friend who I could always count on to bring me into line when I got overly excited about something... He was always the level head in our duo and I'll miss having him on the gun range at Rendezvous camps. Though Harold will be missed his passing is bittersweet to me. He's not the first GBBer I've seen pass and he won't be the last. Harold's passing was a lot like Harry Speichers in that I knew those men well enough to know I'll see them again. There were tears but there were a lot more smiles and outbursts of laughter as family and friends recalled Harold's godly life. I love the cheerful contrast there is at a Christian funeral instead of the sad affair of some of the other funerals I've attended. Many of us imagined what it would be like to see the reunion going on for Harold in Heaven!

We serve a loving God!

Rendezvous 2010

Rendezvous 2010 has been filed away in the office but our prayers at GBB National is that its impact will continue on. We had 56 boys and 28 men for the week!

Units began to arrive on Saturday and camp set-up went quickly. Sunday morning we had church for the units in camp (Roger Mills spoke) and then we spent the rest of the day getting ready for the big week. The rest of the units arrived throughout the day.

Monday morning we were up early (6:30) in order to get to the flag raising ceremonies by 7:00 followed by uniform inspections. Carl Kaylor and I agreed that it was the best first day Rendezvous inspection we'd ever conducted. Everybody looked sharp and unit organization was impressive for the first day! Breakfast followed inspection and then we had morning devotions. Pastor Bob provided some great morning devotions materials and we studied "Heroes of the Faith" from Hebrews 11.

This year we tried something a little different than past years. Since the boys were divided into activity groups (each group had a different color wrist band as in the past) we decided that rather than have devotions with their own unit we'd have them break away from their own camp after breakfast and meet with their team for devotions. Each team was led by a leader and each team had Adventure Team guys (junior leaders) assigned to them. We did this to ensure a very intentional time of Bible study for the boys in the morning, rather than squeezing it in with breakfast duties. I was very pleased with how the format worked this year and I was excited to see some of the A-Team LEADING young boys in their morning devotions!!! 2 Timothy 2:2 in action!!!!

After morning devotions we met at the flag pole to send all the boys off to their respective classes for the morning. Classes for the week included; archery, backpacking/hiking, canoeing, campfire cooking, first aide, fishing, knot tying, orienteering, riflery and wood carving. The boys learned a little about each activity and during the first couple of days the A-Team guys assisted with leadership in the classes.

After lunch the boys attended another class in the afternoon followed by dinner and free time. Each night we put on our Rendezvous shirts (this year's shirt had a copy of the Rendezvous patch on the front and bear claw marks on the back - I must say we looked pretty cool!) for the flag lowering ceremony. Then we moved over to our evening council fire session.

Our evening speaker for the week was Mike Taylor from GBIM. Mike was great! He told the boys at the beginning of the week that he had three goals for the boys to accomplish. He wanted them to become followers of Jesus Christ, use their personal gifts for Christ's Kingdom and consider missions. Since Mike spent many years as a missionary in Africa each night he brought us "Heroes from Africa." He had stories of real men in Africa who made sacrifices for Jesus. He spoke about the Biblical principles that led those men to follow Christ's call for their lives and he talked about how God used those men for His glory.

Each day we followed the same schedule for the younger boys but the A-Team (older boys) were able to do some activites seperate from the younger guys. On Tuesday morning I met up with Jim from Chapman State Park. He equipped us with several types of bladed tools so we could clear trails around the park. The boys worked hard and we learned that some of God's creations are pretty pesky. Our work paid off and the trails were cleared by lunch time.

On Wednesday, after morning devotions, the A-Team was dropped off along a road in the Allegheny National Forest and we hiked south along a closed park road. The boys had topographical maps, a trail map and a compass. I was the only one with the knowledge and when we missed out turn I fought my tongue and kept quiet. About an hour's hike past our turn the guys finally agreed they'd missed something. They decided to go less than a mile cross-country to meet up with our planned trail instead of hiking an hour (about 3 miles) back up the road. Cross-country hiking, using a compass to stay on course, though not part of the original plan, taught the boys a lot about using the compass to move accross dense forest. Our God is sovereign over all things!

We joined up with the our planned trail and before long we ran into the Minister Creek Trail. It was reported to me to be one of the best trails in Western PA and after hiking the trail I'd have to agree with that analysis. We encountered wide, fast flowing creeks with lots of beautiful vegitation, steep hills with an awesome view of the valley and creek, huge outcroppings of rocks including huge tunnels an sheer cliff faces, and an amazing overlook that gave us a great view of the Minister Valley. It was a long day and we all needed showers by the end but it was a very rewarding day to spend with the older guys.

Wednesday night, just as it began to get dark, it rained, HARD. It rained off and on through the night but despite the wind blowing above, the heavy rain and the light/boom show there seemed to be very little rain. Though some guys got wet because of leaky tents many more stayed dry since their tent wasn't blown flat by the wind. God was so good!

Through the rain on Thursday morning the A-Team packed up and headed for the Allegheny River for an overnight canoe trip. Since we would miss the evening council fire we met up with Mike Taylor before we got on the river. Mike encouraged the older boys again to follow God's call in their lives and use what God gives them for His glory.

We hit the water at about 10:30 that morning and it wasn't long before we were caught in a downpour. We'd already determined we'd be able to canoe through rain as long as it wasn't accompanied by lightning. We never had lightning that morning - again, God took care of us on the water. We stopped for lunch along the river (the rain stopped before then) and during lunch we located and captured a crawfish. Since the boys are A (stands for Adventure)-Team they decided one of the guys should eat it. Before long the water was boiling and the crawfish was cooked. It reportedly tasted like lobster.

We found our island for the night and set up camp. We played in the river, caught more crawfish and had a late dinner around the campfire. The guys had fun cheesing for the camera with crawfish hanging out of their mouths but the fun erupted when two of the guys attempted to eat a muscle they found in the river. They boiled it and tried to eat it - I can safely say they'll never try that again!

That night, as things began to wind down, we were all around the fire and I planned to talk to the boys about some stuff in Ephesians. I opened my Bible to 2 Timothy and I spoke instead about the importance of discipleship. Some of the guys opened up and shared their experiences with direct accountability. It was a really great time to share with that special group of God's adventurers.

Friday morning we stayed pretty relaxed. As the younger boys were headed to their morning devotions back at camp we were getting out of bed and getting breakfast started. We were on the water around 9 than morning and we did the morning devotions while we sat in our canoes near our island. As we canoed south we realized that "our" island wasn't the island we thought it was. the island we were supposed to stay on was actually further down river and as we passed it I noticed how rough it was. I didn't notice even one area on the island that looked like a nice camping spot. Again, God's sovereinty was realized. No matter how much we plan He puts us in the right spot for His glory. We finished the trip pretty much as expected, minus the bunch of fish we wanted to catch...

Camp was wrapped up Friday night with our closing council fire. Mike brought us the final message and reminded the boys of the goals for the week. There were several first time decisions for Christ and a bunch of recommitments.
I was presented the prestigious leadership neckerchief. Leaders should beware that I have it back in my possession now and they're all subject to the award! Each class leader had an opportunity to share what happened during the week and eventually the Honor Unit was announced. In dramatic fashion as usual, Eastside, Unit 4 was awarded the Honor Unit for Rendezvous 2010!

What a busy but rewarding week!

Ohio Outpost

I had a great time this past weekend as I attended the Ohio District Outpost Camp at Findley State Park near Wellington, Ohio. There were 76 boys and 50 men in attendance and though the weather forecast was full of rain and thunderstorms God parted the bad weather once again. North and south of us the rains came down but we only had rain a couple of times and it never interfered with anything other than Sunday morning colors.

The boys enjoyed a rope-making class (where they actually made a length of rope to take home), canoeing, hiking, fishing, verses and the nature center on Saturday. The camping area was long and narrow which made for a long walk from one end to the other. The boys really loved being able to run - having the room to get away from the tents a bit and have fun on their own. We loved watching them interact as they spread their wings beyond their own unit's familiarity.

On Saturday evening Perry Mullen was awarded the 2010 Outpost Patch Design Award. Perry received the first patch along with a few items he'll be able to use as he continues his activities with GBB. We also had the opportunity to hear from each of the class leaders. They shared the wonderful experiences and observations they'd had that day. We wrapped up our Saturday evening Council Fire time with Pastor Rob Barlow from the Ashland West Main GBC. He challenged the boys to be Men of God in a world that lacks such an animal.

On Sunday morning we woke up to rain but nothing we couldn't handle (we're GBB right?). At Sunday morning Council Fire Rittman, Unit 65 was awarded the Honor Unit. They were the unit that had the least number of deductions for camp / uniform inspections as well as knot and verse competitions. We wrapped up our weekend with Joel Penton, former Ohio State University Football player turned ministry leader. He brought another challenge to the men and boys to be different than the world and stand out as Men of God.

What a great weekend and what a great opportunity for the men and boys of the Ohio District! Man I'm pumped for Rendezvous!!!!!!!

Every Young Man's Battle

I wanted to let all you guys know about a book I'm using when discipling young men. If you're a young man you need to read this book! If you're discipling young men right now you need to take a look at this book! There's a workbook to follow the book and a study available with the web site. There's plenty to follow and the guys I've used this with said it's the most direct use of scripture to attack the issues of sexual temptation and lust in their lives.

This is not a watered down, Sunday morning service type of study. This is a small group-type study that covers some pretty tough to share about issues. I urge you guys all to check it out. Like I said up top, there's tons of good stuff to go along with the book to ensure our young men have all the information they need to know God's true plan for their bodies and their minds when it comes to sex.

Check it out!!!