Heroes of Today experience at CTCI - July 2004

I really enjoyed going to the the Heroes of Today program at Christian Training Center International in Franklin, North Carolina. I learned many things and had a great time meeting new people and participating in many exciting events and competitions.

One of the first activities we did was to try to get our entire team through a so called "electric fence", it was actually a square made of pvc pipe with a bunch of tie-downs stretched into a web-like formation. It was a challenge to get our whole team through without getting "zapped" by the electric fence.

Next was a relay race in which the object was to get the bomb deactivation device (a small bouncy ball) to the bomb (a bucket) before it explodes and blows up the flag pole. Our only method of getting the bomb deactivator to the bomb was to roll the it along half sections of pipe about 12 inches in length.

Every night after supper at the evening session we would have a time of worship and someone would speak. Carl Richardson was the speaker the first night (he lives at CTCI). He spoke on "Surrender", which he said is a form of worship. He issued this challenge: "Would you allow God to do — through surrender — something revolutionary in your life. He read 1 Timothy 4:12 which says: "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity." He asked this question: "Would you allow God to make an example of you this week." He went over some of the areas from that verse in which we are supposed to be an example.

Were are to be an example in:

• Speech - By the way we talk. Someone once defined Leadership as: "Someone who refuses to gossip"
• Love - The word love is overused. Real love involves sacrifice — it means that you want the best for others.
• Faith - Take risks. Faith involves taking risks. Go where God wants you to go.
• Purity - Live your life in a place of purity including the way you talk, be careful not to joke at somebody else's expense.

Before going to sleep, each room would meet for "wrap-up" time led by the intern in their room. During this short meeting each person would share what God had been showing them throughout that day.

Every morning we would get up by 6:30 and go outside and complete our devotional sheet that had been handed out previously. The reason that we had to go outside was so that we didn't fall asleep while doing our devotions. Our verse for the week was Philippians 3:14: "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." and the overall theme for the week was "What's Your Calling". The devotional themes that we had during the week were:

• God's First Call to Us - 1 Corinthians 1:9 - Salvation
• The Upward Call - Philippians 3:14
• Different Callings - Esther, Abraham, Moses, David, Mary, Paul, Gideon, Peter
• Walking Worthy of Our Calling - Ephesians 4:1-16

Every morning, right after devotions, we would have an exercise time. We would first stretch then run or jog. After that we showered and when the bell rang we would all meet at the flag pole for the raising of the flag. We would say the Pledge of Allegiance and then pray for the troops fighting in Iraq. After breakfast we would share together what we had put on our devotional sheet.

On Tuesday night the interns and staff assistants shared about what God had put on their hearts. He is a quick run-down of what they spoke about that I've compiled from my notes.

• Rebekah Hull - God says "Be faithful in the little things and I will make you master of great things." If God calls you to do something, he will give you the power to do it.
• Daniel Foster - People want to know what God's will for their life is. God's will, first and foremost, is that we know him. We should focus on God and draw close to him while deciding what to do.
• Janeen Anthony - The biggest challenge is to let God into your hidden closet. Ask God to help you do that and you will experience greater joy. Psalm 139:23-24
• Tyson Carr - You don't have to worry about your future. Being a Christian is about having an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. "Life is relationships." 1 Corinthians 1:9 - God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
  The call of God is on each one of your lives, whether you know it or now. Surrender your life to God and he will show you his calling for your life. God will use each one of you.
• Megan Pressley - We are in the greatest epic that has ever happened. We get caught up in our daily life and forget about God's calling in our life.
  Hosea 10:12 - "Sow for yourselves righteousness reap the fruit of unfailing love and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD until he comes and showers righteousness on you.
  Now is the time to seek the Lord and find our place in this life. God has something for you NOW."
• Will Hasskamp - The church is going to need to make room for the youth to become part of the leadership. God is preparing us to lead. Apprenticeship.
  We need to get rid of the "I've got my own way" mentality.
  1 Peter 2:21 - "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps."
  Luke 9:23 - "Then he said to them all: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me'."
  A model of apprenticeship:
  John 13:12 - "When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. 'Do you understand what I have done for you?' he asked them."
  We need to learn from our master, Jesus Christ. See Luke 17:7-10.
  We should not serve selfishly. God wants us to serve without looking out only for our self interest. We need to recognize the treasure we have in our elders.

One afternoon we had someone who works in a crisis pregnancy center come and give a presentation about being pro-life. After that we divided up into groups and did some trimming, weeding, raking, and clearing.

On Thursday one of the things that we did was split into groups and each group came up with 4 questions that they would like answered. Then later each group was assigned 2 questions that they had to come up with answers to. Each group share their answers and everybody else had a chance to speak what they thought about the issue.

Here are some of the questions that were discussed:

1. How do you know if its the right person to marry?

   Some of the answers were:

• They should be a Christian and you should be ready for marriage.
• You should be attracted to them.
• Being friends first helps.
• Wait for the one the Lord has chosen.
• Be prayerful about the relationship.
• Ask the Lord to protect and wait until you are sure.
• God won't make you marry someone who you thing is absolutely disgusting.
• You should like the person for who they are.
• Money is attractive.
• Listen to your friends.
• You have to know and be secure in Christ.

Another question was:

1. What has happened to modesty?

   Some of people's answers where:

• It has disappeared partly as a result of the breakdown of the family.
• After WWII women's roles changed.
• Tolerance has become a very important thing in the world's eyes.
• Standards have become lower and lower.
• Its important for girls to be secure in themselves and God.
• Actions are also very important.
• Guys should let girls know that they appreciate modesty.

1. Is it right to clone humans and do clones have souls?

• No, it's not OK to clone.
• Yes, they have souls and they can become Christians.
• Only God gives life.
• Its all about the attitude.
• Nothing is original. Everything comes from God.
• Man has already made life. Remember Dolly the sheep? Man will probably continue to clone. We need to remember that whatever does not please God is sin. God created man so that he can praise and glorify God. Cloning is another form of blasphemy. Our perspective must be "What would God want?"

4. Should there be a separation of church and state and why should it matter?

• People came here for religious freedom. Separation of church and state is good.
• I don't like politics in church. There should be freedom of prayer in schools. It is getting ridiculous. The church will have to jump into politics.
• Don't expect to win against the world. Having "Under God" in the pledge and "In God we trust" on the money does not matter too much.
• God looks on us both as a nation and as individuals. We should intercede on behalf of our nation.
• We should not try and force stuff on other people.
• Elijah went and fought the prophets of Baal. We should be in the public arena somewhat.
• Jesus did not try to make his country Christian. The issue is more the freedom to worship as we want. Jesus came for a people not for a nation.
• If you are a Christian, you can not separate the church and the state. Our government should not oppress free religious expression. We have to be in the public arena. God put us here.

1. Should all Christians be Republicans and should it be Christians versus the world?

• We should vote on the issues in comparison to the Bible.
• Not every Christian has to be a Republican.
• We should care more about our environment. Both parties have good issues.
• You should be aware of what the platform says.
• Sometimes it is the lesser of two evils.
• Make sure that you do not bring humanism into your thinking.

1. Should you leave a church that has a gay leader or should you stay and try to fix the situation?

• Are going to take God's word as a whole or only parts.

• Your pastor should agree with you.
• It would be very difficult for someone to be a Christian and gay.
• It is kind of like other addictions and strongholds and you must get freedom from that.
• Leaders should set an example.
• We all sin. It comes down to sin happening and living in sin.
• You can't stay under an unrepentant leader.
• New Testament leadership is leading someone to Christ.

1. What is the response to the church using Hollywood methods?

• MTV-like youth groups may draw people but they might not have much depth. We should be in the world but not of it.
• We should be worshiping God all the time. Who are we to judge what is worship?
• A lot of youth groups are just like the world.
• Some services have become a ?fix it up? time, while living just like it never happened.
• You can't do much to influence the attitude someone comes with. We have become an image-based culture.
• We don't need to try to make it any more awesome. God is awesome enough!
• You have tools that can be used for good and bad reasons. Philippians 4:8 - "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things."
• Jesus used different methods to heal people. It does not matter what method we use as long as it is inspired by God.
• We should not reply on our feelings.
• There has to be something to win them in. People are looking for relationships. There is a difference between evangelism and discipleship.

One thing we did was to go down to the creek and try to get up a part in the creek where the current was concentrated in the middle. We were given a piece of paper with some scripture printed on it and we tried to get our team up the swift water and to the lost tribe. We had to be careful to stay out of the way of the tribal warrior armed with a spear and a rebel fighter armed with a gun. After many attempts one person finally succeeded in getting up with help from people behind bracing and him pushing in up. After the first person got up he helped to pull others up we were able to get everyone safely up the rapid. We them were able to share the scripture verses with the tribe. After that we walked up the creek for a while and eventually turned around. We were then instructed to close our eyes and join elbows. We walked all the way back downstream with our eyes closed while being guided by some of the interns. That experience taught us trust.

Another thing we did was go on a simulated missions trip. We first had to get through customs. I got through alright but some people had to bribe the customs officer and one guy was even accused of being a terrorist. We packed into a bus to start going to our destination. Much to our dismay it broke down and we were forced unload and start walking. Suddenly two bandits brandishing guns and a machete came out of the forest and demanded our passports. Next we went and ate some food of the local people. It was a feast of soy sauce on crackers and a bowl of mushy green stuff which contained bits of soggy chips, pretzels, pieces of oranges, pineapple, and some other ingredients which I don't remember. Eating that stuff show us a little how it is to try to eat new foods in foreign countries.

During the week we were divided into 7 different teams, each representing different countries. My team represented Myanmar. We competed in 10 different events called the CTCI Decathalon.

Here is a description of each event:

• Uphill Race - The uphill race was an individual event in which I participated. It was a strenuous race 260m up a really steep hill. I came in last with 7^th place. The person who came in first had a time of 52 seconds. My time was 1 minute and 13 seconds.

• Basketball Shoot - In the basketball competition you tried to make as many baskets as you can out of 15 free throws.
• Carpet Pool - Carpet pool is a fun and unusual game. There are two contestants one on each side of a long narrow table with enclosed sides. On each side are 6 pool balls. The first person to knock all of their opponents balls in by rolling the white ball down the table was the winner.
• Football Throw - A target was set up and you got 5 tries from 10 yards and 5 tries from 15 yards to see how many times you could hit the target.
• Swimming Race - Fighting against a strong current the person with the fastest time to rock and back was the winner.
• Lava Bridge - You were give 3 or four boards and you raced agains the clock to see which team could get all their teem members across the "lava". The way you did this was to insert the boards into grooves that were carved into the stumps of trees. Our team was the winner of the Lava Bridge competition.
• Cross Country Race - A one mile race through the woods, down to the creek and back. It was a hard race and the guy from my team came in 5^th in front of the two girls that were a part of the race.
• Team Shuffleboard - Each member of our team got two pushes down the shuffleboard.
• Ring Toss - A ring was suspended from a length of string and you tried to swing the ring into just the rice place so that it would be caught on the hook that was drilled into a post. The girl from our team did well and hooked 3 out of 20 tries.
• Tubing Race^th place in the tubing race.

Out of ten events our team Myanmar got 3^rd place overall. So we each received bronze medals.

During the week at camp God showed me that he wants me to start being bold and not to shy away from speaking in public. Also he showed me that I need to stop worrying about my future such as going to college and getting a job, but instead to trust him and his plan. I'm very glad I was able to go to CTCI and look forward to attending it next year if that is God's will.

P.S. For more information about Heroes of Today please visit: Life Is Relationships: Christian Training Center International (http://www.lifeisrelationships.com/) or www.heroesoftoday.com .
To see the current schedule please visit: Life is Relationships: Heroes of Today (http://www.lifeisrelationships.com/heroesoftoday.htm)