Hitting the road

On Monday September 24th, we set out on our first long road trip to Mt. Gilead, Ohio. We met up with our host family, the Gilkersons and headed to their house for the night. They provided us with a place to stay, a home cooked meal, dessert, Monday Night Football and some great times! We experienced the love of Christ through this family in just a few short hours with them. We laughed together for much of the night, but walked away very challenged. Thank you Gilkersons!

This week represented the first time we walked through actual school doors to run our challenge. The school we came alongside was Gilead Christian School. This school has a mission of "Training Hearts and Growing Minds" so we were excited to serve them on this journey.

We kicked off the day with some games and icebreakers, which were enjoyed by students and teachers. I have to say, it was quite a sight to see two male teachers pick each other up during a bear hug!

Oh hey, here they are!

T.J. went into sharing his story of how God changed his life and the journey he has been on in becoming "4 Real". In Revelation 12:11 it says, "we overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony". God is faithful in using His people right here, right now! After this time we showed a powerful video clip by Matt Chandler, which led into Eric's challenge on "Being 4 Real" and standing courageous. From here we led into "Walk the Line".

Students were extremely courageous as they stepped out of their comfort zone and into an area of authenticity! Students and teachers rallied around one another and showed that they had each other's backs! One of the coolest parts of the day was when the question "Who will make a stand at Gilead Christian School from now on?" and every student and teacher crossed the line. God moved in amazing ways during this program!

Students and teachers then had the opportunity to break up into small groups and discuss what they experienced during the day. The conversations were both profitable to one another and glorifying to God! We brought along a banner for students to sign and make a personal commitment if they desired to. The banner quickly filled up!

   

   

While we hope that Gilead Christian School was impacted from the Team Charger Challenge, we know that we walked away very encouraged! We had the opportunity to interact with students and teachers during lunch and sitting in on classes. This group was so fun to work with and genuinely cared about growing in their relationship with Jesus Christ!

Thank you Gilead Christian School for an incredible day! God is good!

Be 4 Real,

Team Charger Challenge

Find out more information about GCS at gileadchristianschool.org

Calvary Baptist School Lansdale PA, September 18, 2012 

http://www.cbschools.org/

There is something special about going back to the school I grew up in. I could not believe that it has been five years since I have graduated from Calvary Baptist School. The friendships and mentors that I have there continue to bless me on a regular basis. I am forever grateful for the people who mentored, believed in me and did not give up on me throughout my crazy high school journey. To see those same faculty members continuing to care and pour their lives into a new generation of students is awesome. I enjoyed meeting and interacting with some of the new teachers as well. To see their passions for Kingdom work fired me up.

“I Have Got Your Back”

IGYB, this is what most of our discussion revolved around today during our beneficial panel discussion. This is something that is easy to say but hard to do. What does it mean to have each other’s backs? Does that mean keeping friends accountable and praying for them? Do you think it means encouraging them when they need it? Does it mean sharpening one another in the word?

The cool thing is I personally believe that having each other’s backs means all of these things. 

Accountability and Prayer:

 James 5:16 says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” Pray for one another and share common struggles. Continue to invest in other student’s lives, not just your close knit friends. 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Continue to ask God for ways that you can truly have each other’s backs.

Encouragement:

 Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Is that not encouraging? God has got our back! God has got your back! He will help us. He is right there for us in our times of need. This should propel us into encouraging others as we allow God to use us as he wishes.

Sharpening:

Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Continue to spend time in the word so you are able to properly sharpen one another. Spend time to reach out to someone in need or just to invest in them. Remember, if you are not investing in anyone’s life it will be very hard for you to call them out on a particular issue. Stay in the word so you are able to hear from the Lord and figure out what He wants you to do.

As you move forward as Calvary Baptist School or just another blog reader, truly seek ways you can have each other’s backs. Keep each other accountable, pray for one another, be encouraged and encourage, and continue to sharpen yourself so you can in turn sharpen others. Always remember God has got your back… and so does Team Charger Challenge. WGYB

By T. J. Connor

Throughout the course of our journey with Team Charger Challenge, we hope to encourage you even beyond our program. One way to stay involved and stay in touch is to follow the devotions on this blog!

So this whole movement we are on is to try to get people to Be 4 Real right? So what does that actually look like and what are some of the things it entails? Certainly there are many things that may come to your mind, and they are probably correct. But when we break it down to the core, what I see is love. When I think love, I think Christ. God gave up His only Son Jesus Christ who willingly died for us - that's love folks, that's mega love. The reality is that we are to love in the same way.

In order to Be 4 Real, love is absolutely necessary. If we do not love, we will never be completely real. Love provides freedom not only for you, but for others. It is easy to love those who love us though right? Loving those who don't love us or persecute us or make fun of us is a completely different story. The unique thing about "Walk the Line" and the rest of the Be 4 Reals is that you will be next to and across from people you don't always like. Mark 12:31 says, "Love your neighbor as yourself". Guess what? You don't always like your neighbor! Christ calls us to a higher standard.

Proverbs 25: 21-22 says this,

"If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you."

Now, let's hold up one second. If you are like me, you are thinking "Thank you, Lord, justice is about to be served on a silver platter!" Kill them with kindness right? Wrong.

The necessities for survival during the time period this Proverb was written are the same as they are today: water, food, and shelter. In order to cook food and heat your house, fire was necessary via burning coals. When their fire would go out they could no longer make certain foods or heat their house. When the burning coals would go out in the Palestinian culture, the people would walk around their village or community with a bucket on their head. This symbolized that they needed more coals, which really led to their survival. Let me take you back to Proverbs 25 - "For you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you." This is no the "kill them with kindness" or get under their skin that we often prefer. When someone would put a burning coal on their head they were actually loving them. The were actually giving them exactly what they needed at that time.

We hope that you too would place burning coals on your neighbors head (not literally!). Loving others is not just a suggestion, it is what Christ calls us to do. You are going to walk the line next to people you don't always like; maybe they are one of your biggest enemies. The reality is that we never really know what is going on in this person's heart until we take the time to love them. Being 4 Real enables you to love God, which will inevitably allow you to love others out of that overflow.

Some of us are the ones walking around with buckets on our head while others are the ones who really need a coal.

Love.

Have their back!