I just spent a week at Training Camp in Copperhill, TN. Everyone has been asking me how it went and it’s been hard to describe it. So, I thought writing it out would be the easiest way to do it. Although I want to let everyone know what training was like, for the sake of not spoiling anything for the future World Racers, I’ll try not to be too revealing.
The first 3 days of were very intense. It wasn’t like what you’d think a training camp would be like. Most of the time we spent could easily be summed up in 2 categories:
WORSHIP & HEALING (Surrender)
Right away, I was able to see and remember what Priority One is and will be for the WR (and for our lives for that matter): Worshiping and Thanking our God. And we definitely did a lot of it! It was worship like I’ve never seen before with Jonathon David Helser leading! And as he said before we even began, “We are not here to perform for you, we’re here to get MESSED UP by the Holy Spirit.” And if you know or have ever listened to Jonathon Helser, you know that it wasn’t just you’re average sing-a-long songs either. It was songs that got you screaming and shouting to the Lord!
We were thanking God for bringing us to this point. We knew we had a long journey ahead of us, but knowing that he lead each of us to this crossroad meant we had to thank him for all he provided! All in all, It’s safe to say that most of my teammates were starting to lose their voices by the end of the first day. I know most of you have probably been to amazing worship services: ones that open your eyes to what worship REALLY should look like. But I hope everyone will get a chance to experience something like I did at camp.
Now, here’s the short version of what kind of HEALING I’m talking about:
As believers in Christ, God allows US to receive the Holy Spirit. He gives US the ability to speak with authority in Jesus’ name! However, most of us are weighed down with the burdens of our past; transgressions, people, or events we keep holding on too or can’t get away from. And since God is Holy and can’t be around sin, we CANNOT receive the Holy Spirit unless we have broken free from our “baggage” and offered it to Jesus.
In ancient times, one of the brutal forms of punishment used for murders was to tie the dead body of the victim to the murder’s back. The murderer would have to walk and live with this dead body tied to their back to remind them of what they’ve done. As the body decays and rots, it consumes and mutilates the living person as well for a horrific death.
It’s like what Paul talks about in Romans 7 when he mentions how he can be delivered from this “Body of Death.”
-Romans 7:24
At camp, the World Racers were faced with opportunities to fully and completely cut any “dead bodies” that may still be lingering on our backs. We spent a lot of time making certain that we have SURRENDERED these things to God so we can truly be FREE and full of Christ’s love when we go to the nations.
Because, we cannot spread the Gospel if we do not have the authority too. And we are not granted authority unless we have received the Holy Spirit. And we cannot receive the Holy Spirit unless our souls have been wiped clean from any burdens or “dead bodies” of our past. And there is only one way to have the dead bodies cut off of our backs… you already know the answer, don’t you? And thank God Paul tells us the answer in THE VERY NEXT VERSE (Romans 7:25)!
I hope that all made sense. Sometimes it’s tough to explain via blog. But after preparing our spirits for the mission, the rest of the training involved getting used to our tents, supplies, trying some of the food we’ll be eating from different countries, ect. And just having a great time getting to know our fellow squad members. Our squad leaders even selected our teams of 6 that we’ll be spending the next 11 months with! I’ll let everyone know who’s on my team in my next post.
PS – Sorry the pictures are so fuzzy. I'm trying to figure it out.
