NTC Review

From May 3-8 I was in Ottawa for Athletes in Action’s National Training Camp (NTC). NTC is an opportunity for athletes from all across Canada will get together. There were 70 athletes and about 30 staff and interns present.  Perspectives are changed and athletes learn that their passion and talent is from God and through playing they can worship God if they allow Him to come onto the field with them. As I journeyed through the week of sessions, and lab situations on the field, the staff challenged us to retire the athlete slave inside us. The athlete slave is the one that is tied into the sport 100%, they go beyond paying with intensity to the point that their identity is hinged on athletic success. This athlete is devastated and shaken to their core with a loss or an injury.

Working on my agility. My coach would be proud!

I wanted to share a bit of what God taught me as the week progressed.  One of my biggest struggles with my faith has always been knowing the truth, but never really feeling it in a tangible way. It was as if the knowledge was stuck in my head but could never reach and impact my heart. I had the blessing of captaining a fantastic team of athletes for the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. (A 24+ hour sport marathon that truly pushes you to your physical and emotional limits and challenges you to experience God as you truly have cannot finish this thing completely on your own strength. This experience really helped me grow much closer to God. As I spoke words of truth to my teammates and saw the impact of God’s message and love in my teammates faces it was as if I learned each of those things in a very new, very real way. All of a sudden these were not just words on a page and things that were cool but truths that resonated to the core of who I am. They were truly the definition of my worth and value. When we reached the final event of the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. our team was down 2 men. This final event is a very individual, personal challenge and two people on my team were going to have to do it twice. I challenged my team to prayerfully consider if God wanted them to run it a second time. When we reached the starting point of the event I asked my team if anyone was feeling challenged to run it twice. You could have heard the crickets chirp (not really... two people said they were considering but neither had a strong conviction to go.) Being a captain I did what a captain should do, I said I would start it off and run it twice and by the time I get back I said that I hope someone else will feel they are meant to run it twice. (Andrew did and you can read hid story below.)

Round One

The first time I did it, I remember it being so hard. My legs felt dead and I felt so slow. As I went I was talking to God saying “There are so many people in our group that are so much stronger, and so much faster than me. Surely it would be better for them to run it again. Not that I won’t do it, just if someone else can or should do it... please let them know.” It was really cool because God met me there, and challenged me there. I had this overwhelming sense that I couldn’t ignore. God was telling me that I had so much more in me; that He wanted to do so much more through me. That I will run it again and it will be stronger than the one I am doing right now because He would be my strength and He would carry me. 

Round 2

The second time that I went I had the need to just praise God out loud. It was as if the truth could not be contained just in my head. The whole way down and back up I was proclaiming truth, and there was just this push of truth into my heart. There was no denying the truth that God had for me. I shouted out about His love, how His Grace is sufficient for me, how is mercies are new every day and I need them new every day. Did my legs still burn, yes, did I still feel exhausted and slow, yes. But I pushed harder than I did the first time and I truly leaned on the strength of my creator who loves me with an unfathomable love. One that goes beyond my understanding of love, which overwhelms and overjoys! God is so good, and He met me there on that mountain. He gave me a greater sense of Jesus’ love and sacrifice and a deeper knowledge of just how much I need Him.

 I wanted to share the stories of a few other athletes as well and the impact that God made in their lives through this time.  First is Andrew’s story. It was cool how God works things. The morning of the draft for the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. we were playing soccer. Our team had two less players than our opponents and Andrew was running late. When He arrived the staff decided to put him on our team instead. This was the one and only time we were in contact before the draft. We were meant to be on the same team.

My Fantastic team minus one. 

Facing so many trials and tribulations from the beginning of this year, NTC was a retreat that I originally felt to be a time to reflect on what God has done for me to this day. I can truthfully say it was more than just a bible retreat, more than just an athletic experience, more than an event that I could ever imagine, it was a LIFE changing experience through Jesus Christ who has strengthened my faith and existence as a spirit walking this earth.

I was wound up and hindered by stress for which was bestowed upon me by the loss of my father in early February. I was lost, depressed and had the biggest course load of work to complete in my university history in order to graduate this year. While at NTC all these things were running through my mind before meeting any other university athletes and Christians. 

From day one I could see the way in which Christ has entered into some of these athletes lives, which allowed me to analyze where my faith had lied. Day after day I learned to implement faith in my sport, each day I learned to overcome tendencies for which evil had overcame my mind away from Christ, each day I learned to allow Christ to be the focal point for which I could not be swayed or dismayed in a way which would try and pull me further from His good name. What had really inflamed this spark which was growing inside of me, was the blessing of my teammates with Rachel leading us as our wonderful team captain. As I always live by the motto, "things always happen for a reason" it was no mistake as to why I was on Rachel's team, where a bond from a random occurrence of me being placed on a different team earlier in the week had started. 

As the 24 hour marathon had quickly approached and by being on Rachel's team, I learned to persevere through pray and worship to our blessed Father, who has given us a life to live in His image and likeness. Being short a few players cause of injury and a challenge with finding ones faith, The Joshua's as a team still pressed forward towards the goal to win the prize. (Yes I still have this bible verse memorized which is Philippians 3:14) What had really influenced my journey was our last challenge; Golgotha. 

With having two members short, a couple of our teammates had to go twice. Rachel of course feeling the call from God had volunteered to be one of the two. Before all this, I was notorious for being weak minded, having a heart that was not as strong and a person to shy away from a challenge that seemed to difficult to complete. God had plagued my mind reassuring me that I can do this, not only would I be able to do it but that my father would be watching me with a proud spirit. I stepped up to the challenge, the first time was mentally and physically tough, so much so that I was regretting my decision of volunteering to go twice. But athlete after athlete before my turn again kept pushing through with the strength of Christ, especially from a girl climbing the mountain with two herniated disk all the way to the top. It made me tear up and thoughts of God and my father in heaven kept saying to me that I can get through this, no doubt can hold me back from completing the task for which God has lead me to complete. Each step, each pull of strength, doubt try to keep me from running in faith, each slip from climbing a mountain full of mud and snow tried to keep me from doing this for the God who has given me life and to my father who was a part of my life to be the man I am today. As my teammates continued to sing and praise His name in celebration to push through and make it to the top, I fell to my knees when I had done it. I had completed the impossible for which a weakened mind could not have done before, to a man who was once a boy lead by a man that had graced him with his presence, to a broken down, tired and overwhelmed body for which Jesus’ sacrifice had blessed me with and to others on this planet for the sins that had captured many. Tears of sadness had left the eyes of a boy thankful for these blessings and to have the strength to do this for God and for a father whom I love and cherish to this day. With all these steps of faith and strength today, I am bound by no chain, I am free from all evil and walk with the spirit of Christ within me. 

This was only one experience that had changed my life, but it was an experience that I will carry with me for the rest of my life and I thank God for His blessings to be able to accomplish these challenges and for the support of beautiful people whom I will never forget.

Lastly I wanted to share Gen’s story. Gen is an athlete from Calgary who I respect deeply for her skill and her genuine character. I was blessed to share this experience with her as a roommate and as a friend.

A little bear crawl for Jer and my Dinos girls!!

I struggle to put a spiritual experience into words, because really the way that God moved me and the way that I saw Him work in other athletes from around the country (bringing 250 lbs football players to tears) has no word.  My relationship with Christ has deepened. In one week I fell in love with 70 brothers and sisters, who share the passion of sport with me, and who crave sharing their earthly passion with the God of the universe.  I came to see myself as a creation that was given passions, skills, talents, and that by simply using what I’m given, God is glorified.  Someone told me that a wave is something that’s beautiful, and that by simply being both beautiful and strong in being a wave it shows us God’s glory, and I was amazed at the weight that fell off my shoulders at the thought that by simply living as a creation of God, using the characteristics He’s given me, I am fulfilling my role as a creation, because God’s glory shines through all that is good.  

More than anything, I experienced the reality of my own weaknesses and the overwhelming power of the Spirit in us.  I don’t really want to give you too much detail of my experience, partly because I don’t know how and mostly because I want to encourage each and everyone one of you to explore how deeply you can experience and worship God by giving Him back and surrendering all that our incredibly passion filled, fun, intense, addictive, sometimes toxic and political, creative, raw, emotional, and powerful sport has given you.  I’ll be praying that you all step out of your comfort zone (or uncomfortable but familiar zone) and find a God driven motivation, ridding yourself of the athlete slave that can sometimes take over or that simply keeps nagging you when times get tough.  If you’re as clueless as I am about how to do that, join Athletes in Action on your campus or sign up for the retreats or next year’s NTC.  If anything you’ll have a ton of fun and meet incredibly inspiring people (but I trust that God will use it for so much more than that!).  

Proof that there were some smiles

Sport, properly directed, develops character, makes a man courageous, a generous loser, and a gracious victor; it refines the senses, gives intellectual penetration, and steels the will to endurance. It is not merely a physical development then. Sport, rightly understood, is an occupation of the whole man, and while perfecting the body as an instrument of the mind, it also makes the mind itself a more refined instrument for the search and communication of truth and helps man to achieve that end to which all others must be subservient, the service and praise of his Creator

I pray that you will be impacted by these stories and the change God left in the lives of each of these athletes. Athletes who will return to their teams to bring Christ into their sport and who will spread a passion for His name to teammates, coaches, fans and friends. To see some video reflections from NTC look at http://www.youtube.com/user/2thewallpaper. There are 3 videos of athletes’ perspectives from NTC.