Transforming Moments From A Boot Camp Talk

Hello, this is Matt Slick from the Matt Slick Live Podcast, where I defend the Christian faith and lay out our foundations of the truth of God's Word. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few seconds. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network.

This is the Truth Network. The heart of every man craves a great adventure, but life doesn't usually feel that way. Jesus speaks of narrow gates and wide roads, but the masculine journey is filled with many twists and turns.

So how do we keep from losing heart while trying to find the good way when life feels more like a losing battle than something worth dying for? Grab your gear and come on a quest with your band of brothers who will serve as the guides in what we call the masculine journey. The masculine journey starts here now.

Welcome to Masculine Journey. This is not Sam Main. This is the pinch hitter host, Danny. This is the only pinch hitting I've ever done, Rodney, so it's pretty cool. You're going to knock it out of the park, man. I doubt it.

It's probably a strikeout coming. I'm just saying. We are glad you guys are joining us, and this week we're going to be talking about transforming moments from boot camp. But first, Harold has his Word for the Year, so we're going to let him share a little bit. Yeah, when everybody else was talking about their Word of the Year, I had to sit with a bashful face because I didn't have mine, and I admitted online that it wasn't God's fault. He had the Word, but I wouldn't be still and quiet long enough for him to give it to me. So he came up a little short.

Typical of me. He had to give the words out to all the people under 160. So I was hopeful to get my Word, and so I sat there and I thought after I had finished my devotionals and stuff, I said, okay, Lord, I'm going to sit here and I'm going to be quiet, and I'd really like to get my Word. I was kind of thinking, well, it's probably going to take a long time, and I was sitting there and I got really quiet, and bam, all of a sudden the Word just popped into my head, and I thought, well, can that really be it? Because it just didn't seem like that would be the right word. The word was exasperation, and I thought, really?

Why would that be the word? And then it dawned on me that that's really been the root cause of many of my failures, my issues, my anger on the road, my being a nitpicker, as I mentioned in a previous program. So exasperation means that you don't deal well with things that frustrate you or things that you deem that aren't right.

And I got just enough ego to think that it's my privilege to determine what is right in any situation. But my word for the year is exasperation, and my hope is that God is going to focus my attention on that to the extent that it will become less of an issue for me, and therefore some of those side issues that stem from it will also become less of an issue for me, and I'll be more like what He wants me to be. Jumping on to the next topic about what you get from boot camp, my takeaway was something that brought about a big change for me, and that is that I was exposed to the idea of listening in prayer. Prior to that, what came out of my mouth or my head was what prayer was about, and I was shortcutting and not allowing God to have His part in the prayer. And so that was one of the really important things for me that I learned at boot camp. Thank you, Harold.

You know, God speaks to us in ways we can understand, so it probably took Him a while to chisel that on a stone tablet, I imagine. You know, we were talking about transforming moments from boot camp, and kind of the heart behind it is that, you know, this is something that we try to live out. And, you know, all of us, no matter if you're part of a Christian life somewhere, you have those defining moments. And, you know, we love the the genre of boot camps and stuff like that, and it's not just something we do on the weekend because we ain't got nothing else to do. And so I like to see how that plays out in people's lives, and, you know, I have the pleasure of hanging out with you guys and seeing your process, and, you know, we talk a lot and we text a lot.

So if we all quit texting, Verizon's going to have a big layoff or something, you know. So, but anyway, yeah, that's kind of what we're doing. And we brought clips in and, you know, kind of hoping to define some of the talks that the moments come out of or the moments.

And so, Rodney, you have the first clip. Well, first, since we text so much, what's the nickname given by Michelle to us? The ladies. Yeah. Is that the ladies going off over there? Yeah, it didn't take long for you to be a part of this team. And next thing you know, it's, oh, we're the ladies.

She said, you have to text more than women do. Yeah, well, we have lots of needs as well. So for me, there wasn't a specific talk. It was more of a communal activity that I knew going into my first boot camp that I really needed some brotherhood. I needed some community with men. I didn't really have that. I was searching and hunting for something along those lines. Didn't know where I'd ever find it.

I didn't go looking for that at the boot camp, but it did hit me right in the face that, wow, these men through their vulnerability were taking mask off and exposing their own lives to other men in order that other men might see that there is healing behind the wound. And that whole concept of an idea that we can walk in this together, that we can be in this community and that, you know, the guarded place in my heart that was like, oh no, don't let anybody in. Don't let anybody in. Don't let them know that.

Don't let them see that. Just started getting peeled away layer by layer, just like Shrek and the onion. Just a little bit at a time. And that's that first weekend, just walking away, I already felt like, wow, these are some brothers that I can really do life with. And the next thing you know, I was fortunate enough to be invited over here to the radio show and doing life with them.

It's been a blessing that, you know, you just find hard to put into words. And so to me, it was all the community. So this clip is from Stripes. And this is the, their band of brothers that are going to go through bootcamp together. At the introductions, Mr.

Sergeant Hulka is there with them and taking them through everything. And you get to hear a few introductions and them getting to know each other. My name is Howard J. Turkstra. I'm from Kansas City. My hobbies are fast cars and fast women. Because that's why my guys in my car club call me the cruiser. You should call him the dork.

Knock it off. Go ahead. I joined the army because my father and my brother were in the army. I thought I'd better join before I got drafted. Son, there ain't no draft no more.

There was one? Next. The name's Francis Sawyer, but everybody calls me Psycho. Any of you guys call me Francis and I'll kill you.

Just made the list, buddy. And I don't like nobody touching my stuff. So just keep your meat hooks off. If I catch any of you guys in my stuff, I'll kill you. Lighten up, Francis. You're all in this together. One of these ones is for you and I'll kill you. Okay.

Lighten up, Francis. You're all in this together. One of these men may save your life one of these days. You understand that?

Then again, maybe one of us won't. Go ahead. Me? Yeah. My name's Dewey Oxberger.

My friends call me Ox. You might have noticed I've got a slight weight problem. No. Yeah, I do.

Yeah, I do. I went to this doctor and now he told me I swallowed a lot of aggression along with a lot of pizzas. I'm basically a shy person.

I'm a shy guy and he suggested taking one of these aggression training courses, you know, these aggressive training courses like EST, those type of things. Anyway, it cost 400 bucks. 400 bucks to join this thing. Well, I didn't have the money. I thought to myself, join the army.

It's free. So I figured while I'm here, I'll lose a few pounds. And you got what a six to eight week training program here, a real tough one, which is perfect for me.

I'm going to walk out of here a lean, mean fighting machine. And that's really what I felt like when I walked out of first boot camp was that lean, mean fighting machine. It was, it invigorated me and renewed some things in me that, okay, there's something I can specifically go work on with God.

There was no way I was going to tackle everything from boot camp because there's just so much that gets talked about. But there were a few things that I was walking out of there that I had my quiet times, my covenant of silence where I was praying and asking God and he was talking to me and I was hearing things and I'm like, okay, where am I going to go with him when I leave? And I had some things to go work on and that just was renewing and refreshing.

And one of the things that Danny posed as one of the questions was what does the healing process look like? And I had to think about that. And then it came to me, it was like, well, we've all made scrambled eggs, haven't we?

Got to crack a few eggs, got to mix it all up. And that's kind of what, when I was thinking about that with this clip also, cause you had a bunch of misfits that were just not meant for the army, but they're the ones in the end who rescued Sergeant Hulka out of Czechoslovakia. Cause you know, going to Czechoslovakia, it's like Wisconsin, you zip in, you zip out. You know, that's just one of those things that with your band of brothers, there's a lot of things you can accomplish in spiritual warfare, in wounding and understanding your wounds. Because some of these brothers of mine have very good gifting and being able to see others' warfare, others' wounds, others' poses, others', you know, warfare, things that they can work on and where they can go with things. And you see other people work through things. And in that brotherhood, I just found that there's more than I was missing that I never even thought I was missing. I thought I was missing companionship and somebody to talk to, but man, there's so much more, so much deeper you can go into.

And that was all brought to me through even that first bootcamp. Yeah, it is cool to see people come together from different walks of life and that kind of thing. And it does, it does mean something. So, Robby, we could get your clip in because it's like the Jesus whip of the clips or something. Yeah, play the clip and we'll go from there. You sure it'll explain itself? Yeah, for sure, okay. My name is Howard J. Turkstra.

Yeah, that's Howard J. from Kansas City. Wacka. It didn't change. Yeah, double click. Yeah. Oh, there we go.

It's a mouse problem. There we go. I popped the clutch. I'm sorry.

Batteries aren't included. It's done. Yes, whack them all. So it's extremely important from my perspective. It literally changed my life. It was set up with this idea that Satan is your enemy. And originally, I thought there were just two people on the stage, me and God.

And if things were messed up, it must be me because it certainly wasn't God. But as that was explained at the bootcamp, it was probably my third bootcamp before I probably finally paid attention. And so when we come back, obviously, and here's your opportunity to... We're having an entrenchment coming up, which is how much does it cost?

It's F-R-E-E free. It's in Kernersville. You can go to our website and see the information there. And we also have a bootcamp coming up March 30th through April 2nd.

Yeah, entrenchment is January 27th and 28th. How did God remind you who you were at bootcamp? Oh, in so many different ways. From beginning to end. You better expect God to show up because He's going to show up. If you give Him the time, the time He's going to show up big at this bootcamp. It's so important to me that I'm going to drive 550 miles to get there. You can spend three days laughing with your brothers, and fishing, shooting. It don't get no better than that. And then you're given time to spend time with God.

And He will talk to you. With the brothers, friends, the things that you're taught and the things that you think about. Just amazing experience all the way around. It is a tight bond of men.

Everybody's the same. And each and every time that I've come to bootcamp, I've learned something different. And not one man that's ever been there neglects not to take time out to talk with the sheriff. It's serious business. And you need to come one time and break bread with the men and fellowship, feel the atmosphere, hear the people pray, and get down to earth about what's going on in life and get real.

Register today at masculinejourney.org. What a change you have made in my heart. What a change you have made in my heart.

You replaced all the broken parts. What a change you have made in my heart. That song is from Ronnie Millsap.

The title of the song is what a difference you made my life. And I just love that verse. It kind of fit into what we were doing. So anyway, when we left our hero, he was about to whack some mold.

So Robby. Yeah. So, you know, here came this concept was totally radical to me. Like, oh my goodness, we have an enemy. And, you know, all these great stories that we've watched movie clips on and all this we're showing this, they had an enemy.

And I never really had put it together like your story has an enemy. And so they went from that idea that, you know, everybody reflects Jesus in a unique way, and that would be your glory. And that what they pointed out at this particular boot camp, which stuck in my heart, no doubt, was that, you know, you reflect God in a very unique way. And that if you don't reflect him, nobody else can because you have a very special sauce is what they would say, actually, at those boot camps, to special to see, to all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onion, not sesame seed bun was what they'd say. And then what they said was that what Satan's strategy was not so much that he hated you, he hates God. So when you reflect God, you know, he's out there looking across the horizon. And when your reflection of God comes up over the horizon, he's like whack a mole. So when he sees that pop up out of the foxhole, then bam, he whacks it. And so by studying the angle of attack of where those beatings are coming from, and we've all experienced them, then we're made wise by our enemies, like it says in 119 Psalm, that you can have some clue to how it is that you actually reflect God by the way that you're attacked. Perfect example would be Sam, right? That his sister would constantly tell him when he was little, you know, shut up, motor mouth, you got nothing of value to say, right?

And Craig from, you know, Wild at Heart, his stepfather would call him a seagull, right? And again, both people had tremendous things to say, but both people were put down at their point of communication. And when I began to understand that, like, wow, I started to see my own attacks coming as a result of my faithfulness, right? And unfaithfulness was what was happening to me. And when I came across that idea, at the same time I was hearing my new name, Faithful, it was a heart-changing story. And as a result, I guess, just based on the platform and the honor God gave me to share it with a lot of different places and a lot, you know, the fruit of me getting that healing has led to so many people telling me, oh man, Robby, I didn't know that.

And so what God has done with that bit of healing in my life has been repeated time and time and time and time and time again by people either at boot camps or other places touched, you know, by this ministry, other ministries I'm involved in. It's amazing. That's awesome. I like that story. I like the whack-a-mole clip too.

So Sam, you and I are sitting in opposite positions. So, yeah. And I'll play your clip close to last.

So anyway, you want to set your clip up? I do. There's a quote from a guy named Howard Thurman. I was at my first boot camp and there was so much that happened at that first boot camp. I got a lot of healing and a lot of things, but the thing that hit me the first out of the gate was this quote from Howard Thurman. And it says, don't ask what the world needs, ask what makes you come alive and go do it.

Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. And as I looked at my journey at church, specifically in ministry, you know, I had done the obligatory usher. You know, I'd helped with this.

I'd helped with that. I'd been on this committee and God really taught me at that boot camp, just because you can doesn't mean you should. Those are the words they used with me.

Because there's a lot of things I can go do, but that doesn't mean I should go do them. And I was filling my life full of things that I should go do in my own mind instead of saying, God, what makes me come alive? And right out of that first boot camp, one of the things was he laid on my heart to do a youth movie Bible study. My daughters were in youth at the time and to do a once a month movie night. And we would talk about, you know, who was the God character in the movie, who was the Satan character and helping them see movies a different way that God had really opened my eyes to more fully. You know, movies had always meant a lot to me.

I couldn't figure out why until I went to my first boot camp. And then I could see why because it was telling some of God's story. And so, I really had this passion to go do that. And from that led to another passion, which led to another passion.

And this is something that I constantly go back to is saying, God, am I doing the things that make my heart come alive in you? Right? Because what you really need to be is alive in you. Because when people see people that are alive in you, they become infected by that and they want to become alive in you.

Right? And it doesn't mean that I don't have my times of being a tent maker and that I have to do some stuff I'd really rather not do. We all have those times, but I'm just talking about as a ministry.

You know, and that kind of laid us, really, when I look back, it kind of laid the groundwork for Heidi and I to move down here a few years later, which we never would have done. And then from there, Darren calling me and starting the ministry, you know, and starting boot camps and all that came from a little spark of saying, you know, what makes you come alive? And so, I would encourage anybody listening out there to ask yourself and what you're doing in ministry.

It could be great. And a lot of things that we go do for ministry are amazing. But it's something that God's uniquely got you to do that makes your heart come alive. That would be the question and spend time with Him in it. Saying, and if it's not something that makes you come alive, saying, God, is this something you still want me in? And it may be yes. Or is it time to let someone else step in that may feel alive about that? Because I'm sure that there's somebody that feels alive about ushering or about doing another thing or working on this committee. Let them come do that and fulfill that role and let their heart come alive when I go do something else.

And so, that's one that it's constantly been with me ever since that boot camp and it drives a lot of what I do. So, you got a clip? You got a clip? Oh, I do have a clip.

Yeah, I'm sorry. So, this is the clip. I forgot all about the clip. I wasn't going to talk that much about it. But this is a clip and it's from Young Frankenstein.

So, this is what I thought of immediately. If you really didn't want me to play it, I could not. Yeah, go ahead. When I give the word, throw the first switch. You've got it, master. Get ready. Get set.

Go. Throw the second switch. Throw the third switch. Not the third switch. Throw it again.

Throw it. Flies! Flies, do you hear me?

Give my creation life! Yes, I do realize I could have cut that clip earlier. It only played the last part that paid off, but I liked it.

So, I played the whole thing. But, you know, when I think of that, the reason I thought of that clip is I think God sets up there and sees his children's hearts come alive and he celebrates. You know, think about your kids and if they're out doing something that really makes their heart come alive, maybe your kid loves football or they love band or they love whatever it is.

When you see them doing something that makes their heart come alive, there's something in you that just cheers for them, right? And so, I thought of that clip immediately because I just see God saying, give my creation life. You know, I want them to have life and have it abundantly, right? I think Jesus said that at some point. So, yes, that now I'm done.

It sounded a lot like some of my tech support calls I take during the day with all that electricity going on. You know, it really talks to the fact that, you know, what we're talking about is like what Romans 12 2 says. It says, be not conformed to this world but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. And, you know, because we come into life and our wounding and all that stuff with wrong thinking and we have to be, as you computer guys talk about, deprogrammed and reprogrammed. And I know I've got a few short circuits, no doubt about that, but that's kind of what that reminded me of. And when that happens, you begin to come alive. You begin to really know who you really maybe are. And as that grows and, you know, boot camp after boot camp, because one would never do it for me.

Anyway, but that's kind of what I thought about with that. So, yeah. And there's also the whole thing of, you know, there's different seasons in your ministry life.

You know, your story, right? There was a time that your heart came alive with the men of steel in Ashboro, right? And then that season kind of ended and then you're in with us now, right? And at some point, this may be a different season. We have people come in and out of the band of brothers that move on to do something else, right? And I think that's just part of our maturing in God is saying, okay, what's going to make us come alive in this next season?

Jon Moffitt Yeah, I think we can often look for a quick fix. And it's really easy to want to go get that and just have something and be done. But it's a journey. It's a process. It's something that God's going to take you on over time.

Very seldom you ever see in the Bible where God does anything quickly. It usually does it thoroughly and does it over a longer period of time, building through and in other people that are around you. And that's one of the biggest things that if you go out and you can at least start to have a band of brothers or if you have one, you know, where would you like to go deeper? What have you not shared? Somebody's got to break the ice and be the one to be vulnerable.

Who's that going to be? You know, Sam talked about, you know, hey, what makes your heart come alive? Well, one of the things that can happen is you go someplace you haven't done. Go try to do something new. You may come up with a completely new thing that makes your heart come alive because you don't know. And then as you're going through those things, don't just keep trying things that are just, you know, off the wall, but you have to have some life.

You have to have some things that are making you come alive now, even if you're going to try something new or different. But man, do that. Share with your brothers.

See where you guys can go together. Yeah. And I think you find not only Sam in ministry, but you know, in your life in general, because I don't like to segregate my life too much anymore because, you know, everything I do do into the Lord. And so I need life in my family. I need life in my workplace.

I need that life. And so that's kind of where we've gone with this. And it's really neat, but, you know, join us. You can go to our website and you can, you can sign up for the, the entrenchment, which is January 27th and 28th. And it's free as Robby says, F R E E free. That's about the only word I can spell.

Jim's not here to elaborate. And then, you know, you can sign up for bootcamp, April, March 30th through April 2nd, and join us out in Mocksville. Yeah, maskandjourney.org. We'll hope to see you there. So come join us. This is the Truth Network.