Timothy Group Blog

“‘cuz most things true… are simple and complex” - Beautiful Mystery - Caedmon’s Call

Opposites define each other, and tension and balance are necessary pieces of our physical and immaterial universe. By recognizing the complementary nature within dichotomies we can better apply ourselves correctly in thought and deed by a gracious smile or a fierce aggression as the situation may demand. Knowing the difference is the test.

Ambition and Contentment

Scripture calls us to “run the race”, but also to “be content”. How then are we to live? In truth, these are opposing concepts, but they are also complementary. Contentment is not to be laziness, but a gratefulness and recognition of what God has freely given to us and worked through us. Our ambition then, should be to pursue goals that advance his kingdom. Are you employed? Work to advance your workplace and improve your position. Are you single, and desiring to be married? Strive to become the person your future spouse can depend on. And with all your striving, give thanks.

Stress and Relaxation

In strength training there’s an idea of stress (such as lifting a heavy weight) and recovery (getting protein and resting). Similarly to the dichotomy given before, these are both opposing and complementary, and we can apply this beyond training to our everyday lives. In a training context, the student needs to be pushed to a “novel” (new) level of physical or mental stress in order to provoke an adaptation. Given adequate recovery the body can adjust very quickly to meet the new (higher) standard of performance. Then the cycle begins again, and the intensity must be increased in order to inspire further progress. If you’ve attended CHALLENGE, you learned that you can operate at a higher intensity than is generally asked of you. If you can learn to call on that strength more often and pair that with proper recovery, you’ll unlock a level of performance in work and life that will inspire those around you to great things.

Accountability and Independence

“To be a ring-3 bearer is to be alone.” - Tolkien

Man needs independence, but man is also not made to be alone. Build yourself up by surrounding yourself with good examples of Christian maturity and glean from their wisdom and experience. Learn from people you admire, people you agree with, people who make you uncomfortable, people willing to say what they believe, and people who don’t care about your feelings.

As you learn and grow, you will learn to assess, adopt, and rearticulate things on your own. It’s not enough to have grown up in a Christian family and memorized the answers to the bible questions. Do you fundamentally understand and believe those truths for yourself? How do you conduct yourself when you are your own accountability?

After you’ve surrounded yourself with role models, living or historical, think about friends or relatives who might be looking up to you. What kind of example are you setting for them? “Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.” (Prov. 20:11). Are you a worthy example? Find people to learn from, and model the path to those watching you (1 Timothy 5:1-2).

Strife and Peace

“…better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war,” as the popular saying goes. Truly, we are called to be both warriors “always ready with an answer” (1 Pet. 3:15) and also to be peacemakers (Matt. 5:9). With experience and training one must learn to discern the right time for each. As proverbs says, don’t answer a fool by mirroring his foolishness, but appropriately (Prov.26:4-5). In cultivating these two “opposites” each will be sharpened and the faithful believer finds themselves more strongly equipped to deal with not only the brethren (“iron sharpening iron”), but also the unbeliever.

Firstly, thank you to my home church Dominion Baptist, both to our individual supporters and alumni as well as to our church officers being available to be speakers (sometimes on short notice).

My wife Sydney and I have worked patiently since 2019 to reboot the Timothy Group and CHALLENGE, preserving the godly heritage and spirit spanning back over 20 years and seeking to address classic weaknesses of the ministry: finances, and marketing. By God’s grace we not only only ran another successful CHALLENGE: Basic, but also restarted our advanced program CHALLENGE: Extreme this year. All of this while keeping our budget under control, and without requiring financial support from the church or self-funding from the staff.

At Basic we had 10 young men (up from 8 last year) including 4 junior or “intro” participants. Operating on the theme of “Purpose and Meaning” we heard 4 messages from men of 3 separate churches on Purpose and Meaning in Spite of Suffering, Purpose and Meaning in the Family, Purpose and Meaning in the Church, and Purpose and Meaning in Christ.

Extreme is a program that hasn’t been available since 2015, and before that 2010. As I’ve told many of you, most of the quality leadership training I’ve benefitted from in the Timothy Group happens after graduating basic (at Extreme and Selection). We had 5 exceptional young men graduate Extreme this year and it was an honor and a privilege to see them work through the problems we presented to them. We committed to running this event even at a loss, and by God’s grace we still broke even on the year. Our theme for Extreme was “Find Your Mission” and we heard on Prerequisites for Finding a Mission, How to set long-term goals and ambitions, How to assess my gifts and abilities, and How do I know that I’m in God’s will.

Looking to 2024 we’re already planning our staff selection course, CHALLENGE: Basic in the fall, and a skills-based firearms class in February. Strategically, we will also be focusing on our communication and marketing using resources that God has provided through my day-job at a Christian digital marketing agency. Lord-willing we will shore up that pillar and continue our labor to grow the ministry.

While prayer and financial support are welcome (and necessary) our biggest need is still getting the word out and getting folks signed up for CHALLENGE. If you know young men around the ages of 10-20 they need this program.

In our modern society, it often seems we’ve forgotten what it is to be hungry. To be driven to do hard things and work under pressure. CHALLENGE is always a reminder that God has equipped us for greater things than punching our physical and spiritual clock, and that true service requires sacrifice and struggle.

Keys to Spiritual and Personal Growth

Nurturing Spiritual Independence and Maturity

In the journey to manhood, the desire for independence naturally grows within every young man. However, true independence goes beyond mere physical autonomy; it requires the development of spiritual maturity. In 1 Corinthians 13:11 Paul speaks to the natural shedding of childish ways and makes a parallel between our physical growth and our spiritual walk. Growing up in the church, it’s easy to simply conform to expectations or adopt religious practices without genuine spiritual growth. Therefore, discipleship becomes essential both within and outside the church walls, enabling us to reason, endure, and develop a more profound faith.

Embracing Suffering as a Catalyst for Growth

While suffering is an inevitable part of life, it serves a purpose in shaping our character. Just as dopamine and serotonin influence our motivation and contentment, our experiences of success and failure play a role in molding our resilience and determination. In Romans 5, we discover that suffering ultimately leads to the development of character. Moreover, Hebrews 12:1 encourages us to lay aside burdens and sins, empowering us to run the race of life with endurance. By accepting the critical importance of enduring hardship, we can find the motivation to strive for victory and embrace growth even in the face of adversity.

Leading by Example: Inspiring the Next Generation

Leadership can manifest itself in unexpected ways, as we unknowingly become examples for those younger or less experienced than ourselves. This responsibility extends not only to our peers but also to our elders, as outlined in 1 Timothy 5. By setting a positive example, we have the power to inspire others to advance in various areas, such as faith, industry, and the spread of the gospel. As we lead (including “up the chain of command” as Extreme Ownership puts it), it becomes crucial to cultivate confidence and effective communication skills, enabling us to fulfill this command with grace, humility, and righteous aggression.

Readiness and Maturity: The Path to Growth

The instructions for the first passover feast emphasized eating with “your belt fastened” or “your loins girded,”. This gives us insight into the importance of readiness, maturity, and a sober mind. Just as the USMC recruiting poster illustrates the transformative impact of rigorous training on a young soldier’s countenance, intentional and challenging training can instill physical and spiritual maturity in individuals. Through the sharpening of one another, as emphasized in Proverbs 27:17, we can guide and inspire the growth of good men and women by fostering purposefulness, seriousness, and confidence.

Conclusion

Developing independence, enduring through trials, leading by example, and cultivating readiness and maturity are essential aspects of personal and spiritual growth. By embracing these principles, we not only strengthen ourselves but also inspire those around us to strive for greatness. As we navigate our individual journeys, let us embrace the responsibility to guide, uplift, and sharpen one another, fostering a community marked by resilience, purpose, and unwavering faith.

I think most boys remember their first pocket knife. Plenty that I know still carry blades they are proud of. From clever or well-built designs to large fixed blades, there’s just something manly and utilitarian about carrying a good blade. As we get older we add other things to our every day carry or “EDC”. Medical has become a much bigger focus of mine over the years. With training, lethal and less-lethal defensive tools are also very important. Send us an email with some of your most important EDC items.

Scripture calls us to be grateful. It does *not* call us to idleness. So where does ambition fit in? I Corinthians 7:21 tells us that we may be called while being a servant, and that that’s ok. It also says “if you can be free, then do so”. Our physical bodies were built to need both dopamine (desire, drive) and seratonin (gratefulness, satisfaction). Take time to thank the Lord for what you have, and then get up and labor to grow and steward it even better.

Not sure what career you should choose or what you should study? Sometimes just finding the next bit of work and doing it is all that’s needed for today. Find the low hanging fruit: get a job, learn a skill, work actively in your church. As you build your skills and experience, more options will open to you, but find useful work and do it.

Everybody has something to say about nutrition or “diet”. There tends to be a *cough* *cough* grain of truth to most of the popular “fad” diets. Eventually everything boils down to macro (protein, carbs, fat) and micro nutrition (vitamins, minerals, etc.). Most foods are some combination of the 3 macros so everything comes down to 3 things based on your goals: getting a decent ratio across the 3 macros for whatever change or maintenance you’re targeting, getting the right quantity & frequency to absorb what you need, and getting enough whole foods and micronutrients to sustain organ function so you can use those gains in the first place.

Trying to put on muscle? Might need to increase your protein. Trying to lose weight? Might need to limit carbs. Are you a young skinny guy wanting to get stronger? Just eat. Eat a lot. Much of what’s easily available to us in America has an excess of carbs (particularly sugar or pseudo-sugar) and fats. Learn the basic mechanics of your anatomy (as well as what your stomach can tolerate) and take ownership of your nutrition.

Sights and triggers: the smallest definition of marksmanship. Rightly applied, these two things are all that’s needed to put accurate fire on a target. That’s not at all to say that’s all that’s needed… As soon as more than one round is required, principles of grip and stance become the most important thing to presenting and controlling that firearm. Each of these can fill whole books with nuance, variations, and context, and *should* be addressed to that level. In a similar way, theology can be summed up in carefully concise ways. Salvation (saving faith in Jesus Christ) could be described as 1: man’s inadequacy (sin), and 2: the Savior, Christ Jesus. Sinner and savior: the sights and triggers of salvation. Man as a fallen creature incapable of saving himself from the just punishment for sin, and God’s calling of salvation and redemption in his Son.

Similarly to our first example, while these two things *are* the fundamentals of the faith and a good summary… that’s only part of the story. I pray that after you read this you would think on your eternal state. If you have professed faith in Christ, then good… but now the war begins: Seek out a faithful church and brothers and sisters to fight alongside you. Seek out the training you need to serve God’s kingdom, and discipline yourself as a warrior for Christ.

We do! As far as payment goes, only a small amount is required up front to reserve your spot. The remainder is due when you arrive at CHALLENGE. Hopefully you’ve signed up early and have a few months between sign up and the event, during which time you can pull the remainder together. If the total amount is a concern, we encourage you to reach out to us. Our general process is to address the candidate on a case-by-case basis and see what they are able to pay or work off. If they come up short, we have sponsors who contribute in order to ensure young men are able to receive this critical training regardless of their financial situation.

Short answer - no! Although CHALLENGE: Basic was designed for young men ages 13-18, we have had much interest from young men outside those ages, as well. For eleven and twelve year olds, there is an “Intro” track where they can participate in the training and instruction, but their routine is slightly more relaxed. They receive a lot of benefit from learning spiritual lessons and teamwork from a young age, and they become more prepared to keep up with the rigors of CHALLENGE (and life) as full recruits when they get older.