by Brian Orr, LSCC member and founder of Champion Warriors
Friday evening got off to a wet start. Because of the rain-soaked roads, we couldn’t allow dads to drive their trucks down to the camping areas. My 13-year-old son, Luke, a Champion Warrior alumnus, spent the entire evening shuttling gear down the muddy trails with a four-wheel-drive utility cart. But things soon got settled and our opening campfire was only about an hour behind schedule. As we broke into our tribes, got acquainted, and got more campfires going, the sky cleared and the stars and moon set the stage for a beautiful weekend.
The boys and their dads in the first-year tribes enjoyed s’mores between discussions of friendship and self-discipline for the first-year tribes. Second-year boys and their dads discussed the full armor of God. Third-year boys and their dads spent most of the evening on three tasks: 1) getting the camp kitchen set up and organized, 2) reading the first couple chapters of Joe White’s book, “Pure Excitement,” and 3) starting their one-hour shifts in the Champion Warriors’ prayer tent, “The Forge.”
Saturday opened with a gentle breeze to help dry out the grass and the gear. The quiet air was broken only by the soothing sounds of birds and the annoying beep of the four-wheeler’s horn as my two older boys, Luke and Dean (also an alumus), served as the alarm clock for the entire camp. One dad was heard to remark, “Now I know why they don’t let us bring guns on this campout!”
Physical appetites were satisfied with bountiful meals, and spiritual appetites were sated with the beauty of God’s provision. First-year boys built stronger relationships with their dads and their tribes through various team-building activities. Later, they were affirmed privately and publicly by their dads, and they spent several hours discussing faith, honesty, responsibility, perseverance, and courage throughout the day. At the pinnacle of the evening, each dad stepped up and told the tribe about his son, why he loved him, and how proud he was of him. Then the dad awarded his son a gold medal inscribed with, “Only God loves you more than I do. Love, Dad.”
The second-year boys also had some team-building adventures with their dads, spent several hours discussing the various pieces of God’s armor throughout the day, and began learning “close order drill” (the skill of marching as a unit).
The third-year boys spent the day in prayer, service and study of purity. They also began painting their personal coat of arms – a shield which they design and paint to express to the world what they stand for.
Saturday night ended with the Champion Warriors World Championship (CWWC) Capture the Flag match. The dads successfully defended their six-year unbeaten streak.
Sunday morning broke with clear skies and warm breezes, lifting the spirits of those who are not accustomed to sleeping on the ground. And, of course, the still beauty was broken by Dean and Luke blasting that annoying horn at 7 a.m.
Much of Sunday’s agenda was similar to Saturday, with the addition of archery for the first-year boys and a lesson in swordsmanship for the second-year boys. The first-year tribes completed their discussion about compassion and loyalty, while the second-year tribe finished discussing the sixth chapter of Ephesians.
The weekend closed with a short ceremony which allowed the second-year tribe to show off their marching skill and each of the third-year boys to explain the meaning of his coat of arms. Finally, each of the third-year dads stepped forward and “knighted” their sons – blessing them verbally and then symbolically by touching them on each shoulder with a sword in the ancient tradition.
I had several dads come up to me afterwards and thank me for the great weekend and tell me what a blessing it was to them and their sons. I can only say that the true blessings have come to me over the past seven years as I have watched all these dads and sons come and grow together in the Lord. I need to thank each of them for allowing me the opportunity to be a part of their lives as I live out the wonderful vision God gave me for a father and son weekend called “Champion Warriors.”
Please visit our Web site at www.championwarriors.org, and see photos and videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/Championwarriors.