ALERT! My Testimony

This year, in search of adventure and hardcore training, I had the privilege to join a very unique Academy, called ALERT.

Alert Academy is a Christian organization located in Big Sandy, Texas. It has a military structure to provide discipline, with the word of God as its foundation. Its motto: “Strong to serve” its purpose to “forge extraordinary men to influence their world for Christ.”

Basic Training is about who I am in Christ, where I need to grow, and then having the “tools” to do that, to grow in my walk with Christ and my knowledge of His word and will for my life. It teaches all this through a process of breaking down then building up. And that’s what I will be telling you guys about today. I’ll give an overview of what we did, then share what was actually learned and the new perspective gained through the experience.

I walked into Basic Training somewhat blind. I knew we would do hikes, repelling, have some inspections, some cleaning, but the whole experience would be a lot more than what I expected.

The first night was extremely humbling. Your phone was taken away, and with it pretty much all contact with the world. All my hair was shaved, I lost the privilege of being able to speak for the most part during the first two weeks, and I became a Recruit. Life became an unrealistic world where you never knew what will happen next, because we were never told. The only way to tell time was by looking at the direction of the sun. The first week was spent learning a lot of protocols like standing at the position of attention whenever Cadre (basically an “officer”) enters the room. We learned how to march, how to address officers, how to move quickly and efficiently because there were time limits for almost everything. If we don’t do a task in time, we pay for it in pushups, and lots of them. Mornings began with a bible study and 1^st Peter memorization time, then a.m. physical training. Morning Physical Training usually involved a “Jodi run” when we would run in “cadence” in step while singing; it was always one of my favorite parts. After that we did warm-ups then cardio and strength building workouts:pull-ups, tire flips, sandbag workouts, log workouts and other “fun” stuff. Next were jurisdiction and uniform inspections, where you got penalized for everything not up to standard, (basically perfection). We had to iron our uniforms a lot, wear them just right, keep them clean and pay attention to details. After inspections and breakfast was morning Bible class where we had amazing speakers teach on Gods word. I really learned a lot through this. Sometimes the topic would be on the Gospel, prayer, Sanctification through Christ, God’s attributes.We really dove into the Bible during this time. Occasionally during the day and night an alarm would go off. When this happened we would run all the way back to our barracks and pack our multi day backpacks, and then do an event such as a hike or a navigation exercise with maps and compasses, or practice a medical emergency and find a patient somewhere in the woods using coordinates on a map and a compass.

We learned how to treat medical emergencies -broken bones, bleeding, hypothermia, shock. They also taught how to perform patient rescues by making stretchers with lashing, crossing bodies of water with a rope system, making mechanical advantage systems, repelling, and more. Our hikes got progressively longer, eventually completing the endurance hike, where we hiked for 24 hours straight through some difficult terrain, and covered over 50 miles.

One thing that Alert did really well was expose your weakness. Something I really lacked was self discipline, and Alert exposed that. It also put me in an atmosphere of Christian men who were really sold out for Christ and an excellent example to follow. I discovered I could do more than I thought I could. I could push harder and endure more than I thought possible, and go deeper in my relationship with Christ than I ever had before. Alert built a confidence in what God can do through you. Its goal is to train men to serve, and to equip them with the tools to do that. For someone to change, they need to be brought to a state of mind to see the need for change. Alert was the most humbling experience in my life. There were times where both physically and mentally I couldn’t go on; my body was telling me that I was done. And the truth was, at those times I really couldn’t go on by myself. And it’s during those moments when I gave everything over to God, crying out for help, that He helped me in amazing ways. During the third week I had a complete mental collapse. It happened during survival week when we were living off a small daily portion of beans and rice, sleeping outside and doing really stressful events during the day. I was on “fire watch” some time past midnight writing a letter home when it hit me how blessed I was to be a Christian and able to endure hardships, how undeserving I was of God’s love, and how short our lives were in the span of eternity. I realized that God’s providential hand had brought me to Alert for a reason, and I needed this more than I imagined. Looking back, I am so thankful that God brought me to Alert and worked in my heart during those 2 months. One of the most important parts of a journey is knowing you are on a journey! After I realized that, Basic Training just got better and better. As we did harder things both physically, mentally and spiritually I grew closer and closer in my walk with God, and had more and more joy every day. I learned what it meant to have my identity in Christ, and to really live out the gospel and be a servant of Jesus.

If I could share with you one of the most important aspects of what I learned, it would be the importance of the Gospel and Christ being the center and identity of your life, being outward focused. So I would ask you guys first, what is the gospel?

Paul tells us the summary of the Gospel in 1 Corinthians 15

 “1Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

² By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

³ For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

⁴ And that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

          By believing that and accepting Christ into our hearts we are saved, but does it end there? We should strive to have our identity in Christ, to live for Him. Romans 6:1-11 says:

 “1What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

 2God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

3Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

⁴ Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

⁵ For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

⁶ Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

⁷ For he that is dead is freed from sin.

⁸ Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

⁹ Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

¹⁰ For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

¹¹ Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

We look around us and see a lost culture that is blind to truth – a culture of self love, inwardly focused. We are told by the world to do what our flesh, our old man desires. But we are new creatures in Christ! We are told in Romans to walk in newness of life, to follow Christ and be examples, a light on the hill. So many people walk around in their own little world looking for joy. They might have temporary happiness, but that’s all “happiness” is. It’s just a feeling. Joy lasts, happiness doesn’t. Guys, you can be totally depressed, utterly miserable and still be “happy” at times. You don’t know real joy until you know Christ Jesus. What gives us this joy is our eternal hope and security in Christ. Only then do we have everything we need to be joyful. Don’t buy the lies of culture around us that we need to be more, to look a certain way, to have certain things. If we truly have our identity in Christ I promise you that He will fulfill that need. Oh that we could have the faith of Paul and Silas who counted it joy to be put in prison for the sake of Christ. 1^st Peter 4:12-14 says

“12Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

¹³ But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

¹⁴ If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.”

Let our joy be our witness to the world. Let Christ be seen in everything we do. If we can be known first and foremost as a Christ follower, we truly are influencing our world for good.