From June 10–12, the Living Church of God held another Men’s Training Camp (MTC) at the peaceful Blowing Rock Conference Center in the mountains of North Carolina. Over the weekend, 49 men from nine different states gathered to fellowship and learn together. The cool and rainy weather in this region of the Appalachian Mountains provided a welcome break from the usual Carolina summer heat as the men reunited with friends and family from congregations as close as neighboring South Carolina and as distant as Washington state, and the atmosphere was enthusiastically positive.
Mr. Jonathan McNair coordinated the efforts of Messrs. John Strain, Lenny Bower, Wyatt Ciesielka, and Rod McNair, who served as the teaching team. Mr. Gerald Weston, visiting the MTC for the first time, participated in the activities and gave the concluding address on Sunday.
The theme chosen this year at the North Carolina MTC was “followership”—learning to become better leaders by understanding the value of being better followers, from the perspective of both respecting authority and submitting to God in an increasingly godless age. This theme combined well with the principles that have guided the MTC since its inception: honoring God, building bonds of brotherhood, and education. These have been the foundational principles of the camps since Mr. Jonathan McNair began conducting them in 2014. This year, Mr. McNair shared some of the history of the program and how it has progressed since its rustic beginnings as a men’s informal camping weekend.
Humble Beginnings
“As some of the other men and I in the Northeast region began to talk about having a weekend for men in the Church to get together and go camping, it occurred to me that we were leaving some men out. Some men would love to spend a weekend with other men but were not able to go camping and hiking. So I said, ‘Let’s think differently about this, and plan a spiritual boot camp rather than just a camping experience.’ Instead of just focusing on outdoor skills, we can focus on spiritual skills. And if this was going to be accessible to all the men in the congregation, we needed to think beyond just focusing on ‘leadership’ and emphasize the challenge of simply being a Christian man in a world that wars against that very concept. If we can be good solid Christians first, the leadership component will fall into place naturally.” Mr. McNair was determined to provide an opportunity for men of a wide range of ages and backgrounds to fellowship, learn together, and encourage each other in the Christian way of life.
“It was also important to make the activity accessible in terms of time. Many of our men do not have time off work after they use their vacation days for the Holy Days. So, we determined to run the activity from Friday evening to noon on Sunday, so they can get back home in time to prepare for work on Monday.”
For the first couple of years, Mr. McNair organized camps at different locations throughout the Northeast to accommodate different congregations. However, he quickly realized that the men in the Northeast “enjoyed it so much that they wanted to be at every camp,” instead of attending the ones in their respective parts of the region! At that point, a central location in the region was established for the activity.
As more men heard about the activity, guests from throughout the United States began to come to the Northeast to participate each summer. “One goal was to develop a template so that other pastors who felt their area would benefit from a program like this could replicate the Men’s Training Camp themselves.” Guests included Messrs. Bill Long, Rick Stafford, and Bob Rodzaj, who each pastor their own area. Mr. Long and Mr. Rodzaj have each conducted a Men’s Training Camp in their area, and Mr. Stafford hopes to follow suit. Mr. Stephen Elliot, pastor of several congregations in the Southwest, led his local men in hosting an MTC just outside Phoenix, joined by Dr. Jeff Fall and Mr. Jonathan Bueno. Mr. Adam West has continued the tradition of conducting the program in the Northeast region, assisted by pastors Mr. Michael Aviles and Mr. John Hunter. Mr. Rod McNair has conducted MTCs in the Charlotte area, as has Mr. John Strain, with the support of Mr. Lenny Bower. From Headquarters, Dr. Douglas Winnail, Mr. Michael DeSimone, and, most recently, Mr. Gerald Weston, have all attended and participated in Men’s Training Camps.
Mr. McNair emphasized the importance of including elders and pastors in the teaching sessions. “It’s key to have other ministers involved. The men benefit from multiple perspectives focusing on our theme from different angles rather than me doing all the talking all the time. To be successful, the activity needs to be interactive, it needs to address real-life issues, and it needs to be focused on biblical guidance for the challenges we face as men.”
“A Rolls-Royce Is Always Going to Be a Rolls-Royce”
In terms of the MTC today, and specifically this year’s camps in Wisconsin and North Carolina, Mr. McNair said he hoped to establish a solid standard of success and to avoid the attitude of making each year “compete” with the last. “A Rolls-Royce is always going to be a Rolls-Royce” he said, as the program strives to offer something “a little bit different” each year, while maintaining the high standard of quality, value, and camaraderie that participants have come to enjoy.
That focus was noticeably strong at Blowing Rock this year, and Mr. McNair observed that “the guys really dug into the application and practice of the subject—how to be strong and courageous followers. Mr. Weston also seemed to really enjoy getting to meet and getting to know the men better.”
One participant said:
The 2021 Men’s Training Camp was a tremendous blessing for me, and I truly thank Mr. McNair and all the LCG ministry and staff that made it all possible. The two things that made the biggest impact on me were, first, diversity in ages and experiences of all the men in attendance, from fourth-generation members… to first-generation men who were just recently baptized—all of whom recognize the importance of being godly men. Secondly… humility and patience is so important in being a good follower and how my example, as a follower, affects how my family and those in my congregation feel towards the leadership in the Church and towards each other.
Another participant called the MTC “an awesome amazing opportunity that God gives us to train to be submissive to Christ…. It is like a giant Spokesman Club meeting, held in one full learning and practicing weekend, [almost like] a mini-Feast! Learning to bond together better as brothers, sharing experiences to help each other with know-how to fight in the spiritual battles we face—it takes us as good followers to keep it going.”
Though the theme for 2022 is sure to be different, participants are looking forward to more of the same excellent work and fellowship next year!