The Climb

The path before me looks overgrown. Few feet have trampled this way. Yet I know this is the path I must take. Many years ago, when I started my walk, the path was really more like a fire road. The walk was easy and my pace quick. I never worried about straying off the path because the path was wide, the obstacles small, besides I knew the woods so well for it was where I had come from. Though it wasn’t at the time, looking back being a young Christian was easy. I had great desire and few inhibitions. I was freed from the chains, the sin that so easily ensnares. Not that I didn’t stumble, but I knew I was forgiven and that was enough for me. I would walk my path, with my head down and stop and make sure God was still with me every few miles.

As I’ve matured in Christ, my path has narrowed, my walk more labored. The obstacles that I could see from the beginning, the mountains in the distance, are now right before me. So what has changed? Why do I struggle more today than I did a decade ago? Why has my path narrowed and steepened. A decade age my sins bothered me and I feared the Devil hunting me down. Now my sins destroy me but Devil is scared of me. Now I know the mere thought, the mere desire, is the sin that kills, not the act itself.

Gazing into the wood is more than distraction. I must press on toward my summit. The path is narrow and going is slow but I’m much stronger now than I was on that fire road. I no longer sway under the weight of my load, I don’t need the forgiving width of the road anymore. The strength to climb the mountain was built by climbing the little steps along the way, when the road was more forgiving. I’m ready, otherwise God would not have put me on this path. As the Apostle Paul taught, when I do what I do not want to do, it is not me but the sin in me. I am separate from sin, now. If I tell the Devil to flee, he will. Not that I am god but God is in me. He directs my steps on this narrow path. I no longer walk for miles then look to see if God is still with me. I wait on the Lord. He has been faithful and ever-present. Though I can’t see the where this path will twist and turn. Though I can’t see what lay around the corner. Though I can’t see the traps the Devil has placed on my path. I am not worried.

I am not worried because the path is already there. Someone has been here before and knows the path to the top of the mountain. The path has been blazed by the only one that could. It has been cut into the wood for me, and me alone. That is why it seems overgrown. Only one other person has walked this path and He has come back to get me up this mountain. I will follow him. Even though I am weak. For the Lord is my strength.

Rangers is more than just camping

Royal Rangers was a large and important part of my life. From age five through the college years, I was heavily involved in the ministry for boys and won National Ranger of the Year. I was also the youngest candidate to earn the Gold Medal of Achievement, with gold and two silver buffalos.

Aside from teaching boys how to administer first aid, pitch a tent, and make a proper campfire, Royal Rangers also reinforces a way of life that seems to be lacking in our society today. Rangers, coupled with a supportive church and attentive parents, will produce high quality young men. It teaches them spiritual principles, introduces them to Jesus Christ and His Word, and instructs them in how to grow socially.

Rangers also teaches boys how to be mentally strong. From the kinds of knots that work in certain situations to what Scriptures to use in leading a friend to Christ, Rangers teaches many things. Sure, it makes hiking and camping more fun, and canoeing is more enjoyable when you don’t flip the boat. Beyond that, it has helped me grow as a person.

My college major was history, due primarily to my Rangers training. At the annual pow-wows (summer camps), the boys were required to role play an event from history. We were General Washington’s men storming a British-held island (in a state park), Robin Hood’s merry men (in a green army tent in the woods beside the church), or soldiers defending the Alamo (hiding behind hay bales outside a barn with a painted front, complete with an angel in a front-end loader as we all died).

The training also helped me personally; I know how to put together a uniform and show respect to a commander and others in authority. I know what it means to be selfless and how to minister not only as a pastor, but also as a regular guy. These traits are priceless in the world of military chaplaincy. As a friend of mine said, “Being in Rangers put me ahead of everyone else in flight.” This friend also won the Gold Medal of Achievement and was a National Ranger of the Year. He is now a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force and navigator of a highly classified plane.

Royal Rangers is not just good for us military types. I agree with another friend of mine who noted that those of us who did well in Rangers seemed to skip the troublesome teenage years. You read that correctly. Of course, that can also be attributed to Christian upbringing and church attendance, but I believe it is due in large part to the ministry of Royal Rangers. The truths taught in Rangers have a maturing effect on boys.

The lessons taught and the ideals held in Rangers are only part of the equation. Mottos, such as “A Royal Ranger is alert, clean, honest, courageous, loyal, courteous, obedient, and spiritual,” or “Ready,” or “With God’s help I will do my best to serve God, my church, and my fellow man…” are good, strong, and right, but they are not enough.

Royal Rangers is about reaching, teaching, and keeping boys for Jesus Christ. Royal Rangers is not Wednesday night daycare. It is ministry. Men, here’s your assignment, your adventure. Be a Ranger Commander, even if for only a while. You are mentoring and teaching the boys, you are giving them knowledge and building relationships with them that will prepare them not only for church or jobs, but for life. The words, medals, skills, and even Scriptures are hollow except for the team of the Holy Spirit and the dedicated Ranger Commander.

I hope to do a great service protecting my country and ministering to our warriors in my Navy khakis. But I am not doing nearly as great a service as the one who wears the Ranger khaki uniform.

Ensign Adam Erwin, chaplain candidate, US Naval Reserve, graduated from Georgia Tech and is working on two masters degrees from Southwestern Christian University. He is also the associate and youth pastor at the Honea Path PH Church in South Carolina.