SPIRITUAL LIFE

LEANING INTO GOD... LEANING ON EACH OTHER

By Sarah Jones, Academic & College Counselor

There are some moments in life that are so undeniably of God that it takes your breath away. The formation of The Warrior Way has been one of those moments. Throughout last spring and summer while the world was in quiet chaos, the Lord was at work through His people and His school. Kingdom work did not stop when the world did.

The minute quarantine was upon us, our faculty, led by Dr. Arnold, did what it does best - we teamed. A dozen different task forces were put in place to ensure a safe and successful start to the 2020-2021 school year. I was on a team charged with student support post quarantine. We tossed around several different ideas, but nothing took root. During an afternoon drive one day in early June, the Lord sent some very clear guidance. We began to build a small group advisory system centered around a year-long study on what it means to be more than a conqueror. It would fittingly be called The Warrior Way.

Now here’s where things get really fun. Soon after, senior Piper Greer sent in her Capstone proposal explaining her desire to develop a devotional written completely by students. Piper invited other interested students to contribute. Together they would write all of the weekly Warrior Way content for high school advisory. But God.

Senior Piper Greer

Of the things learned during quarantine, one seemed to be highlighted consistently - people need people. It took a period of solitude to open our eyes to our great need for community. As believers and Warriors, community is at the core of our DNA. We understand that people need people because that’s how God works.

MISSION STATEMENT

The Warrior Way provides every student with a small discipleship group that meets throughout the year for the purpose of growing together in unity as Warriors for the Kingdom. Rooted in truth, we are charged to support students emotionally and spiritually with the aim to cultivate humility, kindness, and a deeper love for God and others.

The Warrior Way’s four main focus units for 2020-21 :

Know God better

How we conquer in Christ

What we conquer in Christ

What it means to be a Warrior

KNOW GOD BETTER

Scripture is sprinkled with unlikely heroes who all have the same heart goal - to know God better. Through knowing Him better we love and trust Him more and can love others more fully. Love God. Love people.

A.W. Tozer writes, “To have found God and still pursue Him is the soul’s paradox of love...justified in happy experience by the children of the burning heart.” He goes on to say that Moses used the fact that he knew God as an argument for knowing Him better. May we always be children of the burning heart seeking His face each and every day.

The first several weeks of The Warrior Way we studied the character of our God. We were reminded that in Christ we are fully equipped with His armor. He is our strength, our truth, our righteousness, and our peace. God’s word also tells us that He is our light in darkness, the anchor of our soul, and He is present in every moment. Always at our right hand.

"I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken." Psalm 16:8

HOW WE CONQUER IN CHRIST

The Lord calls us to a Kingdom perspective - to see things the way He sees them. From darkness to light. Despair to hope. Bondage to freedom. In a desperate battle cry, Jeremiah has the realization, “but the LORD is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me.” Jeremiah 20:11. The Lord is the one fighting our battles. We are only called to have faith and endure patiently with a prayerful posture of humility.

WHAT WE CONQUER IN CHRIST

Throughout the third quarter we will explore what we can conquer in Christ - things like thoughts, fear, doubt, idols, pride, and discontentment to name a few.

So what does it mean for us to be more than conquerors? Tara-Leigh Cobble of The Bible Recap answers beautifully:

“His call is to persevere in the faith, to overcome the temptations of the world - whether they’re temptations to pursue earthly pleasures or to escape hardships and persecution. To be a conqueror is to love better. To be a conqueror is to keep loving God regardless of what life throws at you - blessings or challenges.”

To love better. God and His people.

WHAT IS A WARRIOR?

In his final book, John Stott tells his readers, “We are not to be like reeds shaken by the wind, bowing down before gusts of public opinion, but as immovable as rocks in a mountain stream.” Unshakable. Immovable. Standing firm in the Cornerstone. At our church recently, we were challenged to wonder if maybe God is shaking out everything except for the parts that are unshakable. It sure feels that way. So, as Warriors, we will do what we are called to do. We will seek. We will abide. We will conquer. The victory is His!

Warriors lead the way!

The temporary tattoos were designed by senior Annie Carter to help with scripture memorization,