Boot Camp (noun):  1. a military training camp for new recruits, with very harsh discipline.  2. a short, intensive, and rigorous course of training. 

This weekend Jonny and I, along with some of our young blokes, are away on the Penno Baps Boot Camp. Although it won’t be military in discipline, still we hope for a weekend that is mentally, physically, and spiritually intensive and rigorous. Men spending time with men – sharing wisdom, sharing struggles, and pushing each other on in faith.

I bet you wish you were there. Perhaps not. Boot Camp sounds exhausting and demanding, and you lose a sense of control. Other people tell you what to do and when to do it. Others control your time and options whilst you expend the sweat. What rational person would sign up for something like that, and for what good purpose?

Maybe we’re all a little bit irrational. In life, almost all of us sign up for some type of Boot Camp experience. We hand over our time and sweat and sense of control to others – often without realising we’re doing it.

Young women willingly give themselves over to the Boot Camp of Motherhood. It’s exhausting, totally demanding, and lasts for a very long time. Others sign their life away to the Boot Camp of Career, or the Boot Camp of The Family Business. These things often swamp our lives and choices.

Boot Camp is a good thing. But ask, ‘What sacrifices am I making and who or what am I living for. Make sure the Boot Camp you’ve signed up for is shaping God glorifying character.