Testimony Corner: Dean Bruckner, Class of 1981

My year at Word of Life Bible Institute was one of the best three years of my life.

As a 17-year-old believer in Christ, I sensed a calling to the secular world as an engineer, military officer, or both. I asked God for wisdom. Our family friends David and Billy Giles (Class of 1978 and 1979, respectively) strongly recommended my brother Lee and I attend the Bible Institute. So we did, along with their sister, Victoria.

The three of us arrived in mid-September 1980 to picture-perfect chalets, hard benches, and the daily Quiet Time diary — the Word of Life experience. Thirty guys push-starting our 18-wheeler in Canada on Collegians winter tour, a missions conference that a hundred of us missed with the flu in the days before vaccinations, watching Dean of Men Ray Namie doing doughnuts in his van — with his family inside — on the frozen lake, and a two-week trip to Israel, Jordan, and Egypt all are indelibly stamped in my memory. But even more than those memories were the lifelong imprints made by the Word of God on the deepest part of who I am.

Life. The Word. That’s what Word of Life is all about. From where I stand, a more coherent, practical, comprehensive one-year presentation of the Bible, integrated into preparation for life, does not exist. For me, it came at exactly the right time, and it equipped me for all that was to come.

Since then, I’ve sailed the coasts of North America, from Nova Scotia to the Panama Canal, to Alaska’s farthest Aleutian Islands, and to the Arctic Circle. I’ve been to 20 foreign countries and studied five languages. I’ve lived a year abroad, earned a Ph.D in electrical engineering, and became a licensed professional engineer. I was the lead system integrator for flight tests of the GPS and inertial navigation systems of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. I got married and have three school-age children, served in eight churches and military chapels, and now teach industrial and systems engineering at Ohio University.

What does all this amount to? Absolutely nothing, in light of eternity, except what was done for Christ and His kingdom. That is the debt I owe to Word of Life. In that year, my spiritual navigation instruments and library of life charts were fitted for the long haul. If God’s hand has held my life on course during everything that’s followed, if He’s used it to touch others, if He and His Word are better known and loved in my wake, it will be due in great measure to what I received in the spiritual “shipyard” on the shores of Schroon Lake.

What amazes me is that it was such fun, too. It truly was one of the three most joyful years of my life, along with my honeymoon year of marriage and my year as a young commanding officer of the U.S. Coast Guard radio station near Istanbul, Turkey.

The Turks have a saying: “A tree can be shaped when it’s young.” That was Word of Life to me.

Q&A: Rich Andrews

Director of Ministries, Word of Life Florida

Ministry Timeline
Camper, Word of Life Ranch (1981, 1986-87)
Camper, Word of Life Island (1988-1991)
Bible Institute student: first year (1992), second year (1995)
Camp staff, Island (1992-1994, 2000)
Impact Singers (1992-1993)
Impact Team (1993-1998)
Camp director, Ranch (1995-1999)
Camp staff, Word of Life Florida (2001-2013)
Camp director, Florida (2005-present)
Director of Ministries, Florida (May 2013-present)

Family
Wife: Lynn Fahning Andrews (Class of 1994); married for 19 years
Children: Gavyn (15), Javen (13), Lynneah (11)

What was your first connection with Word of Life?
A Word of Life staff member brought a group of Bible Institute students to my home church, Bethany Baptist Church in Mount Clemens, Michigan, and did a Vacation Bible School-style event. I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior at that event.

Whose life has impacted yours the most spiritually, and why?
God has allowed me to be mentored by several great men, but the biggest impact was made by George Theis. Our relationship began on my first Collegian tour, when he confronted me about talking while he was talking and followed it up with this statement: “You and I are either going to be the best of friends when this tour is over or the worst of enemies.” I’m so glad I chose friendship! He and his wife, Joan, continue to be a great encouragement to me and my wife, Lynn.

How were you impacted as a camper?
My first week of camp was in 1981 at Word of Life Ranch, and I hated it, missed home, ate too much candy, and was just miserable. When I was 14, though, I dedicated my life to the Lord on Kenya Hill.

How were you impacted as a student?
My first year was 1991-1992, and God used that year to change the direction of my life. I was involved in Collegians and developed a love for the technical side of theater. Through that, I decided to stay for another year and travel with the Impact Singers.

What is unique about the Word of Life Florida Youth Camp?
One of the unique aspects of the Florida Youth Camp is the number of church groups that come. We have very few individuals, so there’s a great dynamic between the youth leaders and pastors and our staff. It’s been called the “best camp in the universe” by some, but I think what makes all the Word of Life camps unique are the Bible Institute students serving as counselors. It’s very unique in the Christian camping world to have so many trained young people as counselors.

What’s new for summer 2014?
In 2014, we’re working hard to grow the Bible Institute as well as the Youth Camp. We’ve had several projects take place over the last year that have added so much to the property, and now we’re working to get the word out about this incredible ministry.

What types of ministries are the Bible Institute students involved in?
The Bible Institute students are involved in children’s evangelism, drama, praise band, and ensemble as well as Open Air Evangelism and ministering to groups that come to the Youth Retreat Center. We also were part of the new traveling tour Magi. We had 20 of our students travel with us for the production during the Christmas break.

How can we pray for your ministry?
You can pray for me personally as I balance my time between my family and that God would continue to grow the ministry of Word of Life Florida. We believe there are great days ahead!

Refresh: Learning to thrive with Plan B living.

By Ray Pritchard

My wife happened to hear a fascinating comment on the radio when we were driving recently. She scribbled it down so I could look at it later.

"The key to success in life is how well you adapt to Plan B."

That simple sentence holds a world of truth. So many of us go through life frustrated because we're still working on Plan A. That's the one where everything works out, your marriage lasts forever, your children grow up without any problems, you climb to the top of the career ladder, everyone loves you and no one hates you, and all your dreams come true.

Unfortunately, Plan A rarely pans out. Life isn’t that simple or that easy. Check out Exodus 13:17-21. When the children of Israel left Egypt, God did not lead them to the Promised Land by the shorter coastal route. No doubt there was grumbling and murmuring. Why go the long way? Answer: The Philistines lived along the coast, and God wanted to spare the Israelites from having to fight them and be tempted to return to Egypt. What seemed like a detour turned out to be for their benefit. In this case, Plan B was better.

Meanwhile, people who are frustrated by the failure of Plan A are overtaken by the folks who have decided to make Plan B work instead. What’s Plan B? It’s the reality that your divorce is final, and your marriage is over. Your first career choice was a mistake, and now it’s time to start again. You don’t have the money to buy the bigger house you want. It’s the truth that you have cancer, and your future is uncertain. It’s knowing some of your children are far from the Lord. It’s the reality that your dreams aren’t going to come true, at least not in the way you expected.

What will you do now?

Here are three suggestions for those who feel a bit overwhelmed by circumstances: First, embrace change as a natural part of life. Solomon says as much when he writes, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under Heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3:1). If you live long enough, you'll eventually see it all — birth and death, war and peace, building up and tearing down, winning and losing, loving and hating. You can fight change, but you can't stop it.

Second, embrace your circumstances and make the best of them. “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). Life is hard for all of us, but it’s much harder when we grumble because we don’t like where we are.

Finally, embrace the only Person Who never changes. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Leaders, friends, and children come and go, and our careers take many twists and turns. But Jesus Christ never changes! Anchor your life in Him, and you can face the future without fear.

Is Plan A not working out? Don’t give up. Jesus loves to help Christians who use Plan B to serve Him.

Dr. Ray Pritchard serves as president of Keep Believing Ministries, an Internet-based community serving Christians in 225 countries. He pastored churches in Los Angeles, Dallas, and Chicago for 26 years and has written more than 25 books. He and his wife, Marlene, have been married for 39 years. They have three sons, two daughters-in-law, and four grandchildren.

Resembling our Father: A message from the chancellor.

“Excuse me, sir... but do you know who you look like?” I hear it all the time — in airports, restaurants, and malls. Much to my chagrin, I am often mistaken for a well-known movie star. While I prefer to leave this person’s identity to your imagination, I must confess that I have been tempted to sign autographs on his behalf on more than a few occasions. Regardless of what people might think, my life is far removed from Hollywood stardom.

On the other hand, what a delight and encouragement it is when I am told that I resemble my father. My appearance, walk, and words are all strikingly similar to his. This is certainly no surprise, because from my childhood I learned from him and aspired to be like him in every way. Today, I consider it the highest compliment when a person identifies me with my dear dad.

In Ephesians 5:1, the Apostle Paul challenges the Ephesian believers with the command, “Be imitators of God as dear children.” Just like a child mimics his earthly father, Christians should strive to imitate their Heavenly Father in every way. This means learning how to walk in love as Jesus Christ did (5:2). It involves despising the darkness of this decaying and sinful world (5:3-14). It requires living wisely and leveraging every opportunity to serve and represent Him (5:15-21).

So ... who do you look like, anyway? Do people clearly see an unmistakable resemblance to your Heavenly Father? Live out your true identity as a child of God.

Victory Journal Issue 9: Online.

You can find all the articles from the latest Victory Journal on this blog, but if you'd like to see a PDF version of the actual magazine, click here.

Also, if you are not receiving the print copy, please send us your updated contact info at alumni@wol.org, and we'll get you on our mailing list.