Refresh: Real change.

By Hayley J. Miller

Do you believe in change? I mean, beyond a quick “yes.” That one sin, bad habit, tendency you or I have — do you believe it can change? Do people really change?

We can get discouraged at times by the lack of change in ourselves or others. The truth is that most of us are actually resistant to change even though we act like we seek it. We celebrate the face of change but can get defensive when it poses a threat to us or our preferences. Christians see a life changed as something good — as long as we stay distanced from the discomforts of it ourselves.

I like change and seek it. I love to help others change and also enjoy improving programs, redecorating rooms, or celebrating diversity.

I am thankful for changes in my past. While attending the Bible Institute, it seemed that God changing me was rapid and contagious. But, “settling in,” do I now see change as an uncomfortable inconvenience not worth striving for? When the stakes are obviously high, I am desperate for change. When they are not so obvious or not so high, though, my commitment to change is relaxed.

Someone close to me once said they did not think people ever truly change. My jaw dropped and heart sunk as if I had taken a blow. I knew this is not what my Savior died and rose again for. He died so you and I can experience genuine change — not merely behavioral or cultural change, but a deep change that makes us different in substance entirely.

Miles J. Stanford describes it this way in Principles of Spiritual Growth: “As the result of the work of His cross, and as the grand issue of His resurrection, eternal life is received already by those who believe. But while that life is itself victorious, incorruptible, indestructible, the believer has to come by faith to prove it, to live by it, to learn its laws, to be conformed to it. ... The course of spiritual experience, of spiritual life, is to discover, to appropriate, and to live by all that the life represents and means.”

Or, in other words, to change.

If you know Christ, but genuine change is frustrating you right now, would you consider digging deeper? Change is not hopeless, nor should we try to make sin or character flaws beautiful or acceptable.

The source of change must be us experientially tapping into the power and resources that Christ’s death and resurrection have provided. Let’s not excuse sin in our lives, take it lightly, or give in to it. Let’s not be depressed that we are struggling with change. Don’t settle for the thoughts of “I will always be this way” or “It’s just who I am.” Christ died so you can progressively look more and more like Him — one layer at a time, one element at a time, one character flaw or sin at a time.

Change is waiting. Here are a few steps that can help you continue the practical side of this discussion and move toward genuine change:

• Read and journal Romans 6-8 (additional studying and commentary use might help)
• Check out either Principles of Spiritual Growth by Miles J. Stanford or consider The Normal Christian Life by Watchmen Nee.

Hayley’s passion is to offer clear communication that will cause genuine change. Her ministry is multifaceted, as she assists the vice president of Local Church Ministries while editing curriculum, speaking at conferences, writing, marketing, and equipping one generation to evangelize and disciple the next.

Engage: Bringing Teens Involved to a new generation.

Some changes are coming to Teens Involved, now called Engage, to help it better reach the current generation. Find out more by clicking here.

Teens Involved: A brief history
Teens Involved started in 1973 with the vision of finding a way to help students realize their potential and purpose by using their gifts for God’s glory. Paul Bubar realized there was a need to help students discover their God-given talents and consider using those talents in ways they never imagined.

Dr. James McDonald was one such student. A youth leader encouraged him to enter the preaching category of Teens Involved, and through that process, he first sensed God leading him to preach the Word of God and later pastor.

Just 32 students came to the first National Teens Involved week on Word of Life Island. That eventually grew to several thousand students in three locations each summer during nationals alone. The number of students participating in Teens Involved has since declined, though, and it was time to talk to youth pastors and leaders, look at the way culture is changing, and reevaluate the purpose and implementation of the event.

Why change the name?
As Word of Life looked to make major changes to the event to more effectively reach the current generation, it was decided that a new name would best communicate that this is a completely different event, even if it’s designed to accomplish the same purpose as Teens Involved.

Why Engage: Discover. Develop. Deploy.
The purpose of Engage is to help students discover their spiritual gifts, develop those gifts through training and instruction, and deploy them for use in the local church. We want students to know God has given them incredible abilities to make a difference and to learn to use those abilities effectively in the local church.

What’s New
The biggest changes are focused on making the event more practical for local church ministry. As Teens Involved developed over the decades, rules were added for clarity or to help with fairness, but they made it more difficult for real-life use.

This generation also is more interested in working as groups than as individuals, so categories have been adjusted to welcome that.

Teens Involved has been extremely successful over the years, and Word of Life are looking forward to how new methods of accomplishing the same purpose will continue to help students discover, develop, and deploy their God-given abilities.

Reverb: Superbowl gets a new name and look.

Superbowl is being rebranded to an event called Reverb. To read more about the changes, click here.

The origin of Superbowl
Superbowl started in the mid-1970s as Bowl-a-thon, an all-night bowling party with an evangelistic message. In 1985, Doug Bagg added a sporting event and Gospel rally in front of the bowl-a-thon, and the first Superbowl was born. Since then, Superbowl has had more than one million people in attendance, and more than 100,000 have recorded decisions for Christ.

Why change the name?
Superbowl has changed over the years. Events now begin with pro or college sports or interactive rallies with games and prizes. After the Gospel presentation and invitation, students spend the rest of the night at a wide variety of entertainment venues in the area, including local university athletic facilities, go-carts, and laser tag — not just bowling. Bowling is still part of many events, but it’s no longer the focus.

The Super Bowl is also very close to our title and a highly protected trademark of the National Football League. Because the names are so similar, it’s possible that as we grew, we could have been required to change the name, possibly with very short notice.

We also want to continue to reach out to new churches, and the name “Superbowl” can be confusing to those who aren’t familiar with the event. Our first step when talking to new churches was almost always to explain that our event was in fact not a football game.

Why Reverb

Reverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is produced. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space and causes a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air.

This is ultimately our goal for “Word of Life Reverb Night.” We want that sound, the Gospel, to be shared loud and clear to the students who attend and then continue to reverberate out from the arena. We invite students to come to Christ, and we challenge Christian students to share their faith when they go back home.

What’s New
Despite the new name, Reverb will still be the same great event, carrying on the tradition of Superbowl. We will continue to add dates and locations. In addition to the fall tour in November 2014, we will also be offering a winter tour in 2015 with dates mid-January through early March. Reverb will continue to kick off with a high-energy, fun-filled rally, then deliver a clear Gospel message with an opportunity for students to respond before celebrating all night long at premium local venues.

The Second Generation: Ryan Williamson

I came to the Bible Institute in my mid-20s as a married student when my daughter, Kirsten, who is now a Bible Institute student in Florida, was only three months old. I already had a college degree, but I wanted to spend a year immersed in the Word of God so I could grow more and prepare to serve the Lord.

Following my time at the Bible Institute, I served with Word of Life Local Church ministries in Indiana.  My training at Word of Life equipped me to be a lifelong student of the Word and to be active in ministry. Our children have known from an early age that their college career will begin at a Bible Institute, no matter what career path they choose. The year or more they spend immersed in the life-changing Word of God is a foundation for lifetime growth and service that is hard to duplicate anywhere else.

Click here to read about Ryan’s daughter, Kirsten, Class of 2013

For more second generation stories, click here.

The Second Generation: Kirsten Williamson

As a daughter of a Word of Life staff member and Bible Institute graduate, I grew up knowing I would go to the Bible Institute. People used to joke with me that there’s an unwritten rule about staff kids having to go to the Bible Institute, and I hated that. I used to be set against coming to the Bible Institute — and I didn’t have a reason other than wanting to do the exact opposite of what everyone expected me to. I remember having many different conversations with my mom about coming to the Bible Institute, and she explained the importance of being grounded in the Word before I went out into the “real world.”

When I was 14, I went to Missions Conference, and I’ll never forget the last night. After seeing the students’ passion for what they were learning and how the Lord had worked in their lives that weekend, I knew the Bible Institute was a special place, and I couldn’t wait to graduate to go!

I wanted to take a couple of years to really focus on growing deeper in my relationship with the Lord and to study the Word intensively. I’m convinced there’s no better place to do that than at Word of Life! I am so excited to be in a place that limits distractions and really encourages growth.

I am so thankful that God has been faithfully stretching and strengthening me this year. Right now, He’s teaching me the importance of trusting Him in every situation and waiting patiently on His perfect timing. I cannot wait to look back at all He has done in and through our class on graduation day.

Click here to read about Kirsten’s dad, Ryan, Class of 1995

For more second generation stories, click here.

Q&A: Gary Ingersoll

Resident professor, Florida campus

Certain teachers seem as much a part of the Bible Institute as Scripture memory or chapter titles. But few have always been at Word of Life ... or even in ministry. The Florida campus has a former titan of industry (well, close enough) as one of its resident professors — a man whose Bible training went well beyond book studies.

Tell us how you ended up at the Bible Institute in Florida.

I came 3,200 miles, from the other corner of the country, to the Bible Institute in Florida as a “job transfer” in 1997. I had been a Word of Life missionary with Local Church Ministries in Washington state for 12 years. The opportunity to be a professor at the Bible Institute does not often present itself (after 15 years, I am still the newest professor at the U.S. campuses), so when I heard an extension campus was opening in Florida, I began asking about transferring to the new position of resident professor. Some five or six months later, we were moving to Florida! 

How did you get into teaching the Bible?

Educationally, my story begins in 1970, when I was in the second of a five-year program to become an engineer at General Motor Institute (now called Kettering University, in Flint, Michigan). It was then that I asked Jesus to be my Savior through the ministry at the nearby Riverdale Baptist Church. I earned my engineering degree in 1974, took an educational leave of absence from General Motors (I worked in things like “car crash-testing”), and enrolled at Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary. I earned a masters of divinity in 1978 and became the associate pastor at my Riverdale, my home church. An economic recession resulted in my losing my pastorate. So I returned to seminary in 1981-82 to get a masters in religious education and then took an associate pastorate at Bethany Baptist Church in Seattle, Washington. In 1985, I came on staff with Word of Life as a local church missionary to Washington state, where I served until moving to Florida.

What on earth took you from crash-testing cars to teaching the Bible? What did God do in your life?

Well, I got saved when I was a sophomore in college. I was in the second year of a five-year work study program to become an engineer with General Motors when it was the largest company in the world. By that point, I had been around Christian friends for some three years — first in high school and then again in college. I knew they had an inner joy, peace, and purpose I lacked in my life. But because of my background as a teen in theologically liberal churches, I had difficulty sorting out true from error in my understanding of Scripture — I thought I was somehow already a Christian who could work my way to Heaven!

I also came to understand before I was saved that to become a Christian meant that I must change my focus in life. I had natural abilities as an engineer, so I thought I could pursue that career, make a lot of money, and, of course, live happily ever after. Yet as a “seeker” of the truth about Jesus, I came to understand that His disciples were those who took up their own crosses to become true followers or disciples of Him. I believe that the Lord was calling me to salvation but also calling me to a greater purpose in life than I had up to that point. 

After I was saved, I had several long conversations with influential older Christians like my college calculus professor, Dr. Bolander. He and others helped me see how I could become a true disciple of my Lord Jesus. He encouraged me to finish my engineering degree (after all, the Lord may just want to use that in my future, too!) and to get involved in my local church. I worked with the teen program, which was involved with Word of Life, and began to help out at some evangelistic activities in our area.

As I became more involved in working with my local churches and helping them with their youth work, I began teaching on a regular basis. So, 20 years before I became a professor at the Bible Institute, I was teaching doctrinal studies to teens at my church each week. Little did I know that the Lord was going to use all of these as preparation to continue my work with young people at the Bible Institute in Florida.

How did you end up in Washington state?

The saddest day in Fran’s and my life had to be the day my ministry to the youth at Riverdale Baptist came to an end. There was a hard-hitting recession that resulted in a third of the people in Flint leaving town to find work. My church lost close to half its membership, so I became an unemployed youth pastor. Without work in Flint, I re-enrolled in seminary and also began working as a contract engineer designing machinery to make breakfast cereal for Post Cereal (I did things like design a better “raisin machine” that adds raisin to Post Raisin Bran!). 

I continued to look for full-time ministry in a local church, but nothing was available in Michigan. But we got in touch with Bethany Baptist in Seattle, which had contacted my seminary looking for possible pastoral candidates. I started Word of Life clubs there, became fast friends with the new local church missionary, and went to my first Word of Life camp the next summer in northern California.

What makes Word of Life unique, and why did you want to stick around?

My wife, Fran, and I first choose to come on staff with Word of Life and, from time to time over the past 27 years, have chosen to remain with Word of Life instead of moving on to some other ministry based upon one primary observation: Word of Life continues to afford the two of us a greater opportunity of service for our Savior, Jesus Christ, than anything else into which we could be investing our lives! We could be involved elsewhere, make more money, and perhaps gain greater fame or a more impressive title. Yet we have chosen to invest in the lives of the 120-plus young people that each year become our students. It is our goal to help them grow in their walks with the Lord as we pastor them like a “one-year youth group.” They truly become “our young people,” whom we love!

Do you have someone at Word of Life you would like to hear from in a Q&A? Email alumni@wol.org.