The Call. The Commission. The Sending.

Well, I am home and many thought are flowing in and out of my brain. To sum up what the Lord has done for me and for each of us at Ellerslie is a big task. I want to share with you an article by one of my "Ellerslie Brothers" -Nik Ellison. He wrote this article for our Ellerslie Post...

The Gathering of the Mighty

"Just imagine if God gave me 12 young men..." these were the words of Eric Ludy at the outset of the very first semester of Ellerslie Training, taken from a document titled "Men of Honor," which he wrote 17 years ago. God has answered this prayer in a grand way. There are 12 young men here, along with 43 ladies, all of whom are on fire for the glorification of Jesus Christ!

None of us students dared to dream what Ellerslie was going to be like. Certainly we knew about the power of God, but many of us had not met that power face to face. This summer has been a Mount Sinai experience, as we have seen the power of the Most High fall upon His saints and we glow with the likeness of out King. We have seen healing for the brokenhearted, breaking for the high minded, filling for the hungry. We have seen depression traded for joy and discontentedness replaced with the peace that passes all understanding. We have seen timid lambs become roaring lions, selfish men become selfless, and flesh-living become spirit-living.

To realize this is but the first step into the endless frontier known as Christinanity is mind blowing. At Ellerslie we have discovered but the glorious tip of the iceberg.

During the first few weeks, our lives were radically changed. Even if we had all left after the orientation banquet, our worlds would have been shaken. But our God had more planned. The Holy Spirit began taking each and every student though a process of augmented purification, and the fires began to wax hot, pushing us through. Looking back, I am shocked to see how I once was, but am no more. Each one of us has died to ourselves and become strong, not in self, but in faith and in our God.

Then, only a few weeks into the session, came the revival on campus. In a period of four days, everything changed. First came the time of confession, with the realization of how sick we actually are compared to our undefiled Lord. Then 35 of us were baptized. But this was no simple dunking in the water. That day, we all made the statement to the heavens proclaiming that we have chosen our side in this war, and that we are with Jesus - no matter what. Strength was given to us, and the very next day we were called upon to spend it by interceding for nine girls, praying intensely until 4:30 a.m. The principle in heaven was proven true: We are given strength and faith to be poured out for those in need.

Since that day, every student's faith has grown exponentially. Often, God would maneuver the circumstances to perfectly fit the situation of either one student or the whole class. Whenever a temporary student arrived, it seemed as though the entire week was tailor-made for what that student needed. Many would say after one of Eric's teachings, "That was the perfect message for what I'm going though right now." God himself was guiding us.

However, often when there is a progress in the kingdom of heaven, there is an opposing reaction from the kingdom of darkness. The enemy, unable to attack the strong at Ellerslie (though he has attempted and continues to attempt to take us down), began an assault on those closest to the students: out friends and family. News of sickness, discouragement, a total lack of support, depression, anxiety, or financial troubles has stuck nearly every student at some point during the summer, but in true bravehearted valor, we have all stood up to resist the enemy, and her has fled every time. Our focus is Christ, and neither a bad word nor a discouraging circumstance can change that.

Now the summer is coming to a close. but rather than it being out setting sun, it is the dawn that breaks after the darkest of nights. God took 55 people, gathered us together, and is now sending us out once more into this dark and hopeless world. This truly is the best age to live in, and though our war is not bombs or guns, the battle is just as - if not more - intense. I look forward to seeing what God does thought each and every student, now and years to come.

The prophet Joel perfectly sums up what I think about Ellerslie:

Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles;

Prepare war, wake up the mighty men,

let all the men of war draw near; let

them come up: Beet your plowshares
into swords, and your pruninghooks into

spears; let the weak say, I am strong."

{Joel 3:9-10}

The mighty have gathered. They have been strengthened with power from on high, and now they are going forth under the banner of the Name Above ALL Names! So, class of Ellerslie, Session One: Go out into the earth! And know that your brothers and sisters stand beside you, and the Lion of Judah goes before you!

...

As I look back and ponder everything that has happened during the past 11 weeks I stand in awe and wonder! What glorious things God has done here in our midst. Each of us will be and are forever changed! Praise the Lord! I know I don't have a way of expressing myself with words and really and truly there are not many words that can began to describe what grand and epic things happened this summer. But in this post and the ones to follow I shall do my best to convey what unfolded in a little town dubbed Windsor...

Here at Ellerslie there is something full of grandeur and all together lovely. It truly is a mix of Jane Austen meets Lord of the Rings. That is one of the best ways of describing it. Who would have imagined that Mighty Men and Virtuous Women would one day gather in Windsor, Colorado (who's name also shares in the English flair). When I see Ellerslie for some reason I see a Castle across the lake and maidens about the Masters tasks and knights dueling on the grounds preparing for war. One thing that I have seen after coming home from Ellerslie is that the church has lost the majesty of The Word. To see the epic battles unfold, to see hear the Thus Saith the Lord. The church of today trys to bring the Word of God down to the level of today's culture - but we shouldn't change God to fit us we need to change ourselves to fit God. To see how much of the beauty and poetry and majesty of the Word is lost when we try to delude it to fit us is heartbreaking. To see the GOD of the bible is mind boggling and to also know that He is the same GOD of today is breathtaking!


During my time at Ellerslie there has been many things that is so hard to express in words because it was just a beautiful time spent with the Lord and Him revealing Himself to me in a precious and awe inspiring pictures. So, for this post I thought I'd just use pictures instead of a whole mass of my own words...

Ellerslie is the beginning. It is a preparation ground. He is making us strong {strengthening us from power on high} so we can pour out. He has told us to GO ~ proclaim the Good News to ALL people. We are now The Sent.

"Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest."

Luke 10:2

Serving Him with You,

~His Bubbling Brooke