The Harder Way.

“IF ANYONE COMES TO ME AND DOES NOT HATE HIS OWN FATHER AND MOTHER AND WIFE AND CHILDREN AND BROTHER AND SISTERS, YES, AND EVEN HIS OWN LIFE, HE CANNOT BE MY DISCIPLE. WHOEVER DOES NOT BEAR HIS OWN CROSS AND COME AFTER ME CANNOT BE MY DISCIPLE… SO THEREFORE, ANY ONE OF YOU WHO DOES NOT RENOUNCE ALL THAT HE HAS CANNOT BE MY DISCIPLE.”

-Jesus (Luke 14:26-27, 33)

Training missionaries. training soldiers. Training Martyrs. This is the short articulation of the call that the ministry of the etceteras is carrying out.

AND HERE IS THE CALL: To train and raise up the men who CAN and WILL joyfully go anywhere and do anything for the cause of our Lord Jesus’ great Gospel.

TODAY’S WORLD NEEDS MEN. Real men. Not just manly men who are physically strong, or self-made men who are successful in their endeavors, but men who are like THE MAN, Jesus. Men who, like Jesus, will humbly and sacrificially serve when all others seek their own. Men who will suffer and endure hardship joyfully as a good soldier. Men who will boldly speak when all others are silent. All this for one purpose and one goal: The Glory of our great God and King, Jesus.

So why “The Etceteras”?

An Etcetera is at the end of the list after all of the “important” ones have been listed. An Etcetera is unnamed, unsung, unknown, and content to be so. An Etcetera is a soldier who is willing to “throw his life away” in the first battle he enters because he followed orders without question and without any thought to his “long term success” as a soldier. He doesn’t desire the praise and approval of men, even of good men. He doesn’t even care if he is known as a godly man, because he doesn’t care to be known at all.

THE NAME “The Etceteras” is inspired by two things. The first is Hebrews 11:

“And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of”… the etceteras. “Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life… of whom the world was not worthy.”

The second is a small pamphlet written by C. T. Studd called “Christ’s Etceteras.” Here are a couple of short excerpts.

“We have talked loud and long enough about making Jesus King. Now, then, let us DO IT… Let us Fight the Good Fight and stop our sentimental singing about doing it…”

“Believing that Further Delay would be sinful, some of God's insignificants, nobodies in particular, conscious of our own impotence and ignorance, but trusting in our Omnipotent God to bring it to pass according to His Word, have decided on certain simple lines…”

“We are merely CHRIST'S Nobodies, otherwise CHRIST'S ETCETERAS… We seek to attack and win to Christ only those parts of the devil's empire which are beyond the extremest outposts of the regular army of God… To crown Jesus Lord of all.”

The Training

GENERAL:

The Etceteras is a small scale, high commitment, long term, full time, resident discipleship training program for unmarried men between the ages of 18 and 35.

  • SMALL SCALE: A maximum of 12 men will be accepted for each class.

  • HIGH COMMITMENT: You get out what you put in, and from square one you will be asked to give everything you’ve got. The life of the man of God is not casual, so neither are we. Full honesty, real vulnerability, and rigorous effort are all key elements of your training here.

  • FULL TIME: This is all you will do during your time here. There will be no side jobs, part-time employment, hobbies, or relationship pursuits. If God is calling you here and the things waiting on the outside are good, then they will still be there when you leave.

  • LONG TERM: The training lasts for 8 months, from September through April, with an optional one-week break at Christmas.

  • RESIDENT: Housing and meals are included in the cost, and there is no option for off-campus living.

Structure:

The training is a hybrid of biblical teaching, physical training, hardship, and one-on-one mentoring all intended to disciple and train the whole man and create something our world mostly considers extinct: a pure-strain, full-blooded Christian ready to live and die for Jesus wherever He sends them.

  • BIBLICAL TEACHING: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday will be our teaching days. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday will be set aside for prayerful reflection, personal study, and follow-up on the previous day’s teaching.

  • PHYSICAL TRAINING: Typically, the training schedule will be six days a week, Monday through Saturday. Through rigorous and even painful physical training, men will be trained to not only endure, but embrace hardship and adversity far beyond what they would normally accept. This physical training regimen will be a balance among the core disciplines of strength, endurance, and agility.

  • HARDSHIP: The modern western Church does not know how to suffer. As a result, most Christian men have no idea how to suffer either. It only takes a cursory look at what the Bible has to say about suffering to realize that our whining obsession with comfort is a far cry from the demeanor of the true disciple. We will be creating “trials of various kinds” throughout the training in order to grow the vital practice of rejoicing in affliction.

  • ONE-ON-ONE DISCIPLESHIP: I (James) will regularly meet with each man on a schedule that best suits the needs of each stage of the training and the group. I have found that there is almost no ministry as powerful in the life and growth of a believer as personal, one-on-one mentoring and discipleship. I have seen it in my own life as well as the lives of dozens of young believers that I have had the joy and privilege of discipling. It is the main reason for the small size of this training.

PREREQUISITES:

  • PREVIOUS TRAINING: Due to the advanced and aggressive nature of the training, each man must come in with a firm foundation upon which to build. Ideally this will be a basic training (5, 9, or 12 week) at Ellerslie Discipleship Training, a partner ministry. Visit Ellerslie.com for more information. Other discipleship, training, and/or ministry experience may be accepted on a case-by-case basis.

  • PHYSICAL: Each man must already be moderately fit and without any major pre-existing health conditions in order to participate safely and effectively in the training. More details on this in the application.

  • Finally, this training is for unmarried men, aged 18-35.