From Boys to Men: Impact of Fully Equipped
by Travell Brown
What can I say besides how thankful I am for Fully Equipped! The Lord led me to this church and I had no clue what I was in for. I met a lot of cool guys right out the gate during my first time in CAYA, but in my immaturity, my focus was only on two things: the beautiful women that attended CAYA and how I could serve the local church. If I’m being honest with myself, my head was in the wrong place. I didn’t have a quiet time. I would pray, but my prayers were Matthew 6:7-esque, and lust had a hold on my life like nobody’s business. I was in bondage to my flesh in a bad way. Growing up, I really didn’t have any real male role models that I could look at to see how I needed to function as a man, let alone a man of God. So, from the time that I got saved, I prayed for two things as a new believer: First, that I could be taught how I should walk with Christ and what that looks like. And second, how I should do that as a single man. Eventually I got wind of discipleship, and I counted the cost and got paired. As I grew and walked through some of the lessons, I asked my leaders questions about the things that I was dealing with. I wanted to know some practical tips to help combat those things. They suggested that Fully Equipped would heavily benefit me and answer some if not all of my concerns.
When Fully Equipped was announced, the first thing I did was run up on my grandpops in the faith (Eric Philips). I asked him what I needed to do to sign up. He told me that first you have to find an accountability partner to go through the class with. So, from that point I was looking for a partner, but the people that I asked either had gone through it or were unavailable to attend. Then one afternoon I got a text from Eric that a guy named Bobby Hatmon was still looking for a partner. Funny enough, I got a text from Bobby saying that he heard that I was looking for a partner. Now in the words of Eric, “Hallelujah the Spirit is moving” because God answers prayer! After that, Bobby and I went through these teachings along with my other brothers in our group. Bobby and I went from being strangers to gaining each other as dear brothers.
This form of discipleship we had was a mix of sharing stories over meals, having deep conversations and prayer sessions, and walking through these lessons while having an accountability partner that you can lean on genuinely in tough times. But more importantly, we were taught how to navigate the world we live in as single men of God. That was something that not a lot of people could explain to me. The lessons transformed my life week by week and allowed me to see victory in strongholds that held me back for years.
“The lessons transformed my life week by week and allowed me to see victory in strongholds that held me back for years.”
I always thought being saved meant that I would be fighting spiritual war from an uphill position trying to take territory for the Lord. Satan will have you hoodwinked and bamboozled thinking that you have no victory, and that you have to earn your way to it through your own power. But Eric taught us that we are not fighting for victory, but fighting from victory, the battle being already won. As my brother Tavita would say: “It unlocked something for me.”
One of the many things that I was taught through the lessons was the importance of a healthy prayer life. My prayer life exponentially grew after Fully Equipped. Prayer stopped seeming like something that I would do just to check off the box to say that I’ve done it, or even me just requesting for selfish things not aligned with God’s will or plan. But that all changed, and it turned into me desiring to be in his presence and wanting to catch up with my Lord and Savior. Yet, the biggest thing I got from these lessons was how much I need to be in his presence (Psalm 42:1-2). It truly is a privilege to have intimacy with the Lord. The same God that created the universe and everything with it wanted to have a relationship with me. Even though I had lived such a wicked lifestyle before all of this, he still chose me. Now I yearn to spend my time at the feet of my Lord listening to his Word, no longer being much troubled about with many things. I chose that good part that won’t ever be taken away from me (Luke 10:38-42).
Everything that I have learned in these lessons is starting to produce fruit in my life and a change for the better. The things that I was impulsive about are a thing of the past for the most part. Now I take everything to Jesus. My time trusting the Lord with the things that I am praying for grew my patience and allowed me to trust him with big things. I realized that the root of my impulsiveness was a sign that deep down I believed that my problems were bigger than God. I realized that I never really trusted him with everything. My actions showed that I was actually trying to handle problems myself (I failed miserably every time by the way), when in reality those problems were meant for Jesus to handle.
When I started Fully Equipped, I was a boy trying to figure things out as best I could with what I knew. Yet towards the end of Fully Equipped, I put away all my toys and childish ways that distracted me from operating as man of God (1 Corinthians 13:11). Is it all sunshine and rainbows since I applied the things that Eric taught us? Nope, that’s a negative ghost rider. When you take mortifying the flesh seriously, it will show you just how much it wants to live (Romans 8:13). Temptations will blindside you unlike in the past when you would make provision for it in your life (Romans 13:14). But unlike before, I have the tools now to defend myself from those fiery darts being sent my way. I’ve got my armor on and ready. I guess you could say that I’m ready because I’m Fully Equipped.
Travell Brown is a member of Midtown Baptist Temple and a part of C&YA. He is also part of a UMKC men's Bible study.