Today in History...

Forty-six years ago today, one man took his stand on the mountaintop.

One man addressed a nation.

One man spoke the truth in love.

One man defied hatred.

One man did his duty.

One man demanded justice.

One man showed remarkable faith.

One man demonstrated courage.

One man believed the impossible.

One man had a dream.

One man changed the world.

HONOR HIM.

Why "Repairers of the Breach"?

Is this not the fast which I choose,

To loosen the bonds of wickedness,

To undo the bands of the yoke,

And to let the oppressed go free

And break every yoke?

Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry

And bring the homeless poor into the house;

When you see the naked, to cover him;

And to hide yourself from your own flesh?

Then your light will be break out like the dawn,

And your recovery will speedily spring forth;

And your righteousness will go before you;

The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;

You will cry, and He will say, "Here I am."

If you remove the yoke from your midst,

The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,

And if you give yourself to the hungry

And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,

Then your light will rise in darkness

And your gloom will become like midday.

And the LORD will continually guide you,

And satisfy your desire in scorched places,

And give strength to your bones;

And you will be like a watered garden,

And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.

Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins;

You will raise up the age-old foundations;

And you will be called the repairer of the breach,

The restorer of the paths in which to dwell.

Isaiah 58:6-12

I do not know of any other Scripture that speaks so powerfully to the impact of reformation. In particular, this passage emphasizes proclaiming liberty to those who need it most. I believe that the young men of my generation are one of the most enslaved groups of people in human history. They are enslaved to false images of manliness, to a future with no purpose, to a life with no vision, to meaningless distractions. They have lost connection with a heritage of manly men who have lived throughout time, and likewise have never forged a connection with the generations to come. They do not know where they came from, where they are going, or what their purpose as men is in this world.

It is time to rebuild the ancient ruins of the art of manliness; to raise up the age old foundation laid by manly men from King David to Theodore Roosevelt. It is time to repair the breach in the wall of manliness and restore the paths in which God intended for men to live. I have always been an admirer of Nehemiah. In fact, the camp I designed for young men that I mentioned in my last post was called the Nehemiah Corps Boot Camp. I see the mission of this ministry and the mission of Nehemiah as having much in common with each other, and much in common with Isaiah 58:12. Strong walls were an ancient city's best defense. They were the very symbol of strength in that time. The wall of biblical manliness has been destroyed in our day, as the wall of Jerusalem was destroyed in Nehemiah's. As the city of Jerusalem was left weak and vulnerable, our entire civilization has been left weak and vulnerable.

As a man who has answered the call of God to lead in the rebuilding of the wall, I also find incredible encouragement and strength from this passage. I am humbled that God so desires to honor the work of those who obey Him and take up the charge. Your prayers are much appreciated as I labor to repair the breach.

In Him,

Colton

My Story

Thank you for taking the time to stop by and visit my new blog. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and explain how Repairers of the Breach came to be.

I grew up in the small town of Blanchard, OK. I am the fourth generation of the Wilson family to live in this area, so our roots go pretty deep. Something else that goes pretty deep in the Wilson family is a strong work ethic. My great-grandfather and his father were both ranchers. My dad and granddad made their careers in the home-building business. With work ethic being so valued through my family history, it was understood that even as kids, my younger brother and I were expected to work hard and "make a hand." And we did. Brushhogging, construction site cleanup, tree trimming, brush hauling, and fence building were just a few of the multitude of skills I was taught and practiced. But as I grew older, I realized that the invaluable experience that had just come naturally to me was very rare among the young men of my generation. Very few had the opportunity to develop the work ethic, learn the skills, acquire the character, and make the money that I had.

But this was not the only training I was receiving. In the mid-1990s, my dad transitioned from home builder to full-time minister. Beginning in our living room, we started the Bible Study Center, a church which grew to a size that required its own facility within two years. Dad teaches the Bible in a very expositional, in-depth manner. Sometimes he teaches through an entire book (e.g. Romans, Ephesians, Philippians) or maybe a doctrinal study (e.g. The Deity of Christ, Baptism, God's Will). Because he teaches so thoroughly on Sunday morning, and discusses what he is studying with me throughout the week, I have learned an enormous amount about the Bible, about Christ, and about the Christian walk. But then the same thing began to happen. I realized that as a teenager, I probably had the equivalent of a seminary master's degree. But young men at churches all across the nation, were not receiving in-depth teaching of the word of God. They had a few beliefs that never developed into convictions, and their faith typically crumbled by the time they left home.

This understanding was further reinforced by another development in my life. Through the ministry of Dr. G. Thomas Sharp of Creation Truth Foundation in Noble, OK, I became familiar with the evidence for biblical creation. My curious and analytical mind, which had driven me to read dozens of science books as a kid, but had always been confused by why all of them taught evolution, was finally satisfied. There was a logical, scientific, and reasonable defense of the Bible's account of creation. I started reading creation science books and even started teaching classes at church. Through the materials I read, I discovered that young people all over had the same questions I did, but never got the opportunity to have them answered. I expanded my teaching to a local homeschool group, and even had the opportunity to speak at a church in Great Falls, MT.

All of these events were creating in me an strong urge to teach and to disciple and to share what I had learned with other young people. But what would be my focus? How would I do it? My original thought was that I would go into full-time creation ministry like Dr. Sharp. After graduating a year early from high school in 2006, I enrolled in the online Biblical studies program at what I thought was a conservative Christian college. But after one year, I found the biblical teaching was very weak and much was contrary to what I believed. Further, the extra-biblical courses (e.g. sociology) were taught from a strongly humanistic perspective. Frustrated, I left the college and spent the summer in prayer trying to decide what to do next. Because I still felt I needed a degree to pursue the ministry, my dad suggested civil engineering. It was a very science-related field, but I would not have to worry about running into flawed theology, or evolutionary philosophy. I applied and was accepted into the program at the University of Oklahoma.

Several things began happening at the same time from that point forward. First, I started feeling very drawn to making a career in civil engineering. It appealed to many of my interests. I began to almost forget about my earlier passions, and set my mind to becoming a licensed professional engineer. I studied hard at my classes, kept my GPA above 3.75, sent out resumes, attended career fairs, and was even hired as an intern this summer. But while I was pursuing what I thought would be a much easier path in life, God had other plans. He began using the time I was spending in college to refocus me and redirect me to whole new ministry I never saw coming.

Looking back, its very hard to see the chronology of events and how they were working together, but God was doing something great. It started with my Engineering Practice course when I was introduced to the concept of entrepreneurship. In October 2007, God gave me the idea to do a camp for young men in the spring to teach work ethic. I had long been able to develop friendships with boys several years younger than myself (another way God was working) so I took some of them and taught them the skills, principles, and character that I had learned. While I was driving back and forth to school, I listened to talks from Vision Forum's Entrepreneurial Boot Camp (which emphasized a family-based model), as well as The 200 Year Plan, along with several talks on Manliness. Courses I took at school in American history and Greek philosophy got me to thinking about very complex concepts and showed me how much I enjoyed exercising my mind in that way. The political climate in our nation was really grabbing my attention and I became involved in campaigns and staying up with the news. I was becoming fascinated with new concepts, new ministry outlets, new ideas to research, and so many things that I wanted to share.

At the same time, I was becoming more and more disenchanted with a career in engineering. Over this past summer, I began spending a lot of time in prayer and counseling with my dad about what I should do. The idea of mentoring boys was becoming very strong. I began teaching a series at church on manliness, and the response was incredible. I could see a very powerful need. I also saw that this ministry was something I was passionate about. I wanted to take everything I knew and would continue to learn about work, the Bible, politics, thought, science, history, etc. and train boys in the lost art of manliness. By the end of the summer, I knew this was without a doubt what God wanted me to do. I withdrew from OU, and made the decision not to resume any college education, but instead to self-educate as I had done through much of my homeschooling. I do not believe that college is necessary for success as it is often made out to be. What I do believe, is that God is faithful to those who trust and obey Him. I have decided to focus on this ministry and with God's help to develop it into something that will bring glory to Him, and have an impact on the lives of perhaps thousands of young men.

As you now realize, the path through which this ministry was developed was long and complicated. But I as I look back over it all, I am in awe of the providential hand of God. Even when I did not realize it, He was working in my life in mighty ways to prepare me to do His will to advance His kingdom. I humbly await what He has in store next. This blog will be a place for me to chronicle how He is working and how He is using the ministry of Repairers of the Breach for His glory. I will also be sharing with you thoughts, observations, and information on topics relevant to this ministry.

Thank you for reading,

Colton Wilson