Oh boy

B took us all out for the day to his sisters house in Queens NY where we spent the night in her house and went to Jones beach the next day. It was during that trip that I began to see the unity that was to characterize us for the rest of the year. I knew 3 of the 4 RA s fairly well before. I had spent quite a bit of time with Ilya on the bench playing soccer the year before and Tim, B and Mic were in a close Bible study/accountability group that I was also a part of. Matty, however, I really didn’t know all that well. We had played soccer together, but like I said, I sat the bench...Matty was a great player. In sports that can have potential to create a huge caesium in relationships. Well, we both told coach that we would run while we were there...beside the ocean of course. So when we had been at the beach for awhile Matty and I took off down the shore line. The sand was hard if we ran close to the water, so we tried to as much as possible. As we got further down the beach the people thinned out. Soon it was basically only us except for the occasional sun bather trying to get away from the crowds. Now both Matty and I grew up somewhat sheltered from the evils of the world. Not that we have not been around some, but our parents tried their best to keep us out of trouble for the most part. When we were about 1 mile from the rest of the group, minding our own business, picking up the occasional shell that looked cool, I happed to look up and away from the water...there was a woman naked as a jaybird. Thinking of my friend who was going to be getting married in less than a year my reaction was “Oh boy, Oh boy! Matty look at the ocean. Look at the ocean!” For the rest of the trip, all I heard from the boys was “Oh boy Caleb!”

Training Week

The team got its start this school year in August. All 6 of us came to BBC a week early for the wonderful “RA training” that takes place every year. Mic and Tim had their presuppositions coming into the week, thinking back on the year before and the experiences that this week had birthed. For the other three of us it was a new ball game ... ok, more than that, it was a new game, one in which we had never played. We arrived at school from all over the nation, Florida, Jersey, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Matty and I were also playing soccer that fall, so we got blitzed right from the start. The schedule went something like this: RA meeting 3 times a day at least for a minimum of 2 hrs, with soccer practice in any other available space. I guess God had decided that Matty and I didn’t need to be worked into it...just chucked right into the middle of it all. I remember little of what we were supposed to learn from the sessions that week, but on Thursday (I think) I started to see how special this team was.
That Wednesday night and Thursday we spent all our time with each other: smelling ALL of Tim’s farts, laughing at B’s sausage fingers, digging in B’s sister’s house to try and find the mysterious 4th floor of the house...that isn’t there, chasing down this girl that Mic knew that we saw on the highway, and saying “OH Boy” over and over again. Those two days would set the tone for the rest of the year. The love that would set us apart began to clearly be seen those 2 days.

A Dangerous Unit

I'm Caleb. Mama B calls me Judd. I'm on this "team" that B put together, a team of weirdos. In normal standards this team would never work. Tim, the one who keeps us all in touch with our emotions...and shows some of us that emotions aren't a bad thing to have, and yes, even to show sometimes. Mic, the leader of the five of us. As a freshman, perhaps one of the least likely people to come to a Bible college. He is a hard working knuckle head, not worried about what people think of him...unless it's good, and he can't have any of that. Matty, the true local boy. He is the model youth pastor, captain of the soccer team, home schooled then Christian schooled, engaged one. Ilya, the Russian who doesn't read any Russian and dates a country girl from Virginia. Then there’s me, Caleb. I'm the home schooled, soccer player, hick, cowboy from Ohio who talks more than Tim does. And I can't forget to mention B. All you need to know is that he is 6' 6" black man in a dorm full of white boys with no soul. He is the biggest man I know that can walk into a room with white walls and be 2 ' from you before you even know he's there. Why he chose this group?...I hope someday I will be able to have the answer.
What is it about this group that sets us apart from others? Here, within this cluster of 6 men, we have come to love each other in ways I have only read about. This group of men are committed to each other's spiritual growth. I would trust my life with any one of these men. In battle, we push each other on, watch each other’s backs, and carry each other when wounded. Separate, we are just people who love people (and tick them off sometimes...) together, we are a dangerous unit.

Missionary to B(e)

Hi. I guess.
I'm Tim, and I talk a lot, among other things. :) I'm one of four seniors in our group, and one of two returning RAs under B. For the record, I like to compliment B a lot and make him uncomfortable because he deserves it, and much more; and if B deserves it, how much more does God deserve? I came to BBC as a high-flying optimistic-pessimist type dreamer, but was sold into slavery by my 'good' intentions, and sat in a jail cell (depression) as God begun his work transforming me into a simple, dependent, nothing-leader, God-gifted type dreamer--aka, Joseph. (past, present, and mostly future--I'm not there yet) I use figurative speech because I do that a lot, but more importantly because I don't know yet what God's doing this all for, except that I've been chosen to do a very specific task during my life on earth (see eph.2:10).
I say nothing leader because of B. That's what he is to us five, to the dorm, and to the campus. Don't believe me B? Well look at Mic? Or did B learn that from Mic? :) But this isn't about B as much as it is about what he has taught me concerning servant leadership. Jesus left his disciples on earth with the assurance that they would do greater works than His because He went to the Father. Jesus had every opportunity to leave the world in wonder of him, but he left having completely emptied himself of all the glory that was his. And whatever great things he did do, he did to make his Father look great. And the disciples would be even greater? B echoes Jesus' words, "the greatest among you shall be your servant." Mic obviously beat us all to this truth. He too shows us this. But fortunately I know better than to butter Mic up publicly. Plus, it's Mic, so I must be lying. So I have tons to learn and years of growth before I could ever be the greatest in this group. But then again, greatest=nothing. Go figure.
(I looked up missionary in a dictionary, smiled when I read, "a person who chooses to participate in the mission of the Church by serving people of other cultures."

Our Reputation

There's more to introduce to you, but this is more first-person. I and the four other guys form the group that guys affectionately call the RA's, or more formally, Resident Assistants. Our positions also fall under the OSD, but our role is more personal than corporate. You probably can guess what we do, but I might do it more justice if I describe this to you myself. We are responsible for 11 guys each (2 suites), living two on each floor except for Matty who shares the bottom floor with B's apartment and fewer guys. We assist B since he can't be involved with (though he tries), mentor, and keep an eye on every guy. Our desire to be examples to our guys of godly, committed men of God and to encourage them to grow in their faith and practice. Yeah, we also do the pointing and the disciplining, and unless you've been recently pointed by one of us, you'll believe that this is only to maintain discipline on campus. Theoretically, the RD and the group of RAs are to form a leadership team in order to provide the most effective leadership and influence in the dorm and on campus. Now I bet you and me are all too familiar with the dichotomy that exists between theoretical and practical realities. But, this dichotomy can be defeated. We are that team, and then some. However, and sadly, there are some who have imposed on us a reputation of being better than everyone else. Nothing could be further from the truth. And we want you to know why. By reading this blog, you'll get proof. You'll learn of the personal struggles, the pains, the set-backs, and defects that would, under legal standards, permanently label me, Mic, Ilya, Caleb, Matty and even B, worthless and totally inadequate. We are far from perfect, of course, but we are completely satisfied in the grace of God. Grace. It's our theme. B represents it, and we are consumed by it. And if you're going to get to know our story, you need to get to know grace. We represent the truth that you can't gain God's pleasure. It's not about our performance. God is pleased in us because He is, thanks to His Grace (aka Jesus, His Son who died, was resurrected, and exists both as our High Priest and our identity) . So, because of grace, we are. And now for our story.

Loescher, RDs, & B

I assume if you're reading this that you already know something about Loescher Hall. But then again, maybe you do not--however, this might be to your advantage. Think of Loescher Hall as a safe place to become. I say that because none of us who live in Loescher have become anything yet. We are college students, living on the campus of Baptist Bible College, and Loescher is home to fifty-some of us. I need to point out that one of the many distinctives of our school (BBC) is our dorms. Rather than filling barrack-styled buildings with as many students possible, the deans of BBC decided to create a living environment suitable to create, encourage, and cultivate community to some degree. To accomplish this, living quarters were built into the four corners of each three-story building. There are three rooms in each "suite" built around a bathroom and a shower. Typically there are six people in each suite, two per room. Their responsibilities include keeping their suites clean, and especially, as possible as this is for guys, their bathrooms. Now this set-up opens a large living space for lounging and socializing on each floor. The only exception of course is the floor where the Resident Director's apartment is located. For Loescher, unlike the other dorms, the Resident Director (RD) and his wife and baby live on the bottom floor. The RD's are basically dorm parents to guys or girls in their dorms. As parents, they work for the Office for Student Development (OSD) providing supervision and direction for the resident students. And then there are the dorms that have parents who are able to do much more than that. Loescher is one of these dorms. Not only is Ted Boykin (whom we affectionately call 'B') a full-time Bible/Theology professor, husband, and father, he also is father to fifty-some of us, a shepherd, a counselor, a mentor, a best-friend, and an unmistakably 6 foot 5, 250 lb. black man. B's been an RD for 12 years, and he's been married to Sherry for the past 5 of them. (9 in Christen Hall, and 3 in Loescher) We're all partial to Sherry, or mama B, not just for her cooking, but for her motherly advice and council, among other things. B is the first member, the original member, as well as the founding member of this sextuplet. I know you'll understand all of this by the completion of our story, but such are introductions. Keep reading.
(see also: Prof. Boykin, tedthegraceaholic )

The Prologue

I realized that I'm coming out of an experience I will never forget as long as I live, me and five others. Some say events like this can come once in a hundreds years. But the past three years have radically changed the course of our lives for eternity. The dictionary tells me that a sextuplet is a group of six associated by common properties or behavior. So, we are a sextuplet, and this is our story.