Trail Life Troop
NC-613
What is the Worthy Life?
Of the various programs, opportunities, and recognitions offered within our troop, the Worthy Life program and the Worthy Life Award is one of the least understood. This is unfortunate, as participation in this program can be uniquely valuable.
Trail Life USA holds the motto “Walk Worthy”. The worthy in this motto, as in the Worthy Life, references Colossians 1:10: “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” The command in Colossians is expansive, and so too is the focus of the Worthy Life program. Through the program, we desire for trailmen to explore both how they bear fruit and increase knowledge, as they develop spiritual maturity.
The 4D Model
The Worthy Life program is structured along four concepts with a d-word theme:
- Devotional: Intentional study of scripture
- Discipleship: Learning the model of others and modeling behaviors to others
- Discipline: Gaining practice in the disciplines of Christian life that support spiritual growth such as prayer, worship, and memorization of scripture.
- Demonstration: Sharing ones experiences and growth with others
I intend to address each of these areas in more length in separate posts over the next month, which will be linked here.
All Levels
The Worthy Life program is unique in that exists at all levels from Kindergarten Foxes to Seniors completing Adventurers. A trailman can be recognized up to five times (Fox, Hawk, Mountain Lion, Navigator, and Adventurer), each time adding to the existing ribbon he displays on his uniform. As the levels progress, the trailman progresses from simple exercises he is guided through to a rigorous self-guided exploration of his faith. For Woodlands Trail, we have some specifics for those levels on this site. Trail Life Connect has details on the Navigator and Adventurer awards.
Trailmen at Navigator and Adventurer levels should take care to discuss their plan for the Worthy Life Award in advance with the Chaplain. This is in contrast to the Woodlands Trail variants, and reflects the greater flexibility in the older awards as well as the greater responsibility provided to these trailmen.
Shared Responsibility
The Worthy Life program models the ideal of individual, family, and church working together for individual spiritual growth. The balance between these changes as the trailman becomes older. At all levels, there are aspects we provide corporately for the trailmen, such as our devotional series during troop meetings. The trailmen has to embrace participating as a younger member, while he is charged with taking ownership of his experience as an older member. All of the while, there are aspects that belong to the family and can serve as useful tools for family discipleship.
Recognition
The Worthy Life Award is presented for completing the Worthy Life program at a particular level. Our troop presents these awards twice annually alongside other major troop awards. Our advancement schedule provides more information as to when trailmen need to complete items for recognition. Trailmen and parents should converse with their Trail Guides or the Troop Chaplain for advice and information about pursuing the award.
This post is part of the category: Learning Trail Life
Erich Fabricius Troop Committee Chair
As Committee Chair, Erich Fabricius provides overall supervision of the operations of the ministry. His family has been involved in the troop since 2015, and he has been part of Shepherd’s since 2008.
