Gideon Speech

“Who are we?” “GCPC.” “Who are we?!” “GCPC!” “WHO ARE WE??” “GCPC!!!” This call-and-response can be heard at the end of every home football game, on the baseball field late on Monday nights, on the Saint Lawrence Family Field every Tuesday and Thursday, every All College Hike, and every Homecoming Pep Rally. What is this cry, you might ask? It is the cry of one of the most important and well-loved families on campus. It is the solidarity cry of the Greenville College Panther Corps marching band, and it is not to be ignored. During band camp this year, Mr. Fairbanks referred to this, the band’s sixth year, as its “Gideon year.” For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story of Gideon, it can be found in Judges chapters 6-8. The narrative follows a young man named Gideon, who is chosen by God to lead his people into battle against the Midianites. However, despite his reputation as a …show more content…
They hid their lamps in the pitchers to hide the light and made their way down to the Midianite camp in the middle of the night. Once they had completely surrounded it, they threw the pitchers to the ground and sounded their trumpets, terrifying the sleeping Midianites so completely they started cutting each other down in the darkness. After taking down the few who managed to escape, Gideon and his soldiers returned victoriously after not losing a single man despite destroying the entire Midianite army. Mr. Fairbanks used this illustration to assure the band that although their numbers are few, at approximately 25, they can be even more mighty than the biggest college marching band they come across. Instead of praising themselves when they do well and blaming God when they do poorly, as humans are sometimes wont to do, he encouraged the band to praise God as a family when they do well and try as a family to figure out how they can do better when they don’t do as well as they’d