They Came to Serve

Our week of camp has finally come to an end and we have all returned safely to our own homes. It was a powerful week of adventure, spiritual experiences, and tremendous laughter. This just wrapped up my 12th year of leading camp and I believe I have a few more in me. I am always learning new things as we lead, but one thing remains the same. Our week of camp is only as strong as our volunteer leaders. I have been tremendously blessed each year by the volunteers who sacrifice their time, money, energy, sleep, and sometimes sanity to make a difference in the lives of middle schoolers. This isn't an easy task they have been called to and yet they continue to rise up and pour themselves out for the sake of this generation. This year was no exception.

This diverse group of people (many who had never met each other before--some I had never met before either) took on the daunting challenge of leading 132 middle school youth for an entire week. They played basketball, fit people into harnesses for high ropes, led discussion groups, sang loudly, danced, rode bikes, stood in the sun, walked people to the nurse (and back again and sometimes again and again), laughed at stupid videos and hilarious campers, prayed with and for people, answered questions, and functioned as pseudo mothers, father, big brothers, and sisters. There was no pay except camp food, a t-shirt, limited sleep, and the trust that God was working through them in incredible ways they may not even realize. These adults ranging wide in age and camp experience stood in the gap for a group of campers this week and pointed them in the direction of Christ. It is their selfless sacrifice that makes a week successful. I am grateful for them and their commitment to a difficult and yet rewarding quest of influence.

Thank you, my faithful friends (both old & new) for what you allowed God to do through you this week. Your Kingdom influence is greater than you know.

On the Go

I had the privilege of speaking at a local high school FCA breakfast (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) this morning and it reminded me of teaching high school, working in youth ministry and the fondness I still have for those times. Even after leaving the high school itself I spent many hours on campuses building relationships and visiting youth and adults. This is still an area of enjoyment for me even though it isn't my primary calling anymore. I enjoy the energy level, raw passion, and creativity of teens and it reinvigorated me to walk in their hallways this morning.

The bigger principle at work here is one that I always held firm as a value in reaching others. We have to leave the church grounds and spend time on the turf of people we want to influence if we are going to be effective. It's actually part of Jesus' commission to His Church-the simple command to GO. If we are going to lay claim to following Jesus we have to find ways to go into areas as His disciples.

A church that isn't on the move really isn't a church at all.

Let Them Lead

We had our youth worship band lead for the adult service this morning at Northridge and they did a
phenomenal job. It's obvious that all of them are talented and that others have taken the time to invest in them. All they needed for us to know what they were capable of is a chance to show us.

There are young leaders in all of our churches, schools, and communities that are waiting for a chance to lead. If we truly place a value on helping them mature and developing them then we have to provide an opportunity to do something. There will be speed bumps along the way and sometimes a very steep learning curve, but if we don't step aside to let young leaders lead they won't ever discover what they are really capable of. It's the only way for them to believe in themselves and have the courage to keep using what God has given them.

Old School

I was able to lead worship at our youth services tonight since our youth pastor is on a well-deserved vacation. It is the first time that I have been out to the youth building for a mid-week service since I am usually teaching the adults at the same time. I unexpectedly enjoyed how old memories came flooding back throughout the night.

I had forgotten how much I enjoy the constantly fluctuating, ever-changing attitude, and challenge of youth ministry. Watching the group interactions and dynamics always has me pondering the story of each person and how they ended up there that night. I love the laughter of teens as we get them engaged in worship right away and remind them that "they are not too cool to worship." I never get tired of giving a Bible away to a youth that doesn't have one of their own. There is a hint of promise of spiritual growth and the development of future leaders. It's an exciting thing to be part of again--even if only for one night.

I wouldn't trade where God has me now or where He is leading me, but it was refreshing to be able to engage in youth ministry again. It reminds me of the great promise in this generation and the need for us to invest in their growth. I've been fortunate enough to see the positive results of those efforts in my own ministry life.

Too Soon

I experienced one of the coolest athletic feats at a CIY Move conference several years ago. We had a team in the annual dodgeball tournament and were actually playing pretty well. We had moved through the first few rounds and were playing against the worship band. Five of the six members of our team got knocked out very quickly and it looked like our run was over. What happened next was incredible to watch and is a story that I have shared with many people since.

Our one remaining team member was a young man named Trent Turner. Trent was a natural athlete with an incredible arm. He realized how the odds were stacked against him and seemed to take his intensity up a notch (as if it could be any higher for him.) He started methodically mowing down the opposite team by catching everything they threw at him and then knocking them off one at a time. He was throwing so hard that the ball bounced off of their chests as they tried to catch it. When he knocked out a few of them and we realized that he had a shot at pulling this off our cheers grew louder. The crowd surrounding the court started to grow as people came running over to witness this great comeback. When Trent knocked out the last opposing team member we rushed the court with shouts of victory and picked him up to carry him around. It was like we had won the World Series or the Super Bowl.

Trent passed away this week in a car accident-another life taken from us far too soon and my heart is heavy for my own grief and for that of his family & friends. I think back to that day of dodgeball and see how it encapsulates my thoughts of Trent. He lived life with passion and intensity. He drew people to him-we all loved him and his infectious personality and laughter. He would fight for those he loved and for those who couldn't fight for themselves. When he was fired up about a project or goal there was no stopping him from getting it done. All of us wanted to see him succeed and to cheer him on when he did. He lived life at full throttle and I treasure the times of laughter, tears, sweat, worship, and service that we shared together.

You will be missed my friend. I am grateful for the gift that you were to the lives around you.

Where Are the Men?

It has become even more obvious to me this week that we are missing positive, godly male leadership in the church and our communities. I see so many of our young men here with distorted views of what is right and wrong, with skewed perceptions of their relationship with young women and increased emphasis on the stereotypical behavior patterns that our culture has imposed on them. We are in desperate need of male role models who will make the sacrifice of time and effort to help raise up this next generation. This doesn't only apply to our middle and high school youth-it is for all ages. We talk as a staff each week about the need for volunteer leaders in preschool and grade school and our college young men and those in their twenties and beyond need this as well.

God intended for men to take the lead in the development of faith for the family and that extends into the church and our society as well. I am very thankful for godly women that have taken the spiritual lead for families and our communities. Now is time for a revival of men that need to step into the role God intended them serve in.

A generation is floundering and may go to hell if we don't.

No See-ums

I haven't stumbled upon these in Georgia yet, but in Florida we had these gnat-type bugs called "no see-ums." They were quite annoying as they would flit about your ankles or arms and cause you to swipe at them even though you couldn't see them. My lack of ability to see them had no effect on their actual impact either.

Ministry and spiritual growth can happen in the same fashion (not in the annoying way-at least not in this particular blog post.) So much of the change and spiritual development is happening beneath the surface and it can be difficult to gauge what is actually occurring. That does not take away from the impact of the Holy Spirit however, nor does it decrease the faithfulness of the Kingdom workers that are striving to see that great work move forward. It does take a faithfulness in God's great redemptive plan and that He will see His work brought to completion-and even choose to do it through us if we are obedient to leading others.

Father, continue to bring about change that I can and cannot see. May I have the faith to trust that You are the one that will bring it to completion.