Archives for June 2008

Oh dear, what an amazing two weeks of camp. I am so tired right now even though my wife was kind enough to let me take a 5 hour nap today. I’ve been in Denton 3 weeks now and here are some highlights…

1. Kudos to James and the rest of the SC boys for putting on two great SC camps. I got so may txts about how awesome “Free” was this year. It’s an answer to prayer and I know that God showed up at Table Rock yet again.  I’m just upset that James found a new sleeping buddy.  Who did Greg sleep with instead of Wes?  Check out Jon Brady’s blog for more.  I almost cried when I saw a pic of the inaugural Claude Heath Mullikin bucket on Facebook.  It was awesome because a girl from Central First was signing that mug.

2. Every service was unique at NC East Sr. High Camp. I really felt God leading me to try and make each altar call unique.  From silence to the Braveheart Freedom speech(face paint included) to the chuppahs it was an amazing week.  I hope that each teen left with actions steps to move forward in their relationship with God and to keep from slipping.

3.  The NC East crew is amazing.  I got closer to the guys I already knew and got to know new people as well.  God has brought together an amazing team.  I am already working on my lunch tour schedule to meet up with a many yp’s as possible.

4.  Home made ice cream!  Mark Wilburn hooked me up with some Pineapple and the team bought me butter pecan and banana split ice cream sandwiches.  Sadly, we didn’t finish them so I brought the leftovers home to the kids…Drake loves em.

5.  Pray for my mom as she continues to recover from knee surgery.  So far, her recovery is going well.

6.  Now that camps are over, I’m looking forward to plugging into Denton and hanging with the teens more.  We’ve got the whole summer ahead of us and it’s going to be amazing.

7.  Get to take the Mac for a ride this week.

8.  Well, we have company coming tomorrow and I’m got work and sleep to do.

It’s good to be back.

Well, today was a surreal day.  I arrived at the NC East district camp to help set up(they are still there setting up while I’m typing this) and greeted friends who had wondered if and when this day would come.  I’m pumped to be on this team.  I want to get to know the youth pastors I don’t know as well and do what I can to make the team even stronger.  It was a fun day filled with laughs, dirty hands, and pizza.  So far, the transition is going smoothly, and the people here have been great.  I miss my Chichester peeps tremendously, but I know they are friends for life.  Pray for me as I have my first meeting tonight with the adult leaders of the youth group.  I just want to get to know them and get a glimpse of where their hearts are coming from.  It’s the first step toward building a solid team of 10-15 volunteers before school starts and then it’s on.  God is good.  His grace and mercy be with you all.

I wonder if students would use as much profanity when writing on people’s Facebook walls if they realized that other people(including their current and former youth pastors) could see it.

Well, I spent most of the day yesterday setting up the office, registering the girls for kindergarten, and hanging with Wesley Grubb.  By the way, there are a whole lot of Grubbs in the Davidson county phone book.  Karen is getting the house set up and things are looking great.  God has provided out needs through the kindness of the church folks including some great food, a new fridge, and a washer and dryer are on the way.  There were so many people Friday to help unload the truck that it was emptied in less than 30 minutes.  We are still sorting through stuff and that may take a while.  Thanks for your prayers.  Please pray that Drake adjusts to being in a toddler bed.  He hasn’t made it through the night yet, but we are hopeful.

I will have my thought on the Wesleyan General Conference when it is over.  My unnamed source has threatened litigation and loss of grapevine privileges if I quote him.  Gotta get back to work.  Peace and love to all!

I don’t remember being this tired with such a bad headache.  However, the truck is loaded(except for a few things), the NBA finals start in 5 minutes or so, and life is good.  There’s a great line in Star Trek Generations(my nerd status is now confirmed) where Captain Kirk tells Captain Picard to never give up being a captain of a starship because, “While you’re there you can make a difference.”  I’ve been thinking about that a lot the last few days as I’ve had lots of time to myself.  Do I make a difference?  Have I made a difference?  Will I make a difference?  Why do I want to make a difference?  What difference does it make?  I try to learn from my mistakes, but I also see the mistakes of others and try to learn lessons from them as well.  One lesson that I’m trying to apply more effectively is this-nothing I do in ministry will make a difference if through the hours of investing my life into others I am not being shaped and formed by God and for God.  I think ministry can become second nature and what we “do” rather than who we “are.”  There have been many people through the ages who had great “ministries” while their personal lives were falling apart.  Captain Kirk eventually sacrifices his life to make a difference and save a planet.  His dying words and thoughts were,”Did we make a difference?”  I know I won’t if God isn’t making a difference in me every single day.

Okay this will be brief as I have a million and 1 things to do.  Church gave us a great send off yesterday and Puseys had a great youth party for us last night.  A great day and we got alot of cleaning done.  Karen leaves tonight with her mom and I load the truck Thursday.  I have so much to do the next two days it’s not even funny.  Keep us in your prayers-can’t wait to update you all on our status and start blogging every day again.  Peace, love, hope, and joy to all!