My Life Was Changed At Summer Camp

^" Look at how great a love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children." - 1 John 3:1

When I became a pastor, one of the things that came to my mind was that my days of going to youth events, doing fundraisers and going to youth camp were pretty much over. Some of you are chuckling because you know that has not been the case and honestly, I am fine with that because I think it is good for a pastor to work with the youth. However, I wish we had more participation from our men in youth ministry but that is a topic for a different day. My wife and I had the opportunity to take our youth to summer camp this year. I have served as a chaperone for the last few years. After going to camp for many years I have come to realize that camp is special but sometimes it can just be another task that has to be done.

That was my attitude towards camp this year; just another task that needed to be done in an extremely busy summer. The last few years our church has gone to summer camp at Tall Timbers Baptist Camp and participated in one of the Clear Camp weeks. One of the things that I have absolutely loved about this camp is that they actually care about the adults and their personal walk with Christ. The Adult Bible studies that we have had have been the highlight of camp for me. I truly appreciate their commitment to minister to the adults as well as the youth that come to their camps.

This is where I was at coming to camp this summer: It was something that had to be done but I looked forward to the Adult Bible study. I was praying for our youth to grow and truly form a youth group. I was focused on their growth and not mine. That's when God stepped in. God used those Adult Bible study times to help me wrestle with something I have been wrestling with my entire life, my self-worth. For as long as I can remember, I have defined myself by the failures in my life and God showed me this summer that no matter what my failures have been, He loves me and I am His child! One of the Bible study teachers told a story and God used it to help this truth click in my head finally. She told of a staffer counseling someone with an addiction. The staffer did not know how to counsel the person but had a friend, another staffer, that had struggle with the same addiction and overcame it. What was his answer to overcoming the addiction? The staffer just decided to not do it anymore. An easy decision that is extremely hard to carry out. God used that story to make me realize that it was time for me to stop defining myself by my failures. So, at camp this year, after counseling with someone myself, I decided that my failures were not going to define me anymore. I prayed that God would give me the strength and peace to see my identity in Him from now on. A couple of weeks later I went back to camp, this time with our children and there was a song that we sang that summed it all up for me. The song is "Hello, My Name Is" by Matthew West. I had never heard it before but it was confirmation to me from God.

I know this post is a few months late but on the other side I hope you know that it is not just camp emotionalism. God changed my life this summer by freeing me from the burden of my failures and allowing me to rest in the fact that no matter what, I am His child.

To God Be The Glory, Great Things He Hath Done!

This year I have truly felt like God has been trying to get our attention here at Emmanuel Baptist Church. In February, God led me to lead our church in a time of Solemn Assembly. The purpose of the Solemn Assembly was to call our people out of apathy and to a love of God through Jesus Christ. That was the first attempt to get our attention. God led me to preach a sermon the week after Easter entitled "Our Desperate Need for Examination" and it was very uncharacteristic of anything I have ever preached before. I truly felt that God had a special message at a special time for His people. You can listen to that sermon here: Our Desperate Need For Examination. That was the second attempt to get our attention. Then God put on my wife's heart a Lay Renewal weekend. This was the third attempt at God trying to get our attention. We just completed that Lay Renewal Weekend and I believe God got our attention this weekend.

This weekend I deliberately made a point to listen and not talk much at all. I wanted to hear from God myself and I also wanted to hear from our people. It was truly amazing to listen to the Lay Renewal Team Members share their imperfections and hurts and then in turn hear our people share their imperfections and hurts. God has gifted me with the gift of administration and I spend a lot of time just trying to "keep things running" at the church. I have to step back and remember that people are hurting. I pray that the Lord will make me more sensitive to the hurts and needs of others.  Our church has been going through the book of Job on Wednesday nights. I thought it was odd that God would lay that book on my heart to study this year but God knew what He was doing; God knows the hurts of our people.

Many of our church family have already shared how they want to continue small groups and sharing together. I want to encourage us all to truly become friends with the other people in our pews. I would love to see groups of church members get together for fellowship and prayer similar to our "coffees" that we had this weekend. We don't have to have a program to meet with others for prayer and fellowship; just do it! But let me ask you, why can't our Sunday School classes get together and pray, love on each other, minister, fellowship, etc just like our groups did this weekend? Why can't we have times where our men and women get together and pray? Your Sunday School class can be transformed just by doing the same things we did this weekend!

God moved in our church this weekend and that was evident with the testimonies given last night. We had close to twenty testimonies! We even went thirty minutes past the time service is "suppose to end" and I saw no one looking at the clock. (That's one way I knew the Holy Spirit was moving!) We heard dry bones come to life last night! Now where do we go from here? As I stated last night, we have a warning and a challenge given to us from scripture. When you look at the first twelve chapters of Nehemiah we see a great revival among the Jews! But in chapter thirteen, they went right back to their old ways. They went right back to who they were before revival. Will we do the same? Will this just be a weekend of high spirits and emotionalism or will this weekend be the beginning of  greater things in God's people and in God's church?

My Conviction for Missions

In June 2011, I was watching our Southern Baptist Convention’s Annual Meeting from Phoenix, Arizona. I am very thankful for this service by the way! During this 2011 annual meeting I listened to Tom Eliff’s report from the International Mission Board. I never thought that God would use a report at an annual meeting to change my thinking and my life, but He did. My entire life I have been Southern Baptist. My thinking has always been that if God wanted you to do International Missions then He would call you to serve through the International Mission Board. If He did not call you, then all you needed to do was support those missionaries doing the work through prayer and giving. My thinking was changed that year! Why? Because of what the Bible really says.

Let’s take a look at what the Bible really says regarding this issue.

What are we commanded to do?

“Then Jesus came near and said to them, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” – Matthew 28:18-20

This scripture is the Great Commission and it is Jesus’ command to all Christians. All Christians, not just those that are called to full-time missionary service, are commanded to “Go and make disciples of all nations…” There is no in-between. We as Christians are to go and make disciples!

Where are we commanded to go?

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” – Acts 1:8

It is my conviction that this scripture tells us to be a witness for Jesus Christ everywhere starting with where we are located to the very ends of the earth!

How long are we commanded to go?

“This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come.” – Matthew 24:14

We are commanded to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all the nations until the very end. There is no time for retirement or quitting. Christians are commanded to go until the end.

What will be the result?

“After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were robed in white with palm branches in their hands.” – Revelation 7:9

The result will be that the nations will hear the Gospel and there will be people from “every nation, tribe, people and language” counted among those that are saved. As Christians, we are commanded to go, the work will not be easy but the work will not be in vain!

Because of my conviction of what the Bible instructs Christians to do regarding the lost, I felt led by the Lord to lead our church to embrace an Unreached, Unengaged People Group. Our church has embraced the Italians of the United Kingdom. For a few years now, we have been praying diligently for this group to be saved! We have been able to travel a few times to visit, prayer walk and minster to our embraced group. Currently, we are trying diligently to raise money to send another team back this year.

I would like to ask you to pray for a few things:

• That God would move mightily amongst the Italians of the UK and that they would be saved.

• That our church can continue to raise funds to send another team back.

• That other churches will come alongside our church as partners to reach this group.

• That our church will continue to catch the vision

Inspiration from Memorial Day

"No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends." - John 15:13

The last couple of days I have had the opportunity to reflect upon the sacrifices that have been made by our men and women in the United States Armed Forces. Sunday morning we stopped for a moment during our morning worship service to remember the ultimate sacrifice made by 1,321,343 Americans who have died in battle since the American Revolution. The North American Mission Board has distributed to our church fifty prayer cards to pray for our Southern Baptist military chaplains. I am praying for Commander George James Mendes, U.S. Navy Chaplain serving in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. I have challenged our church to remember them in prayer until July 4th. On Memorial Day, I rested at home with my family but I never forgot why I was able to do so. I am able to enjoy my freedom because of the countless number of those who have served and still serve today.

I love to watch movies/documentaries about World War II. My fascination with World War II is probably due to the fact that my grandfather served in the Pacific during this war. I have enjoyed watching Patton for many years and yesterday I watched Tora! Tora! Tora! for the first time. I greatly enjoyed it! I know they are just movies but for me they give me a glimpse at the sacrifice that these service men and women have made for the freedom that I enjoy. Many of these service men did not have a choice in serving their country due to the draft, but they have all served faithfully and heroically. It is amazing to me that they would sacrifice theirselves for our continued freedom.

To all of our service men and women in the United States Armed Forces, past or present, Thank You for your service and your commitment to freedom!

As Christians, we should be reminded of our Savior's sacrifice when we look at our service men and women who have sacrificed their all for our freedom. We have a Lord and Savior in Jesus Christ who has laid down His life and sacrificed His all for our freedom from the penalty of sin. We should never let a day go by that we do not praise God and thank Jesus for His sacrifice that has saved us if we believe in Him. As Christians, I think we should also be inspired by the sacrifice of our service men and women. These men and women fought, some survived and some unfortunately did not however they were all committed to serving our nation. I wish the same thing could be said of Christians today. As Christians, we can stand to learn a lot from the service and sacrifice of those who have served in the  United States Armed Forces.

Let me give you one question to think about: Where would our nation be today if those men and women who have served in the United States Armed Forces had the same work ethic and commitment as many American Christians and Churches do today?

Dawn, My Proverbs 31 Woman

“Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised.” – Proverbs 31:30

Proverbs 31 is a beautiful passage on the qualities of the ideal wife and mother. This chapter may seem like it was written for women however I truly believe it was written to teach young men in what to look for in a great spouse. Men, then and now, might look for other qualities in woman but the Bible says that these qualities listed here are the best. Every man would do well to use this as an instruction manual for finding a wife!

In 1999, my life changed because I fell head over heels in love with a girl. The amazing thing is that she actually liked me too! Her name is Dawn, just in case you are wondering J As shy as we were, we eventually got married a couple years later. She loved me and married me despite the fact that she could have done better. We have since had three beautiful children and next month we will celebrate 13 years of marriage. Accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and serving Him has been the best thing to happen in my life, but do you know what’s next? Spending my life with my beautiful bride and building our family together.

I am incredibly proud of my wife because inner beauty is just as beautiful as her outer beauty. She is my proverbs 31 woman and I am very grateful! Proverbs 31 states that a capable wife is hard to find and if you do find one, she is more valuable than precious jewels. Her husband can fully trust her and she is good and not evil to him. Put that in perspective just a moment. Proverbs 21:9 says “better to live on a corner of a roof than to share a house with a nagging wife.” I thank God that I have a wife that I can fully trust and never have to worry about her because her motives are pure. The behavior of a Proverbs 31 woman is characterized by being hard working and a provider for her family. My wife has the hardest job in the world; she is a stay at home mom. She is constantly cooking, cleaning, watching kids and doing church stuff for me. How many times have we heard someone say “I need to go to work so I can get some rest?” That phrase doesn’t apply to my wife. She is constantly on the go! Not only is she trustworthy and a hard worker, but she is a wonderful mother to our children. She takes care of all their clothes, their extra-curricular activities and their general well-being. I’m not sure how much my children realize it or appreciate it yet, but one day they will look back and understand the hard work that their mother has done for them and the extent of her love.

Since the first time that I went on a date with my wife (which was October 15, 1999 to the Mississippi State Fair) I knew that there was something incredibly special about her. I’m just humbled to be able to be her husband. I look forward to spending the rest of my life with her! She is an incredible wife and a wonderful mother!

“Many women are capable, but you surpass them all!” – Proverbs 31:29