VBS

I have been thinking a lot about VBS and church camp the last few weeks. When I was a kid I went to every VBS at any church that had one. I remember it was typically older ladies who told us bible stories, helped us do some craft that involved Popsicle sticks in some way, and us eating generic Oreo cookies along with red Kool-aid. I remember one of the VBS I went to was in a community outside of town and I got to ride the bus. It was always in the morning from like 9 until noon. I grew up in Keota and with all honesty there was nothing else to do and those 2 or 3 weeks was a big deal.

For the most part VBS was just a diversion. I would love to say that I was a deep thinking from an early age but to be honest I really just liked cookies. That was until the summer of 1984. I remember as the pastor began to speak that year something stirred inside of me. I began to see for the first time I knew I was guilty of sin and that if I died I would go to hell. Out of fear I didn't go forward that day. Fast forward 1 year and I sat in another church listening to another pastor and this time something changed. I stepped forward. Without really knowing or understanding God had started me down the road of sanctification. I knelt with a lady in the church and she lead me to repentance.

I went home that day with a new bible and a desire to tell my Dad what had happened. I remember going to the store where he worked and telling him I had gotten saved. I don't know what I expected him to say but I at least expected the same joy that that lady at church and the pastor had shown. What I heard was "That's good" and then he was back to work.

Fast forward 7 years and you find me at KBA. I was there with Keota First Baptist, a church who had become my home. The pastor at that time Jim Doug Miller had taken me on as his project. He watched out for me and tried to help me grow with God. As I sat on those hard chairs in the heat I heard a pastor saying something that I can still hear today "No Change No Christ" I began to see all that Jim Doug had been trying to show me and got on my knees and told God that if he still wanted that boy he had saved long ago I would do whatever He asked. I decided I wanted to join the church and once again the first person I saw was Dad. His responds to my decision was less than excitement. He actually thought it was a bad idea.

So why do I say all of this? Do I want you to feel sorry for me or think poorly of my father? No not at all. My father accepted Christ at an old age and was a wonderful dad the rest of his days. The reason I mention all of this to show one thing. Kids have and will continue to make eternal decisions over the next week at camp and VBS. Some of these kids may come on buses and not have a believing parent at home. The excitement we show over what they have done may be the only excitement they see.

So here is my challenge to you. If you know a kid that has gotten saved be excited with them. Write them a letter, buy them a gift, give them a hug. All of heaven rejoiced last week at kids camp, a few weeks at VBS in Poteau, this week at youth camp, and I believe the same will happen next week in Pocola. How much more should we rejoice over these lives that have been saved. If you don't know any of them ask Laurie or Carl. Ask Angie or Brandon. Show these kids that they are not alone. If one of these kids is in your home you need to be going nuts. Make a big deal out of something that is a big deal. If you have ever celebrated a baseball game or good grade at school and you don't exceed that celebration over the salvation of your child shame on you.

It is well

Monday May 20th, 2013 is a day that everyone in this area will always remember where they where when they heard the news that a tornado had hit Moore, Oklahoma. I was on my way back from Tulsa when the sports radio station I was listening to suddenly became a weather station. It wasn't until a few hours later that I learned the magnitude of the tragedy. 

Over the last few days we have learned that dear couple to us lost their home and everything they own save the clothing on their backs. As Angie and I text them back and forth and chatted with them on the computer the reality of what happened truly set in. An old hymn came to my mind. "It is Well" by Horatio Spafford. 

"When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know, 

It is well, it is well, with my soul"

As we spoke to our friend I never heard "Where was God". What I heard was "God is good, God is faithful". I heard "God kept us safe". Our friends had decided that even when they didn't understand why, they still had faith that God was in control.

Now don't get me wrong, people will struggle over the next few months. Strong christian men and women will doubt and worry that their faith was for nothing. But God is big enough to hold them, and when all is said and done they will rise again and say "It is well"

Post Easter

Sunday was an amazing day in more ways than one. I got to preach my first Easter sermon ever. It was an overwhelming experience  It was also my 39th birthday which made it even more special. It was our first time to do multiple services and it went off nearly flawless. We had a man we had been praying would come for a long time decide to spend Easter with his family. Over all it was just an amazing day. 

Monday Post-Easter began. All I can say is wow. Mentally and physically I was done. One pastor calls those days bread truck Mondays because you just wish you were a bread truck driver because no one gets mad at the bread truck guy. That or you feel like you have been hit by a bread truck. Anyway I was wiped. As I drove around found comfort in the fact that better men than me had felt the same way. As I talked to Jason and he encouraged me I began to appreciate even more the church God has placed us into. I began to think of the people who have come up to me after a sermon and told me God spoke to them. The people who God has allowed me to speak to about a whole array of problems. Those He has allowed me to laugh and cry with. The smile and tears he has allowed me to be a part of so far.

I feel much better now. Monday is gone and I am looking forward to what God is going to do Sunday. I know there will be more Mondays like the other day ahead. I also know everyone of them will be worth it. 

Church Planting

A few months ago Brian encouraged me to keep a journal or a blog documenting our journey as church planters. Trusting his wisdom I got right on that and now several months later here I am.

So let me share my heart today and a little bit of my witness. Several years ago I hit a low point in my life. I was tired and burned out and had all but given up. For several months I sat at home feeling sorry for myself and doing little to nothing for the kingdom. I was confused about a lot that I had been taught all my life that didn't seem to match up with what the bible said so I was just going to set at home and do my own thing. God had different plans and sent people into my families life who loved on us and wanted our family to grow in Christ.

So what does any of this have to do with Pocola? Our heart for sometime has been to reach out to the community we live in. Our heart is to see lost come to a saving understanding of Christ. My heart is  also to see those men and women who are setting at their homes tired and burned out come into a church that loves them and wants to see them grow. I want to see boys grow into men who will lead homes to Christ. I want to see a church be proactive in a community rather than reactive. I want to see older men take accountability for the younger men in their community. I want to see older women show younger women what it means to be a Proverbs 31 woman.

We have seen the beginning of all these things. We have dozens of kids come week in and week out and hear The Gospel. We have seen adults who have been out of church for years come and hear about the saving grace of God. God has just begun to do what He is going to do in this community.