At church on Sunday my pastor gave a very interesting sermon and I
thought I'd share a summary of it with you and challenge you.
He walked us through the end of 1 Peter 3 and the beginning of 1
Peter 4. He suggested that the Modern day Church is similar to a
Pharmacy saying that the motto of the Modern day Church could be "We
sell Prescription Verses".
Here is a description of the views that the First Pharmacy Church (Modern day) and the Church of 1 Peter.
First Pharmacy Church
God is the Chief Pharmacist – prescribes medicine
Worship serves the purpose of my happiness
God only dispenses Grace to all
Scripture = counsel
Others are resources
Sins are simply misdeameanors
In politics God is offensive and problematic
The Mission is the quality of life
Suffering us unfair
First Peter Church
God is the Creator and Holy One
Worship is for Jesus, not us
God is both the Savior of all and the Judge of all
Scripture = confrontation
Others need our love
Sin = death
In politics God is hope, truth, and blessing
The Mission is His Glory
Suffering = Honor
I want to encourage you to join me in
modeling our lives after the church of 1 Peter. Let’s live our daily
life showing that God is the Creator and the Holy One. When we worship,
let’s worship Jesus instead of making ourselves “feel” good. Let’s
hold on to God’s grace and embrace His judgment. Let’s read scripture
looking for how it confronts our actions and makes us uncomfortable.
Let’s give others all the love we have. Let’s cling to Jesus who saved
us from death and tell others about being saved from death. Let’s keep
God close in our politics to provide us with hope, truth, and blessing.
Let’s bring about His Glory! And if we are called, let us suffer for
Him with honor.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Complicated?
Life is
complicated. No duh! Right? But what is to be done about it? How do we respond
to life being complicated? That's my question. How do we respond?
In my opinion we respond with God. There's the popular quote, "Don't tell God how big your problems are, tell your problems how big your God is."
The best way to deal with complications is to be prepared for them.
Ephesians 6:10-18 (NLT)
A final word: Be strong with the Lord's mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms. Use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the sturdy belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News, so that you will be fully prepared. In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere.
In this passage the Message says:
Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long.
Being prepared is the best defense for complications. So,
In my opinion we respond with God. There's the popular quote, "Don't tell God how big your problems are, tell your problems how big your God is."
The best way to deal with complications is to be prepared for them.
Ephesians 6:10-18 (NLT)
A final word: Be strong with the Lord's mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms. Use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the sturdy belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News, so that you will be fully prepared. In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere.
In this passage the Message says:
Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long.
Being prepared is the best defense for complications. So,
- Know the truth!
- Be Right with God (to be righteous)
- Have peace from the Gospel
- Have Faith
- Have Salvation
- Have a Bible and Use it! - Quote Scripture all the time!
- And last, but probably most important Pray Consistantly!
What Are You Becoming?
If you have
known about the Discipleship Council’s Internship for a couple years, you have
probably heard very similar descriptions of summers, “God changed my life in
this way”, or “God has taught me this over the summer”. My summer falls right
in line with previous descriptions. I was challenged and taught in many ways
this summer.
I am not going to recount my summer for you, but I will invite you to read my blog and learn more about my summer. Here, in this reflection, I am going to challenge you to the same challenge that I have been given this summer. “What are you becoming? Where are you going? How are you living for your God?”
At this point in my life I am a sophomore in college, and as my friends at school, who are all older than me, put it, I am the baby, young and inexperienced. So, I got some experience this summer, and that was the thing I wanted most out of my summer. Having only finished one year of college, which was mainly filled with Gen-Ed classes, it was difficult to try my hand at things that I knew nothing about.
However, challenges and difficulties are what make us grow. My best-friend shared that piece of knowledge with me. During one of my weeks I was slightly upset because of the challenges I was facing. In a conversation with my best-friend she told me that, “that’s when you need to show your leadership skills…Take charge…” When I replied saying that it is hard to do she scolded me saying, “We grow only when we step out of our comfort zone. And that’s when we need to rely on God. Yeah, it’s scary. Is for me too. But it’s how God designed us.”
I am a double major in Biblical and Ministry Studies (concentration in Children and Youth Ministry), and Music Ministry. People all summer asked me what I plan on doing when I graduate college, and my honest answer is that I do not know. Wherever God leads me is where I will go. What I do know right now is that God has brought me to Waynesburg University to study in these two fields. God has provided me with everything I need here. God has given me an amazing summer where I learned so much about myself, about Him, and about following Him step by step. Finally, God will get me through the next three years, and life, if I stay focused on Him.
Now finally, to my challenge; “What are you becoming?” God indirectly asked me this question this summer. My answer is that I am becoming Him. My goal, my aspiration in life is to look like Him, to reflect Him in every aspect of my life. Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” We were created to be like God, is that what you are becoming?
I am not going to recount my summer for you, but I will invite you to read my blog and learn more about my summer. Here, in this reflection, I am going to challenge you to the same challenge that I have been given this summer. “What are you becoming? Where are you going? How are you living for your God?”
At this point in my life I am a sophomore in college, and as my friends at school, who are all older than me, put it, I am the baby, young and inexperienced. So, I got some experience this summer, and that was the thing I wanted most out of my summer. Having only finished one year of college, which was mainly filled with Gen-Ed classes, it was difficult to try my hand at things that I knew nothing about.
However, challenges and difficulties are what make us grow. My best-friend shared that piece of knowledge with me. During one of my weeks I was slightly upset because of the challenges I was facing. In a conversation with my best-friend she told me that, “that’s when you need to show your leadership skills…Take charge…” When I replied saying that it is hard to do she scolded me saying, “We grow only when we step out of our comfort zone. And that’s when we need to rely on God. Yeah, it’s scary. Is for me too. But it’s how God designed us.”
I am a double major in Biblical and Ministry Studies (concentration in Children and Youth Ministry), and Music Ministry. People all summer asked me what I plan on doing when I graduate college, and my honest answer is that I do not know. Wherever God leads me is where I will go. What I do know right now is that God has brought me to Waynesburg University to study in these two fields. God has provided me with everything I need here. God has given me an amazing summer where I learned so much about myself, about Him, and about following Him step by step. Finally, God will get me through the next three years, and life, if I stay focused on Him.
Now finally, to my challenge; “What are you becoming?” God indirectly asked me this question this summer. My answer is that I am becoming Him. My goal, my aspiration in life is to look like Him, to reflect Him in every aspect of my life. Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” We were created to be like God, is that what you are becoming?
Week 10 - Campmeeting
Roxbury
Holiness Campmeeting
Monday July 26–Sunday August 8
Campmeeting at Roxbury was a great way to finish my internship. I experienced a lot, learned so much, and developed deeper relationships with friends and family.
For the first week I assisted in cleaning and preparing many areas around the camp. It is great to know that by doing those tasks I was able to help make camp run smoothly. As the time for camp neared I helped the directors in the Sunbeam Center get set up for the week. Once camp started I helped the Jr. High with their morning session and then the Sunbeam Center with the afternoon session.
On the first Saturday I was given charge of the Carnival held for the Sunbeam Center kids. It was a great hands on experience. It was so much fun to facilitate setting up, running, and taking down the Carnival. I have been asked to return next year to run it again, and I look forward to next year.
Overall, Campmeeting was long and exhausting, but it was a wonderful experience and tons of fun.
Campmeeting at Roxbury was a great way to finish my internship. I experienced a lot, learned so much, and developed deeper relationships with friends and family.
For the first week I assisted in cleaning and preparing many areas around the camp. It is great to know that by doing those tasks I was able to help make camp run smoothly. As the time for camp neared I helped the directors in the Sunbeam Center get set up for the week. Once camp started I helped the Jr. High with their morning session and then the Sunbeam Center with the afternoon session.
On the first Saturday I was given charge of the Carnival held for the Sunbeam Center kids. It was a great hands on experience. It was so much fun to facilitate setting up, running, and taking down the Carnival. I have been asked to return next year to run it again, and I look forward to next year.
Overall, Campmeeting was long and exhausting, but it was a wonderful experience and tons of fun.
Week 9 - Five Forks BIC
Five
Forks BIC
Sunday July 18–Thursday July 22
This week I worked with Five Forks’ VBS. I sat in on Bible Lessons, and helped with games and crafts. This week of VBS was very different than Martinsburg’s VBS. Martinsburg had a total of 20 children per day; Five Forks had around 150 children per night. The differences between these two Vacation Bible Schools were numerous, yet both were special and needed in their own ways.
After being involved in different aspects of Children’s ministry all summer I have a question. Has Children’s ministry become all about saving as many children as possible? While I was at New Guilford BIC the pastors gave me a book written by George Barna called “Growing True Disciples”. One of the main points in the book was that we focus too much on saving people, and not enough on discipling those people. Are we doing the same with children?
It seems that many individuals and churches have the mindset that programs for children need to be big, flashy, exciting, and attractive in order to get children to come. The focus should be less on making it attractive, and more on impacting the children and discipling them. In his book, Barna describes true disciples as “men, women, boys, and girls committed to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and growing daily in their knowledge, love, and service to Him.”
Most “pre-packaged” VBS programs tend to have a word or theme for the day, a character associated with that word, and then a verse to go along with it. But are we truly focusing on teaching the children about the word/theme, and the verse? Or is it just a verse to memorize to possibly get a prize of some sort? Are we teaching the children how to live their daily lives for Christ? Or are we more concerned with getting high numbers of conversions?
The following is an excerpt from a paper I wrote a few months ago on Children and Youth Ministry.
This is the generation that will make a difference. The time to do something about the frightful statistics listed above is now. The youth generation is eager to move, but they are not ready yet. Recently in my English class we were given an assignment to do a project on religious difference. One student gave her presentation on “Growing up in a Christian Home.” As I listened to her presentation I considered my own upbringing in a Christian home. I have a good understanding of my faith and the concepts that surround it, but not a great understanding. Not to place blame on my parents or the church, but what if the adults around me went out of their way to teach me real theology as I grew up?
Teaching theology to a child is a foreign idea to most, but it could, and does, work. Teaching an eight year old is very different from teaching an eighteen year old. However, they are capable of learning some of the same ideas. Children think in concrete ways; abstract ideas, such as love, mean nothing to them, unless the abstract idea is matched with a concrete idea (Beckwith 52). Telling a young child that in John 13:34 Jesus says “love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (Bible) means little to them. However, when concrete actions that demonstrate this love are repeatedly pointed out to the child as the concept of loving one another, they begin to associate the concrete actions as love (Beckwith 52).
The methods of teaching need to be geared for children to learn. For example, teaching the Bible. Adults have trouble remembering how to think as children, so they have “dumbed down” the Bible so that children can make sense of it. A popular Sunday school story is Moses and the burning bush. Many times pictures are used to aid in the simple paraphrase of the story that is generated for children. Through this process the Bible loses its originality, it becomes as important as every other picture book. Children need to be told the stories of the Bible, and then assisted in understanding them. Too many people attach moral lessons to the stories, pushing the children to understand the story in that way. Beckwith uses the example of the story of the boy with the loaves and fish being explained to children in a way that teaches them that it is good to share (127). However, this causes the story to lose its meaning. The story is meant to show the power and majesty of God. When adults attach moral lessons to the Bible, it loses its importance. The Bible needs to be presented to children as the Bible, not as a morally true picture book with superheroes (Beckwith 127-128). Children are able to understand abstract ideas when they are paired with concrete ideas. Therefore, the Bible, as is, can be understood by children, when it is presented in a way that they will comprehend.
Many adults have the mentality that once a child “prays the prayer,” that child is saved. Therefore the adult moves on so that more children can be “saved.” Beckwith summarizes Lawrence Richards’ “five processes for guiding the spiritual development of children in the faith community” (Beckwith 65). First, children need to belong in the faith community around them. Children need to be active participants in the activities of their faith community (Beckwith 65-66). Adults who are seen by children need to model faith, “The child sees adults who struggle, who trust God, who make mistakes and are forgiven, who work for mercy and justice, who model kingdom values” (Beckwith 66). Hands-on methods of learning need to be utilized to assist teaching children faith. Finally, good decision making needs to be emphasized and taught (Beckwith 67). Ultimately, children need to be guided through their faith by their parents and the faith community around them.
Beckwith declares, in chapter six of her book, that, “Family is everything to a child” (Beckwith, 101). In his book, Reid states that, “The greatest impact in the life of youth is not made by their peers; the greatest impact in the life of youth is made by adults, and especially by parents” (Reid 154). Pulling from Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and Hebrews 12:1, Mark DeVries (author of Chapter 8 on, “Focusing Youth Ministry through the Family”) summarizes his view on the need for family involvement by saying that, “I define my own approach to family-based youth ministry in this way: Using the position of the youth ministry to access, empower, and connect students to the most effective sources of faith formation, namely the nuclear family and the extended family of the church” (Dean 150). The family should be the first and foremost education that a child receives. Family is the first thing a child experiences, and it will stay with a child no matter what. Because of this, children must be spiritually nurtured first and foremost by their family. However, the church has come into the habit of breaking up the family as soon as they enter the doors of the building. According to Beckwith, the church’s job is to adequately prepare and assist parents with spiritually raising their children (Beckwith 101-103).
In his sermon, Matt Cote addresses the jobs of the church and family. Cote suggests that at one hour for one program, the church has 40 hours a year with which to impact children. Parents, on the other hand, have 3,000 hours a year with which to impact their children. The church’s job is to be assistance to the parents, to say that, “I will do anything I can to help you get your kid as close to Jesus” (Cote 39:10). The job of parents is to raise the kids spiritually.
This week I worked with Five Forks’ VBS. I sat in on Bible Lessons, and helped with games and crafts. This week of VBS was very different than Martinsburg’s VBS. Martinsburg had a total of 20 children per day; Five Forks had around 150 children per night. The differences between these two Vacation Bible Schools were numerous, yet both were special and needed in their own ways.
After being involved in different aspects of Children’s ministry all summer I have a question. Has Children’s ministry become all about saving as many children as possible? While I was at New Guilford BIC the pastors gave me a book written by George Barna called “Growing True Disciples”. One of the main points in the book was that we focus too much on saving people, and not enough on discipling those people. Are we doing the same with children?
It seems that many individuals and churches have the mindset that programs for children need to be big, flashy, exciting, and attractive in order to get children to come. The focus should be less on making it attractive, and more on impacting the children and discipling them. In his book, Barna describes true disciples as “men, women, boys, and girls committed to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and growing daily in their knowledge, love, and service to Him.”
Most “pre-packaged” VBS programs tend to have a word or theme for the day, a character associated with that word, and then a verse to go along with it. But are we truly focusing on teaching the children about the word/theme, and the verse? Or is it just a verse to memorize to possibly get a prize of some sort? Are we teaching the children how to live their daily lives for Christ? Or are we more concerned with getting high numbers of conversions?
The following is an excerpt from a paper I wrote a few months ago on Children and Youth Ministry.
This is the generation that will make a difference. The time to do something about the frightful statistics listed above is now. The youth generation is eager to move, but they are not ready yet. Recently in my English class we were given an assignment to do a project on religious difference. One student gave her presentation on “Growing up in a Christian Home.” As I listened to her presentation I considered my own upbringing in a Christian home. I have a good understanding of my faith and the concepts that surround it, but not a great understanding. Not to place blame on my parents or the church, but what if the adults around me went out of their way to teach me real theology as I grew up?
Teaching theology to a child is a foreign idea to most, but it could, and does, work. Teaching an eight year old is very different from teaching an eighteen year old. However, they are capable of learning some of the same ideas. Children think in concrete ways; abstract ideas, such as love, mean nothing to them, unless the abstract idea is matched with a concrete idea (Beckwith 52). Telling a young child that in John 13:34 Jesus says “love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (Bible) means little to them. However, when concrete actions that demonstrate this love are repeatedly pointed out to the child as the concept of loving one another, they begin to associate the concrete actions as love (Beckwith 52).
The methods of teaching need to be geared for children to learn. For example, teaching the Bible. Adults have trouble remembering how to think as children, so they have “dumbed down” the Bible so that children can make sense of it. A popular Sunday school story is Moses and the burning bush. Many times pictures are used to aid in the simple paraphrase of the story that is generated for children. Through this process the Bible loses its originality, it becomes as important as every other picture book. Children need to be told the stories of the Bible, and then assisted in understanding them. Too many people attach moral lessons to the stories, pushing the children to understand the story in that way. Beckwith uses the example of the story of the boy with the loaves and fish being explained to children in a way that teaches them that it is good to share (127). However, this causes the story to lose its meaning. The story is meant to show the power and majesty of God. When adults attach moral lessons to the Bible, it loses its importance. The Bible needs to be presented to children as the Bible, not as a morally true picture book with superheroes (Beckwith 127-128). Children are able to understand abstract ideas when they are paired with concrete ideas. Therefore, the Bible, as is, can be understood by children, when it is presented in a way that they will comprehend.
Many adults have the mentality that once a child “prays the prayer,” that child is saved. Therefore the adult moves on so that more children can be “saved.” Beckwith summarizes Lawrence Richards’ “five processes for guiding the spiritual development of children in the faith community” (Beckwith 65). First, children need to belong in the faith community around them. Children need to be active participants in the activities of their faith community (Beckwith 65-66). Adults who are seen by children need to model faith, “The child sees adults who struggle, who trust God, who make mistakes and are forgiven, who work for mercy and justice, who model kingdom values” (Beckwith 66). Hands-on methods of learning need to be utilized to assist teaching children faith. Finally, good decision making needs to be emphasized and taught (Beckwith 67). Ultimately, children need to be guided through their faith by their parents and the faith community around them.
Beckwith declares, in chapter six of her book, that, “Family is everything to a child” (Beckwith, 101). In his book, Reid states that, “The greatest impact in the life of youth is not made by their peers; the greatest impact in the life of youth is made by adults, and especially by parents” (Reid 154). Pulling from Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and Hebrews 12:1, Mark DeVries (author of Chapter 8 on, “Focusing Youth Ministry through the Family”) summarizes his view on the need for family involvement by saying that, “I define my own approach to family-based youth ministry in this way: Using the position of the youth ministry to access, empower, and connect students to the most effective sources of faith formation, namely the nuclear family and the extended family of the church” (Dean 150). The family should be the first and foremost education that a child receives. Family is the first thing a child experiences, and it will stay with a child no matter what. Because of this, children must be spiritually nurtured first and foremost by their family. However, the church has come into the habit of breaking up the family as soon as they enter the doors of the building. According to Beckwith, the church’s job is to adequately prepare and assist parents with spiritually raising their children (Beckwith 101-103).
In his sermon, Matt Cote addresses the jobs of the church and family. Cote suggests that at one hour for one program, the church has 40 hours a year with which to impact children. Parents, on the other hand, have 3,000 hours a year with which to impact their children. The church’s job is to be assistance to the parents, to say that, “I will do anything I can to help you get your kid as close to Jesus” (Cote 39:10). The job of parents is to raise the kids spiritually.
I pray that as I push on full steam ahead into working for God that He will never let me forget that it is not all about getting children to “pray the prayer,” but that the children need to be taught, guided, and discipled.
Week 8 - CRC-TeenWeek
CRC
– Teen Week
Sunday July 11–Friday July 16
Teen Week was indescribable. There were so many experiences, thoughts, and happenings this week. God really taught me a lot, directly and indirectly.
I arrived at camp ready and ecstatic for the week. I was so excited to get back to camp, to be in direct contact with some of my fellow family(staff) members. I was so excited to pour myself into the lives of the teenagers coming. I wanted nothing more than to let God use me to reveal Himself to the campers.
My co-counselor and I had seven girls in our cabin. Each girl has her own unique story and situation. Each girl has her own challenges and struggles. As their counselors, Bethany and I freaked out a little because their challenges and struggles were more severe than what we’d dealt with before. We were very unsure of what we needed to do, so we prayed. We prayed that God would show us what to do and how to do it. God definitely answered our prayers and was definitely with us all week.
On Monday afternoon the girls headed to the water-slide while the boys played games in the ball-field. The female assistant program director and I decided to go down the water-slide together. We ended up going over the end and I smacked into the tree on the other side and broke my left thumb. It was an interesting challenge to adjust to not being able to use my thumb during the week.
Our speaker for the week is a man whom I truly respect and look up to, and I’ve only known him since teen week. This man seeks God on a continuous basis and blesses everyone he comes in contact with. His track record in youth ministry is amazing. He knows what he is talking about and he knows how to get to the heart of the matter with youth. I have learned so much from him in the two weeks I’ve worked with him and I truly hope to continue to learn more from him.
This week he taught the campers and the counselors what it means to be a Rebel for THE Cause, and he urged them to become Rebels. At the end of the week many of the campers were able to stand up and declare that they are Rebels. I encourage you to check out Brian’s website http://www.xposed2jesus.com/ and read his article about being a Rebel for THE Cause.
While all of my campers are special to me and all of their stories are important I am going to share the story of only one of my girls. (The video story of one of my other girls, Nicole, can be found on Brian’s website.) This Girl I am going to tell you about has seized my heart. The man that has become her spiritual Dad has said that she captured his heart more than any of his other spiritual daughters, and I can understand why.
This Girl is 14 years old and she comes from an abusive home. The man that has become her spiritual Dad was present during teen week. Most of the time counselors receive no details about their campers before-hand; counselors just roll with the punches as the details come. My co-counselor and I were fortunate to receive details about this Girl at the beginning of the week. On Sunday night her spiritual Dad told us that her Mom had made the decision to leave her abusive Dad some time before camp started. What this Girl did not know was that after leaving for camp, her Mom had decided to return to her Dad and that this Girl would be returning to her house when camp was over. Spiritual Dad, spiritual Mom, and Mom did not want this news to ruin the Girl’s week, so they decided to wait until the week was over before telling her. On Thursday spiritual Dad decided to tell the Girl the news. That way she would be surrounded by friends and counselors who love her. In my opinion it was a good decision.
I was with the two of them when spiritual Dad told his Daughter the news. And I wept the whole time. I watched this 14 year old girl, the youngest of my girls, go from a bright, vibrant, excited girl who had come out of her shell and was having so much fun with new friends to a scared child purposefully hidden away from everything, in a matter of minutes. I will tell you now that at that moment in time, with what little I really knew of this girl, my heart was in millions of pieces.
After spiritual Dad left I sat with this Girl outside for quite some time. I sat down next to her, put my arm around her and told her, “I have no idea and cannot comprehend what you are going through, but I will sit here with you and hug you and cry with you and listen to you for as long as you need.” After a while, the first thing she said to me was, “My dad use to hit me.”
As she continued to talk to me I learned that the repercussions of that short simple sentence were things such as cutting and suicide attempts. My heart has now shattered into trillions of pieces.
After some time we stood up to return to our cabin. I gave her a hug and she held on to me tighter than anything I have ever felt. I prayed.
Spiritual Dad came back a few minutes later and informed us that Mom and Dad wanted this girl to stay with spiritual Mom and spiritual Dad for two more weeks, so some things could be worked out. We continued through our day, but nothing was quite the same.
Despite everything that she learned that day, this girl stood up at the call and declared that she is a Rebel for THE Cause. “I’m in rebellion with Jesus against anything and everything this world tries to throw at me. I will not allow the world to dictate how I look, dress, or eat. I’m an original masterpiece created by my Heavenly Daddy. And it’s time to change the rules.” - Rebels
As it turns out this girl did not get to stay with her spiritual Mom and spiritual Dad for two weeks but has returned to be with her Mom and Dad. I have not shared this story with you to make you sad. I have shared this story with you because it is my heart. I invite you and ask you to join with me to pray for this girl.
Brian has started Xposed2Jesus to do exactly that; expose Jesus to youth. As written on his website, Xposed2Jesus is, “devoted to equipping teens to live for Jesus. We believe teens should be taught how to follow Jesus, and why following Jesus is important. We believe teens want and need to be exposed to biblical truth and theology to develop and strengthen their faith. It is also our goal to equip them to share their faith with others in their community.” I invite you and ask you to stand up and declare “I’m in rebellion with Jesus against anything and everything this world tries to throw at me. I will not allow the world to dictate how I look, dress, or eat. I’m an original masterpiece created by my Heavenly Daddy. And it’s time to change the rules.”
Now comes the hard part. If you have declared that you are a Rebel for THE Cause, do something, be a Rebel, live your life as a Rebel. Change the rules, go find your spiritual Sons and spiritual Daughters, expose them to Jesus.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Teen Week was indescribable. There were so many experiences, thoughts, and happenings this week. God really taught me a lot, directly and indirectly.
I arrived at camp ready and ecstatic for the week. I was so excited to get back to camp, to be in direct contact with some of my fellow family(staff) members. I was so excited to pour myself into the lives of the teenagers coming. I wanted nothing more than to let God use me to reveal Himself to the campers.
My co-counselor and I had seven girls in our cabin. Each girl has her own unique story and situation. Each girl has her own challenges and struggles. As their counselors, Bethany and I freaked out a little because their challenges and struggles were more severe than what we’d dealt with before. We were very unsure of what we needed to do, so we prayed. We prayed that God would show us what to do and how to do it. God definitely answered our prayers and was definitely with us all week.
On Monday afternoon the girls headed to the water-slide while the boys played games in the ball-field. The female assistant program director and I decided to go down the water-slide together. We ended up going over the end and I smacked into the tree on the other side and broke my left thumb. It was an interesting challenge to adjust to not being able to use my thumb during the week.
Our speaker for the week is a man whom I truly respect and look up to, and I’ve only known him since teen week. This man seeks God on a continuous basis and blesses everyone he comes in contact with. His track record in youth ministry is amazing. He knows what he is talking about and he knows how to get to the heart of the matter with youth. I have learned so much from him in the two weeks I’ve worked with him and I truly hope to continue to learn more from him.
This week he taught the campers and the counselors what it means to be a Rebel for THE Cause, and he urged them to become Rebels. At the end of the week many of the campers were able to stand up and declare that they are Rebels. I encourage you to check out Brian’s website http://www.xposed2jesus.com/ and read his article about being a Rebel for THE Cause.
While all of my campers are special to me and all of their stories are important I am going to share the story of only one of my girls. (The video story of one of my other girls, Nicole, can be found on Brian’s website.) This Girl I am going to tell you about has seized my heart. The man that has become her spiritual Dad has said that she captured his heart more than any of his other spiritual daughters, and I can understand why.
This Girl is 14 years old and she comes from an abusive home. The man that has become her spiritual Dad was present during teen week. Most of the time counselors receive no details about their campers before-hand; counselors just roll with the punches as the details come. My co-counselor and I were fortunate to receive details about this Girl at the beginning of the week. On Sunday night her spiritual Dad told us that her Mom had made the decision to leave her abusive Dad some time before camp started. What this Girl did not know was that after leaving for camp, her Mom had decided to return to her Dad and that this Girl would be returning to her house when camp was over. Spiritual Dad, spiritual Mom, and Mom did not want this news to ruin the Girl’s week, so they decided to wait until the week was over before telling her. On Thursday spiritual Dad decided to tell the Girl the news. That way she would be surrounded by friends and counselors who love her. In my opinion it was a good decision.
I was with the two of them when spiritual Dad told his Daughter the news. And I wept the whole time. I watched this 14 year old girl, the youngest of my girls, go from a bright, vibrant, excited girl who had come out of her shell and was having so much fun with new friends to a scared child purposefully hidden away from everything, in a matter of minutes. I will tell you now that at that moment in time, with what little I really knew of this girl, my heart was in millions of pieces.
After spiritual Dad left I sat with this Girl outside for quite some time. I sat down next to her, put my arm around her and told her, “I have no idea and cannot comprehend what you are going through, but I will sit here with you and hug you and cry with you and listen to you for as long as you need.” After a while, the first thing she said to me was, “My dad use to hit me.”
As she continued to talk to me I learned that the repercussions of that short simple sentence were things such as cutting and suicide attempts. My heart has now shattered into trillions of pieces.
After some time we stood up to return to our cabin. I gave her a hug and she held on to me tighter than anything I have ever felt. I prayed.
Spiritual Dad came back a few minutes later and informed us that Mom and Dad wanted this girl to stay with spiritual Mom and spiritual Dad for two more weeks, so some things could be worked out. We continued through our day, but nothing was quite the same.
Despite everything that she learned that day, this girl stood up at the call and declared that she is a Rebel for THE Cause. “I’m in rebellion with Jesus against anything and everything this world tries to throw at me. I will not allow the world to dictate how I look, dress, or eat. I’m an original masterpiece created by my Heavenly Daddy. And it’s time to change the rules.” - Rebels
As it turns out this girl did not get to stay with her spiritual Mom and spiritual Dad for two weeks but has returned to be with her Mom and Dad. I have not shared this story with you to make you sad. I have shared this story with you because it is my heart. I invite you and ask you to join with me to pray for this girl.
Brian has started Xposed2Jesus to do exactly that; expose Jesus to youth. As written on his website, Xposed2Jesus is, “devoted to equipping teens to live for Jesus. We believe teens should be taught how to follow Jesus, and why following Jesus is important. We believe teens want and need to be exposed to biblical truth and theology to develop and strengthen their faith. It is also our goal to equip them to share their faith with others in their community.” I invite you and ask you to stand up and declare “I’m in rebellion with Jesus against anything and everything this world tries to throw at me. I will not allow the world to dictate how I look, dress, or eat. I’m an original masterpiece created by my Heavenly Daddy. And it’s time to change the rules.”
Now comes the hard part. If you have declared that you are a Rebel for THE Cause, do something, be a Rebel, live your life as a Rebel. Change the rules, go find your spiritual Sons and spiritual Daughters, expose them to Jesus.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
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