Summer Camp @ MCSC!

New additions to Dining Hall and Health Officer’s Cabin!

I read a quote last fall that I absolutely love!  Michael Eisner stated, “Camp is all about taking a person away from the things that they value . . . to teach them the things of real value.”

That really is our mission at Michiana Christian Service Camp.  It is our desire that each camp session held at MCSC will help prepare people for eternity.  Real value — value that lasts — can only be found in a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.  It is my goal that every person who spends a week at a Michiana Christian Service Camp session will go home knowing that they are loved by God and that they are loved by a person with the love God has given.

For a young person, choosing to attend a week of Christian camping really can be an investment in eternity.  I can think of nothing that would be a better use of a week’s time than to spend it developing a closer relationship with Jesus.  Christian camping at MCSC is designed to do that.  As a parent, your willingness and choice to send your child to a week of summer camp at MCSC can be a great investment in their spiritual growth.  I know that many things are clamoring for a young person’s time, and for your money, but few things can offer this impact of life that has eternal significance.

If you live in the greater Michiana area, would you consider and pray about Christian camping at Michiana Christian Service Camp this summer?  It is a decision that has the power to change a life — the life of you and/or your child!

For more information, visit our web site at www.michianacamp.org.

Here is our summer camp schedule: (Grades listed would be grade going into in the fall of 2009.)

• June 7 – 12:            5th & 6th I
• June 14 – 20:         Deeper Life (9th – 12th grade)
• June 20:                  First Chance (5 – 7 years old)
• June 21 – 26:          Jr. High I (7th & 8th grade)
• June 21 – 28:          High School Wilderness (9th – 12th grade)
• June 28 – 30:         Co-Ed Wilderness (4th – 6th grade)
• June 28 – July 1:     Girls Only Camp (4th – 9th grade)
• July 3 – 4:                College/Career Retreat (18 – 25)
• July 5 – 10:             5th & 6th II
• July 12 – 17:           High School (9th – 12th grade)
• July 19 – 24:           4th Grade Camp
• July 26 – Aug. 1:     Jr. High II (7th – 9th grade)
• August 2 – 3:          2nd Grade Camp
• August 2 – 4:          Boys Only Adventure Camp (4th – 6th grade)
• August 3 – 5:          3rd Grade Camp
• August 7 – 9:          Missions Camp

Investing In Eternity

 

Many people are currently giving the subject of investments a great deal of thought.  The world economy has essentially turned the financial investment culture into one of uncertainty and, at times, even chaos.

It is in the midst of these unsettled times that I want to remind you of an investment that doesn’t stop at short or long term objectives — this investment is for eternity!  An investment in the salvation and spiritual growth of a person is the only one that will produce eternal results.  Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven . . . .  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Matthew 6:19-21

Here at Michiana Christian Service Camp, we are all about “preparing people for eternity”.  Your financial partnership with us is truly an investment in eternity!  The spiritual impact in the lives of young people each summer is only possible because God draws partners to MCSC who give of their time, talents, and treasure as an investment in eternity.  The same is true of the variety of fall, winter, and spring programming that takes place for people of all ages — they all require investments of many kinds by many people.  While the opportunity and need is great, the return on the investment is out of this world! 

Would you prayerfully consider investing in eternity with us?  Your financial partnership is especially needed at this time.  You may donate securely on-line via credit card through our relationship with firstgiving.com.  Visit our donation page here. 

 Contact me for more information, or to schedule a partnership consultation.

 

The Art of Re-Gifting — Part 4: Tell!

This is the fourth and final installment in the series of posts on re-gifting: Jesus style!  Together we’ve looked at the Grace needed, the Inventory that is necessary, and the Faith that must grow.  All of these are important and vital components, but the GIFT of  Jesus to others isn’t complete until we Tell!

Much speculation has gone on regarding the friendships, or lack thereof, of the Samaritan woman from John 4.  The fact that she is out at an “odd” time of day and by herself would seem to indicate that no one was willing to be with her.  And yet here she is with amazing news: “This man I’ve been talking to claims to be the Messiah!”

Did you get that?  Jesus sets the example for us in the gifting of Himself to others by not only living out the Grace, Inventory, and Faith components we have looked at — He also lives out the Telling of who He is.  The rest of the story has great insight and meaning, but it is the statement of Jesus, “I who speak to you am He.”, that unlocks the GIFT of Jesus in the life of this woman.  Transformation begins to take place based on Jesus revealing Himself to her.

It doesn’t stop there!  This woman is a quick learner and rushes back to the village to tell everyone who will listen about the true GIFT of Jesus.  She has experienced Grace, Inventory, and Faith through her encounter with Jesus and now she feels compelled to pass it on.  The results are astounding!  The entire village turns out to see Jesus and hear for themselves the message the woman is sharing.  The story ends with people believing in the GIFT of Jesus — some believing because of the “telling” by the woman, and others believing because the “telling” made them curious enough to go see for themselves.

If you have grasped a hold of the GIFT of Jesus, how are you doing at telling others about what you have found?  When you experience the Grace of Jesus, it is for you — but it is not for you alone!  You must be busy telling others about the Grace that exists in your life.  When you go through the inventory times of life when you discover just how empty you are and just how much Jesus has to offer, there is an obligation to tell others about the One who has everything you need.  When your Faith grows in your life and calls you to take a stand for your beliefs, you must be ready to tell others just Who it is that you believe in.

I pray that you are growing in your practice of telling others about Jesus.  If you have received and experienced the GIFT of Jesus, then I pray that you complete that GIFT by practicing the Tell part on a regular basis.  To modify the old saying, “Tell at all times, if necessary use words!”  If you don’t know the GIFT of Jesus, then I pray that you will listen openly when someone tells you about the best GIFT of their life.

The Art of Re-Gifting — Part 3: Faith

“I know that Messiah (called Christ) is coming.  When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”  John 4:25

It has been a while since I began this particular series of blog posts.  I began with part one, Grace, and then last wrote about part two, Inventory. 

As we continue with the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, part 3 takes an interesting turn.  It is here, in “foreign” territory, that the seeds of faith have taken root and are expressed. 

There are many who look at John 4:19 as the beginning of a distraction — a change of subject by the Samaritan woman designed to avoid further conversation about her personal life.  I’m not convinced that is really what is happening.  I believe that the revelation of Jesus’ knowledge of her personal life ignites a sprouting of the seeds of faith that were within her.  She quickly recognizes that this is no ordinary man.  This “prophet” can see into her life, perhaps he also has a real answer to satisfy her deep longing for a relationship with the living God.  Exactly what Jesus has already told her to ask Him for — living water so that she might never thirst again.

And so she asks the taboo question with all of the current worship arguments, who is right?  What!  Did she really ask that!  I thought that was a modern question!  But no, look, there it is — “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”  It doesn’t even sound like a question.  Yet the question is there.  Does it sound familiar?  What we claim as genuine worship is different from what you do — who is right? 

The answer that Jesus gives isn’t completely satisfying to her.  He doesn’t seem to pick either side.  He indicates that a new way of doing things is on its way — as a matter of fact, it has already arrived.  Place is no longer even a part of the argument, it is all about the heart of the worshipper.  Real worship isn’t focused on place, style, form, or anything else.  Real worship is worship that is focused on the Father.  Real worship identifies with God being spirit and truth by being worship that is done in spirit and in truth.

But wait.  That doesn’t sound right.  I’ve been around for a long time and no one is talking like that.  We can’t all be wrong, can we?  It’s all so confusing.  Who do I believe?  And then it comes.  This great profession of faith in the one who can give a definitive answer.  “I know that Messiah is coming.  When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”  Wow!  My translation of this dialogue?  Sir, you aren’t making any sense.  But that is okay.  God has promised to send the Christ and he will explain everything perfectly when he shows up.  What faith!  This Samaritan woman was convinced that God would keep his promise of a coming Messiah.  Not only would He keep His promise, but the Messiah would come with an explanation not only for the Jews, but for her as a Samaritan as well.

I wish I had been there just to watch.  Can you imagine her reaction when the response of Jesus to her expression of faith is, “I who speak to you am he.”!  Wow!  Wow!  Wow!  Could it be?  That sure would make the previous parts of our conversation make a lot more sense.  I can just imagine the shadows of doubt and disbelief being driven away by the rays of joy and hope that were beginning to flood her life.  Her faith was transforming her very existence as she stood toe to toe with the very one whom she believed could reveal God’s will to her.

How about you and I?  How often do we find ourselves caught up in some meaningless arguments about worship, or anything else?  Do we have the faith that God has promised to reveal Himself to us in a way that is meaningful and relevant?  Is God’s answer to our dilemmas good enough for us? 

I pray that our faith would be a growing and maturing faith that understands our need to worship God in spirit and in truth.  May you and I grow in our trust of God to provide the answers that we need — even when the answer is not the way we expect it to be.

Coming next (eventually ):  Part 4:  Tell!

The Art Of Re-Gifting — Part 2: Inventory

“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”
 
While grace is a foundational element necessary for “re-gifting” Jesus style, this next component is just as critical.  This is part two of a four part series taken from a sermon I preached entitled, “The Art of Re-Gifting”.   In my previous post, I wrote about the grace that Jesus displayed as He overcame His tiredness and the cultural expectations in order to share the gift of Himself.  The context of this series of writings is the story of Jesus and His encounter with a Samaritan woman, recorded for us in John 4:4-42.  In this encounter, we see the importance of doing Inventory. 

The story begins with a simple request by Jesus for a drink.  While the response that Jesus gets does not appear to be enthusiastic, or even welcoming, He quickly leads the conversation in a direction that reveals that He has already done an inventory of His situation.  When the Samaritan woman questions the entire basis for this conversation, Jesus begins to reveal to her just what it is that He has to offer.  Jesus was confident in who He was and in what His purpose was.  His personal inventory revealed that He had water to offer this woman that would fully satisfy her thirst.  He could supply living water that would provide a relief of her thirst in such a way that she would never thirst again.

As we encounter people that God has called upon us to “re-gift” His indescribable gift to, it is imperative that we have done the inventory and know what it is that we have to offer.  Many times we encounter people and interact with them in a variety of ways, never once recognizing that we had something to offer them.  We must take inventory daily of just what it is that we have in Christ that He has called us to offer to others.  This repetitive inventory serves as a constant reminder of what God has given us.  The more that we keep that in mind, the more likely we are to remember our obligation to share it with others.

There is a second inventory that Jesus initiates in this story.  He gently forces the Samaritan woman to take inventory of her own life.  He does this with a simple, and on the surface, non-threatening request:  “Go and get  your husband”.  It can be easy to miss, but this required an inventory of life to be taken.  A decision was made to tell the truth.  She could have simply said, “Okay”, and gone and gotten the man she was living with.  Instead, she takes a serious inventory and discovers that her need is great.  In the next article, I will look at the response that her inventory brings out of her. 

In our interactions with people, we need to learn how to help them take inventory and discover their great need.  We must find non-threatening, yet direct, ways to challenge people to look deeper into their lives than they ever have before.  We may be confident in our own inventory of what we have to offer, but until the person across from us realizes that they need what we have, we will rarely get very far in our attempt to share with them the indescribable gift of God. 

How are you doing in taking inventory?  How confident are you of what you have in Christ Jesus?  Are you confident enough to know that you have something of great value to share?  How well do you do in helping others take inventory in their life?  Do people recognize that you are trying to help them receive something of great value?  Are you able to ask challenging questions without coming across as condemning? 

I pray that you excell in these two aspects of inventory so that you will be effective in “The Art of Re-Gifting”!

The Art Of Re-Gifting — Part 1: Grace

I had that opportunity to preach at the Deer Run Church of Christ on the last Sunday morning of 2008.  My message was entitled, “The Art of Re-Gifting” and looked at the example of Jesus found in John 4:4-42.  In most of my preaching I like to wrap my sermon points around a word that gives people a “handle” to carry the sermon home and remember what God is calling them to do.  In this sermon, I looked at four points from the account of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well.  These points hung on the word GIFT.  It was all about the gift of Jesus that causes Paul to exclaim, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”  Jesus gives us an example of how we can take the gift He has given us and “re-gift” it to others.  This article will look at the first point: re-gifting Jesus style requires grace!

John’s telling of this encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman opens with a comment on the nature of Jesus that is often overlooked and not considered — Jesus was tired!  I can picture Jesus finally arriving here at Jacob’s well, relieved that He can finally be left alone to get some rest.  John lets us know that the disciples had gone into town to buy food and Jesus chose to be alone, or was left alone, to unwind from the journey He had taken.  I can picture it because I have been there — tired from travel, tired from the pressures of the day, tired of people, just wanting to be left alone to rest, relax, and think.  Are you there with me yet?  Are you comfortable?  Are you in that “relaxing zone”?  If so, then perhaps you can imagine the arrival of a stranger to your place of isolation and rest.

What is your reaction?  What is my reaction?  Perhaps, “Go away!”; or “Leave me alone!”; or, “Can’t you see I’m tired?”; or perhaps our initial response would be the same as Jesus, “Will you give me a drink?”  In His tiredness, Jesus initiates a conversation.  Maybe this was simply a reaction to meet His own need for a drink.  We would be okay with that.  Simply fulfilling a need doesn’t have to interrupt the rest we so desperately want – it may even improve it!  But Jesus doesn’t leave it at meeting His needs.  As a matter of fact, it soon becomes quite apparent that this was never really about the needs of Jesus.  Instead, Jesus extends grace by stepping out of His tiredness to interact with an individual that needed to know Him.

But the grace of re-gifting goes even deeper.  This wasn’t just anyone that Jesus was interrupting His rest for.  This was a Samaritan and a woman.  This offering of grace even catches the woman by surprise that this Jewish man would be talking to her.  The idea of a Jewish man to be talking to a woman in public was unthinkable.  And to talk to a Samaritan, asking her to help you, was simply unheard of.  Yet here is Jesus, about to embark on a conversation designed to reveal to this woman the priceless gift that stands before her. 

I know, you are thinking, “So what?  Doesn’t apply to me!  I don’t mind talking to women and I have nothing against Samaritians.”  But it does apply, doesn’t it?  You and I know people that we do our best to avoid.  People of different cultures, nationalities, lifestyles, or whatever it may be — we choose not to associate with them.  We excuse it.  We rationalize it.  We even attempt to justify it.  But in the end, we must come face to face with the grace shown by Jesus and ask ourselves, “How are we doing at extending grace — undeserved favor — to all those we encounter?”  You see, that is the first step in re-gifting Jesus style.  We must recognize that the gift we have received from God is so undeserved that we are willing to extend grace to all people we encounter.

I pray that the encounters that you and I have with people will be filled with grace.  May we learn from Jesus how to re-gift what God has given us.

Up next:  The Art Of Re-Gifting — Part 2:  Inventory

New Beginnings

The beauty of Michiana Christian Service Camp

Wow!  It has been an exciting year, and I’m looking forward with great anticipation to what God will do in and through me in 2009!

On November 3, 2008, I began full-time ministry with Michiana Christian Service Camp as their advancement manager.  Michiana Christian Service Camp is an incredible place, organization, and ministry tool located near Niles, Michigan.  I believe that God was responsible for drawing me to this new ministry position because He has been preparing both the camp and myself for the work He is calling us to do together.  The camp exists “to prepare people for eternity”, and I am excited to be a part of the team committed to making that happen.

The advancement manger is a new position for the camp and I join a great staff already in place.  Tom Gamble serves as the camp director, Ted Peasley is the facility manager, and Kelly Bontrager is the administrative assistant.  The four of us are joined by a variety of part-time staff — particularly during the summer months when the youth camp season is in full swing.

We are currently in the midst of a major building project as we complete two-level additions to both our dining hall building and health officer’s cabin.  While the building process itself brings about a lot of excitement, the real benefit comes in the increased capacity and effectiveness in using the buildings to prepare people for eternity. 

I had the opportunity to help with some of the building process, and it caused me to think about the process of building lives for the kingdom of God.  We were blessed greatly by the ministry of Jack Ballard Church Builders, who came and in two weeks time had both additions framed up and enclosed.  The contributions of time and expertise by this group were enormous and greatly appreciated.  They will get a lot of credit, and rightly so, for the work that was done.

Yet they realize, as all good builders do, that the visible construction has little value if the oft unseen work of site preparation and foundation laying is not completed.  You see, a building project of this size can go up in two weeks time because of a lot of work done by others in advance.  The project itself is being overseen by Reggie Olson, who led a group of volunteers and subcontractors over a period of 10 weeks in getting the site ready and the foundations poured so that when the buildings went up, they would stand.

Jesus teaches the same principle when it comes to building lives for the kingdom of  God.  He tells the story of the wise and foolish builders in Matthew 7:24-27:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

 The work that is visible and noticed will only last when built on a solid foundation – a foundation that is often unnoticed and unseen.  Jesus teaches that when the storms of life come, what we have built will stand or fall based not on the quality of building but on the stability of the foundation.  Our life can be as plain or as impressive as we wish, but if not built on the foundation of hearing and doing the words of Jesus it will crumble when life takes those unexpected turns.

At Michiana Christian Service Camp, we not only want our buildings built on solid foundations, we want the lives of people that we serve to be built on solid foundations as well.  That is both the how and the why of our purpose — “preparing people for eternity”!

How about you?  What are you building your life on?  Will your life weather the storms of this world?  I pray that your life is built on the rock-solid foundation of hearing and doing the words of Jesus!

Southern Gospel Concert

  

Mitchel Jon

In Concert

Saturday, December 13, 2008

7:00 PM

Deer Run Church of Christ
2730 S Ironwood Dr
South Bend IN 46614

Free Admission

An offering will be taken to benefit the ministry of Michiana Christian Service Camp.

If you are in the South Bend, Indiana area and enjoy good Southern Gospel music, then this concert is for you.  Not only will this be a great night of music and fellowship, but it will also be an opportunity to support the ministry of Michiana Christian Service Camp.

L.O.S.T – Part 4: Teach

It seems like I’ve gotten “lost” over the past couple of months when it comes to writing.  There are a number of reasons for that which I hope to write about soon.  However, I do want to finish up this 4-part series with this final segment called, “Teach”.

As I looked at in the previous three articles, there is a progression that we move through as we break free from being “lost”.  We begin by learning to listen.  We hear a lot of things, but we are not particularly good at listening — especially when it comes to listening to God.

As an outgrowth of listening, we begin to observe.  We take notice of what God is doing in, through, and around us.  Our observations lead us to see a different path, or direction, we ought to be taking so that we’re no longer in a lost condition.

The hardest part for most people is often the third stage where we must surrender.  All of the listening and observing does little good if we are unwilling to surrender to what God has called us to be.  Surrendering is an admission that we are lost and in need of direction that only God can give.

That brings us to this final stage — one that is often overlooked because we think that completing the stage of surrender brings us out of our lost condition and completes our “quest”.  But there is much more to it.  We don’t become “un-lost” strictly for our own benefit.  We must teach that which we’ve learned on our journey.  Jesus states in Matthew that we are not simply to make disciples through a process of bringing them to full surrender, we must also be busy about “teaching them to obey all that [He] commanded.”

I’ve been taught, and believe, that you cannot teach what you do not know.  I would go a step further and say that you cannot effectively teach what you do not practice.  We teach by what we say, but we often teach much more by what we do.  In order to effectively teach what Jesus commanded, we must be doing what Jesus commanded.  As we live a surrendered life, we must be busy teaching that same surrendered lifestyle to others.  Listening is not natural for most people, so when we use the tool of listening we gain a valuable practice that we ought to be teaching to others.  As we observe the working of God, we ought to teach others to take notice of what God is doing in and around them as well. 

I pray that as you take note of these L.O.S.T. principles, that you would apply them in your life and live them out in a way that teaches others that you have found direction through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

L.O.S.T. – Part 3: Surrender

Okay, it would seem since it has been quite some time since I began this series that I must have gotten lost somewhere in the writing process. 

Maybe part of the delay is that part three is the hardest part for me to actually do.  I can handle the listening and the observing because I’m still involved in seeking out the solution.  Part three in dealing with being lost is that we must surrender.  There, I’ve said the word:  Surrender!  Being lost causes us to surrender our will and desires to one who knows where we are and how to get to where we need to be — that is if we want to be “un-lost”. 

I generally have a good sense of direction and usually can find my way around new places rather easily.  Even when I am out traveling and end up in unfamiliar territory, I often just keep driving, figuring eventually something will look familiar or I will see a needed road sign or somehow discover where I am at so that I can begin to make my way back to where I want to be.  At times I am so confident of my ability to figure out where I am at that I end up in unknown territory, way out of the way, lost, before I finally surrender and pull out a map to help me discover where I’m at and how to get to where I am going. 

While that is hard enough for me to do, the more difficult times are when the map isn’t available, or doesn’t help, and I am forced to completely surrender and tell someone that I have no idea where I am at and need their help to get to where I am going.  You would think that after enough practice having to do that, it would be easier — especially when it becomes apparent how much time and energy could be saved simply by surrendering and asking directions much earlier.

Many times, people remain in their lost state in relationship with God because they refuse to surrender.  There is no way to make it to a vibrant and growing relationship with God except to surrender to the lordship of His Son, Jesus.  He put it this way in Matthew 16:24-25:

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses (surrenders) his life for me will find it.”

Then in John 14, Jesus comforts His followers with the news that He is leaving to prepare a place for them and that He will return for them.  He assures them that He will be back to take them to the place that He is going to and that they know how to get there.  Thomas is not so sure and responds, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”  The answer from Jesus in John 14:6-7 is classic and points out that the disciples did know the way to where Jesus was going — that way is Jesus Himself!

“I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.  From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Wow!  When I am lost, I must surrender to the only way out.  This cuts straight across the grain of modern thinking — particularly modern religious thinking.  Rather than surrender to God when lost, people have a tendency to “drive around”, thinking that somehow they will find another way to get to where they want to be.  Recent surveys show that many “religious leaders” profess that there may be multiple ways to get to heaven and varied paths to God.  It makes me wonder what they do with the Bible, especially the words of Jesus above from John 14:6.  Jesus could have said, “I am a way” or “I am the primary way” or even “I know the way” but instead He said, “I am the way”!  Just in case we miss the exclusive nature of His statement, He emphasizes it with the next sentence, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” 

When a person is in a lost condition, separated from God, surrender is absolutely necessary.  There is only one way to go from lost to relationship with God and only Jesus can get us there.  It is time for each of us to really examine our life and commit it to being a life surrendered fully to Jesus.