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Day 2 – 8/2/10

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I’m finally in after a busy day today. The first full day of camp is always full of excitement, challenges, and new things. Today was no different. (Check out Student Life Experience 2010 for updates on AM Celebration, Family Groups and PM Worship or to email someone here or send someone a gift card.)

The morning got going well. Since I have so many capable adults here with us, I was able to attend my first Family Group Leadership Meeting in 11 years of camp with Student Life, which was a great joy to know the emphasis for the day. Our particular emphasis today was REpent.

At any rate, after celebration, we went to our work site and had a good time there. I was really encouraged with the heart of our students in serving joyfully. I was very proud of them, especially with local banks saying the temp was near 110.

Evening worship is always a highlight as well. Chad Norris encouraged us to live lives that are offensive rather than defensive. The Christian life isn’t meant to be lived passively, but one we live by faith at great cost. Many students were encouraged by this and the testimony from the Compassion speaker.

We ended with church group time in a local coffee house. Good times all around and, with another full day coming, I bettered sign off.

Day 1 – 8/1/10

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Our morning began by checking out of the hotel and heading to The Village Church’s Flower Mound campus. The service began at 9AM with Matt Chandler greeting and welcoming us and the worship team leading out in Marvelous Light. Chandler returned and preached a sermon on Colossians 3:22-4:1 on slavery in the NT (audio and a position paper). The worship team returned singing You Alone Can Rescue, Stronger, and O God of Our Salvation.

As for camp, you can read news online. We had orientation, family groups and evening worship. Chad Norris, the camp pastor, challenged us to be followers of Jesus and not just believers who get heaven some day. Tomorrow, things continue to roll in the heat here as we have full days of camp.

Student Life Camp Draweth Nigh…

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We arrived here in Dallas Metro around 5PM (after getting away from Hutch around 9:30AM). Pretty uneventful traveling.

We went and grabbed supper at Chipotle and then walked around a mall a bit and now, some are on a WalMart run while some of us are just resting at the hotel. What brings us here? Student Life Missions Camp 2010. In previous years, we’ve done missions camp and been involved in various projects. This year, we get to serve a local church who are putting on a kid’s sports camp. Of course, we’ll have Student Life to lead us as our church serves in this way.

Parents, you may want to visit Student Life Experience 2010 (if it doesn’t log you in, select our camp location Texas Women’s and Date Aug 1-5). At this site, you can email your student (or one of the adults with your group) words of encouragement or send them gift cards, as well as stay updated on the happenings of camp. I’ll have some updates here as well.

Finally, we look forward to the morning. We are visiting the Flower Mound Campus of The Village Church (where Matt Chandler pastors). Pray for a good morning for us there…(we’ll be thinking of you as well). Blessings.

Why Teenagers Are Not Excited About the Gospel

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…from Z, quoting Tripp & Lane, How People Change, p.5…

My work with teenagers has convinced me that one of the main reasons teenagers are not excited by the gospel is that they do not think they need it. Many parents have successfully raised self-righteous little Pharisees. When they look at themselves, they do not see a sinner in desperate need, so they are not grateful for a Savior. Sadly, the same is true of many of their parents.

Related to this, I’m excited to be heading out with some of our students this weekend to Student Life Camp. Watch the blog for more info…

Weekend Recap – Christ Is All That Matters

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Today was another great Lord’s Day as we gathered to celebrate at the Lord’s table together. Today’s sermon was entitled Christ: All from Colossians 3:11. The basic idea in the sermon was that as people who have put on the new man and are being renewed in knowledge in conformity to Christ, we shouldn’t be governed by earthly distinctions. All that matters is Christ and He indwells all.

This has profound implications for how we posture ourselves toward one another in the body of Christ. If earthly distinctions like religious (Jew/Greek, circumcised/uncircumcised), cultural (barbarian, Scythian), and social (slave/free) separation are done away with, what does it say for the capricious ways we exalt ourselves toward each other. Christ should be all that matter. He indwells us all and that should affect us all.

Hope you had a good Lord’s Day and enjoy small groups tonight.

Platt on Conversion…

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From the sermon, The Gospel Demands Radical Giving:

The Gospel Demands Radical Giving – David Platt from Together for Adoption on Vimeo.

At the 8:40 mark on the video, Platt says:

To be a follower of Christ means: To come to an awareness of your sinful rebellion against God and to see in Jesus the only substitute for your sins and by His grace to turn from your rebellion against God and to trust in Him as the Lord and Sovereign King over your life and when that is the case, then what Jesus says determines how you live.

This quote really shows the shallow, nominal way many of us treat our conversion. It really is more than just repeating a prayer after someone and meaning it. Conversion is banking all that we are on Christ.

Shepherding Your Family / Listening Well

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There were a couple of great posts that got my attention this AM:

Brian Croft offers suggestions for how he shepherds his family. This includes, in his case, letting one child stay up 30 minutes longer one night a week to read Scripture, books, and pray with their father. Any encouragement and practicality on this issues seems to be helpful to me.

On DeYoung’s blog, Jason Helopoulos gives some tips on listening well. He pegged me from the outset, speaking of how pastors tend to be assertive and “know where this conversation is headed.” Rather than rushing to give our opinion we should strive to listen by taking the following tips:

* Remember that sermons are for the pulpit

* Remember that the person before you is the person you are to be ministering to

* Be teachable

* Show honor to all

* Silence is golden

* Maintain eye contact

* Ask questions

* Don’t always feel the need to lead

* Don’t be “super-spiritual”

* Think through questions

* Care tenderly

Check out both of these posts and be helped.