Pastor's article
As you read this, I am probably on my way to youth camp or I am already at youth camp. It is a blessing to be with young people because I can see that they can be a powerful force when they work together. I recently read an article about a group of teenagers who decided to assemble the world’s largest golf ball pyramid. It was a pyramid made from 19,019 golf balls. They completed this task at Benbrook Lake, in Ft. Worth, at 2025 Benbrook Heritage Fest in September. The pyramid had 38 rows of carefully stacked balls; they were not allowed to use any kind of adhesive or anything else to keep the balls in place. One false slip and all the balls would roll away. You can see it on YouTube. 1
Young people can do amazing things and if we never are around them, we may miss their potential. When I go to camp, I get to experience new things, and it really gets me out of my comfort zone. Youth are a positive influence on me, so I like to try and understand them. One thing that camp allows me to do, is experience the excitement of young people’s faith. Being old…yes, I am old, I am reminded of things, I often take for granted. One thing is that my dad and mom stayed married my entire life until they went to be with the Lord. Second, they took me to church and did everything to ensure I knew the Lord. Third, they made sure I knew, I was special and loved by them and by God. As I am surrounded by 400 or so kids, I realize in our culture today, it is rare to have that experience.
The exciting thing about youth camp is that the group can bond without distractions and those bonds help face the struggles many of them face. Young people
today face many different challenges than we did. They still face temptations and pressure to drink alcohol, which I remind you the legal age to drink in Texas is 21. The temptation to try various drugs to be “cool” or to use them to cover up many of their hurts. Society’s pressures of looking a certain way, speaking a certain way, dealing with things that are being promoted in culture and being told they are wrong in church. Things like pornography, that all religions are the same, LBGTQ rights, and transgender issues. Young people have always struggled trying to fit into culture’s norms, even when you were a kid, but today the struggles they face are much different than they were for many of us. Many of our young people try and drown their hurts with drugs and some even try cutting themselves. That is why youth camp is so important.
Youth camp is fun, but it is more than that, it may the best opportunity for some of these students to know God really is here, that God may really love me and maybe I can trust Him. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all of you that have made camp possible. We can go because you, the church, stepped up to provide for us to go. Thank you. We will make it because of your prayers. Thank you. I can go, because you allow me to, Thank you.
As I talked about those young people building that golf ball pyramid, I realized they could not have achieved it without help. If they were one ball short, they would
have failed, someone had to provide the right number of balls. If one of those balls moved or slipped out, it would have collapsed and they would not have achieved it. It took many balls, many people and much talent to accomplish their goal. I have been preaching from the Book of Hebrews, and a familiar theme in the book is what we have in Jesus as our high priest. This shows us what we have in Christ and how we should spur each other along. Hebrews 10: 24-25 says;
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but
encouraging one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
That is a picture of the church, one that encourages, one that has love and one that brings good deeds into action. Thank you for being a part of this pyramid that
allows us to go to camp. So, let’s celebrate and see lives that will be changed for eternity. I will see you Sunday!
In Christ,
Brother Alan
MUSIC MINISTER's article
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound
mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7
In 2013 there was a man named Harrison Okene, who was a cook for a tugboat off the coast of Nigeria. One morning as he was getting ready for the day a rouge wave capsized the tugboat and threw Harrison into a bathroom. As the boat filled with water Harrison found an air pocket. All of the boats doors were locked and sealed because of the threat of pirates, so as he swam back and forth from the locked door to his pocket of air, he found a can of sardines and a cola. He made a makeshift raft from the paneling off the way to stay afloat as the water rose. As minutes became hours into days, in the complete darkness on the ocean floor, Harrison never stopped praying. He never stopped singing his favorite hymn. One included the verse, ‘Father we cannot see you, but we can see your wonders.”
After three days alone on the ocean floor trapped in a tugboat bathroom, Harrison was rescued! Long story short, after Harrison was rescued, he made a decision. He was not going to let fear dictate how he lived his life. So he became a diver himself. Harrison walked with the LORD instead of letting the spirit of fear control him. Harrison was quoted saying “ one thing that can kill you fast is fear”.
I believe that fear can influence our worship as well; Not to stop worship but to shrink it because of our insecurities. If we let the spirit of fear into our worship, then we make it about ourselves. Examples of this would be maybe singing softer, or praying shorter, lifting your hands, or not taking the next step into obedience. I personally believe that if we let fear control our worship, then it becomes more about performance than about surrender. Trust me I have been there! I remember when I was first asked to lead worship, I was trembling almost every Sunday morning! But when I came to the realization that I’m here to worship the one, true living God, then my fear went away. You see, I was too focused on what people thought, rather than being led by the Holy Spirit and experiencing what God had in store for me! I pray for you. I pray that whatever fear may be holding you back from experiencing all of what the LORD has to offer you can be laid down at the feet of Jesus and you be led by the Holy Spirit, by faith, to participate fully in this wonderful relationship we all have been called into!
Love Yall,
Tyler
Children's Minister's article
I struggle with a bit of “impostor syndrome” sometimes. I have degrees that hang on my walls as testament to higher education. I have years of experience ministering to families and children. I have seen lives changed and God glorified. But I still have a hard time sometimes really believing I have earned any positive feedback for what I’ve done or accomplished. Has God really used me in my doubt and brokenness to fulfill even a bit of His plan?
I wonder if Paul struggled with these kinds of doubts. Maybe that was his “thorn in his side.” As Christians we are called to a delicate balance. God tells us we are his treasured ones, made in his image, greatly loved. We are to strive for excellence in all we do, as if doing it for the Lord. But that worth doesn’t come from personal achievement. Any and all worth comes from the Maker of us all, the giver of all good things.
Maybe Paul would not have thought of “imposter syndrome” as the negative mindset that the world sees it as today. After all, the world tells us to own our success, even manufacturer it when it doesn’t exist. (Hello, participation trophies!) No, Paul writes to the church in Corinth,
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Corinthians 4:6-7
Paul says we are “jars of clay,” very fragile, temporary vessels. It’s not really about us, the holders. It’s about what we are holding: the treasure of the light of God. We are only able to “do” anything for God because of the all-surpassing power of God that he displays in us.
Vacation Bible School this year focuses on shining that Light of Jesus into the whole world. Pray that we remind our students that we are able to shine his light only through God’s power! And that that is not a flaw or weakness in us but instead it is God’s design, his plan, so that His Power is what is glorified in it all!
In Christ,
Marie Dittmar