666,216 Hours by Mike DeCamp

666,216

666,216 is the average number of hours that a man in the United States can expect to live.  (709,640 for women.)  I’m approximately 52.5 years old.  That means I’ve used up somewhere around 460,212 of mine…should I only be average.  Which begs the question: How do I want to use the last 206,004 hours of my life?

Of course, I hope to be above average.  My personal goal is to live to be 100 years and one day old.  But, you just can’t count on ‘beating the house.’  In fact, there are a good number of people who fall short of the average.  So, let’s just say I’ll be average.  How do I want to spend those hours?

Maybe playing Candy Crush?  Nope!

Maybe watching TV?  Not anymore.

 

I don’t watch TV nearly as much as I used to, but let’s examine that one.  For conjecture sake…because I’ll never figure this out exactly…let’s say that I’ve watched two hours a day for the last 50 years.  Some days and years were much higher than others.  That’s an estimate, and it may be low because I used to watch A LOT of TV.  But, okay…two hours a day for 50 years is 36,525 hours.  Hmmm.  I’ve wasted 1522 days of my limited life sitting in front of the television.  That equals over four years sitting in front of an electronic brain-sucker.

That’s kind of staggering, if you think about it.  And, my guess is most of us don’t.

Sit on a sofa...or, go see this?

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I’m not opposed to relaxation or entertainment, and I’m not likely to give up TV altogether.  (I need my Walking Dead fixes.)  But, I can tell you, as a guy who has likely crossed the halfway point, I want to be a lot more mindful of how I use up those remaining hours.  I will no longer be donating them to mindlessness.

Frankly, I want to do something worthwhile with them.

I want to create.  I want to see beautiful and interesting places.  I want to worship with zeal.  I want to love deeper.  I want to make a difference in people’s lives.  I want to be available and useful to God.

Living a life well-spent!

I am challenged and inspired by the way that my fellow Christian and friend, Dr. Kent Brantly has devoted his life to serving others.  He could be living a fairly cush life here in the U.S. as a physician.  Nice house.  Nice car.  Maybe a club membership.  Instead, he has been donating himself to a cause where the only reward is the satisfaction of seeing people survive.  Since last fall, he has been working with Samaritan’s Purse at ELWA Hospital in Liberia, West Africa, sharing hope and providing medical care to people that most of the world ignores.  And further, now that he has been stricken with one of the most deadly diseases known to man—Ebola, he still remains committed to his course.  No regrets.  No second-guessing.  He is “praying fervently” for God to save his life, but either way, he has put himself in the Father’s hands.  He is faithful regardless the outcome.  And, based on news reports, still donating himself to others.

Whether he will meet or exceed the average life-span of the US male is very hard to say right now.  The next week or so will likely tell.  But, I can tell you with no hesitation that he has already made more of a difference in this world than most of us ever will.

So, I’m going to make some commitments right now.  I had already put Candy Crush in a cyber-coma.  (Whoever created that game should be…well, I won’t say, it wouldn’t be nice.)  But, I am now declaring it ‘dead to me.’  I had put Words with Friends on hiatus.  That hiatus is now permanent.  TV has been skimmed way down, and will stay that way.

I am going to look forward to my next 206,002 hours with much more intensity.  I will use them with a great deal more intentionality.  (I just gave a couple of them to you.)  And, I will renew my dedication to serving my God.

Now, a question for you…how are you going to use the hours you have left?  Are you ready to make some new, intentional commitments?

#PrayForKent

#PrayForNancy

"Bittersweet" by Frank Black

“BITTERSWEET”

(F. Black – July 2014)

            As many of you know, my wife and I recently served with a Medical Mission team at Chimala Mission Hospital in Tanzania.  We returned about one month ago, but the mixed memories are indelibly stamped in our brains.  Why the title “Bittersweet”?  I give the credit for this term to Janice Bingham, the Nurse instructor from Harding University, who had eight of her senior nursing students with us.  In addition our team had three other nurses plus Dr. Dean Paulsen from Anderson, Indiana.

            I’ll write about the “sweet” part first.  First and foremost, it’s such a pleasure and a blessing to serve people who are so medically needy and so amazingly grateful. Our journey, long and laborious as always, went well.  Of course the trip had it’s usual hiccups – such as missing our flight from Zurich, Switzerland, to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – necessitating spending an extra day in Zurich.  Nothing wrong with spending an extra day in Switzerland. Very enjoyable!!  Not to bore you with travel stories, I’ll just say that the journey is long, hard, fraught with necessary changes, and summons up all your energy and patience.  Along this line I’ll compliment our group. They were great travelers with not a ‘complainer’ or ‘wimp’ among them!  In adding to the “sweet” list:  Everyone worked very hard and well with excellent attitudes; We were able to medically help many, many patients and had a few cases we called our “miracle cures”; Everyone displayed a compassionate spirit in trying to represent Jesus to our patients; Lou Ann and I had a joyous reunion with our Tanzanian friends (remember that we lived there for five years); Everyone stayed healthy; We so appreciated the fine spirits of the Tanzanian people in the midst of their hardships; We enjoyed the beauty of the Tanzanian mountains and marveled at the African animals in Mikumi Game Park (elephants, lions, zebra, impala, giraffe, hippos, wart hogs, cape buffalo, etc.).

Now to the “bitter” part. I don’t want this to be a “downer” or depressive, but this is reality – their reality. You need to know this and consequently not only appreciate your blessings more but be more willing to help others.  When people ask, “How was Africa?”, I never know quite what to say.  I’m appreciative and know you are interested, but my mind spins with mixed emotions.  If I use the term “Bittersweet”, I get a quizzical look.  So I usually say something to the effect that, “We had a good trip, good group, and worked hard.”  To really explain the “bitter” part is rather difficult and takes longer.  I always feel at a loss and quite inept. Add to this that most Americans can’t really grasp the situation in a Third World ‘bush’ hospital.  They really don’t have a reference point.  My service in this type setting goes back 37 years, yet I still have difficulty in meaningfully explaining the situation. As Christian medical missionaries, we try and render the best health care possible while manifesting the love of Jesus. We know that our Lord cares for our physical health but that our spiritual health is more important.  So in addition to compassionate medical care, I always look to pray with patients, present devotionals at the hospital, and speak in churches.

Let me just give a few examples of why we come back with a bitter taste in our mouth.  No, it’s not disgust or disdain or dislike.  The bitter taste is more a sadness – a feeling of helplessness. 

• Many of our student nurses had never seen a patient die.  In one 24 hour period we had five babies die.  Can you just imagine the effect on the babies’ mothers and on our emotionally sensitive students!  Most of these babies were prematures – in the range of two to three pounds.  The facilities at Chimala are just not available to sustain these prematures. Our students took turns going to the hospital day and night to feed the babies with a dropper. The loss of these tiny lives really impacted our students.
• Rosina Kulanga is a lady about 65 (many Tanzanians don’t know their birth date).  She fell and broke her hip.  Many of you know of folks who’ve broken hips.  In the USA generally such patients are operated on the next day, get physical therapy, and are up on their feet within a day or two using a walker or a cane.  We didn’t have operative orthopedics available; and consequently, I put Rosina in traction (I call it 1950’s orthopedics).  She stays like this for six weeks!!  Can you even imagine?  She can’t read; no radio; no TV; no computer; etc.  She just lay there very patiently day after day with such a sweet spirit.  We took her books with pictures, some food, even coloring books.  Can you even imagine?
• HIV/AIDS:  Most of you don’t know anyone with this horrible, diabolical disease. Not so in Chimala where about 20% of adults are HIV positive. (I always hasten to add that HIV in Tanzania is almost always passed heterosexually – from man to woman or woman to man).  Untreated HIV cases then progress to clinical AIDS – which is fraught with horrible infections, organ failure, and the list goes on and on.  About one/half of both male and female wards were filled with end stage AIDS patients.  I felt horrible and hopeless in not being able to substantially help them.

 

I’ve only begun to scratch the surface.  I hope you can realize why the term “Bittersweet” seems to fit. I just want you to better realize how much of the world is forced to live and how blessed you are.  I’ve summarized this concept by saying that:

“You have the blessing of location.”

“They are the victims of location.”

Health Ministry Newsletter-July 2014 by Lisa Fleetwood

Taking the Temperature of Your Health Ministry

When Jesus set the example for the early church, he was clear about the role of health promotion and restoration. Matthew records that Jesus’ “health ministry” began almost immediately after choosing his disciples.

Matthew 4:23-25 (NIV) states:

“23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. 25 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan

followed him.”

Jesus also validated his commitment to health through his miracles. Of the thirty-five miracles recorded in the gospels, twenty-three involved healing the body (and three more involved raising the dead). Jesus not only healed the sick, but he charged his followers with healing as well.

Matthew 10:1 ESV “And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.”

So, (1) if Jesus centered his ministry around healing and (2) he commanded his disciples to heal the sick, why doesn’t the twenty-first century church take more responsibility for the care and health of our members and greater community? Perhaps, we don’t know where to begin. After all, we live in the age of modern medicine with state of the art technology and medical advancements. Isn’t it the physician’s, hospital’s, insurance company’s and now the government’s responsibility to heal the sick? Have they been successful? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Despite our technology and wealth, we aren’t healing. In fact, we are sicker than ever.

The reason for this is simple. Healing doesn’t end in the hospital, it only begins there. Healing doesn't end when we check out of our physician’s office. Instead, we are challenged to begin the real restorative work when we walk out of the waiting room and into our life. We are looking to secular organizations to provide us what traditionally has been owned by our faith body. The church provides the encouragement to steward our body the way we would our bank account and gives us the skills we need to handle stress by relying on our faith. The church brings meals to the sick, transports members to the doctor, and opens pill bottles for those without strength and dexterity. These actions and more restore the sick to wholeness as they are lovingly provided by fellow members.

Prevention. According the CDC, the vast majority of chronic conditions can be prevented. They state in 2009’s The Power of Prevention, “As a nation, more than 75% of our health care spending is on people with chronic conditions. These persistent conditions—the nation’s leading causes of death and disability—leave in their wake deaths that could have been prevented, lifelong disability, compromised quality of life, and burgeoning health care costs.” Health ministries can focus on prevention by providing educational courses on diet and exercise, organizing a walking group or Zumba class, or teaching a CPR course. Flu shot clinics and blood pressure screenings also serve as powerful educational springboards for topics ranging from sodium and stress to hand washing and over-the-counter medication safety.

Discharge Care. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, 23% of heart failure patients, 19% of heart attack patients, and 18% of pneumonia patients are actually readmitted to the hospital within thirty days of hospital discharge. Why? Often times, the patient does not receive adequate care at home. Unfortunately, family members are not prepared, supported, qualified, or able to provide effective home care despite their best intentions. Discharge instructions include cautions on medications, activity, follow-up appointments, and diet. When understanding and implementing the entire discharge plan depends upon one individual, the task can seem daunting. Now add in the age of the caregiver and their own health issues, it may prove impossible. A church’s care team can assist the member with reminder phone calls and encouragement to maintain activity, provide meals that adhere to the patient’s recommended diet, ensure the member has necessary medication and supplies, and provide transportation if needed to follow-up appointments or therapy. These actions, though simple, contribute significantly to patient recovery and ensure the patient avoids re-hospitalization and complications that delay healing.

Support. There is no other organization capable of providing the level of support and sense of community like one’s faith body. Galatians 6:2 NIV says, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” An effective health ministry does just that by providing members opportunities to learn, grow, and share through grief support groups, parenting classes, substance abuse programs, and caregiver respite services.

So how does your health ministry stack up? For resources, information, and support contact Faith Health Initiative at lfleetwood@ecommunity.com or llauderdale@ecommunity.com today.

Hurry, Hurry, Hurry; Go, Go, Go! by Chris Kirby

Hurry, Hurry, Hurry; Go, Go, Go!

This summer has flown by. We are over half way from when school dismissed in early June to the start of a new school year. As some of you know, this is my crazy time of year. Between youth group trips and the normal craziness that comes with having a family with young kids, it’s just a whirlwind for me! The first “big event” each summer for the Youthreach is a trip to IMPACT at Lipscomb. The event itself feels like it was ages ago (I’ve been to Charleston, SC and Spring Mill since then, and am in Chicago this week). However, the message at the heart of IMPACT really stood out this year and gave us a lot to chew on. There have been several times in the last couple of weeks that I’ve gone back to think on it more and to really unpack how it applies to my life personally. There were several facets to the message, but one of the aspects that really hit me was the concept of living within our present reality and being used by God for opportunities that are right in front of us.

Ironically, it is this time of year that is so full of ministry opportunities that I can easily miss out on the heart of what God wants me to see. I can get so busy planning, organizing, and running at full speed in youth ministry that I look right past something powerful that God might be trying to show me. I might miss the point of why we are so busy; I have to be careful to stop and re-center so that I don’t just survive the blur of a summer schedule, but rather experience the greatness of the mission I’ve been invited to participate in with the awesome teens in our congregation. I am afforded the opportunities to see how God cultivates spiritual growth in them, how He exposes them to their gifts and how to use them to minister to the world, and witness the development of community in our group that reflects Christ. Hopefully, the distraction of busyness doesn’t make me miss these powerful opportunities to see God’s grace and mercy play out in His Kingdom.

Not everyone shares the same distractions as I do. For some of you, summer is the most laid back and relaxing time of year. However, distractions can take many different forms. For many of us, we’ve allowed our technology to consume us. We become so tied to what is on our phone, TV, or social media that we don’t know what is going on the in the reality around us. Some of us have turned things that aren’t overly important into idols that devour our time, energy, and focus. I’m always amazed at how sports, designed as games for recreational activity, run the lives of so many families in our culture and create so much stress and frustration that they are now counter-productive to their original intent. For some, the drive for success can lead us to a perverted sense of what is important. Sin can darken our hearts from allowing God to lead us in his desires. Whatever the case might be for you personally, I hope that you will step back and ask honestly what it is in your own life that keeps you from living out God’s full plan in your life. I hope we can be a people who seek after God with all our being and witness the great things that he has in place for us. As the author of Hebrews states in 12:1, “let us throw off everything that hinders, and the sin that so easily entangles”!  

E. A. Elam--A Peacemaker on Confessing our OWN Sins by Terry J. Gardner

E. A. Elam – A Peacemaker on Confessing Our Own Sins

By Terry J. Gardner

 

Edwin Alexander Elam was his mother’s firstborn child. Just a few minutes after his birth—on 7 March 1855 in Fosterville, Tennessee—Sister Elam “earnestly prayed for divine help and guidance to train E. A. for usefulness in the service of God.”

In 1871 Elam was immersed into Christ but that did not cause him to be zealous or regular in church attendance.  Elam entered Franklin College in 1872 and studied under Jack Fanning.  Fanning taught him how to study and to think for himself.  As he was leaving for college his mother gave him a Bible with special passages marked for him to remember.  By 1874 Elam had become more zealous and regular in his church attendance.

In 1879 Elam moved to Florence, Alabama, to teach with and study under T. B. Larimore in Mars Hill Bible School.  Earl Irvin West noted that both Larimore and Elam “had notable similarities in oratorical powers and in the gentleness of the inner man.”

By the early 1880s Elam had begun to write for the Gospel Advocate and to develop a relationship with David Lipscomb.  By 1901 Elam was on the Board of Directors of the Nashville Bible School (now Lipscomb University) and was the front-page editor of the Gospel Advocate.  From Elam’s association with David Lipscomb came a character of steely resolve. He soon developed a personal slogan, “For Truth and Right, Always the Same.”  Combining Larimore’s gentleness with Lipscomb’s firmness and his own commitment never to be a respecter of persons, Elam became a peacemaker who was often called to help resolve congregational conflicts.

In 1929 F. B. Srygley wrote of this friend, “Brother Elam did more, perhaps, than any other man among us in settling church troubles.  He was sought after far and near to help settle church troubles.  It seems to me that the promise Christ made when he said, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers:  for they shall be called the children of God,’ was his; and this promise can be relied upon.  Another passage seems applicable:  ‘Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.’ ”

 

In 1919 Elam offered insight not only into his way of resolving church conflicts but also into making peace between angry Christians.  In part, he wrote,

Why should I be always confessing the faults of others, telling them and relating to others how unwarranted, uncalled for, inexcusable, unjust, slanderous, and wicked many of their deeds are, and never be able to see and to confess my own sins?

“Confess therefore your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed.”  (James 5:16).

The only right way and, therefore, the shortest way out of wrong is to confess it, repent, and seek forgiveness.  Then it has gone forever.

One of my sons when very small ran in crying and told me his brother had struck him.  I seized the opportunity to teach him a lesson which I hoped would benefit him in after life.  So I asked him what he had done to his brother.  He was confessing his brother’s wrong.  He replied to my question that his brother had hurt him by the lick.  I replied, “I do not doubt that,” but pressed my question, “What did you do?”  He answered again by saying:  “But he hurt me.”  I replied again:  “I believe all you say:  your brother struck you, he hurt you, he should not have done so, and has done wrong, therefore; but tell me what you did to him.”  Seeing I was fair and just, he said:  “Well, I bit him.”  Then I had both sides, and got them from the one who made the complaint.  Another little fellow at another time came with his waist soaking wet from top to bottom, complaining that a grown boy had “poured a pitcher of water down his neck.”  “What did you do?”  I asked.  “I threw some water on him,” was the reply.  “Were you both playing?” I asked.  “Yes,” was the reply.  “Go, then,” I said, “out on a dry waist, and do not come home crying because the other fellow got the better of the play.”  Just so, grown children in the church come complaining that they have been very badly treated in various ways, but they rarely ever tell what wrongs they have done.  I want to ask: What did you do?

There can never be a quarrel without two quarrelers; there can never be a fight without two fighters.

A man ran in haste down the street.  One met him and asked why such haste.  “I am trying to prevent a fight between two men.”  “Who are they?” was the question.  “I am one,” he said, and ran on.  Suppose church members were so afraid of strife, trouble, and a church fuss that they would run from them?

I have assisted in settling a few very grave church troubles.  At one time two congregations were united when the church had separated and the withdrawing faction had built another house of worship.  This was done by fair and just and frank dealing—by teaching from the word of God each one to confess his own faults.  I have never failed when I could persuade the parties to the trouble to do this.  I have always failed when I could not lead them to do this.  If wrongdoers cannot see their own sins and will not repent of them, troubles can never be adjusted and their souls can never be saved.

Some seem to care no more for God’s teaching on “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” and the things essential to this than some others do for the teaching of the New Testament on baptism, the Lord’s Supper, or against the divorce evil.

Some people seem never to have learned how to say they have done wrong or to beg another’s pardon; and some others seem never to have learned how to grant pardon or to forgive.  They can never “get over” anything.  There is as much grace in granting pardon as is required to ask pardon.

Let us think on these things a while, and the Lord have mercy upon us all.[1]

---

[1]

E. A. Elam, “Was It ‘An Unwarranted,’ ‘Uncalled-For,’ and ‘Inexcusable’ Thing?” Gospel Advocate 61 no. 1 (2 January 1919): 11.

Battles of Encounter

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

-- Ephesians 6.10-12

 

In the history of warfare, there is something called a “battle of encounter.” That is, there are times (especially in the days before sophisticated intelligence gathering) when great armies collide unexpectedly and have not had time fully to prepare offensive or defensive strategies. The most significant battle on U.S. soil is such a “battle of encounter.”  On July 1, Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by the lesser known General George Meade, collided at the little Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg.  Lee had invaded northern territory, and Meade was attempting to lure Lee into battle a little south of the Pennsylvania state line in Maryland. It did not work out that way as advance parties of both armies encountered each there at Gettysburg.

 

In such a situation, everyone has to think fast; everyone has to react on instinct. Battles of encounter tend to foster many moments of improvisation and acting “in the moment.” Such battles in many cases start unexpectedly and continue to present the unexpected.

 

Part of what turned the battle of Gettysburg into a Union victory (and turned the war in the Union’s favor in the East) was a series of people thinking well—and acting responsibly based on their training and what was needed—at the critical, unanticipated moments of encounter.

Here is but one critical example:

On July 2, the second day of the battle, the Army of the Potomac’s Chief Engineer, a man named Gouverneur Warren, noticed that the Rebel attack had found a lightly defended spot on the extreme left end of the Union line, at a place called Little Round Top. If the Rebel attack succeeded in taking Little Round Top, they would be in a position to “roll up” the Union line; in other words, battle over. It would be a resounding Confederate victory. Warren immediately sent one aide to Gen. Meade to let him know the situation and then sent another aide to find troops to reinforce Little Round Top (in a sense, he was acting without authorization…but was certainly in line with what Gen. Meade would want). Warren’s second messenger found a Corps commander who then sent out a courier to one his division commanders to see if he could help. That courier shortly ran into a brigade commanded by a Colonel named Strong Vincent. The courier told him who he was looking for and why. Immediately Vincent, realizing the gravity of the situation, told the courier, “I’ll take my brigade there,” bypassing the chain of command. “I will take the responsibility,” he emphatically said to the surprised courier. Vincent then led his brigade just in time to Little Round Top, into fierce and bloody and ultimately successful fighting. He led them into one of the many moments like that at Gettysburg that may well have saved the Union. (You never hear about Col. Vincent in the history books, do you? Actually, not much about Gen. Warren, either. And yet, without the initiative of these two men who acted responsible and instinctively in the moment…)

 

Blah, blah, blah with the obscure history lesson, Greg; is there a point to this?

Yes.

As the reading from Ephesians at the top of this entry notes, we, too, are in a war. And, we will have many battles of encounter with the enemy. There will be moments when we will have to react based on our training and developed instincts.

How will we perform in our “battles of encounter” with the enemy, with sin? And those “battles of encounter” are not “ifs,” they are “whens.” They will come, both in the form of temptations to sin and in the form of opportunities to serve God’s purposes.

The writer of Hebrews speaks of “…the mature… those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5.14).

 

Are we well-trained?

 

Certainly this is about how we do morally – do we do what is right when faced with temptations to sin?

Do we get better at doing what is good because we practice doing good? Are the “habits of our heart,” the things we have learned to do almost instinctively, habits consistent with God’s character?

 

But being well-trained is also about how we do missionally – do we act when we are in a position to put in a good word about Jesus? Do we act responsibly when we are in a position to represent Jesus? Do we have to wait for someone to give us permission to talk about the difference Jesus Christ makes in our lives, or do we take on ourselves the responsibility to do that? Are we prepared to serve God’s purposes at a moment’s notice?

 

Seems like that is what Peter is getting at in 1 Peter 3.15b-16a: Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an account of the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence… 

“Always be ready.” Not sure I’m always ready. What’s my excuse for that? A lot of times it’s that I’m just not paying attention, just not expecting opportunity.  

I’m pretty good at coming up with ways to “seize the moment”…after the fact. What I need to get better at is seeing and acting on the opportunity to do good in the moment. 

This blog is primarily supposed to be place where Southeastern’s leaders have a chance to talk about spiritual growth. So, here’s my point for that purpose: Maybe our spiritual maturity, individually and as a community of believers, is measured by our ability to act well in the moment, whether to avoid sin or to seize an opportunity to serve God’s purposes. 

By that measure, the measure of my “battles of encounter,” how mature am I really?

What Does it Mean to be a Friend?-Health Ministry Newsletter-June 2014 by Lisa Fleetwood

What does it mean to be a friend?

A happy, healthy, and fulfilled life must include friends. Some people have a propensity to make friends easily and therefore they have many who they count as close friends. Other dispositions are more reserved, carefully selecting only a few for their inner circle. Regardless of your personality, friends are an essential part of a Christian’s life. How do we know that? Because Jesus was our example. Jesus had much to do in his short 33 years of life, yet he took the time to make deep, personal connections with a group of men and women. He spent his last years bonding with his friends as they walked and talked, as they sang, and ate. He loved them, cared for them, taught them, and inspired them. He admonished them, challenged, and encouraged them. We know that he would often be astounded by them and was occasionally disappointed with them, but was a loyal companion throughout. What might we learn from his example and other inspirations from God’s word?

Friends tell it like it is (even when we don’t want to hear it). Jesus was on mission for God and his disciples signed up for the trip. It hadn’t been easy and things were about to get much worse. Jesus shared with his friends some of what was to happen to him. He wanted to prepare them and no doubt, wanted their support as he neared the day he would be sacrificed. Peter; however, became angry and told Jesus, “Never, Lord.” Matthew even says Peter “rebuked” Jesus. Matthew 16:22-23 (NIV) “Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ‘Never, Lord!’ he said. ‘This shall never happen to you!’ Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.’” Jesus knew that Peter was in the wrong, thinking of himself and not submitting to God’s will. Jesus also knew that Peter would struggle again with his own agenda and was trying to set him on the right path, the path of obedience that Jesus travelled. I have often thought how Jesus’ admonishment must have hurt Peter, yet he was aware that this was exactly what Peter needed to hear. He knew his friend well enough to know this wasn’t an isolated outburst and that if left unchecked, may lead to spiritual derailment. Do you have that type of relationship with your friends? Is your love deep enough to be able to share concerns, even if those concerns are difficult to hear? Do you accept and even encourage your friend’s transparency with you as well? Honesty in friendship is essential. True friendship provides the safety to share freely with the mutual goal of pleasing God through selfless living.

Be encouraged with Proverbs 27:5-6

Friends insist on doing the things that need to be done. John 13: 3-5 (NIV) “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” This gesture was so surprising that Peter, at first, said no! He should be washing Jesus’ feet and not the other way around! Jesus; however, wanted his friends to see that there was nothing he would not do for them and that even though he was God’s son (and the “Father had put all things under his power”), he would put their needs above his own. True friendships are the ideal place to show this kind of Christ-like humility. What do your friends need? We live in a world that encourages autonomy, independence, and self-reliance. That is not what Jesus modeled. He saw a need and addressed it. He didn’t wait. He got up from his meal and did the job. Real friends know each other well enough to see the need and love each other enough to stop what they are doing and help.

Friends always love. The first verse my youngest daughter committed to memory was Proverbs 17:17. “A friend loves at all times,” she would recite as she walked around the house. At only four, she epitomized childhood love and acceptance and fully believed in Solomon’s charge. On her last birthday, a lifelong friend gave her a handmade card that read, “from your one true friend.” However, later that year, this same friend decided to stop talking to her, cutting off all communication and even avoiding her at school. Do true friends really love at all times? The situation prompted a renewed discussion with our daughter about Proverbs 17:17. What do you do when a friend disappoints you (or you disappoint a friend)? Jesus provided countless examples of living Proverbs 17:17. He showed love, compassion, and loyalty beyond the grave to his friends, even with their many shortfalls. He continued to be in relationship, encouraging and directing, despite their confusion, their denials, and doubts. Do you have a friend that has disappointed you?Consider it a golden opportunity to model Christ in forgiveness and love? Don’t ever forget, love is what sets Christians apart. Love regardless of circumstance, hurt, or betrayal. Love is not just for our friends, but also our enemies. The next time a friend lets you down, love them anyway. The next time your heart is broken, mend it with unconditional love. Is this difficult? Incredibly difficult but also incredibly rewarding. Never forget, a friend LOVES at all times. John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Friends Affect Health! Did you know?

A 10-year Australian study found that older people with a large circle of friends were 22 percent less likely to die during the study period than those with fewer friends. A large 2007 study showed an increase of nearly 60 percent in the risk for obesity among people whose friends gained weight. In 2008, Harvard researchers reported that strong social ties could promote brain health as we age. In a six-year study of 736 middle-age Swedish men, attachment to a single person didn’t appear to affect the risk of heart attack and fatal coronary heart disease, but having friendships did. Only smoking was as important a risk factor as lack of social support. In 2008, researchers studied 34 students at the University of Virginia, taking them to the base of a steep hill and fitting them with a weighted backpack. They were then asked to estimate the steepness of the hill. Some participants stood next to friends during the exercise, while others were alone. The students who stood with friends gave lower estimates of the steepness of the hill. And the longer the friends had known each other, the less steep the hill appeared.
*Source NY Times

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NIV)
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:
10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who
falls and has no one to help them up.

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I Want to Be Moved Again by Mike DeCamp

I am very much looking forward to next weekend when I will be attending the second Williamstown Bible College reunion.  For those of you who are unfamiliar, WBC was a small college located in Williamstown, West Virginia that was dedicated to the purpose of training and sending out preachers and ministers into service wherever God might want them to go.  It was founded in the early seventies by David Powers and the Williamstown Church of Christ.  I attended there from the fall of 1980 until the summer of 1982.  The institution held its last class in 1983.

As I mentioned, this will be the second reunion.  The first was held five years ago, and for many who attended, it was the first time they had been together in somewhere between 25 and 30 years!  Their various life courses had taken them in many different directions.  Most did not end up in preaching ministries.  Some did enter the ministry, but subsequently left it after some circumstance caused them to change course.  At the time of that reunion, only a handful were still working in full-time ministry.  For some, this seemed to be a bit of an embarrassment as they traveled back and reunited with their old classmates and instructors.

But, that embarrassment soon passed.

I have seldom been so overwhelmingly impacted by a single event as I was that reunion.  Many times in the past, I’ve been encouraged to attend some conference or another with the promise of a “life-changing” experience.  They never seem to live up to that high billing.  However, this event, which was pitched simply as an encouraging time for us to reunite in friendship and fellowship turned out to be one of the most impactful I have ever attended. 

Let me explain why.

It wasn’t the messages.  In fact, I don’t recall any of them.  Frankly, it was the sheer joy of the worship!  There just is something special when a group of people get together…want to be together…and sing.  And, I’m not talking about mumbling some religious songs, but really belting out heartfelt praises to God!  Not just some of us either….everyone!

The brothers and sisters who attended this event, while they shared the commonality of having been at WBC in the past, had not actually sung together in decades.  Some had gone on to other faith communities and were no longer members of a church of Christ.  But, the one thing they wanted to do together was SING  And sing they did!

There were only about a hundred in attendance.  That’s about a third of what Southeastern might have in the auditorium on a good Sunday.  But, let me tell you, they lifted the roof!  And, the joy of the songs was evident on their faces.  In the last five years, that event has become my gold standard for what heartfelt worship looks like.

And, now I’m headed back for the second reunion, and I find myself a bit anxious about whether I’ll find the same spirit of praise.  It didn’t hurt that last time we had Keith Lancaster as our worship leader, but that wasn’t the reason we sang so well.  We sang well because we wanted to sing well…wanted to pour our hearts out…together

.

It moved me.  And, I want to be moved again.

So, in light of what made that event special, I think we could translate that into our worship at Southeastern.  Let me give you some questions to consider:

A.       Do we want to be together?  To sing together?  If the answer is “yes,” why do we sit so scattered in the auditorium?  Is that seat you’ve staked out really that important to you?  More important than being close with your fellow Southeastern church family members to join your voices in unison?

B.      Do we sing because we want to pour out our praises to God, or because it’s just something that the church does on Sundays?  Is it obligation or true praise from the heart?

C.      Are we “making music in our hearts”?  If so, we should be able to see it in the smiles on our faces.

D.      Do you realize that part of why we sing is to encourage one another?...to sing praises to God TO ONE ANOTHER?  As you sing, look around…smile at one another…sing to one another!

 

Let the message of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.  Colossians 3:16

…speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit.  Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord.  Ephesians 5:19

The purpose of our singing is not just vertical (us to God), but it is also horizontal (to one another).

Brothers and sisters, when we sing with our hearts, it makes a huge difference.  We not only tell God just what we think about Him, but we also tell one another about the love of God, and how much we love being together.  The last couple of Sundays, we have sung very well, and it encouraged my heart.  We can build on that base and keep it going.  If we do, I think we will all find ourselves being “moved” right here…at home…with our church family at Southeastern.

 

It will truly be life-changing!  

Family Camp or Camp Run by Paid Staff by Craig Hill

About twenty years ago Regina, my wife, asked me to go to Spring Mill Bible Camp with her and my children, Rachel and Zach. I was raised going to Boy Scout camp and immediately frowned and said, “No, I don’t think so.” And I didn’t go. I thought how fun could that be? I loved going to Scout camp and being in the outdoors and doing Scout things.

When they came back from Spring Mill that first year, they were alive with the place. They were full of stories, how they enjoyed it, and were walking around singing camp songs with love in their hearts. And I knew immediately that I missed something very special.

So next year I went. Zach was 8 years old and in the Hebron cabin. Paul Short was the head counselor. We had a schedule with just enough to keep you busy, but there was time built in for fun – for playing basketball, ping pong, tetherball, and having fun with everyone.

There were classes about God, great singing, and chapel talks, and 3 great meals per day together with everyone. We went creek stomping at the Spring Mill State Park. We went cave exploring and had contests to see how long someone could immerse themselves in the frigid water.  There were many people I knew because I had been worshipping with them for years. There were some that I did not know very well, but by the end of the week everyone is well acquainted.

At night we had to get the kids to sleep in the Hebron cabin. I thought. “How on earth are we going to get these 12 to 15 kids to sleep?” They are having too much fun. We are going to be up all night. But Paul pulled out a book and read to the kids. I thought that is smart, because I watched the kids settle down and listen to the story. And after a hard day running around, playing, learning, singing and eating well, they were ready to go to sleep. But their brains didn’t know they were tired, because they wanted to run around the cabin and jump on the beds. But now they were listening to the story, and their heart rate was settling down. Pretty soon they were dropping off, one by one, to sleep.  Soon they were all out!  Paul Short in my eyes was a brilliant man!

It was about 10 years later that I learned that Spring Mill Bible Camp is actually run by a paid staff all summer except for one week: the week of the 4^th of July when Southeastern church of Christ comes and runs a “family” camp. Evidently years ago, someone at Southeastern, or some people, decided that they’d take all their kids to Spring Mill Bible Camp, and the parents would staff the whole camp. The parents would be the counselors in each cabin (I think of myself as a “Cabin Dad”). The parents would be the teachers, the activity coordinators, the crafts person, the nurse, the cooks, run the canteen, and be the camp director. No paid staff! Wow! These people had to be staunch, formidable people to decide to take on that responsibility. What a great idea. And here I thought the whole summer long at Spring Mill was run by the parents of one congregation. I had no idea that the rest of the summer was run by a paid staff.

And so I’ve gone to Spring Mill Bible Camp every year except for one or two, for the last 14 years or so. Regina stayed in the “Family Cabin” when Rachel was too young to be in the “Regular Cabins”.  Micah has been at camp since he was two years old.  He stayed in the cabin with me, Zach (10 years difference), and the other boys. I told the boys he was our mascot, and we had to all watch out for him and take care of him. At that age, Micah was hard to get to sleep, and I was again dreading how to get all these boys to sleep and get Micah to sleep. To top it off, the first night was the 4^th of July, and people in the next property shot off a bunch of fireworks. It was noisy, the fireworks were going off, and these middle school boys had a mind of their own.

I had adapted the book reading that Paul taught me, to read different Christian books like Jonathon Livingston Seagull, Point Man, or the Bible (boys love the battles of Joshua and King David.) But the boys didn’t fall asleep during the story, and Micah was still awake, and I was worried. But all of the sudden Cameron said, “Let’s sing some devo songs.” And Ryan Draper jumped right in and started signing. And all the boys were singing, and I was singing, and fireworks were shooting off.  I looked over and Micah amongst all the noise and singing was asleep!  I smiled and thought, “Am I in an incredible place, blessed by God, or what!?”

My kids are dunked in love and Jesus all week with me and other families at Southeastern and it is great! They have been sad to leave camp and look forward to it every year. They come home and we all sing devo songs for no particular reason for a week. And the numbers of baptisms that happen in the weeks after camp are noteworthy.

But it has changed in the last few years. There are fewer families at Spring Mill. There are more and more volunteers who come and give their week, their vacation days, to love and teach the children. We have had volunteers that did not have any children there at camp, but are dedicated to keeping this wonderful tradition going strong. Last year over half the boys in my cabin did not have a regular father figure in their homes, so it was a lot more work and a lot more discipline to provide, and I had to build a relationship with them in short time. So it has turned into more of a mission trip for me. But I still love it, and it is rewarding to hear the boys tell their parents when they get home how much fun they had and how much they want to come back again next summer. That is what camp is about! We are there so kids can experience the “aroma” of Christ in a beautiful outdoor setting away from the distractions of our busy lives.

Every year we are blessed to have young adults that were once campers, to give back to the younger generation. It is a blessing to see the tradition being passed on. If you have children of school age or even younger, I encourage you to come to Spring Bible Camp this year. You won’t regret it. Your kids will love it! It may change your life and the life of your children! Really.

Health Ministry Newsletter-May 2014 by Lisa Fleetwood