Beyond Weekly Blogging: A Glimmer of Hope to Readers

Not that there is anybody dieing to read this blog, but I have been very intentional about stepping away for the Summer months on any posting. Just needed a break. I will look to pick up in the consistency and regularity once the end of August hits. For now, I sit back and enjoy some family time, get things in line for the next school year, and think of all kinds of rants, memories and series to post through the next year.

Oh, and adoption updates will be coming as well!

80s/90s Worship Tweets

I've been a part of several discussions this Summer about worship. I coming to grips with the fact that I am aging in my worship tastes. When worship leaders ask me for any appropriate songs to go with the message, the first songs that come to mind are at least 5 years too early for the crowd I'm speaking to even remember.
This aging is significantly increased due to the demographic I work with.

I also thoroughly enjoy the increasing popularity of using Twitter or Facebook status updates solely to quote song lyrics.

With both these thoughts in mind, at 7:00 p.m. last night, I decided to dedicate a full 24 hours of tweets to some of my favorite 80s/90s worship chorus lyrics.

Enjoy here or just read on the right sidebar of the blog.

Fun times.

I like to play Nintendo Wii with Daddy!

Post-Camp Movies: 1 Word Reviews

There is about 5 weeks between Summer Camp and Fall Kickoff where I try to significantly slow it down physically, mentally, and emotionally. A major part of accomplishing this is watching a ton of movies. Here's a list of movies I've watched since Summer Camp (in theater, on DVD, on TV) and my 1-word reviews of these films.

1. Invictus - Inspiring
2. The Bounty Hunter - Boo
3. Law Abiding Citizen - Yuck.
4. Zombieland - Clown!
   
5. Book of Eli - Biblicious
   
6. Inception - wow.
   
7. Blues Brothers - Classic
8. X-Games: The Movie - Fascinating
9. Rudy - Cry
10. Die Hard 2 - Sigh
11. Hannah Montana: The Movie - embarrassed
12. Rush Hour 2 - Excessive

Rock Stars

No, I'm not talking about musicians that think they are the center of the universe.
I'm not talking about the energy drink (though these individuals may need some today).

I'm talking about the amazing people who make Summer Camp what it is. It is truly a team effort, and many of these individuals have given sacrificially of their time and talents to help students get away, connect with each other, connect with God, and have a ton of fun. In the process, I believe their are MANY students whose lives will be different because of these who have served.

Jeff Simpson/Kyle Neely: These two guys headed out on July 4 with a group of student volunteers who set up the tents we eat under, and all the sound lighting for our meeting tent.

Cathy Miller: As our main cook Cathy cooked approximately 3000 meals over camp using a diner that does not have a single utility kitchen tool in it. Through this route of doing meals, we are able to significantly cut the costs of camp for students.

Kaleigh Woodcox/Lisa Miller (Jr. High) Cheryl Stutzman/Dana Jacobs/Tracy Bussard: These are the ladies who assisted Cathy in the cooking of meals. They work like crazy. The great part is that many of these ladies are moms to students at Camp.

Kevin and Jen Edwards: For 3 straight years, Kevin has run sound at SH camp and Jen has served as our SH Camp nurse. They are unbelievable servants and far too easy to work with.

Austin Hostetter: Austin ran sound at JH Camp and Media Shout at SH. He also shot and put together the video that was shown on Sunday Morning as I skyped into the services to give our folks an update.

Jessica Noelle, Lindy Seitz, Brian and Martin Ufkin: Led worship with Chris Lehane at Junior High Camp.

Terry and Kelly Bley: Played host and hostess at JH Camp. Terry also did some of the speaking.

Chris Lehane: The best JH pastor out there. He did some worship leading when Terry spoke, and then did speaking when Jessica was leading worship. On top of this, he was played the role of pastor to all. I'm a big fan!

David Cummings, Karli Saner, Grant Schrock, Chad Overholser, Corey Ryman, and Martin Ufkin: Led worship at Senior High Camp. They helped break down some significant walls as well drive home our DIFFERENT theme when it comes to worship.

Kieffer McCarron, Dustin Eby, and Tiffany Christensen: The SOAR interns did both camps. They all played key roles in getting logistics together as well as helping build group dynamics.

Janelle Prenkert: Besides being my super-hot wife, she played hostess to SH Camp. This ranged from counseling leaders and teens to getting toilet paper for the cabins. I would have been dead meat without her there.

Geoff Cocanower: Geoff was really the Pastor at Senior High Camp. He dove in with guys, led discussion times, and shared at our Sunday a.m. session. Geoff also set up all the housing for Senior High (no easy task).

Megan Rendall: Megan did both camps. She also has done a ton of work in registration, getting mailings out, and played a key role in pulling together supplies for our experiences.

Kristy Mikel: The unsung hero of Camp. She coordinated bus drivers, nurses, drivers. She's the brain trust behind all that is Summer Camp. On multiple occasions, she came back to my office and walked me through something we were forgetting. She is the definition of servant.
On top of this she is a FANTASTIC Cabin Group leader and has done significant amounts of investment in the gals of our youth group.

Cabin Group Leaders: There are 40+ volunteers who gave sacrificially of their time to dive in to a group of 3-6 guys/gals every night. They really served as pastors to these students. They allowed God to use them through their ears, their words, and their transparency. THEY ARE THE HEROES.

A HUGE thanks to all these and many more not mentioned who make Summer Camp what it is. YOU are the ROCK STARS!

An awesome night at FYBY of sharing post-camp. Some are sharing what has happened in the passt 24 hours what has been significant. We are now worshipping, student led, no music, just voices.

#3

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Scene I love to see #2.

Scene I love to see at Summer Camp.

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Attention parents, ETA from camp,

Attention parents, ETA from camp, 615 p.m.

just to clarify, ETA is

just to clarify, ETA is not at 4:30. check back here at 4:30 and we'll tell you what time we'll arrive.

We are on the road

We are on the road and almost to our lunch stop on the toll road. Check back 430 for ETA.

Our God is Greater.

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We're getting a little undignified!

THE BOAT RACE

Boat race underway.

I am the Black Knight.

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Pirate ship.

One more

the boats are arriving.

Why have I not been posting a lot of photos and updates? This is a big reason.

my favorite pose in the 4 1/2 minute freeze.

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Look who I ran into at Cedar Point!

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Sunday at a Glance

• Our morning was spent in TAWG looking at I Corinthians 12, and the power of the body of Christ. A major element of our theme is "Embrace the DIFFERENT that you are."
• After TAWG, a session in the tent that included some different worship (check pic and post just below this one) and a message from Geoff about the beauty of the body of Christ. Also, we had a time of students sharing. One student shared that she gave her life to Christ last night, and the tent absolutely erupted in celebration.
• Lunch.
• CEDAR POINT! You haven't done Cedar Point until you do it with Senior High Camp. It's not as much about the rides as it is about Connecting with each other. It's awesome to see the interaction as we ask every group to be a minimum size of 20, and eventually all of us riding together at the close of the night. Great memories.
• We stay at Cedar Point till close. Today is all about community. It's awesome to watch as kids from different grades, different schools, different backgrounds, different interests, embrace the DIFFERENT that they are, and love the bond they can have through Christ!
  

Worshipping a little DIFFERENT. Band in the center, no mics. One body, many parts. a community of worship.

Powerful Night

Just a quick post to say God showed up tonight. I know of two individuals who accepted Christ and began a relationship with Him tonight, and another student I believe God confirmed a call to pastoral ministry.

We had a great day of TAWG, fun, connecting with each other, and looking at what it means to live Different.

Ya, I just did that!

TAWG Experience Pics

A Beautiful noise

We are on a TAWG journey this morning. We are looking at 6 biblical characters and how the DIFFERENT theme has played a role in their lives. These students have looked at how God viewed Gideon differently than Gideon viewed himself. The papers they are running through the shredders are different lies they are believing about themselves that do not match up with God's view. As I've walked students through this station I have found the sound of the paper shredder to be one of the more beautiful noises I've heard in a while.

Saturday's Schedule

The Morning:
After breakfast, we will be taking a two hour Time Alone With God Journey. We will be looking at 6 different people in scripture were our DIFFERENT theme plays out. These character studies will be experiential in nature and allow us all to stop and consider what it looks like to live, view ourselves, and worship different.

The Afternoon:
Lot's of fun around the Camp including paintball, tubing and jetskiiing, swimming, making our boats for the boat race (coming on Monday) and connecting with each other!

The Evening:
Our evening Session looking at what may be holding us back from being DIFFERENT in the way God has called us to be.

PRAY:

• God's voice to come through loud and clear in the TAWG experience.
• Relationship Building.
• Clear weather... we have a lot of activity that is contingent on no rain and low winds.
• Safety in activities... we don't want any injuries or mishaps.
  

1000 Words...

Quite possibly my favorite scent at Summer Camp every year... TAWG.

The 4-Fold Purpose

THE 4-FOLD PURPOSE OF CAMP:

1. GET AWAY: There's something valuable about retreating from it all. We're taking 5 days to unplug, hit the pause button and solely focus in on God.

2. CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER: 210 of us all together for 5 days. As a larger youth group it is so valuable to get to know new people around you. We're very intentional about challenging the students to form new friendships.

3. CONNECT WITH GOD: Wherever a student currently is, we want to see them take that next step forward in their relationship with Christ. We do this through Time Alone With God, worship time, teaching and experiential learning. The beauty is that this can happen at very random times as well... Late night dorm or cabin talks, meal times, even at Cedar Point.

4. HAVE A TON OF FUN! We want to laugh so hard that at least one person pees their pants. We want to scream, hoop and hollar so much that 50% od the group lose their voice. We want to create great, long lasting memories!

Friday's Schedule

What's on tab for Friday of Camp?

*CHECK IN AND ORIENTATION: Camp starts right away as our theme DIFFERENT comes into play. 4 different types of shirts. Who knows which one a student will get. Every student adds "bling" to their nametag to make each one different. Students will get their cabin group assigments as well as receive coaching on how to make the most of camp.

*BUS RIDE: the bus ride is actually one of the hilighhts of camp for many! students play games, ask questions of each other and begin the process of getting to know each other.

*ARRIVE AND SETTLE IN: Everyone gets to know their new home for the week. Cabins for the girls and dorms for the guys.

*OPENING CELEBRATION: We set the table for the week with some Time Alone With God, worship and message.

*CABIN GROUPS: Everyone is in a group w/ a leader. We close out each night with times of debriefing and sharing what God is teaching them.

Chris Lehane bringing it to our Junior Highers at Summer Camp. He just told a powerful story about a time where he missed an opportunity to be different as a student. It was a Holy moment, and the moments continue as he challenges Junior Highers to count the cost.

JHers worshipping. Gotta love it!

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Blog Activity about to Increase

The old blog is about to get updated quite frequently. I head out tomorrow at noon to catch the last day of JH Camp. Chris has been giving some updates on the latest happenings over at his blog.

Thursday after JH Camp, my wife, mom, and Katylynn will be joining me over at Beulah Beach Camp. We'll be getting some things set for the Senior High Campers that will be arriving Friday afternoon. From Friday-Tuesday this blog will serve as a sort of information central for parents and others interested in knowing what is happening at Camp. Pics, prayer posts, and updates will be sure to show up. Please join us in prayer that God will do what God wants to do at our Camps this year!

On This 4th Of July

... I remember an amazing dad who loved, listened, and lived a life worth modeling (the 4th is his Birthday).
... I celebrate the freedom I'm able to live with due to the country where I was born.
... I remember the least, the lost, and the lonely that God has given me opportunity to meet in the past year who are not able to celebrate the freedom I know.
... I commit to continue to speak up for those who are the least, lost and lonely.
... I am grateful for an amazing local church family who I was able to celebrate with as ONE today.
... I cherish an amazing wife of 10 years.
... I adore the treasure that God has given me in a little 2 1/2 year old named Katylynn.
... I declare my freedom in Christ, yet claim that I am IN DEPENDENCE of the Almighty God.

Little Walk Down Memory Lane

Just went through my Youtube channel and watched a few videos. This is my personal favorite: