We can all make a difference in the life of a Young Person

Dear Friend,

As a friend of SpringHill, would you take a few minutes to read this letter and absorb what I’d like to share with you? I believe you will be blessed to hear an incredible story, and consider the possibility of being a part of a modern day “miracle.”

As I was preparing for and praying over this letter I met a young girl named McKenna at a visit to one of our supporting churches (she, her sister and her mom were helping us pass out summer camp brochures between services). McKenna is a third grader who began coming to SpringHill at one of our Day Camp locations and now she, her brother and sister attend our overnight camp in Evart. While they were helping, McKenna and her mom told me this story:

McKenna’s mom, Kim, came into her bedroom one night to find her upset. When she asked McKenna what was wrong, McKenna told her that she had the “worst feeling” because she began to realize that as a result of the economy many kids would not be able to afford to go to SpringHill this year. This saddened her because as she told her mom “kids were going to miss the best week of their lives if they couldn’t go to SpringHill.” McKenna told her mom she needed to do something about it and through many discussions with her mom, McKenna decided to take two specific actions.

First, she volunteered to pass out brochures at her church when SpringHill staff visited one Sunday. As you know, there is nothing more powerful than a “happy customer” sharing about your product or service. What a great gift she provided on that Sunday! Second, she wanted to give $115 of her $150 savings to SpringHill so that another child could attend camp (see the attached cashier’s check and letter from McKenna). Her gift is an incredible gesture. One that has left most of our staff, including me, humbled and more committed than ever to help kids be able to come to camp this summer.

The next morning I was reading John chapter 6, the story of the child with five loaves and two fish and how Jesus used it to feed 5,000 people, and I realized that Christ could once again use the small gift of a child to reach 1,000’s, this time with food that does not perish. Wouldn’t it be a miracle to see $115 dollars multiply so significantly that thousands of kids would come to SpringHill and meet and grow in their relationship with Christ!

These are crazy times, driven by the uncertainty of our economy. It seems as if every family, individual, and organization, be it business or ministry has been impacted in one way or another, including SpringHill. Yet where there is uncertainty, there is opportunity (think of Jesus feeding the 5,000). I am writing you this letter because I believe that in spite of financial challenges, we are in a time of great opportunity to provide hope and spiritual food for people who are in great despair. When the material things they have placed their faith in have disappeared, people are searching and they are open to listen. The question is will we, as the body of Christ, seize this opportunity? Will we at SpringHill step up and be God’s voice for young people?

This Spring, our board and staff decided we needed to do more than we have in the past to reach out and serve these young people, we need to seize the opportunity, to reach kids and their families in a time of greatest openness to the Good News. This is why I am writing to you as a friend of mine, a friend of Jesus, of SpringHill, and a friend of young people. I want you to know first from me, after much prayer and discussion, what we have committed to do this summer. We are committed to providing scholarships for 2,000 kids this summer. This is 1,200 more scholarships than last year. This means, we need to raise $1,000,000 to underwrite some portion of these 2,000 kids camp fees and lay aside enough money to provide another 600 scholarships in 2010 (since we do not believe the need will change much going into next year). To provide perspective, we raised $350,000 last year to underwrite 850 campers with no money left over for this year.

Do you want to be part of a miracle? I told McKenna I would share her story and the gift she has made with other friends of SpringHill. I told her there are many people who feel as strongly as she does about assuring every one can come to camp. I also told her that I believed God was going to multiply her gift, that perhaps she would be used to create a flood of support so that hundreds of deserving kids could attend camp.

Thank you for all you have done and are doing to support SpringHill. Your involvement and support has made a significant difference in the lives of thousands of young people. You have done and are doing so much that it is with great humility that I ask for your help again.

But I am also compelled to ask you to prayerfully consider joining McKenna by making an additional gift of support beyond any commitments you have already made. This year, of all years, your help is vitally needed. This letter is going out to our closest friends and supporters of SpringHill and I did not take lightly making another request, especially in letter form. But I do it because I believe we have a once in a life time opportunity to make an eternal difference in the lives of kids and teens and families this year.

Thank you for your prayerful consideration in being a part of a miracle enabling kids to come to SpringHill and have “the best week of their lives.”

For The Kids,
Michael

click here to match McKenna’s gift https://www.springhillcommunity.com/SSLPage.aspx?pid=214

Winning the Prize- Reaching More Kids

In our last staff meeting we talked about our theme for 2009 as “SpringHill Fit” and it is based in part on I Corinthians 9:24-27. We spoke on our desire to be in the kind of “shape” as a ministry to run the race and to win the prize; this includes financial, organizational, emotional, cultural and spiritual fitness. Being in shape and “fit” is a worthy cause for this year but it begs the question “what is the prize we are getting fit for?” You see just getting fit can be a self absorbed ambition- I want to look better, feel better, etc. This can happen to us as SpringHill, as well, if we see our goal of being organizationally fit as an ends to its self. But we can not go there, this is not our end goal and this is clearly not what Paul is addressing in the verses of I Corinthians 9.

Paul starts with the question in verse 24 “Do you not know that in a race all runners run, but only one gets the prize?” You see fitness, training, being in shape, is a means to a greater end- winning the prize. The prize is so great that Paul says runners go into “strict training”, that he, himself, “beats his body, makes it his slave” and that he avoids “running aimlessly” and “beating the air”. The prize is the motivation, the reason, the purpose we get fit. The bigger the prize the higher the motivation to be fit and the more noble the training is to achieve it. For Paul, as well as us as Christians, the ultimate Prize is eternity with Jesus Christ Himself.

So the question is for us at SpringHill is what is the prize that is driving us to be fit? Well the simple answer is to fulfill our mission and vision and to do this in a way that is consistent with our core values and expressed through the SpringHill Experience. This sounds good and true, and it is, but for it to mean something we need to bring it down to what is our prize today, what are we “beating our body” to achieve right now? This prize needs to be tangible.

So let me make this prize tangible for us today. You may have already heard this but if not I want you to know- Our prize in the next 5 months (through the end of summer camp) is REACHING MORE KIDS. And specifically more kids for summer camp. Our goal is to exceed our budget number of summer campers of 12,200 between Day Camps, IN and MI. But don’t get me wrong this is not about budgets or numbers.

So let me answer the next question “why is Reaching More Kids the prize?” Because at this moment in history and in the lives of most of us this is the worst economic upheaval we have experienced. It has created uncertainty, unemployment, loss of wages, dramatic changes in life styles, etc. And the one group of people clearly not responsible for this mess and the one most likely to be impacted the most are kids. This is why we have such a sense of urgency to Reach More Kids today than we ever have before. Because kids today, maybe more than any other time in their lives, need the hope, strength and security of a growing and vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ. This is true with their families as well, Churches all over the mid-west and in the country have more people attending than they have had in many years because people are looking for hope and security in a world that seems to provide very little of either. People in general and young people in specific are more open to the Gospel than at any time in my life, this friends is the opportunity. Reaching fewer kids is not an option, not today. This is why our prize, the prize we are training for over the next 5 months is Reaching More Kids.

So what can each of us do to help us win this prize? First is pray and pray a lot because Reaching More Kids is God’s call on SpringHill, so “if He guides, He will provide”. Second, we can ask ourselves at the beginning of each of our work days- “what can I do today to help “Reach More Kids”? And then do it. There is no more important activity we, each and every one of us, can all be engaged in over the next 150 days. Third, ask others to pray that we have the opportunity to provide Hope to more young people than ever before (see Andy Westmaas on how you can make this happen). Finally if you don’t know what you can do today, or any day, ask someone on the team, don’t let not knowing get in the way of winning the prize.

Friends, I have no doubt we can win this prize, first because “God is able to do more than all we can ask or even imagine” and secondly because of all of you, the giftedness and talents God as given each of you combined with your commitment to this ministry and it’s mission. One of my favorite historical figures is Winston Churchill who said in one of his most famous speeches to the British people at the beginning of WWII (I have always wanted to use this quote and frankly can’t think of a better time then now so at the risk of being corny…):

“Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth lasts for a thousand years, men will still say, “This was their finest hour!”

My prayer is that each of us as individuals and together as SpringHill we will be able to look back at this period of time and see that it was “our finest hour” because of what Christ did in and through us to win the prize of REACHING MORE KIDS.

Embracing all Kids:

Marcus came into my life for the first time 4 years ago as he was working in the dining hall in our Indiana camp as part of the Teen Service Team (TST) program.  When I saw him I realized this must have been his second “tour of duty” because I had seen him a couple of weeks earlier at camp.  Marcus is easy to remember because he needs the assistance of a wheel chair/scooter to move around and he used this as a tool in doing his dining room duty.  That was a sight easily remembered and one that would bring a smile to anyone’s face.  Marcus drove around that dining hall going table to table as other TSTer’s would load dirty dishes onto his lap.  He would then scooter over to the dish room.  A very creative way to clear tables.  When seeing him for a second time, I asked Marcus what motivated him to take 4 weeks of his summer vacation to work in a dining hall.  His answer highlighted what SpringHill has come to mean to 1000’s of campers over our 40 years of ministry.  He simply said “when I come to SpringHill it is the only two weeks of the year when I feel like I do not have a handicap.”  Powerful and profound words from a high school kid and a sad yet truthful indicator of how the world makes him and other physically challenged kids feel when he and they are not at SpringHill.  Some version of similar sentiment have been shared with us from all types of kids over the years.  When we’ve asked why they come back to SpringHill year after year they respond by telling us that they can “leave the box at home” they have been put into by their friends, school, families, etc.  The overall freedom of truly being themselves and being accepted for who they are without expectations to be someone else. 

 

Marcus illustrates one of the defining characteristics of SpringHill- to be welcoming and embracing of all young people regardless of social, racial, ethnic, faith, physical, educational or economic position.  There is no typical SpringHill kid.  Campers and the places they come from are as diverse as the world in which these young people are living in. This is not new at SpringHill for back to the very beginning in 1969, the first campers came from an orphanage.  Since that first summer SpringHill has held as a core value that we are about ALL kids and work diligently to welcome and embrace them for who they are and how God has made them. Allowing them to leave their “boxes at home” and have an experience where there is freedom to be themselves.  This reality is played out with the wide range of church’s that attend our teen retreats held in the fall, winter and spring to our special needs program that Marcus was a part of and in our Neighbor’s program that partners with local urban ministries to provide camp opportunities for kids who normally would not have one.  Although we have not arrived in the breadth of kids we want to reach, we are thankful for the privilege we have to serve all the kids, their families and churches we currently do.

 

It is important to understand where this value comes from; what feeds our desire to embrace all kids.  The answer is really quite simple and straight forward.  We believe and want to live the truth that all people are made in the image of God.  Genesis 1:27 says “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”  The key word in this verse is “image”.  We are created in His image.  What does that mean?  It means we are made in His likeness, with many of His qualities and characteristics.  In other words we were created to reflect Him.  We are to be His reflectors within His creation.  And the reflection of Him is His glory which means when we reflect Him we reflect His glory.  This is why the first commandment to Adam and Eve was to be “fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). God’s intention was for us to fill His earth, not just with people but with His reflectors, with His glory.  The earth is to be filled with His glory (Psalm 72:19) and we are the glory bearers.  This intention is at the foundation of His purposes for us as people.  We are created to reflect His glory through out the earth.

 

CS Lewis says in his book The Weight of Glory “The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor’s glory should be laid on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken.  It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare.  All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations.”

 

This is why we at SpringHill hold the value of embracing all kids.  Regardless of where they come from, they all are created in the image of God for the purpose of filling the earth with His glory.  This requires, as Lewis says, “humility”.  Not only are we called to embrace these young people but we are called to help them fulfill their created purpose of reflecting God’s glory.  This happens as one comes to know and then grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ and the reality of Him living in and through them. 

 

As we have just completed the first month of a new year, let us each remember the bigger purpose young people have in God’s creation and how God is using us to help all of them fulfill this purpose of reflecting God’s glory now and into eternity.  By the way, one final note about my friend Marcus.  The last two summers, he moved on from TST, and has served on our Indiana summer staff team.  He has moved from being “helped” to reflect God’s glory to helping others to reach that ultimate destination as well.  Let us take Marcus’ example to heart and continue to enable all our campers to not only become glory reflectors but to help them lead others to do and be the same.

The Power of a mission within the Mission: November 11, 2008

I was reading the other day in Acts 13.  Paul is on his first “missionary journey” and he is in Pisidian Antioch speaking to the people of that city.  He quotes Isaiah 49:6 “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth”.  As I read this and then turned back to Isaiah to read the whole text I could not help but be moved by the clarity Paul had on  the God’s call on his life and how that fit into the mission of the Church- “making disciples of all nations”.  The mission of Christ’s Church is to expand His Kingdom on earth by making disciples.  This is a very broad mission.  Within the Church and this broad mission God has called individuals and ministries, who are a part of the Church, to more specific missions.  Each is a part of the whole.  This was Paul’s case, he was called to reach the Gentiles, Peter and many of the apostles were called to the Jewish people.  It is apparent that Paul understood that he was a part of a bigger whole, that his narrower mission was not the grandest mission but a “mission within the Mission.”

 

Paul had this firm conviction of both the broader mission and his own mission- even in the midst of difficulty and hardship.  He never backed off from either.  Where did this conviction come from?  Paul says it came from Christ, that it was really Christ’s mission given to Paul.  This reality that “his mission” really wasn’t “his mission” but that he was a steward of a mission given to him created in Paul this conviction.  This conviction led to tenacity in his ministry which, for me, is inspiring.  So when he was threatened with death, arrested or even opposed by those within the Church Paul could always turn to this calling, a calling that was both within the broader mission of the Church and given to him by Christ. Paul even went so far as to see times of challenges as being used to advance both the broader mission of Christ and his part of it.  This should not be surprising because Paul believed, since it was Christ’s mission, that ultimately Christ would assure its fulfillment.  This provides great freedom from fear and energy to move forward.

 

When I played high school football I was a defensive end.  No doubt the smallest defense end in our league (145 lbs).  Our team had as its mission to win our conference and possibly go the state playoffs (only 16 teams total went in those days and was based on computer rankings so the playoffs was difficult to reach).  We all understood this and were very clear that this was our mission.  As a defensive end I had a primary mission, within this broad mission of the team, to assure that I “contained the end”.  In other words make sure no one with the ball got around me because most of the time if they did there was no one behind me to stop them from running for a touchdown.  Too many touchdowns by the other team got in the way of our team’s mission.  I could play this position undersized because I understood clearly my mission and the coach’s knew I would do anything I could to fulfill it.  I was challenged often, usually from pulling guards or fullbacks who out weighed me by many pounds, to hold my position and fulfill my mission.  Because I knew the broader team mission and I understood my personal mission given to me by coaches I stood my ground, sometimes at great cost to my body.  By giving me this mission the coaches communicated to me their belief that I could do this job successfully.  This gave me the courage and tenacity to do all I could to fulfill my mission, even when those pulling guards where barrowing down on me, and by doing so helping our team fulfill its mission- winning championships.

 

There is just something sustaining and inspiring when you know you have been personally invited to be a part of something bigger than yourself.  This is what Paul experienced.  This is what I experienced playing high school football. This is what we need to continue to experience at SpringHill.  We have to continue to understand and remember the broader mission of Christ’s Church (making disciples of all nations) and that God has given us a specific part of that mission “to create life-impacting experiences that enable young people to know and grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ.”  There is no doubt that we have been given this mission, that this is the reason for which God created and has sustain SpringHill for nearly 40 years.  As we work our way through these challenging times (taking on those big bad pulling guards) lets always remember this God given, God called mission that we have.  It’s His and for that reason alone He will sustain us.  And like Paul, I believe that He will not only sustain us but will use these challenges to make us better prepared to carry out the mission He has for SpringHill for decades to come.

Watching Part 2 October 4, 2008

A few weeks ago I wrote about the need/opportunity to practice the discipline of “watching” for God’s work in and amongst us.  As I have been working at watching myself I find myself wanting to see.  We watch so we can see God’s work.  This implies we have the ability to see, that our eyes are open enough to see what God is doing.  If we are spiritually blind, no matter how much we watch we will not see.  We need eyes to see. 

 

I am always amazed when I walk the woods with someone who is experienced in the outdoors.  Everyone is watching as we walk, but it is the most experienced people in the woods who actually see things that many of us miss.  It may be a bird, a dropping on the trail, a sign of an animal’s presence, or seeing animals that the rest of us miss.  It’s the practice of watching and looking in this world that provides the sight necessary to see these unseen things.  The question is in the spiritual life what gives us the sight like those who can see things in the woods the rest of us miss?

 

What is it that opens our eyes spiritually so we can see God at work?  As I pondered this question I read through the book of Matthew and came across a couple of sayings of Christ that seem to provide the answer, but not in an obvious way.  These two sayings of Christ are found in Matthew 17:14-21 and 21:18-22.  Both sayings deal with faith and the consequences of lack of faith.  They, at least for me with my theological bent, are very challenging verses.   They are challenging because Jesus seems to imply, depending on how you read them, that God’s miraculous work is dependant our faith.  If we do not have enough faith God can’t wither a fig tree or throw a mountain into the sea.  Troubling for me is that God would be dependant on my faith (I’m afraid He could not accomplish much with my faith).  The good news is God doesn’t need me or my faith to throw mountains into the sea.  So what is Christ saying (at least in part- I’ll leave room for the possibility of our participation in mountains jumping into the sea) about faith?  I believe He is saying that faith is required for us to see what God is doing.  How many mountains jump into the sea and we do not see it as God’s work?  Faith is what is required to see and seeing is the goal of watching.

 

To watch, we need to see, to see we need faith.  The greater our faith the more we will see of God’s work in and amongst us.  This is a much more comforting thought to me then the responsibility to have enough faith for God to work.  God is not dependent on me but I am dependent on Him for my sight so while I watch I can see Him at work.  And when I see Him at work I can praise Him and give Him the glory before men.  I can then testify to the reality of happenings of the world before the world.  This is why the Hebrews writer says in 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please God.”  What pleases God?  Our praises, our worship, our adoration for Him.  This happens best when we watch and see through faith His work in and among us.  

 

So how do we have this faith so we can see?  First acknowledge the source of faith- it is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8).  Secondly as a gift we should ask Christ for it as the disciples did in Luke 17:5 when Christ once again was challenging them to greater faith.  They cried out “Increase our faith”.  Finally at the foundation of faith is trust, we need to step out when we can not see trusting we will have sight as we need it?  Faith is an action word, a verb, something we do.  And in this context we need to watch, which I wrote about in part 1 is also a verb, trusting we will see, having faith that God can and does throw mountains into the sea, we just need the faith to see Him doing it as we watch.

 

As we spoken and written about we are in challenging times, times when I have this strong sense that we will see God do surprising work in and among us.  One of those surprising works I now believe will be the growth in our faith as a ministry and as individuals as we diligently watch through faith to see His transforming work in our lives and in our work.  And if our ultimate purpose is to please Him, we want our faith to increase so we can.

 

Finally, I hope you are beginning to see God’s hand at work in SpringHill.  I have, sometimes when pointed out by someone who has better sight then me on the trail.  And every time I have been able to see, I have praised God and been encouraged in heart to know He is doing what he is doing.  Let’s keep watching, lets pray for faith that we can see and please Him.

Watching vs. Waiting for God

Over the last few weeks I have been mentioning to folks that I have this sense that God is going to do something surprising in our midst at SpringHill.  I have also said that I normally do not talk in this kind of language because God does not normally speak directly to me in an audible voice.  He hasn’t this time but I believe God, through His Spirit has given me a sense of expectancy.  This sense of expectancy has led me to explore the difference between watching and waiting.

 

Let’s begin with waiting.  We often use the phrase “waiting on the Lord”.  Normally we mean by this that we have asked God for something and waiting for an answer.  We pray and we wait.  This is a very normal and Biblical posture and spiritual discipline.  To be waiting we are looking for guidance, deliverance, some kind of answer from the Lord.  In most cases we have an idea what it is we are waiting and hoping for since we have made the request.  Waiting, although a verb is a very inactive verb.  When I wait for the bus, I am at a specific spot at a specific time just, well, waiting- for the bus.  A good example of waiting is found in Acts 1:4 when Jesus commanded the disciples to “wait for the gift my Father has promised…”  The disciples knew what they were waiting for; they also knew where to wait for it.  Waiting is an important spiritual discipline to be applied in the right situations.  As part of your life and in our ministry we should always be seeking God and waiting for Him.  Waiting develops patience, dependence and faith in Him.

 

Now let’s contrast waiting with another Biblical posture and spiritual discipline- “watching”.  Watching is also a verb, but it moves down the action scale.  It’s not as active as some verbs but more so than waiting.  Watching is looking without knowing what we will see or find.  This is a key difference between waiting and watching.  It’s more active because it’s what we do as we carry on with life.  We don’t stop and watch, we are watching as we carry on our work.  I enjoy walking and hiking, one of the reasons is that I can watch and see what there is to be seen.  When my son Mitch and I spent 5 days on Isle Royale backpacking one of the things that got me through the long hikes with 50 pounds on my back was the expectation I would see something remarkable- a moose, an eagle, fox or other part of God’s creation.  I had to walk, but the walking was better when I was also watching.  If we were waiting for a moose we would have sat in one spot, but we were on a mission and it required walking which gave us an opportunity to watch.  In Mark 14:38 when Jesus was praying in the garden, the disciples fell asleep.  Jesus woke them when he came back to them and commanded them to “watch and pray”, not wait and pray but to watch.  You might be able to sleep while waiting but you can’t sleep and watch and you certainly can not pray while sleeping.  Watching is what we do when we don’t know what to expect but we expect something.  It’s where we are surprised by God.

 

As I have mentioned over the last few weeks that I sense that God will surprise us in a big way some folks have said it may not be just one big thing but many smaller ones.  I agree with this which means it’s more important we practice watching.  We are in a season where we have the opportunity to see God work in surprising ways, but waiting we may not see them.  Watching as we go about our work we will no doubt see the hand of God move SpringHill in ways we could never imagine.  God is and will move in this ministry, the question really is will we be watching so we can see His work and by seeing His work we will be able to praise His him and give glory to His name?

 

Michael

Either/Or verses Both/And

“For it is by faith you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  Ephesians 2:8-10

 

“..continue to work your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”  Philippians 2:12

 

            Sometimes in life we want things to be “either/or”.  We want life to be good or bad, fun or serious, either this way or that way.  Our human nature likes things clean, in “black and white”.  Yet many times life, nor the Lord, allows this nice clean division.  Things are not always black and white but grey.  Take the verses above, God say clearly we are not saved by works, yet we are to continue to “work out our salvation” and that we are created “to do good works” yet it is “God who works in you”.  Clearly God didn’t make it nice and clean, salvation is not an “either/or” proposition but a “both/and” as it comes to the relationship between faith and works. This dichotomy is played out all through the entire Scripture.    

The more I have reflected on this truth the more I have had to settle with the reality that God did not intend for our lives to be filled with “either/or’s” but with “both/ands”.  Now before you think I am going too far, I do believe there are clear “either/or” statements and propositions in Scripture.  There are some things that God intended to be “black and white”.  But there are not as many of these in Scripture as we would like or believe there to be.  Take for example, we, not Scripture, have tended to create an “either/or” on the topics of discipleship verses evangelism.  We make it either one or the other.  But Scripture does no such thing, it is always a “both/and” when it comes to evangelism/discipleship.  It maybe easier for us to think in these terms but this is not how God intended it to be. 

So the question we may ask is “why does God not make these things clearer and cleaner?”  There are probably many answers for why God is not more “black and white” and “either/or” but the one answer that concerns us is that God wants us to grow in our faith in Him.  Faith is trusting God when we don’t see or understand everything.  Hebrews 11:1 says “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”  God provides the pesky “both/ands” so that we have to have faith in Him, to trust that He is Master over all.  And why is faith so important?  Because verse 6 says “And without faith it is impossible to please God”,  If we want to please God, we need ever increasing faith, to have ever increasing faith we need more and more “both/ands” in our lives and less “either/or’s”.  We need the mystery and paradox’s that “both/ands” tend to give us. 

Today we sit having just completed an incredible summer camping season.  In many ways this summer was one of our best ever.  We had a safe summer compared to other summers, a higher camper retention rate, and great summer staff and most importantly we had the privilege to see God moved through His Spirit in the lives of campers, staff and ourselves.  We fulfilled our mission faithfully and for this each one of us need to be congratulated and God praised.  Yet there is that pesky “both/and” again.  We didn’t have the number of campers we had planned on so this has created extra work and stress as we move into the fall.  I have thought to myself many times, why couldn’t it be all good, why does this summer have to be good and bad?  And I end up back to God’s penchant for “both/ands” and His desire to grow us in our faith.  We need the good and bad, the easy and hard, because God is not done with us as people and as a ministry yet.   There is more faith to grow into, more trust to learn to have in Him (and each other) and more pleasing Him He has planned for us in the days ahead.

So be encouraged that where we are is not where God intends us to stay.  Be encouraged that we had as much good as we have had this year and this summer.  Be encouraged that God has granted you a place in His Kingdom work while at the same time He continues to do His Kingdom work in you.  Let’s not shy away from “both/ands” but embrace them so that we can become all that God created and intended us to be and please Him forever.

The Power of Relationships Acts 2:42-47

I’m convinced God designed the work of building His Kingdom on earth to require serious relationships among His people.  When we say in our core values that “we do our work in the context of personal, loving and caring relationships” we are not listing an optional value, we are stating the way God intended it to be.  Even more so, it is the only way in the end, that His Kingdom will be built.  We see this so clearly at the end of Acts 2 when Luke summarizes how things are going for the church in its earliest stages-

 

“42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

 

Notice the result of the relationships the “believers” had with each other in verse 47- “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”  The question is what defined their relationships together that God used for daily fruitfulness for His Kingdom? 

 

First is they devoted themselves to the “Apostles teaching”- to the Word of God.   They submitted together to the truth of Christ as taught by the Apostles.  We need to always, as a ministry, be devoted to His Word.  We can do this as individuals by daily reading His Word.  As a team we can share God’s Word with each other when we are together in meetings or talking on the sidewalk (you know those things we called “teachable moments”?). Reading and sharing God’s Word can and should be done by anyone of us not just selected people.  Nor does it need to be a formal program but instead can be a Spirit directed, spontaneous activity, something that comes natural to our daily work.

 

The second activity that defined their relationships was “fellowship”.  The believers continued to meet together for food and prayer in each others homes, sharing all that they had with each other.  The principle in these verses is that being together was of the highest importance, so much so that it included providing for each other.  There is a strong sense of commitment to one another.  When our work is the craziest (like summer) this is one activity we can easily put aside, yet if God uses our fellowship to “add to His number daily those who are being saved” can we afford to put it aside?  We can certainly have meals together in the dining halls and take time in team meetings to check in and pray for each other on a personal basis.  Taking time for “fellowship” is not optional for our work together.

 

Christ and His Word provide the mission, fellowship and the relationships provide the context for carrying out the mission.  We have continued to take steps forward in our growth as a ministry through our growth in our relationships with each other.  I’m convinced that Christ centered relationships as modeled by the early church is necessary for us to accomplish all the work God has laid before us.  Let us never stop our devotion to His Word and to meeting together for prayer and to sharing our lives with each other so that God can use it to “add to His number daily those who are being saved”.

 

Thanks for all the good work this summer.  We are seeing the fruit of “adding to their number daily those who are being saved”.  God continues to use us, as SpringHill, to reach young people in powerful ways.  My prayer is you will have an opportunity to see it first hand before the summer is out.  

 

Growing Strong in the Midst of Floods, Wind and Rain. James 1:2-4

No doubt God lets us know that we will “face trials of many kinds” (1:2) in our lives and in our work.  Some trials are self inflicted (just read the Psalms for the trials that come from unfaithfulness) and some are literally an act of nature, or better said the result of living in a fallen, broken and bent world.  Either way we can’t escape them, but instead once they have happened we need to embrace them so that we can grow stronger in our faith.  This is what James is saying in the verses 3-4 “because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance (who didn’t need this quality over the last couple of weeks).  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything”.  This is should be our goal as individuals and is our goal for SpringHill- to each day be more “mature and complete”.

 

The temptation, one we faced in the last two weeks, is to not become more “mature and complete” but instead to be “blown down” or “washed away” by the trials themselves.  The temptation is to add to the trials and their natural consequences strife, division, lack of unity, tearing down of each other, blaming, accusing, becoming victims, giving up and quitting.  In other words letting these trials take us backwards instead of towards “maturity and completion”.

 

Instead when we find ourselves in a midst of an unwanted trial, say flood waters all around or 100’s of trees strewn everywhere, we know that there is an opportunity to become more “mature and complete” as individuals and as a ministry.  I believe this is what has happened over the past couple of weeks.  We as a team took steps forward, we focused on the trials before us and pulled together and address them.  The result was not just becoming more “mature and complete” but that maturity and further completion led to fruitfulness in our ministry.  God used it to create better ministry where nearly 2000 young people in the last 2 weeks had the opportunity to hear, see and experience Jesus Christ in a life transforming way.  That is the result of perseverance, further maturity and completeness, of growing strong instead of being torn down or drowned.

 

There has never been a time when I have been more proud to be a part of SpringHill than these last weeks.  When I say SpringHill I mean all of you, you are what makes SpringHill, SpringHill.  I consider it one of the great privileges in my life to serve with you in advancing this our mission.

 

The Word and being Busy

 

Summer camp is upon us if you haven’t heard.  Campers are coming; staff have arrived and are being readied for their work.  There is more to do in a day than we have time to do it.  What gets cut out?  What gets put to the side?  Is it exercise, sleep, eating, time with family and friends, our time with the Lord?  I can’t give you the right answer on all these fronts but let me give you the one thing I believe we can’t let go of because it will help you with the rest.  That is time in the Scriptures (don’t quit readying this yet- believe me I’m trying to help not add to your to do list).

 

Here’s why spending time in Scripture is important. First, God’s Word is, as the Hebrew writer says in chapter 4, verse 12 “living and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and the attitudes of the heart.”  When we are busy, near the edge of being out of control we are highly vulnerable of either not doing what we should, or doing what we shouldn’t- both in word and deed.  The Word of God will convict us, if we even spend a few moments a day reading, reflecting and praying about our lives in the context of what it says.  In other words, God’s Word can keep us out of trouble by convicting us when we maybe sliding.

 

Secondly, because the Word nourishes our soul.  David wrote in Psalm 1:2-3 “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.  He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not whither, even when summer camp is on your door step.”   Doesn’t this sound like what we all desire for our summer, to be nourished, to grow, and ultimately to be fruitful for His Kingdom.  Who can accomplish this kind of life?  One who mediates on His Word day and night, morning and evening. Do we really not have time to do this when the promise is so great?   What we need is not more time but more nourishment.

 

So if I have convinced you this is worthy thing to keep on your daily to do list let me make a simple suggestion on how to proceed.  In the morning, take 15 minutes before you come to work and read a chapter of Scripture and be silent before God asking Him to speak to you thru the text.  Write a few notes of what comes to your heart and mind (it needs to be consistent with His Word). Don’t make it complicated, no more than 15 minutes, 10 reading, 5 being quiet.  Second thing you do is when you crawl into bed or the last thing you do before you do get into bed read a short devotion, such as Oswald Chambers or any other devotion that has Scripture at its center.  Mediate on those words for a couple of minutes.  If you don’t have a good devotional (you haven’t had your birthday yet) let me know and I will provide you an early birthday present. 

 

Do these two things, chapter of Scripture in the morning and devotional before bed and you will be nourished, grow, be fruitful and stay out of trouble this entire summer.  Now doesn’t that sound like a great summer?