Guy Time

For the better part of 20 years I have been taking middle school boys camping at Indian Henry Campground on the North Clackamas River. We call it Grub Camp. A time to get away and just be guys. No girls, no showers, not really even any manners. Good times! I even did a Grub Camp Reunion a couple of years back with some guys I took some 15 years earlier. Read about that incredible weekend here.

We tell guys that they go as boys and come back men. Kind of a rite of passage if you will. We fish, we swim, we jump off high rocks and logs into the icy cold river, we sit around the fire, and for the more gullible among us, we even go on snipe hunts. This last weekend we did it again!

What a great weekend it was. We did all of the above and loved every minute of it. This year was extra special as we also had the opportunity to baptize one of our students in the icy cold river. Always exciting to see a new and changed life!

A Night To Remember

Last night was an incredible night. In Psalm 133:1 God tells us how "good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity." I believe last night was a great picture of that very thing.

Last night four youth ministries in our town came together for our second Burn. The Burn is a quarterly worship gathering of area youth groups led by the network of youth pastors I am a part of. Read about our first Burn here.

Since it is summer we spent the evening outside enjoying a great BBQ, volleyball, badminton, basketball, and frisbee. We then came together for a great time of worship led by Aaron Geist and team.

Near the end of the worship set Robbie York from Tigard Church of God, shared a bit about having a concern for those that don't know Jesus, and the need to pray for them and share our faith with them. We then got into small groups to pray for the people in our lives that don't yet have a relationship with Christ. What happened next was the highlight of the night for me.

After the small group prayer time we made a giant circle, put our arms around each other and began to pray. It was a sweet time of praying for our community; praying that God would use us to make an impact on those in our city.



It was such a great picture of the Body of Christ coming together in unity; a demonstration of the fact that we are not many churches but rather one Church. It is my prayer that through nights like this that the Church would begin to take notice of what God is doing among student ministries, and desire to enter into similar relationships with one another.

May God use the youthful enthusiasm and idealism of students, to move in the hearts of older generations, so that they too may see how good and pleasant it is to experience the Church of Christ as one Church.

Wild Waves

Summer is definitely in full swing around 180 Student Ministries. Last week we took our Middle Schoolers up to Wild Waves in Federal Way Washington, and had a great time at the park.

Here's how our day looked.



This weekend is our Middle School Guys Grub Camp.

Next week our High School ministry heads off to Mexico and the week after that our Middle School ministry heads to Student Life's Mission Camp. More to come on both of those.

Let the good times roll!

VBS By The Numbers

The week of June 30 through July 4 was one action packed week around Grace Point. The worship center was transformed into SonWorld Adventure Park and was brimming with excitement each day as 130 children filled the room eager to learn about Jesus and the choices in life that He desires to help us with.

Our days were filled with lots of exciting music, puppets, games, Bible stories, missionary talks, crafts, good food, and most importantly, relationships that were enjoyed between children and the many caring adult and student leaders; relationships that pointed to Jesus.

Choices was the theme for the week ... Choose to believe, Choose to act, Choose to forgive, Choose to obey, and Choose Jesus. How cool it was to see children eager to learn how Jesus wants to be an active part of our lives and help us with the choices we face each day.

Here is how it all shook out by the numbers...

Number of Children – 130+

Number of Leaders – 80

Money children raised for Passion 4 People – $819.58

Cookies served – 376

Cupcakes served – 160

Bottles of water consumed – 150

Gallons of juice consumed - 47.5

Hamburgers and hot dogs served at family BBQ on Friday - 230

Watermelons served at family BBQ on Friday - 6

Stitches sewn in around my eye due to water balloon attack gone bad – 5

Good, fun memories – Too many to count!

How great it was to be a part of something so great. God moved, people were blessed, and He was glorified.

Eberly for President

In this crazy election season one never knows what is going to happen next. Must say, I sure wasn't expecting this!



See more at News3Online.

Vacation

Today is my first day back in the office after a wonderful week of vacation. We spent all of last week in Sunriver soaking in the warm Central Oregon sunshine. It was a great time spent with family enjoying the beauty of God's creation.

God's principle of sabbath is so good and so important. It is amazing what a little time away will do. We feel refreshed and renewed.

Here is some of what we did...

Free Derek Webb

Derek Webb is at it again!  Much like what he did with his last release "Mockingbird", he is giving away his new release "Ringing Bell"!  It was through his experiment of giving away Mockingbird that I first discovered Derek Webb and have been a big fan ever since.

Go to noisetrade.com, and either refer three friends or pay what ever price you want, and it's yours!

VBS

This week is VBS week around Grace Point. With 130+ kids there is electricity in the air! It is so great to see so many enthusiastic kids eager to worship and learn about Jesus. As a Student Pastor it excites me to see our students so engaged! It's 180 in action and I love it! It is in my estimation, the Church at is finest; everyone coming together to impact our community for Christ.

Click on image to see enlarged pictures.

The theme of the week is choices ... Choose to believe, Choose to act, Choose to forgive, Choose to obey, and Choose Jesus. Pray with us that Christ is glorified and that many make genuine, lasting commitments to follow Him.

From Ordinary to Extraordinary

Ever feel just ordinary? Ever feel like God couldn't possibly use you for His extraordinary purposes? If so, you are not alone. The truth is, God delights in taking us in our ordinary state, to use us for extraordinary things.

I had the opportunity to preach yesterday and used Exodus 3:11-14; and 4:1-17, the story of Moses, to discover God's heart for using ordinary people to accomplish His extraordinary purposes.

I rolled this video at the beginning of my message. It does a great job recounting how God chooses people like you and me to do great things for Him.



Hear the message here or on my podcast.
Download the accompanying outline here.

Graduates

It's that time of year! The time of year that we celebrate our graduating students. Each year at this time we put together two videos. One of our graduating seniors, and one of our graduating 8th graders. In each we highlight the time they have been a part of 180 Student Ministries.

It goes without saying that the most rewarding part of student ministry is seeing the spiritual transformation that takes place in many of their lives. Of course it's also a lot of fun seeing the physical changes that take place from the time they enter our ministry in 6th grade, to the time they graduate in 12th.

Here are this year's videos.

Senior Farewell Video:


Eighth Grade Farewell Video:


What a blessing it is to be a part of each of their lives.

Transformed Lives

I love many things about God. Perhaps the greatest thing I love about God is that He is in the business of transforming lives. He loves us and accepts us just as we are, but He loves us too much to leave us that way.

Hillside Christian Church in Texas made that point very clear recently with their Cardboard Testimonies.



Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:28-29


HT to Adam for the video.

Change or Die

In his recent farewell speech, Rev. Frank Page, the outgoing president of the Southern Baptist Convention, gave a stern warning. A warning that all in the Church would be good to heed....change or die.

"If we don't start paying attention to the realities … by the year 2030, we will be proud to have 20,000 rather than 44,000 Southern Baptist churches,'' Page said.

"You've got massive numbers," he said, "maybe not a majority but massive numbers of evangelical churches out there, yes, Southern Baptists also, who are small groups of older white people holding on till they die."

I applaud Page. Read more about his address at the Tennessean.

Change is difficult, yet so important. All living, growing, organisms change. If there is no change, there is no life. Our culture is changing at a dizzying rate. If the Church does not respond in like manner, and change to meet the growing and increasing needs of our world, we are in trouble.

I am proud of my church. We at Grace Point are in the midst of some major change. Not just for the sake of change, but for the purpose of doing a better job of ministering to our culture (both within and without the church) and for the purpose of creating more mature disciples for Jesus Christ.

As we are finding, change is a slow and sometimes painful process. Do I think we will die if we don't change? Not necessarily. Will we be more effective in living out the mandate God has given us? I believe so.

Don't be afraid of change. Change is good.

Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 1 Corinthians 9:19-22. Change.