This past weekend I had the privilege of leading our 2017 Winter Retreat at Timber Bay Camp. Ok, maybe it was only mostly great as I found myself sounding like my own father barking at me when I was their age. I would do the same kind of crazy stuff these kids did and I couldn't understand what the big deal was. Yes, I stood in shock as these boys were cracking open cans of Mountain Dew just five minutes before lights out. As I near age 40 I can hardly sniff a Mountain Dew after 1:00 P.M. without it destroying my sleep. Somehow they handle the caffeine and somehow they slam their bloodstream with 70 grams of sugar within minutes of capping z's. Wow! I stand amazed, like watching Aaron Rodgers zip impossible throws to his receivers or watching some kind of magician. I was left wondering, how do they do that? I suppose every teenage boy is like a Houdini of snacking and sleeping, somehow consuming about 3000 calories just five minutes before being sound asleep.
That wasn't their only accomplishment that left me speechless. Lets talk about being left breathless at the stench we were able to produce in that room! Again, wow! Moms, you were worried about broom ball and snow tubing. If you would have caught a whiff of that room all your fears would have been dissolved. If your son can live through that, they can handle anything, let me tell you. I don't know what measurement is used to record smell, but I can assure you, if there were such a measurement we would have topped some records and almost certainly wound up on Kare 11. It's simple math, really. 13 campers in a room designed for 10 + 13x2 wet socks over two days = 52 wet and smelly socks - 7 needed showers over two nights = 14 needed showers that never happened + plethora of fruity carbonated beverages contributing to a cacophony of fruity and junk food infested belches + other ways scented air escaped the 13 bodies in an overcrowded room + the smorgasbord of snack foods that were cracked open including an assortment of Japanese goods that smelled really bads + 3 degree temps - any possibility of cracking open a window = Wow! Lets just say, I definitely looked forward to sharing a room and a bed with my wife!
In all seriousness, we had a great weekend and I wouldn't trade those memories for anything. New this year was our partnership with a fellow TCT church plant, Christ Redeemer Church in Woodbury. It was a blessing to spend the weekend with them as their leadership provided us with a wonderful worship team. All in all, there were 35 participants at camp for the life-transforming weekend. Let me share with you a few ways you can follow up and pray for continued fruit.
Our guest speaker, Darrel Dobbleman, is an evangelist and missionary. A close friend and mentor of the leadership team of CRC, Darrel essentially challenged us all in two main ways:
1. Have a Time To Meet With Jesus Regularly: Jesus says in Mark 1:17 to his future disciples: "follow me and I will make you become fishers of men."
This is a call to a person rather than a work. Jesus is calling his disciples to himself first. Before they do anything for Jesus they come to know Jesus. Evangelism is a process of becoming, which Jesus does in us when we spend time with him.
This is a huge blessing and relief. Evangelism doesn't ultimately rest upon my shoulders or the shoulders of the church. Our responsibility is to "Follow" Jesus and in that process he makes us become compassionate and evangelistic. The first step in evangelism is following Jesus and knowing him. Jesus claimed that his disciples will be his witnesses (Acts 1:8). Thus, a witness is someone who tells of something they witness and something they experience. Witnessing to unbelievers is only possible when the disciples of Christ actually witness Christ.
The students were challenged to have a regular time to meet with Jesus. Darrel urged them to not have lazy relationships, starting with Christ. What he meant was, pursuing Jesus until they have truly met with him and heard from him.
2. Becoming Compassionate is a process: This highlights what I already stated but it needs to be emphasized that growth in Christ is marked by a process of becoming more compassionate for those who do not know Jesus. Once again, Jesus is the one who makes his disciples become fishers of men, our responsibility is merely to follow him.
In addition to the spiritual work of following Christ there is the responsibility to be ready practically. This is where Darrel called us and equipped us to share our faith in a 60 second version. While Darrel presented one of many ways to do this, I would like for us to heed his call to prepare our 60 second testimony so that we can share our story and the good news of the Gospel with unbelievers when the opportunity arises.
We also were called to pray for friendships with unbelievers. Darrel led us to a statistic that suggested that 97% of Christians do not share their faith with unbelievers. Additionally, 80% of all unbelievers say they will NOT attend a church but they will listen to a personal story if they were told.
May this weekend fan the flame of compassion in these young people. Thank you for sending your son/daughter to the retreat. I trust they had a good time and this was a great investment into the kingdom of God.
All for the glory of Christ,
Pastor Kevin
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