I Ain't As Used As I Young To Be

Last week Sweetie and I took a group to Youth Camp. I always said I was not going to be one of those people who could not hang with the youth in anything they did. Now I am one of those people who cannot hang with the youth in everything they do.

I prayed for three things: 1) That God would move in the lives of the kids. He did. 2) That Sweetie and i would come back sane. I did. 3) That our Rec Team would win!!! We did!!! Go Blue Crew!

If you have not been to a Student Life Camp pack up your youth and some earplugs and go. It was a great experience even if we did drive all the way to San Angelo TX to do it. (Directions to San Angelo: Drive about 3/4 the way across Texas than go on another hour.)

Thanks to those of you who prayed.

Anyway, the students and I had a good discussion. They were really impressed with the way the camp used so much multimedia to keep things going in an exciting and supercharged way. Worship times included drama, videos, praise band and speaker. They wanted to know why we could not do more of that in our worship services. I told them if they will come up with the skits we can do it. We were already looking at how to incorporate some videos on a regular basis. My fear is that anything we do will not live up to the professional standards they experienced at camp.

Someone once told me that we do camp the wrong way. We take the kids out and let them worship in a way that is very appealing to them then bring them back to the local church where things are as they were. I can see how that could be a problem but I still think everyone needs a way to worship God corporately in a way that draws them to God best.

What do you think?

Mother's Day Roundup

About the only thing you can do to get in trouble on Mother's Day is to forget it or to bad moth someone's Mamma. For someone like me who sort of "looks for trouble" this is a challenge. Like many churches we do the little Mother's Day ritual of giving away corsages to certain Moms. We usually do the oldest Mother, Mother with the most children and the Mother with the youngest child. Yesterday I told the church we were going to do things a little differently. I told them (in jest) that we were going to recognize the most Godly Mother, the Mother with the Godliest children and the Most Improved Mother, someone who was a pretty lousy Mother this time last year but has shown great improvement over the last year. We all had a great laugh and did it the old way. Forgive me for my thoughts but I really could have picked those three out of the people in attendance!

I don't understand high attendance on Mother's Day. I know some of those folks are coming to please their Mothers or because of tradition and I certainly don't mind that some of the people are lost. I guess I am not so confused about Mother's Day as I am about why believers would forsake the church so many other Sundays. Let's have a teach the Pastor day. Please explain one or both of the following Scriptures to me:

• Hebrews 10:24-25 24And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
• And/Or any portion of 1 Corinthians 12 you want to teach to me.

Both of these Scriptures have implications far beyond mere attendance. Based on your reading: how often, how consistently and why should we be at church?