I have had a couple occasions to be in Michigan this past month to preach to teenagers. Michiganders are a unique breed. For starters, they inevitably explain where they live geographically in the state by holding up a hand. At first you think they are giving you some kind of a Native American greeting, but then they use the index finger of the opposite hand to point out the spot on the uplifted hand that represents where they live in Michigan, even if you don’t want to know!

Anyway, I had the privilege to preach at a youth retreat at Camp CoBeAc for my good friend Jeff Kahl. The Lord has used Jeff to do a remarkable job face-lifting the camp both aesthetically and numerically. The spiritual atmosphere is amazing as well! Always the innovator, Jeff recently launched the Walk Right Bible Institute, an intense Biblical studies program for high school graduates.

Just this past week I was again in Michigan, this time on the campus of Grace Baptist Church and College for their annual and marvelously attended (1,100 teens) teen spectacular. The Lord met with us in a wonderful way with dozens of teenagers trusting Christ as Savior and hundreds making tremendous decisions for Him. Because of an uncooperative flight schedule, my final message was all of 15 minutes! (Don’t get your hopes up, church members! I can assure you that was an anomaly.)

Even now I am returning from Baltimore, Maryland, where I finished preaching several nights for my dear friend, Scott Tewell. Scott is the pastor of Rosedale Baptist Church, a thriving church north of Baltimore. Not only has the church experienced astounding numerical growth under Pastor Tewell’s leadership (1,400 average), but also Rosedale possesses one of the greatest spirits of a church that I have encountered. Known for his passion for the Bible and expository preaching, Pastor Tewell has lovingly led the good people of Rosedale for the past 13 years. And the future looks glowingly bright with yet another building expansion in the works!

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The last few weeks have afforded me the opportunity to be in some of the prime hubs of our fundamental movement. As always, it was my great joy and privilege to be with the good people of Lancaster Baptist Church and West Coast Baptist College. So many dear friends work in that ministry and I count it an honor to have preached there on a number of occasions. Of course, having Nathaniel there makes the visit that much more satisfying!

Exciting! That’s the way I would describe the men’s meeting at the First Baptist Church of Hammond. Bro. Schaap is such a gracious man and host, and I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to preach to the men while the women attended the Ladies Spectacular. The music was tremendous and so was the response at the invitation. I’m learning that an altar call has a whole lot less to do with the preacher than it does with the sensitivity of the congregation. I thank the Lord for a truly Spirit-filled service.

These past two days have found me at Pensacola Christian College where I had the opportunity to preach to the student body a couple of times. Obviously the facilities are overwhelmingly beautiful, but I was so pleased with the good spirit and great response among the student body. In particular, I was grateful for the incredible response to my Tuesday message on the topic of salvation. Scores flooded the aisles to trust Christ as Savior– I had the opportunity to deal with several myself. What a joy!

In the midst of these meetings, I preached for my new friend, Joel Bixler in Lenoir, NC. Bro. Joel is a graduate of Crown College who is doing an exceptional work in the Hickory area. The services were vibrant and the people possessed a genuine sweet spirit for the things of God. Bro. Bixler and I traveled on that Tuesday (a week ago) to Hickory where I preached a combined chapel service for a couple of Christian schools. Pastor Scott Hooks and Administrator Greg Weber hosted us for the meeting. The Lord blessed with several teenagers trusting Christ as Savior. PTL!

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I’m on an airplane right now looking out the window at the Rocky Mountains. Moments ago we passed over the awesome Grand Canyon. In just a couple of hours the plane will arrive in Charlotte, NC, where I’ll find my connection to return home to Pittsburgh. Although I’ve flown more times than I can count, I’m still struck by the wonder of relaxing in a comfortable seat (yippee for free upgrades) while reading, sleeping, or making blog entries.

I guess the vividness of such travel ease has been brought home to my thinking in a fresh way over these past couple of days. You see, the trip out West wasn’t quite as easy and simple as the one I’m enjoying now! My son Nathaniel is beginning his sophomore year of school at West Coast Baptist College (www.wcbc.edu) and decided that he would like to have his car on campus this year. The only problem with that reasonable desire is the fact that 2,600 miles separate our home from the college!

Undaunted by such measly details, Nathaniel and I loaded his 2000 Honda Civic and left for the West Coast at 1:00 pm Sunday afternoon just after I finished preaching the second morning service at Harvest Baptist Church. Nathaniel drove the first leg of the trip as I slept! I was still jet-lagged from my whirlwind trip to Indianapolis to preach a daylong youth event. The trip turned into a 22-hour day because of a massive flight delay in Philadelphia on my connecting flight home. But that’s another story… Remind me to tell you about the guy that was screaming at the pregnant lady in the middle!

Nathaniel and I stopped for the evening service at the Bethel Baptist Church in Greenfield, IN. A missionary spoke that evening about the need to reach Russian Jews in Israel. His main thought from his text in Isaiah 6 was that modern Christians have become lethargic due largely to their shrinking view of God. Nathaniel and I slipped in the back of the auditorium a little late and sat next to the pastor’s wife. She was very kind, as were the ushers. We didn’t meet anybody else because we blasted out of the service at the closing prayer. No time for fellowship with 2,000 miles of road yet in front of us! Read more…

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How I thank the Lord for the opportunity to influence the lives of teenagers! Summer affords a unique opportunity to reach out to teenagers through the media of camps and conferences. So many good camps and conferences exist for the purpose of challenging teens to live for the Lord and serve Him with their lives.

Our own teenagers have attended both camp and conference this summer and have made great life-changing decisions. Every bumpy mile on the bus, every mosquito-filled night in a tent or cabin, and every hard-earned dollar spent was worth it!

I’ve had my share of opportunities this summer to preach at some of these excellent camps and conferences. From Triple S to Indian Creek, Germany (yes, the country of!) to CoBeAc, California to North Carolina, the Lord has allowed me to spend some quality time with my own kids as they have traveled with me, and some vital preaching time with thousands of teens all across the USA and Europe.

I’m grateful to our dear people at Harvest for their willingness to share their pastor with others, and most thankful for my wonderful wife who foregoes summer vacation in order to allow our family to reach out to teenagers in such desperate need.

Speaking of vacation season, it seems to be winding down at Harvest Baptist. Unlike some churches, we never seem to suffer from a “summer slump,” but we do miss some of our faithful folks as they are away here and there on vacation. Fall is my favorite time of ministry, and I’m anticipating the best Fall ever this September through December. God is good all the time!

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What a delight it was for me to spend time the first week of June with the Bishop family at the Triple S Ranch in Rosebud, Arkansas. If that sounds like a remote location to you, it is! In the beautiful mountains of Arkansas about 60 miles north of Little Rock you’ll find the amazing camping ministry called Triple S Christian Ranch (www.Godissogood.net).

For many years, Bro. John Bishop and his family have hosted literally thousands of young people from all across the country. The facilities are top shelf and the program reflects a priority on the preaching of the Word of God.

During recent years, Bro. John Bishop’s youngest son, Luke, has assumed much of the directorship of the camp. Although Luke is still in his mid 20’s, his approach to youth ministry betrays a maturity and discernment well beyond his years. I’ve enjoyed getting to know him and believe that God will continue to use the camp in a tremendous way over the years. Of course, Bro. John’s testimony is now legendary and simply must be explored by those not acquainted with it–see his web site for more info.

In addition to the seven times I preached, the week provided me an opportunity to prepare several new messages and to read a couple of good books. I’ll include one or two of the better ones in some book reviews I’ll post in the near future. Of course there was a good share of church work to be accomplished as well… It seems that my life is spent answering email and talking on the phone—building programs tend to exacerbate such activity! But I must admit that there are very few areas of the ministry I do not enjoy, especially spending time with people.

Along with spending time with the Bishops, I saw my good friends, Jacob Thomas and Jeremy Kobernat, who were leading college tour groups (West Coast and Golden State respectively). And it was a special joy to see Reno and David Likens who attended the Thursday evening service and stayed around for some fellowship (i.e., eating lots of junk food at the canteen).    

I’m convinced that teen camp is the best modern medium by which to reach teenagers! We had a great week at Triple S and appreciate all of the prayers you sent our way. 

 

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