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This past week I was with 42 students and adults from our church at World Changers in Brunswick, Georgia.  We joined with some 20 other churches to serve in the name of Christ.  I was assigned to a great crew that did a re-roof for an elderly lady named Miss Willie.  Here’s what I learned:
 

• When you work together, you can get it done.  I was on a great team with students from Sumter; Saluda, SC; Knoxville, TN; Lumberton, NC; and Chicago, IL.  Not one was a slacker.  Some had more skill than others, and some needed a few more breaks, but all worked hard.  By the end of the week, we had torn off the old shingles and tar paper, and put on a new roof.
  
• Every team needs good leadership and coaching.  Our crew chief was a young man, Trey Elam, who plays baseball for East Carolina.  He had a gracious, low-key manner.  He told what to do, gave us help when we needed it, and then set the example.  We also had a construction supervisor, Vern, who coached us on the tough points of roofing – like what to do when the roof caved in! (It wasn’t me.  Honest.)
  
• Hospitality goes a long way.  We had a great host church – Pine Haven Baptist Church in Brunswick.  We attended Sunday morning worship with them and then were treated to best of Baptist cooking.  They fed us lunch every day – and really put some thought into what sweaty roofers might like to eat.  Looking forward to lunch kept us moving.  Offering bread in the name of Jesus is a great kindness.
  
• There is value in repetition.  I started out hitting my thumb with the hammer about once every half hour.  By the end of the week, I was hitting my thumb about once a day.  I wonder if there is a lesson in that as we follow Jesus?  Repetition builds consistency.
  
• Service opens doors to talk about Jesus.  People did stop and ask what we were doing.  Our ground crew was able to explain that we there to serve because we loved Jesus.  Service buys credibility.
  
• Christianity has a future.  I read often that Christianity is declining in the United States.  It is true that church attendance has dropped.  But the students I worked with gave me great hope for the future.  They were committed to Christ and eager to serve. 
  
• It was great just be a Christian.  Let me explain:  in Sumter, I’m the pastor of ADBC.  I love my job and I love this church.  But last week, nobody really knew I was a pastor, nobody really knew about our church, and nobody really cared.  What mattered was I was there to serve in the name of Jesus.  Sometimes you have to step away from your daily environment to remember who you really are in Christ.
  

Get out of your comfort zone.  See if God can teach you anything by serving Him.

It has been an incredible two weeks.  We had a great VBS - about 23 kids indicated an interest in taking their next step toward Jesus.  Eric and his team did a great job with the kids and Nathan and Leandra did a great job with the students.  On Thursday night we had over 900 people on campus.

Then 43 students and adults left for World Changers in Brunswick, Georgia.  I went with them for my first World Changers experience. I was on roofing crew and re-aquired some basic hammering skills. 

While I was gone, our staff team performed superbly - they all did a great job covering two funerals. 

I was a little tired coming back into this Sunday - five and half hours of sleep each night for seven days will do that.  But we had a great day.  Attendance remains strong - this Summer - Let’s see what God will do in the fall!

I am still behind - I confess - but pay attention to these passages:

Luke 9:1-17 - Jesus tells his disciples that are sent out on mission  - you have power and authority.  Are you ministering with power and authority? 

Jesus also tells never to let their dependence control their reception.  In other words, as a leader, we all experience dependence - we have to have followers to support, work, and invest.  But never let the followers dictate the purpose or the message.

Colossians 4:1-9 - one of my favorite passages on prayer.  Pray for open doors for the gospel!

Eric told me that last night we had over 700 people on campus!  WOW!  That’s an all time record.  This includes some 90 or so middle schoolers and their volunteers, 170 or so adult volunteers, and 450 kids!  WOW!

Eric and his team have done a great job - and KidsBlitz tonight will be fantastic.

I attended a meeting this week with some key community leaders to resolve what seemed to be a minor issue.  You know the kind I’m talking about:  an obstacle unforeseen has come up and now must be overcome.  Everyone wanted to do the right thing.  Some legal hurdles had to be dealt with.  Let’s meet, share perspectives, make decisions, and get on to more productive parts of life.  Right?

Not so fast. 

• Though I arrived three minutes before the meeting was scheduled to begin, someone’s urgency had kicked in, and I walked into a meeting where the tension was already thick.  The lesson?  Never let urgency trump the agreed upon covenant of a starting time.
• A person with information had been selected to chair the meeting by default.  He shared his information and then threw open the discussion.  The result?  Chaos.  The lesson?  Every meeting needs a leader.
• There was much posturing on display.  Positions were being staked out.  Territory was being defended.  Muscle was being flexed.  I later joked to one participant that it was one of the few times in my life that I was reasonably sure that I had one of the smallest egos in the room.  The lesson?  If you are defensive, you cannot understand.  If you do not understand, you cannot reach agreement.
• The discussion was dominated by three people:  The assertive entrepeneur, the self-made man, and the young turk.  I admit I am accustomed to speaking up and people listening (or at least pretending to).  I would start to speak and would be over riden by the dominating personalities.  To truly be heard, I would have had to stand on the table, shout, and possibly take off my clothes.  I chose not to - the issue on the table was not one of life or death or eternal signficance.  The lesson?  Don’t tie your self worth to winning or participating in every fight.
• The end result of the meeting was what we all already knew - we needed a legal opinion to guide us to a proper procedure.  Why didn’t we have that opinion in hand before the meeting?  Because no one took charge to have the meeting before the meeting - where a clear win is defined and someone or some group strategizes about what is needed to get that win.  The lesson?  Have the meeting before the meeting, or the conversation before the conversation.  What are we really trying to accomplish here?

Bottom line - we accomplished what we needed to, but only after much bruising of spirits, force mis-applied, and relationships damaged.  It was all un-necessary.

How much better would business, marriage, friendship, and church be if we listened?  If we understood? 

Did you ever think about how much effort and time God spends listening to people (it’s called prayer)?  Did you ever think about how much effort and time God spends understanding us (Jesus coming to earth and the daily presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives)? 

Do you think we can learn anything from God?

Lot of folks at VBS - I especially know about the middle schoolers.  There were 104 middle schoolers and workers at my house last night!

Here’s what stood out:

• Kids are hungry for community.  They want to be in the circle.  So 13 were on my trampoline at one time - just sitting in a circile.
• Some kids have a hard time fitting in.  Who knows why?  They hang out on the fringes and need someone to help them be included.
• Some kids need to know an adult knows their name.  I spoke to one girl and called her name.  She gushed, “Pastor Clay, you know my name!”  It was on her name tag and I just read it.  But it mean something to her.
• To manage lots of kids, you need lots of help.  Nathan, Leandra, and Jonathan had done a great job.  There were 10 or 12 adults there to help keep an eye on things - and we needed every one of them.
• Student ministry is never just about the kids in your church.  It’s about all the kids God brings to you.

God is amazing!

First, great ongoing response to Catalyst series.  The central point - if God is working in your life, something should be changing.  If not, why?

Second, great attendance - no final numbers but over 1,000 - amazing - this is 100 to 150 people more than last year!  Plus 19 first time guests!

Third - celebrated Jock’s 40th birthday.  What a great partner in ministry and a great asset to ADBC.

Fourth - VBS started tonight.  Ton of students for Middle School.  Lots of kids moving around the building, being excited about Jesus - fantastic.

Fifth - and most important - one person in 11 came forward to profess faith!  Another man stopped me afterwards to say he too wanted to be baptized.  We have a great God!

Let me admit I behind in reading my Bible.  I have been following the Bible reading plan (www.navpress.com/Magazines/DiscipleshipJournal/BibleReadingPlans/), but because of some missed days, I am about 7 days off from where I should be.

HOWEVER, I was reading 1 Chronicles 6-9 and there were two amazing insights I couldn’t ignore.

First, as Chronicles traces out geneaologies, it makes no attempt to present perfect families.  People married outside their faith, they divorced, they lost children, and of course, they sinned.  This re-enforces my conviction that there are no perfect families!!! God gives us this revelation to remind us that all of us need His grace - the very people He chose to work through were a messed up bunch.

Second, chapter 9 tells us about the manpower and organization it took to run the Temple on a daily basis.  This was a complex place!  The temple required someone to bake holy bread, watch over the gates, keep an eye on the treasure, organize the music, and create an environment for people to worship.

Today, you hear voices telling us that organization and structure are not really what Jesus wants.  This thought is often coupled with the idea that small is more godly.  Both are WRONG! 

God calls some to be in small environment, but calls others to be in larger environments that require multiple roles, assignment of tasks, and leadership to make it all run.  One is not inherently better than the other.

I will try to catch up - but just had to get this off my chest!

My sister, Clemie Jo, and my sister-in-law, Jo came to visit this last weekend.  I was grateful they were able to make the trip, my sister’s first to Sumter.  We had a chance to show her the town and they were able to come to worship before they had to make the return trip.
 

Clemie Jo had the opportunity to meet several of my friends.  Then we had to hear what we have heard our whole lives:  “You two look just alike!”  A couple people put a twist on it:   “Now we know what Clay would like as a woman!”  Even though Clemie Jo and I are eleven years apart in age, people have always remarked about our strong resemblance.  Her children and mine could pass for siblings. 
 

What do you say to remarks like that?  There is an old Southern expression, “Blood will tell.”  It originally referred to bloodlines in horses, cattle, and dogs, but quickly was applied to humans.  My sister and I bear out the truth of that expression – our gene pool may not be wide (did I mention the intermarriage of several cousins?) but it is deep.
 

There is another pattern imprinted on us all – the pattern of Adam.  When theologians talk about original sin, they are trying to describe this human proclivity to do the wrong thing.  We see people self-destruct and wonder “why?”  Original sin.
 

Some people justify themselves by thinking, “I’m not perfect, but I’ve never done anything really bad.”  Have you ever heard about people who are good in the worst way?  Good behavior can be wrapped up in a critical, judgmental, withdrawn heart.
 

Original sin is why everyone needs grace.  When you are humble before God, admitting fault and flaw, God spreads His grace over you with a thickness that melts away sin and sadness.
 

It is the blood of Jesus that brings this grace.  His sacrifice overcomes the twisted flaws of your gene pool and mine.  If we receive His grace, everything can be changed.
 

It really comes down to this question:  whose blood will tell – yours?  Or His?