13. January 2010 by admin.

Here we go again!  The year 2010 has begun and if things continue, who knows where we will be.  Look around, the congress is in an uproar, the world seems to have gone crazy, and the only constant we have is that God is still and totally in control.

I have read some things and listened to some things that are pointing me toward finding better ways to tell the Gospel story to anyone who will listen.  I may have said this before, but about 88% of the young people who go off to college leave the church and many never return.  This disturbing number made me sit up and take notice.  When I see kids come to camp and grow in Christ then see what happens as soon as they step outside the realms of their parent’s house is frustrating beyond belief.  I saw the My Space pages of several “Christian” young people, the problem was that they were totally indistinguishable from any “heathen” out there.  The words, the pictures, and the inuendo all pointed to the fact that the church today has failed beyond our worst imaginings.

New Years are about new beginnings and about fresh starts.  I want to challenge you to move your church in a direction that will help keep the youth of today interested and above all keep them as an integral part of the kingdom of God.  One of the saddest questions I have ever heard came from an older saint in a church who asked, “Why does it always have to be about the young people?”  My answer is simple, look around you and notice what is happening.  The church without committed young people is dead and simply looking for a place to fall.

So church, lets get creative in finding ways to involve the kids.  Lets get creative in ways to keep them in church when they go away to college.  I know this flies against everything you have “always done”, but look what “always done” has gotten you.  A world where your kids are leaving the church faster than they can be replaced (and they will NEVER be replaced because once they are gone, so is their eternal soul).  Lets fight to get them back and to keep the ones coming up right now.

Make 2010 the best New Year you church family ever had.

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20. November 2009 by admin.

Right now I have about ten different “plans” for everyone telling each other what they are thankful for.  My good friend sent me an idea using corn kernels.  Another is the simple idea to not feed anyone until they come up with something they are thankful for.

Gratitude is a wonderful thing and we don’t express it as often as we should.  I think about how thankful I am every morning as I get up.  If your not thankful for getting up, think about the alternative.  One man said that he was happy to be on the right side of the daisies every morning.

Guys, we don’t need gimmicks to express our thanks, we simply need to look around and just think about how bad it could be.  If a gimmick can help you realize how good your life is and how you should be thankful, then go ahead and use them. 

Gratitude also gives us the opportunity to offer help to someone who isn’t as fortunate as we are.  It can change our outlook on life and it can put what we see as an impossible situation into perspective.

Thank you for being you.

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5. November 2009 by admin.

Every day I check-out the news on TV and what I see makes me want to scream.  Not a nice little scream that may or may not get somebody’s attention.  I want to scream a primal, throat ripping scream that will make a dead man sit up and take notice.  The news is almost always bad and they talk about that for about 25% of the time, so with a 24 hour news cycle we get about 45 minutes out of every hour filled with FLUFF.

A story that is not even news is pushed for three days.  They repeat the same story every hour, all day long, unless some moron gets ito a slow-speed chase out in California.  How much time can a major network waste following 37 cops chasing some drunk who is only trying to get on TV?  Apparently, they can waste hours.  What does a two hour slow speed chase cost a news outlet?  I don’t know for sure, but you have two or three commentators, at least one helicopter, a couple of “experts”, and who knows how much it costs to broadcast an hour of TV.  Whatever it is, it is too much.

On the other hand, how much does it cost broadcast and continually rebroadcast, for weeks on end, the fact that the President of the United States will not (or maybe can not) make up his mind on sending troops to a war zone?  Yet very few people come to the obvious answer that Barrak Obama is in far over his head and is not prepared to lead the greatest nation on earth.  The cost should be that the President loses his job as soon as possible.

But I degress, the 24 hour news cycle is making people nuts and I am close.  I really don’t have an answer to my problem, other than to not watch the news.  It has gotten like a “soap opera”, watch the last day of the week and you know what has gone on all week long.  I guess I’ll watch a short time in the morning and then immerse myself in my work with the idea that I can save my sanity for a little while longer.

That is my opinion and like Phil Williams says, “You are welcome to make it your own.”

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7. October 2009 by admin.

October 4, 1969 was a magnificent day.  The sun was shining and the temperature was in the 70’s.  What made this day even better was that it was the day I married a marvelous woman.  Yes, Karen and I have been married for 40 years.  I have so many memories of those years, some not so good, but most are very good memories.

Unfortunately, I’m not perfect, so I have gotten the “silent treatment” on occasion.  I really don’t like this type of torture, so I try to not do things that elicit that response.  I must say that Karen has kept the “silent treatment” to a minimum, she is a saint. 

The jokes have been many through the years, but the favorite seems to revolve around how Karen could possibly put up with me for all those years.  I will admit that I may not be the easiest person to live with, but then again, I’m better than many others.

Karen gave me a GPS unit for our anniversary.  This is an interesting device.  It uses satellites many miles up in the sky to tell me where I am (with-in a couple of feet) and how to get to some place I don’t know how to get to.  A GPS guides me in the direction I want to go.

Now, I have to tell you that I have had two other guiding devices for many years.  They don’t use satellites, but rather they use people to help keep me on the right track.  The first is Karen.  When I get lost in self-doubt, or self-pity, or just lost from losing my mind for a short time, she is always there to move me back on the right track.  A word of advice or a smack on the back of my head gets me back on track and moving in the right direction.

The second device is God’s Word.  Whenever the world doesn’t seem right or my attitude needs adjusting the Bible has the perfect words to get me going again.  By following Jesus’ example and listening to that “still small voice”, I can pick up and begin the journey that God set me on with renewed vigor and strength.

The most amazing thing about all this is that God gave us His Word and His Son, but He also gave me Karen.

Thank you Karen for being there for me for these forty years and thank you God for being there for me for even more years.

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2. September 2009 by admin.

Do you remember the old saying, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease”?  This is a simple way to say the person who complains the loudest and longest usually gets what he wants.  I think we could add in this day and time, the one with the most money to give you also gets what he wants.

This principle seems to be the “norm” in the US Congress.  Special interests usually form much of the policy on which our Congress people and Senators vote.  What I find really exciting is that the recent Town Hall Meetings and Tea Parties have caught the attention of the congress.  This exciting because the poorest of the poor are able to get their voice heard.  The numbers that are going out to these meetings is getting the attention of Senators and Congress people that have been “safe” for many years.

This blog entry is not about politics, but rather about how a Christian or a group of Christians can make a difference in the community where we live.  My last entry was about making a big noise for the Lord and just maybe if we make a big enough noise for the Lord, we can change the way things are done in our communities.

My main thought when I wrote the last entry was to increase the number of young people coming to Camp and the number of people willing to support the Camp.  God is not just around the Camp, but He is all over our world.  When we make a big noise for the Lord He will work in many amazing ways we may never think about.

Don’t be afraid to stand up for what you believe.  The Bible tells us that people will know who we are by the fruit we produce.  So, lets start producing fruit for God’s Kingdom and just see what we can accomplish through our faith in God.

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21. July 2009 by admin.

 Have you ever been challenged?  Have you read a book that set you on fire?  When was the last time you accepted a challenge to make a change in your life or to help make a change in someone else’s life? 

I have heard some fine sermons that challenged the listeners to do something, to do anything.  Yet as the church empties out I’ve not heard many people say “That sermon lit a fire under me and I’m ready to do something great for God’s Kingdom.”  My friend Terry Strickler had a moment like that at The Northmen.  The preacher challenged the men to “stand in the gap” and become a man for God.  Terry immediately went to the preacher and told him how the sermon touched him and that he thought he was that man that God was calling.  Soon afterward, Terry signed up to go to Bible College and became a preacher.

I am going to challenge myself and anyone else that is touched by the ministry of Faith Christian Camp to start working right now to get 72 campers to the Camp each week next summer.  Seventy Two is the total number of beds we have available for campers and twelve beds for counselors.  If you accept this challenge then several good things will happen.  First, many more young people will hear the Godd News of Jesus.  Second, more campers will strengthen the Camp’s financial situation and allow us to continue improving the Camp facilities.  Third, and the most important, is that God will be glorified in our efforts.  Maybe you can think of some other blessings that will come from having the Camp full every week.

This challenge will require a lot of prayer.  It will require a lot of work.  It will require a lot of people to step out of their comfort zones to teach and work with kids and maybe take a week of vacation and come to Camp. 

This challenge will be opposed by Satan and will probably not come easily, but we have a much greater resource on our side than Satan has on his side.  When we pray and offer ourselves as a sacrifice to God He will bless us and our efforts (see 2 Chronicles 7:14). 

This challenge requires us to begin immediately with prayer.  Praying for campers. Praying for faculty members.  Praying for financial aid to help pay for food and facility upgrades, etc. 

Faith Christian Camp has been around for over forty years and has maintained a quiet, low profile existence that has kept us very small.  I don’t think we have been ineffective, but with the opportunity for more campers, we could have been much better than we have been.

I think it is time to make a big noise for the Lord.  The Isrealites made a big noise and the walls of Jericho came down.  The Apostles made a big noise and the world was changed for the Lord.  If we make a big noise for the Lord, the Cumberland Valley will not know what hit it.  Faith Christian Camp will become even more of what God intended for us to be.  Won’t you be part of the Big Noise for the Lord?

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8. July 2009 by admin.

“I spent a year there one day” is a phrase I heard several times while in Viet Nam to describe a particularly long, ardous and often dangerous day.  In fact, I said it once or twice myself.

I don’t have days like that much any more because I don’t have to fly around people trying to shoot me out of the sky.  I don’t have those days much any more because I get to spend my time around people who love God and even like me.  I get to spend my time around kids who are eager to learn about God and His program for their life.  I even get to reach out and touch a life now and then.  The more I do this job of Camp Manager, the more I realize that the slogan I use is more and more appropriate, “Christian Camping Changes Lives.”

Every day I watch this boy or that girl and I see them change right before my eyes.  Did you ever watch a child grow up in almost no time?  That is a phenomenon that happens many times each camping season.  Parents have commented how different their child is after a week of camp.  Friends from church see Christian growth and maturity.  One day a parent said, “Who is this child and what have you done with mine?”  God causes that kind of change in people.

Camp is not the only way to make a change.  If your days seem like years and it feels like the whole world is hanging around your neck, give yourself over to service to someone else.  Christian service, whether to Faith Christian Camp, your local church or to a neighbor makes a world of difference in your life.  When everything we say and everything we do is all about us, we are not producing the fruit that God intended.  God doesn’t want self-centered individuals, He wants “good Samaritans” or mighty men like those who served King David.  He wants us to lose ourselves in Jesus and become like Jesus.  When that happens we will serve others and be able to say, “I spent a day there one year.”

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1. July 2009 by admin.

The one constant at Faith Christian Camp through all the weeks of Camp every year is the food.  People have a preconceived notion about camp food and they are often right, but that does not apply to FCC.  Camp food has a reputation of being almost like hospital food or worse.  Not at FCC.

We enjoy some of the best food you can find anywhere.  It is always cooked to perfection and the portions are what you want, not what someone decides is best for you.  FCC food tastes the way many restaurants want their food to taste and it is healthy. 

I just finished supper and even had an extra dessert, so I am feeling very good.  We had chicken tenders, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn and a roll with cake for dessert. 

Several things come together to make FCC food so good.  We buy good food from a reputable dealer that delivers most of it to the Camp.  We usually have two or three cooks who have many years of experience cooking and we serve our food hot and ready to eat.  When I first came to FCC, the Board of Directors told me that they wanted good food served and that no one should go away hungry, so I have tried to keep that tradition going.

Through the years Faith Christian Camp has built a reputation of serving good, healthy meals and plenty of it.  Right now, Karen Burkholder is the head cook.  She is responsible for ordering and making sure the food is cooked and served properly.  Karen is backed-up by Margaret Morris, who has been here for several years and is a great cook in her own right.  Also, Juanita Nolan and Amber Romines have helped this summer.

The cooks of Faith Christian Camp work very hard and are greatly appreciated for their efforts.  Food is always at the top of the list for coming to Camp and I know why.  There is never a diet going on at Camp.

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25. June 2009 by admin.

I am so excited, Karen leaves tomorrow morning to pick up two of our grandsons.  Robbie and Nick will stay with us for about a month.  Both will attend a week of camp and I will try to carve out some time to go fishing or something with them.

This is Junior High week at FCC and what a week we are having.  One young lady was baptized yesterday and she was the first to be baptized in the pond.  That one event alone is sufficient reason to have a pond.  Lucian Estridge has the kids doing great things and moving toward a solid relationship with God.

This is a short post because I have several people wanting things and I am the one who knows where everything is.

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23. June 2009 by admin.

This is Junior High week at FCC and boy do we have a diverse group.  Junior Highers range in age from 5 to 30, or at least it seems that way at times.  Anyone who has eve worked with this age group knows that the level of maturity is wide ranging.

We have some campers who make pretty sound decisions and appear to be a little older than they really are, but we also have some of the greatest “drama queens” (male and female) that have ever come down the parkway.  I believe that most of the maturity level we see is a direct result of the parenting they receive.

Now before you send me an e-mail or come out here with a weaposomething, I want to tell you that I meant no insult.  I believe that a parent should be a parent and I don’t know the parents of most of the kids that come to camp well enough to accuse them of anything.  I’m just saying that kids are usually a product of their environment.

Many years ago I figured out that racism, hatred, and many of the other ills that plague our society are all learned behaviors.  Did you ever watch a bunch of kids of varied ethnic backgrounds play?  They have a ball until an adult comes along and sticks their “two cents worth” in.  Kids don’t see color as a problem until they are taught that it could be.  Kids don’t hate until they are taught that they should probably hate someone for some obscure reason.  I’ll get off my “soapbox” now and continue with my thoughts.

I got off track for a minute here.  I’m simply saying that Junior High Week is one of the best weeks we have because there is such a varied level of maturity.  I have watched this age group come to conclusions that some older people have not made yet.  Then about two minutes later make a decision that is so far off base that you wonder where it came from.  Karen and I worked with Junior High age at Lake James Christian Assembly in Indiana for several years and I will cherish the memories of those days, as I will cherish the memories of many weeks of camp.

Please forgive my rant earlier, but sometimes those things just come out.  Just know that these kids are precious to me and are loved by God.  Remember that “while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us.”  That may be the most important lesson we can teach these young people as they come through the camp program.

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