I spent last week at Falls Creek Church Camp in Oklahoma. I went with the Cowboy Church of Athens youth group. The youth pastor (Scot Bonner) of the church is good friend of mine, and he was also my youth pastor during my senior year of high school. Over the last seven years of my life this guy has spoken truth into my life during the good and bad times. He has also given me a friendship that has weather immature moments, jokes that have gone too far, and me not being able to properly back up even the smallest of trailers with a truck. So, when he asked me if I would go to camp with him as a sponsor to help him carry the teaching load and wrestle a group of 21 kids I couldn't say no.During my senior year I attended Falls Creek as a student. I went to that camp as a lost kid that knew all the right answers, but never had an actual confrontation with Jesus. I left that camp as a son of the living God with the salvation of Jesus Christ poured into my heart. So, I was excited about the opportunity to go back to the physical place where Jesus reached down into my mess of a life and saved me.
From the moment that those kids started arriving at the church to head off for camp, I knew I had gotten myself into some trouble. I watched the group as they unloaded their bags from their parents cars, hug their parents good-bye, and then load their bags into the camp trailer. Some where nervous, while others looked like they didn't care about anything was about to happen at a stupid church camp. This was a group of individuals that had never cared about how their actions effected the group as a whole. All of the kids piled into the different vehicles. I drove a truck with four of the upper class boys... that wasn't the best idea Scot ever had.
The entire trip up to Oklahoma was filled with fart jokes, good music, us guys getting to know each other, and the boys taking off their shirts while dancing as we zoomed passed the car that had most of the girls in the group... like I said it wasn't the brightest of Scot's ideas. We had a great time driving slightly faster than the other cars in group, getting lost, the boys play fighting in the back.
We made it to the camp, and camp life immediately started. The dorm was filled with uncomfortable bunk beds, a faint smell of urine, and showers that trickled water instead of actually spraying water. But, from the beginning camp was good to the group. There where more laughter than tears (for the most part). It was like pulling teeth to get some of the guys go to sleep when the lights turned off, and it took literally pulling some of the guys out of bed in the morning.
Every morning I woke up earlier than the guys, and sat in silence as the sun made it's appearance from behind the mountain. The crisp morning air reminded me that the Lord moves in our lives and refreshes the tired soul of those who take the time to stay still long enough. As I would be preparing for the morning bible study, some of the guys would wake up and sit on the porch as they prepared themselves for a morning run. During those morning hours i was able to get to know the hearts of a couple of the guys. As I am thinking back to those morning conversations, I can recognize how men along the way had done the same thing for me in my life. It is a humbling experience when you recognize how the Lord is allowing you to be a part of the kingdom work He is accomplishing.
As the week progressed the kids became more of a group than individuals forced to stay in the same dorm. Scot and I watched as the older girls started spending more and more of their free time with the junior-high girls. You could see a spark in the eyes of the younger girls as they sat at the same dinner table as the older girls. There where those kids that always sat slightly at a distance from the group. I'm not sure if they couldn't trust the other kids because they had been hurt in the past, or if they just enjoyed the solitude...either way, I hope they know that the love of our Heavenly Father is bigger than any bully they might face and it runs deeper than any pain we feel in our lives.
By the end of the week there where three kids that gave their lives to the Lord, at least three that rededicated themselves to the Lord, and two of the girls surrendered to the ministry. There was over 200 kids in the entire camp the entered into the family of the Lord. It was a beautiful thing to watch. While I wrestled with my own set inner turmoil, the sight of all those kids giving their lives to a loving God was soothing. I hear the Lord whispering to me: "Chad, it's okay. Remember when you walked this aisle, and I promised never to leave you? I'm still here, even if you struggle with ways people come to me." Here is a truth about me: I am a jaded guy, that still has a hard time trusting Jesus with a childlike faith. And sitting at camp watching the Lord move and sweep across that mountain has done a number on my heart. There where mornings that I sat in the shadow that that mountain trying to find words to pray to my Lord... and none came. My thought where all over the map. My heart was pumping with a pain, because I had gotten to the place where I thought I knew what was best for the Lord. I thought I knew what style of music was best for the Lord. I thought my words would be the best for the Lord. Like a lot of people that get an ego, I forgot how the Lord knows so much more than me. He knows every strand of hair my head (or where ever else that hair is). I am thankful that the Lord is patient with us.
Driving away from camp was a good feeling. It was a good time, filled with the spirit of God and lots of fun. But, just like those students in the youth group, it was time for me to walk down from that mountain and back into the life the Lord has called me to live. The truth is, life is not meant to be lived on an emotional high. The Lord calls us to stay on a level surface when we walk with him. He doesn't want us to get to high on the emotions this world draws us to, and he doesn't want us to fall down to low when we feel burdened. He wants us to trust Him with the big and small things, while we continue to explore Him.
I love those kids for the Cowboy Church in Athens, Texas. They have taught me more more than I probably tried to teach them.
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