First, thanks to all of those who bit their tongue & kept the last post calm & collected, I hope it was helpful to some of you. Now, to the overdue update. (Short version: Lauren & I are headed to Lewisburg, TENNESSEE Aug 16-22nd, ca. 60 miles south of Nashville. I'll be leading the Berea congregation in a study through Colossians.)
The first week of July Lauren & I were blessed with the opportunity to do Kamp Kennessee (KK). If you ever attended an FC Camp & have never been able to be a counselor, you are missing the best part of FC Camps. As campers, most kids think there is no better week, as Ralph Walker wrote in the preface to this years Camp Songbook. However, former campers who become counselors will quickly tell you there is nothing better than a week of being with these kids.
Saturday night started with just the staff getting to know one another & making sure everyone knew what was going on. It was a blast, the staff at KK is so laid back & fun to hang with. We quickly felt like part of the group. The director, Shawn Bain (dad to Bill & Emily Bain), made me feel particularly special by reading a letter I wrote to them a long time ago. The gist: Many people, like myself, may not show improvement (spiritually) at camps, but b/c they go to FC they mature there. So Dear Staff, thank you for helping me get to FC where I did mature even though I didn't mature in your presence. It was neat, i never thought he would have hung on to that letter so long.
Sunday Lauren & I worshipped with staff at a congregation in Dixon that was a really nice group. Mr. Bain was nice enough to recommend me to them for the bible class & it was one of my favorite adult classes I have ever taught. (Special thanks to the 'buzzer guy' who waited till I was done to ring the bell!) Then Lauren & I got lost in Dixon trying to buy last minute supplies at Wal-Mart. We were just a tad late for duty but quickly fell right into our role as best we could welcoming many 'first timers.' ('We are too!')
One of the great things about KK is that they keep everybody so busy. As soon, as you get free time you start asking 'What are we doing next?' Thankfully we are never that dreaded teenage word, 'Bored.' I can't stand it when young people, or any for that matter, say they are 'Bored.' There is too much good to be doing & at KK they squeeze every minute out of every day. Sun night we had a devo with the juniors & seniors in my cabin until 1:45AM. Sleep deprivation had already begun.
That becomes the theme for my first year at KK. Sleep deprivation. I knew that is what campers at KK liked to do, stay up late in the cabins & talk, I didn’t know how it affected the counselors.
This year at camp, starting Monday (I think), there were baptisms every night, the trips to & from the pool every night starting from as early as 10:00PM to as late as 1:15AM, were a cause for great rejoicing yet more & more sleep deprivation. We had a total of some 26 baptisms this year. Mr. Bain said something at one of them that was particularly helpful, ‘While many are being baptized, each one brings their own unique story, circumstance, & decision.’ Jake Reaves reacted, ‘Hey nothing wrong with mass baptism, even if it is ‘the fad’, Day 1 had 3,000 so until you go over that… you’re ok.’ Thanks Jake.
Lauren & I were on KO with our new friends Curtis & Tammi Hafley. They were really cool & helpful. We may not have done the best score wise, but it wasn’t the kids faults, it was probably their rookie counselors who didn’t know how to best ‘rally the troops.’ There is a lot I’ll do different next time. I kept calling it rookie mistakes, but one of the counselors, Jim Boyd, told me that there are new mistakes for every year & that it is a constant learning practice. It must be true b/c I noticed that Mr. & Mrs. Bain were constantly learning & looking for input the whole week, they’ve been doing this for over 20 years.
It was a joy to hear the kids sing, it was neat to ride my first high up ropes course, it was fun watching the little ones catch crawdads in the creek, it was uplifting to have God on the mind every second of the day.
The bible classes I was asked to teach at camp were some of the best kids I’ve ever had class with. I don’t know if it was the fact they were captive & had nothing else to do or if they are just plain great kids. Every class went well, one group even let me go over into lunchtime (we had started late.)
It would be hard to say what was the best part of camp. The worst part was ‘camper of the year’. I confess, I abstained from the process completely. It was the one time in my life it was easier to bite my tongue than to use it.
Camp ended great, there was an awesome talent show Thursday & then another show Friday for the adult visitors. Lauren & I enjoyed ourselves so much we created a new dilemma, Florida Camp or Kennessee Kamp. Only time will tell. One thing is for sure, there are two guys at KK that I will miss next year regardless of whether I go or not. For those two guys who made my last night surprising, I salute you. I’ll be praying for you to become one of those many campers who grow up to be great servants in the kingdom, even if it is a little late. One other camper I will seriously miss seeing next year if we can’t make it, Nathan Lankford. Nathan is special b/c we connected my last year as a camper. While most of the kids asked me if I was that guy that nearly cut my thumb off, Nathan remembers me for much more nobler reasons. Nathan & I had a great moment together sharing his story with two young kids that hopefully more fully appreciate camp now. Nathan, we’ll always be a learner & I know he learned a lot from that neat event. I will definitely miss his last year, b/c I would definitely speak up on his worthiness for being considered the ‘ideal’ camper.
Saturday’s departure was just as sad as when I was a camper. The only good thing was my girls & I enjoying CrackerBarrell before heading off to rest up at a nearby family horse-farm (Lauren’s Uncle Scott, Dyersburg, TN). Thankfully, Lauren had slept Friday night (Some other issues kept a few male counselors up till 4AM) & was able to drive while I began to catch up on my sleep. The sleep deprivation has just now warn off & that is why it took me this long to write the post.
Overall, it was great. One of the best experiences of my life. If you are thankful for your camp, or for FC, do your best do not just be thankful, give back. When you serve others, you’ll be served in return. This week, while lacking in sleep, was the best week of my life so far.
Until next year, @ FL or Kennesee, we’ll have to wait & see.
Sounds great! Glad everything went so well for you! I agree that being a counselor is way better than being a camper. I think as a camper what you don't realize though is how much work counselors do on that sleep deprivation.
I am trying to keep my blog non-controversial, I think groups provide a good forum for that. I want to update about camp but feel compelled to post what has been on my mind lately.
I have been asked to teach a class or two on 'church government.' Trying to be an open-minded honest student I did not seek out books defending plural elder congregationalism. In fact I went to a fun source I keep returning to for issues like these, Counterpoint series from Zondervan or IVP. They range from 5 views to 3 Views from Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage, 4 View on Revelation, the Millenium, the Rapture, Apologetics, Worship, Women Roles, Sanctification, Eternal Security.... the list is always growing.
I picked up Zondervan's 4 Views of Church government (Episcopal, Presbyterian, Single Elder Congregationalism, Plural Elder Congregationalism). The Southern Baptist have published one called 5 Views throwing in 'congregational democracy.' As I read I found more & more books out there supporting plural elder congregationalism than I ever realized...
Believe it or not, from Southern Baptists. I like Mark Dever's, one of several equal pastors at one of the largest baptist churches in Washington, DC.
(Google him or his website www.9marks.com... Thanks Shane Scott)
A teaching technique I have used here in S. Georgia is to emphasize that many of the things I teach from the scriptures don't come from 'church of christ' people but from regular conservative christians, evangelicals maybe...
So stop with all the 'church of Christ' doctrine stuff.
A baptist wrote an influential book on a cappella worship.
A baptist was fired from Southern Baptist Seminary for writing salvation is conditional upon our continued obedience in a commentary on Hebrews.
A baptist wrote a book on the essential aspects & mercy found in baptism.
A baptist wrote about plural-elder congregationalism.
A baptist wrote against premillennialism.
A baptist wrote about observing the Lord's Supper every first day of the week.
And they wrote these things as biblical convictions not opinions.
Apparently all these men stumbled upon some church of Christ doctrine book & thought it sounded good & ran with it! (I speak as a fool!)
I did not go out looking for baptists, I stumbled upon them as I researched different views, & I have collected them b/c baptist are so influential in S. Georgia. And I might add, rather divided & opinionated (as many restorationist movements are).
God have mercy on those who jump to conclusions to rashly.
God have mercy on me & help me to be an honest seeker of truths learned by others that I may have missed.
God have mercy on us all to simply follow His word & not chase after things that sound good but are of no value.
This post is brought with love & is typed out in a hurry to make it over to dinner on time & will most likely not last long.
If you are interested in any of the books I have found that helped lead to this feel free to contact me.
Coincidentally, I happened to stumble upon this quote in a journal article about the humanity of Christ which I was reading yesterday: "So credible was this claim that even Baptists, who have no creed but the Bible, have affirmed orthodox Christology and utilized its language." [emphasis mine]
Interesting stuff ... I'd be interested to know "what kind" of baptists these guys are - Primitive Baptists, for instance, sing a capella sacred harp stuff.
instrumental music is on the list (a cappella) & points of calvinism are (eternal security & sanctification), social gospel I'm sure could be if I researched it.
Many would probably call themselves 'reformed' some were 'southern baptist' (Mark Dever on church government, Beasely-Murray on baptism, & _____ on eternal Security in Hebrews). I'd say three being Southern Baptist is pretty substantial. I know the a cappella guy was not Southern Baptist, I think he was Paticular Baptist (not sure what that means yet) The Lord's Supper was also Southern Baptist don't remember his name. Premillennialism was a guy from Fuller who I think was labled American Baptist, which might not be anything more than a geographical label.
I really appreciate the open minded views that you put on here becasue I know they are backed up with honest searching of the scriptures as well. also good to know you don't have an agenda to push. Anyway-thanks for your blogs!
hey Coulter! Is there anyway we could borrow the Sumphonia books for a singing we're having this weekend? Wondered if maybe you could pass them on to Katy or to the Bassetts Wednesday so we could get them from someone in town. Thanks!
And more important than knowing that many so called "church of Christ" doctrines are actually held and taught by an under reported number of evangelicals is knowing that such doctrines are fundamentally Biblical. The present religious context is indeed interesting though.
When someone tries to tag a doctrine as "church of christ" then I usually give another religious group that traditionally holds the same view. I have a baptist friend here who just graduated from seminary. Regarding salvation and some other issues he would make some slants against the church of christ, so I would inform him that traditionally/officially the Christian church has the same views (not always, but usually). In louisville that works pretty well since everyone is familiar with at least Southeast. That seems to help sometimes.
Yes, we churchofChristers need to be careful about placing blanket condemnations. At the 2004 FC Lectures a preacher, Floyd Chappelear, plainly stated that he believes there are saved people in the denominations.
...have you got a chance to read the latest issue of "biblical insights" magazine...it's a special edition, partially about PLEONAST (you know how i feel about such publications)
We all arrived home safely Tuesday night. Wednesday we recovered & now Thursday I am surprised to find I'm all caught up & can update how the 2 week trip went.
The girls did great. They are such good travelers. They have flown a ton & rode a ton in their short lives. They loved their twin friends in Louisville, KY Marcus & Mason Berthold. Emma & Mason got into everything outside & Marcus mainly just watched Lydia try to keep up. The Louisville crowd was awesome. It was so good to see all of them.
Lauren was surprised with a birthday cake at DQ after their mid-week bible study. She was also seduced into the guitar hero cult. Each night we would put the kids to bed at 9 or 10 & then stay up till 2 or 3 winning new songs. It was sick.
Before we left town we stopped in to see my aunt, uncle, & cousin. Sure enough they had a birthday cake again for Lauren.
We spent the 4th at a big homecoming party in O'boro. It went well & then we left the girls with Mom & Dad Sat. morning while we went down to Nashville to get ready for camp. I bought Lauren an outfit at Oprymills. It is a cool mall, but the themepark was so much better. I did get to see a Ricky Scaggs mandolin. That was neat. Surprise again that night after dinner with the counselors at camp, a birthday cake for Lauren. I have to confess I didn't plan or know about any of these special treats. All I did was plan a card from the girls & I to arrive at camp during the week to surprise her.
The bible class I was asked to teach at Oak Ave in Dixson, TN went well. I really enjoyed the study & it felt like the presentation went over well with the massive amount of students. Thankfully no trick questions to stump the teacher. Although for a study on idolatry I really should have had some comments on Paul at Athens, oh well.
Then camp came & went I'll do a more specific review of it. It was awesome. I'm so glad I went.
To wrap things up we went to stay with Lauren's cousin, 'Uncle Scot', hmmmm anyway... He has a horse farm nearby so we could rest up before heading back. While there Paul Sheahan was in town to lead there VBS at Parr Avenue in Dyersburg, TN. It was really neat to get to take notes on how to run a good VBS. The farm life was refreshing all though I should have gotten more sleep & less time on the Wii.
Finally we headed south on Monday night & only made it to Birmingham, AL at 2AM. We stayed the night in an interstate hotel & then finished off our trip through beautiful Alabama. WIll Childress's house in Dothan was our last stop & I think the girls were thankful for that.
The night we got back our power went out in a little storm. It didn't last long. We all slept long & hard & now life is heading back to normal. Until our next trip Aug 17th to middle tennessee.
Why do we keep going to TN you may ask? B/c it is the most beautiful state in our nation.
Hope all is well with you & I'll post about the new & improved Kamp Kennessee shortly.
Agreed about TN. I'm looking forward to Kamp review. I hear of the new things being done and they sound good. I've talked to the directors recently and one of their big comments was how WELL the new counselors did. Big props.
Glad you had fun! Had no idea you or Lauren were into gaming! :) And very impressed that after one day you are caught up. I can't even imagine that for Ryan!
Hey guys if you have ever benefitted from reading this blog then I have good news for you. (Shameless plug coming) You can read one of my essays & 68 BETTER essays in a new book being released by Nathan Ward. Check it out on Nathan's blog. He is listed in my 'friends.' The book will be good, just look at the list of author's he has on his blog. The book is entitled, 'Beneath the Cross.' They are essays for talks at the Lord's Table. I know that many of you join with me in regularly struggling to think of having a message for the Lord's Table that is edifying & refreshing at the same time. This book will help give you some ideas. Thanks for always taking the time to see what I've thrown up onto the blog here.
We'll be on the road for two weeks, first to the 'ville for 4th of July, then to FC Kamp Kennessee for a week, then VBS in Dyersburg, TN. When I get back I plan on posting the handout for a class I'm teaching in Nashville this weekend, LORD willing. The lesson is on Pagan Worship: Idolatry. It was a neat study. I'm glad I was asked to do it. See you then. Buy the book!
I tried something new this year. I went to the FC Camp for adults, FC LABOR CAMP.
Despite the name, we did have fun. We had the largest number they have ever had. We had all kinds of ages, a few senior citizens, a few middle aged, & a surprising (to me) number of young people.
The school took care of our room (Hinely suites for 1) & poured non-stop food into our bellies & unlimited Gatorade.
The camp earned its name with 6-8 hours of volunteer labor for 5 days (I was only there for 3). Now labor would sound bad to some, but the bible indicates (through inference) that man desires a good work to do with his hands. Some had fun power washing, some carpenters did some construction work on student centers & locker rooms, some painted (the worst), some cleaned locker rooms (almost the worst), my team did landscaping (planting, tree trimming, mulching, irrigation systems, road renovation).
We were given a tour of the new dorm. It is incredible. It is not a cliche' it really is unbelievable how big this 5 story 320 bed dormitory is. (Tallest building in Temple Terrace) It has incredible facilities inside for the kids, kitchen, workout facility, common area, state of the art laundry room.
What made it fun was the bible studies, singings, & games that we partook in together throughout the day. Every day started with a devotional period from the Camp director Craig Bean. He is awesome. If you don't know him you should.
Then there was a bible study at lunch. A mandatory F.O.B. time (Flat On Back) & then evening Bible study with Ralph Walker & then Nite Time activities.
I learned some new games & some new songs in time for camp, but was mostly encouraged by Craig & Ralph's talks that were looslely based around Micah 6:8 'He has told you, O man, what is good; and what the LORD require of you, but to do justice, to love kindness, & to walk humbly with you God?' A great emphasis on each of these phrases 'justice' 'kindness' & a 'humble walk.'
The bible indicates that if we serve others, we will be served in response. I knew I was going to give of myself to the college, what I didn't know was how much the college was going to give back to me. If you want a fulfilling week like you used to have as a kid at camp, FC LABOR Camp is the place for you. Take a risk, give it a try, you will not be disappointed. I hope to see you next year, & maybe we'll be staying in that new 5-Star Dorm!
Good for you Coulter. When I first heard of the FC labor camps a few years ago, I thought it was extremely clever how the labor was promoted among FC alumni who missed the FC experience. I would (in jest) sum up the mentality of the labor camp as appealing to former students so hungry to get that experience back that they will "work for devotionals".
I doubt there are many institutions though that people would give up their vaction time for and actually travel to go to a labor camp where they can volunteer for a week. You know people (and organizations) by their fruits.
!!! - I've been trying to track down Craig Bean for three weeks, not even sure where he lives, though I've left messages in the two cities I thought likely. Can't seem to ever find a live person! Since you were with him, can you provide any help?
On big jobs like I do, yes. Often when it is just a small trailer it is just a place for the superintendent to keep his plans and stuff. In that case, which is quite often. No internet would be less likely. My trailer is just like if I was working in an office, it is full size.
The new dorm sounds amazing! I just hope the guys are made to take care of it...respecting dorm property has never been very effectively enforced with the guys in the past!
