S.C.U.B.A.

Creativity has always been (and in my opinion always will be) a crucial part of youth ministry.  Young Life founder Jim Rayburn's admonition that "it is a sin to bore a youth with the Gospel" rings true to me, and so I have always tried to be as creative as possible with programs, events and even the names I give to such things.  In the early 1980's we were trying to start a Wednesday night Bible study at New Garden Friends Meeting without much success.  Interest from the kids was very limited, but I felt this new program was important to our "wholistic" ministry.  As time came to crank this program up, I needed a name that would get students to notice.  After much debate, I decided to call it S.C.U.B.A.  This stood for "Spiritual Concepts and Understanding Biblical Approaches."  And it worked!  I would love to tell you that it worked because we prayed over the program and God blessed it, and this is true.  I would love to take full credit, saying my inspirational teaching made it a success.  But the truth is, the name worked to capture the attention of the youth because it was based on an off-color joke of the day.  The joke I don't remember, but I do remember what S.C.U.B.A. stood for in it- Sex conducted underwater by appointment.  It became such a counter-cultural thing to see S.C.U.B.A. printed in the church bulletin each week.  It became an inside joke our students could laugh about together. It also helped that we studied scripture, C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters, debated nuclear power and many other topics of interest.  Attendance kept improving, and the Bible study kept getting better, until it became a very important part of our program.  And then one Wednesday night, without warning, it became part of our YFYF (Young Friends Youth Fellowship) history.

At this point in our ministry at New Garden things were going really well.  There was a lot of excitement and lots of new faces.  But I was still in hot pursuit of one face that I just could not seem to get interested.  Kathy Fountain was an exceptional young woman whose family was active at New Garden.  She and her younger brothers David and Tim were active in lots of groups and activities- but YFYF was not on their schedules.  Kathy was the same age as a group that would rank high on any list of the best single graduating classes I ever had- Marshall Ratledge, Terri Johnson, Kathryn Burris, Linc Dewar. Kim Winters, Matt Mason, Ling Lee, Pam Dent, Jay Wilkins and others I am sure I am leaving out.  I had called Kathy, sent her cards, talked to her on Sunday mornings...everything I could think of to try and arouse her interest, but she simply had too much going on.  And after a while, I decided if she didn't need YFYF, then I should quit pushing.  I continued to pray for her (and all of the students- that didn't change over the years) but otherwise I just let it go.  And then one Wednesday night at S.C.U.B.A. she just walked in, sat down, and joined in the the discussion.  From that point forward, she became not only part of our group, but almost immediately became one of our leaders.  And the ministry became important to her as well.  So much so that down the road a few years she married Dann Newby, another one of our student leaders (and the best "Devil's Advocate" ever! Dann could take the side of Hitler in a discussion and convince you he was just misunderstood...).  After a name change, Dann and Kathy Newfont are still going strong!

So what do we learn from all of this?  First and foremost we learn that God can take anything, no matter how silly or poorly thought out, and use it for His glory.  We can also deduce that God is present in our creativity, and when we are open to His leadings, God will use even the smallest things to change our lives.  I just know that through a chain of events that began with an off-color joke, which became a Bible study and then a discussion group that drew Kathy to us, the ministry of New Garden was blessed, and the Kingdom of God was lifted up.  God used Noah, Moses, David and Peter- all famous failures.  And God can use us.  We may be crazy at times, but it all works if we just let go- because God is no fool.

Because of Jesus,

The Real Jesus

 A little over a week ago I was involved in a discussion with a couple of guys who are having a hard time these days. Work is scarce, and they are in situations that make life very complicated. We talked about all kinds of things covering many areas of interest, but eventually the talk turned to church. Neither of these guys are big church-goers, but they know my background and they had some issues they wanted to raise with me. It seems in their experiences, church has not been a place of healing or comfort. It has not been a center of love and forgiveness. It has been a place where they were made to feel like second class citizens because they had no money to give. It has been a place where they were told that if they really were Christians, God would bless them- implying they couldn't be followers of Jesus and still be having problems in their lives. In short, the church has failed them. And they asked a very insightful question: Why does the church sometimes seem to be more about traditions, politics and money than it is about Jesus?

We often refer to the church as an institution, and unfortunately, I believe we are too often correct. It is bound by policy and leadership and tradition, and it has become a very sanitized place. For those of us who are USAmericans (everyone who lives in North or South America is an American; why do we claim that title for ourselves?) it seems we have turned Jesus into a wimp; a toothless, republican voting white guy who is against all kinds of things, and for almost nothing. This is not the Jesus of the scriptures. This is not the the Jesus who hung out with sinners and the people society scorned; this is not the Jesus who shouted down church leaders; and this is not the Jesus who gave up His seat next to God to come to earth and die for us, that we might be reconnected with the Father. We may not want to hear it, but if the church is misrepresenting Jesus, then we are failing at the only mission we have. We need to show the people around us "the real Jesus" if we want them to understand and follow the Christ. Our pastor, Matthew Hartsfield, is fond of saying "we are God's Plan A for taking Jesus to the world- and there is no Plan B."

So who is "the real Jesus?" The band Downhere wrote a song in 2006 that attempts to answer the question, and I believe they were painfully honest and very close to the truth. Maybe it's because they are Canadian, but they have attacked the myths and want us to see who we really follow. The lyrics are below. The song is called The Real Jesus.

Jesus on the radio, Jesus on a late night show, Jesus in a dream, looking all serene
Jesus on a steeple, Jesus in the Gallup poll, Jesus has His very own brand of rock and roll
Watched Him on the silver screen, Bought the action figurine
But Jesus is the only name that makes you flinch

Oh, can anybody show me the real Jesus?
Oh, let Your love unveil the mystery of the real Jesus

Jesus started something new, Jesus coined a phrase or two
Jesus split the line at the turning point of time
Jesus sparked a controversy, Jesus, known for His mercy, gave a man his sight
Oh Jesus isn't white!
Jesus loves the children, holds the lambs, Jesus prays a lot
Jesus has distinguishing marks on His hands

If anybody walks behind the Good Shepherd, If anybody holds the hands that heal lepers
And if you recognize the eyes that see forever, please...show me 
Oh, can anybody show me the real Jesus? Oh, let Your love unveil the glory, the real Jesus
Oh, can anybody show me the real Jesus? Oh, let Your love unveil the glory of the real Jesus, the real Jesus

The modern church gets so wrapped up in numbers, in politics, in denominations and in theology. In my ministry, imperfect though it was, I tried to make sure that the students understood one very basic truth- It's All About Jesus! The institution we call the church sometimes forgets that. The guys I was speaking with have just about given up on the church. I pray they don't do the same with Jesus, because in the world we live in, the two are not always related...may God have mercy on us.


Because of Jesus,

The Big Five-0

It's finally here. The day so many dread. The day that inspired me to begin this blog so I could tell my stories before I got too old to remember them! The day that is anything but "nifty." Yes, dear readers, today is the day I turn 50.

As I have mentioned here before, age has never been a big deal to me. For many years I had a button on the bulletin boards in my various offices that read I'm not old, I'm a recycled teenager, and for the most part I still feel that way. Let's take a moment and look back at where I was on previous landmark birthdays and see what was happening in my life.

On my 16th birthday my parents threw a surprise party for me in the old Fellowship Hall at New Garden Friends Meeting, complete with with all my best friends, ice cream cake and a Hot Wheels car (because there was no way I was getting a real one!). I have no real memory of my 18th or 21st, but number 30 was a surprise party thrown as part of a Progressive Dinner with Springfield Friends Meeting. At the time 30 seemed very old, and that is when I received the aforementioned button. On my 40th birthday I started the day at 6 AM with a group of guys in Kissimmee- Nate Hill, Jacob Lupfer and Ben Thompson- at Denny's, where none of them knew (or remembered) it was my birthday. Which brings us to number 50...

As you can tell, for the most part birthdays are not a big deal to me, I think in part because my life has been so full of special moments and events. Some people only get to celebrate life on special occasions- most of my life has been a special occasion. So many friends, so many trips, so many memories- I have been very blessed. I wrote this past Sunday about such an event just last weekend. So today I will thank God for the "presents" that I receive every day of my life. I am thankful for His love, and the grace and forgiveness that comes through His Son Jesus. I am thankful for my incredible wife, without whom my life would be a total mess. I am thankful for my son Will, who keeps me young and makes me laugh. I am thankful for my Mom and for Marilyn's family who have stuck by me no matter what. And I am thankful for 50 years worth of friends and youth who have made my life amazing in so many ways.

Today I celebrate being 50 years old. My faith and my family are strong, and I look forward to a future that continues to be full of joy, laughter and love. My prayer today is that your lives will be as blessed as mine.

Because of Jesus,

Communion Confusion

Youth Ministry is often about being bold and taking chances, and certainly over the years I did my share of both. One of the boldest things I ever did took place at New Garden Friends Meeting on a Youth Sunday in 1983, and I want to tell you the story. But first, a history lesson!

The Society of Friends (Quakers) began in Great Britain in the 1650's as a movement away from the Church of England. George Fox (often called the founder of Quakerism- truth is, he had no intention of founding anything! He, like John Wesley and others, just wanted the Anglican Church to get off its collective butt!) had an astounding revelation one day- that he didn't need all the pomp and traditions of the church to connect to Jesus. He could go straight to the source. His defining statement said that he realized that "there is One- even Christ Jesus- who can speak to my condition." As he began to "walk cheerfully about the world, answering to that of God in everyone" people began to follow him, and eventually the Society of Friends was born. In response to the lifelessness they saw in the established church, they went in a radical new direction. All people were to be ministers, because everyone has access to Jesus, which also means that all people are equal. They eschewed many of the traditions of the church, including the sacraments, because in their eyes they had become meaningless rituals. They came to believe that Christianity is a life you live, not a creed you profess. So to bring you up to speed quickly, they were arrested in large numbers, brought before judges, trembled in the presence of God and got nicknamed Quakers (as an insult at first) because of that, escaped to the new world for religious freedom, were hung in Boston Commons for practicing religious freedom, founded Pennsylvania, made some oatmeal and are still around today, though not in very large numbers (As an aside, Marilyn recently joined a group on Facebook called I Bet I Can Find 1,000,000 Quakers on Facebook. Take that bet! There are not a million Quakers in the world, much less on Facebook. But I digress...). Whew!

Quakers did not just randomly do away with baptism and communion. Today many longtime Friends will tell you that "Quakers don't believe in those things." That would be wrong. The belief is that when Jesus broke the bread and passed the cup in the Upper Room and said "every time you do this, think of Me" the intent was not to establish a ritual, but rather for us to think of Him every time we gather, every time we eat. We should be constantly in communion with Christ. It's called Communion after the manner of Friends, and it is often a period of quiet meditation and prayer. With baptism, John the Baptizer said "I baptize with water, but One comes who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." Again, the idea is that the water is an outward symbol of an inward act. It's not about being sprinkled or dunked; it's all about Jesus! This is not to say Quakers have it right. I just wanted you to understand so my story can be more dramatic!

So it's a Youth Sunday in 1983, and I decide to do something outlandish. It seemed to me at the time (and still today, I might add) that NOT having communion like most of the Christian world had become our new ritual. Most could not explain why we didn't have it. Most thought the idea of passing the bread and the cup was somehow in violation of the law of George Fox- and there is no law of George Fox, a fact that has always caused considerable trouble among Friends. But with the support of our pastoral minister David Bills (an Influences post about David is coming later this week) the youth decided to serve communion at New Garden, the last place you would expect it to happen. We explained why we were doing it. We were honoring our Quaker heritage. We were breaking out of a ritual. We were...well it just didn't matter, because many people were not happy about it. I caught lots of flack and even a bit of abuse. But it was sooooo worth it, because it opened a great discussion in the Meeting. And it helped establish one of my primary philosophies of student ministry- that the youth of the church are not just cute teenagers. We shouldn't just be happy that they show up, or that they will stand in front of the church and sing. Youth have something to say, and the church had better listen. I believed it then, and I believe it even more today. And every church I have served since has gotten that lecture...

The next time you are taking communion, remember what it means. Remember why you do it. And the next time you aren't "taking" communion in a Friends Meeting, remember why not. Remember that in both cases, it's all about what Jesus has done for us. In my humble opinion, if we do that, we can't be wrong. Even if you serve it to a Quaker youth group at Myrtle Beach and use OJ and Krispy Kreme doughnuts...but that is a story for another day!

Because of Jesus,

It Is Well With My Soul

This weekend had the potential to really suck.  There was a Quaker Lake Staff Reunion going on in North Carolina that we could not attend.  Just missing that was enough to label the weekend depressing. If we had been able to attend that event, we could have also dropped by the world famous Ham & Egg Supper at Springfield Friends Meeting. Strike two.  And finally, it is my last weekend before I hit 50 on Tuesday. My age has never been something I dwelt on, but 50 is fairly major.  AARP is calling.  Senior citizen discounts are just around the corner.  I have to start eating early bird specials more often.  That should be strike three.  My weekend should have officially been ruined.

But a strange thing happened on my way to pouting about my sad situation.  On Saturday night a small group of old friends (pictured above, except for photographer Jim) gathered to eat Japanese food and celebrate my birthday.  These were friends who drove from Kissimmee and Lakeland to eat with us in Tampa.  And we had a blast!  Jim and Karen Fry, Josh and Sarah Crudele Fry, Lisa Kraus Spires and Jerry Hanbery joined Marilyn, Will and I for an evening of being way too loud and having way too much fun. Despite the old jokes flying around the hibachi grill, I forgot for a few hours how crappy my weekend was supposed to be.  It was a wonderful evening. And then Sunday came. We had a great morning at Van Dyke Church, a great lunch at Moe's, and then we went as a family to see the Toy Story 3D double feature.  It was just a great day, spent with my family.  And once again I was left with nothing to complain about.

Spending time with those amazing friends and my incredible wife and son reminded me of a great spiritual truth.  The old Kissimmee crew knows all about me and yet still call themselves my friends.  My wife and son have every reason to just let me wallow in my self-pity, but choose to love me instead. You know who else does those things?  Jesus.  It has been said that unconditional, Christ-like love can be defined in the following way: There is nothing we can do to make Jesus love us more, and there is nothing we can do that will make Him love us less.  How cool (and rare in this world) is that?  I was all set to write this weekend off as a total loss, when starting Saturday night I ran into people who were Jesus with skin to me.  And suddenly I felt alive again!  We tend to dwell on our sins, our mistakes and our losses.  Jesus just loves us. In the words of one of my favorite hymns: My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin not in part but the whole; is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh my soul! It is well, with my soul...  No matter how badly we think we have failed, Jesus has already forgiven us.  And those of us who truly seek to follow the Christ will do the same.

I hope the reunion was a blast, and I do hate I missed it. I hope the Ham & Egg Supper was its usual rousing success. I am going to turn 50 on Tuesday whether I like it or not.  But you know what?  I have great friends, an amazing family, and Jesus loves me.  And absolutely NOTHING about that sucks!

Because of Jesus,

Random Ramblings and Flashbacks

Greetings! Today I present to you a list of random flashbacks from my years at Quaker Lake Camp. I turn 50 next Tuesday, so I cannot be held responsible for any errors or opinions expressed below. :)

· This picture is from 1988 when I was volunteering as Camp Pastor. I am front right; with me are Jennifer Bills, Beth Phillips Massey, Scott Smith, Jason Dewar, Jay Wilkins, Anita Swaim, Rebecca Howard Jackson and lots more of my favorite people!
· When I first attended camp in 1973, there was no pool, no Jericho Road, no Rappelling Tree, no Crafts Hut (just the Quonset Hut), no paved basketball court and no Crafts and Special Activities Director. They were all there 10 years later, my last summer on staff. Thanks Neal.
· I was the first Crafts and Special Activities Director in 1983.
· One of the assistant cooks in the mid-70’s, Vickie (her last name eludes me), was a vegetarian. One night each week we had either vegetarian lasagna (excellent) or spaghetti (BEANS=YUCK!). 
· When you played basketball with Mike Wall and Wallace Sills you were taking your life in your hands.
· Neal Thomas used to like to hide on the roof of the lodge and pour water on people as they came out the back door to the kitchen- I have pictures somewhere of him getting Gail Steelman and Susan McBane.
· David Fields and Paul Routh were both in my cabin as very young campers. Between the 3 of us we have spent at least one full lifetime at QLC!
· We once sent a staffer the emergency room with a sprained ankle and an insurance form. The form asked how the injury had occurred, and the answer was “injured while being stuffed in the pot sink.”
· Assistant Cooks didn’t last very long in those days.
· My first year as a camper, Team Competition included individual sports like tether ball, ping pong (single and doubles) and badminton (singles and doubles). I still have my blue ribbon for going undefeated in singles badminton.
· Heather Beggs Varner was once on a team called “The Boogers”- and she was chief booger!
· My first counselor was Richard Shimaka, a Guilford student from Kenya.
· The most famous QLC ghost stories were Red Eye Dick, The Quaker Lake Hand, and Nancy Nurse. And no one ever told them better than Ricky Sessoms…
· The only bad part of being Crafts and Special Activities Director my last summer was that I had to play on the hated staff team in the Staff vs. Counselors volleyball game every Friday night.
· Room #2 in the lodge was nicknamed The Ghetto during the years Alan Brown and I used it as our home base.
· The skit where God interrupts a person praying the Lord’s Prayer and talks them through it has been done at Vespers since the dawn of time, along with The Giving Tree and Barrington Bunny.
· The late Doug Morse, who volunteered for years at Senior High Camp, loved to ring the bell every morning. He often would ring it 100 times or more. Several mornings he was almost the only volunteer ever assassinated by the staff.
· The softball field was nice, but nothing was better than seeing everyone’s candles floating on the lake after the Campfire Circle.
· Alice Carrol wrote a lullaby she used to sing around the campfire in 1978. I can still play and sing it.
· The greatest song ever used in a Quaker Lake slide show was Dan Fogelberg's To the Morning, which Paula Teague used in 1976. Unless memory fails me, she recorded that soundtrack on an eight track tape. Go listen to that song, think about QLC, and tell me I am wrong...
· Marshmallows, which can be so good on s'mores, are instruments of Satan in the hands of 4th and 5th grade campers on campouts.
· Lifeguards used to wash all the dishes. They needed something to do while the counselors were doing the REAL work…
· Jay Osborne once dropped guitar off the roof of the lodge. I just can’t bring that up often enough!
· Mark Farlow built campfires so big airplanes used them as landing lights.
*Some of the best meals I ever had in my life were potluck dinners served in small Friends Meetings after the staff would sing on Sundays at worship.
· Secret Documents was a game I brought to camp in 1983. We used to play it growing up at New Garden. The game most of you know as Secret Documents has almost nothing in common with the original version.
· Some of my favorite memories are of washing dishes and singing in the kitchen with Martha Farlow.
· I saw all 3 of the original Star Wars movies with QLC staffers on Saturday nights in 1977, 1980 and 1983.
· The first ever Senior High Camp Banquet was in 1983, it was a Luau, and it rocked!
· QLC once owned an Earth Ball– until it crushed some campers.
· By my estimate, around 25 of my former youth went on to work summer staff at Quaker Lake. This ranges from Ron Osborne, Glenna Osborne, Belinda Marley and Timothy Marley from my very first group at Centre Friends to Jill Gilbreth, Ashley Goad, Mandy Beggs and David Mercadante who all worked camp well after I left Springfield. I take none of the credit and none of the blame for anyone who falls into this category!
· In 1983 we had the first (and as far I know only!) Mr. & Ms. Quaker Lake Pageant during Sr. High Camp. One of the female contestants (I know who, but I'm not saying!) came out in a bikini, with her body fully oiled, and the the pageant came to a stop. This was one of the times I almost lost my job...
· The second greatest song ever used in a slide show was Orleans’ Still the One, used in a montage of past counselors in 1983. Gave me chills every time I saw it.
· How many people remember what a slide was? On the evolutionary scale of picture presentation, slides were somewhere between filmstrips and Powerpoint.
· Terry Venable and Leigh Ann Everhart came to my house after they got engaged, hoping I would notice the ring. I did not. They had to tell me.
· One summer the lake turned red. I kid you not…
· Homemade Orange Sherbet always rocked my world.
· I will never, ever, ever drink red kool-aid again!
· Did I mention that Jay Osborne let my guitar slide off the roof of the lodge?
So there you have it. Flashbacks are a wonderful thing, and the memories are even better!
Until tomorrow...

Influences- Neal Thomas

To everyone who is following this blog, leaving comments, signing the guestbook or e-mailing me, thank you! Hearing from you all is such a joy! And for anyone attending the staff reunion this weekend, enjoy! We are there in spirit!

Steve Semmler took me to Quaker Lake for the first time in the summer of 1973, following our 8th grade year. I knew nothing about the place except that my mom had been there years before, and that Steve said it was cool. Upon our arrival, Steve was surprised to discover that Cal Geiger was no longer Camp Director, and that he had been replaced by a young man named Neal Thomas. To be honest, Steve was a little disappointed at the time. It really made very little difference that week, as Wallace Sills directed our camp and Neal was just around, fixing things and helping camp run smoothly. But knowing Neal Thomas would make an enormous difference in my life.

I grew to know Neal over the next few years as I progressed from camper, to Counselor-in-Training to summer staff. In many ways, we were opposites. Neal was always calm,always composed, slow to show emotion and always aware of the big picture. Neal could fix or build anything. I was young, loud, brash and always in the moment, and thought duct tape was a tool. Despite this, I had enormous respect for Neal. He had been a conscientious objector to the draft, and he lived out his "peace testimony" in his everyday life. He loved Quaker Lake and was constantly pushing to improve the facility and the programs. At a time when theology in NC Yearly Meeting was about as diverse as you can imagine, Neal always steered QLC to the center. In fact, his talks to the staff on how we had to be the camp for ALL of NCYM, doing nothing to offend either end of the theological spectrum, guided me through many tough times in the large churches I would serve later in my life. He was our boss, but he was also someone we could count on and turn to. And even on days when I did not deserve it, he always supported me and always showed me grace that could only come from a walk with Jesus. Neal Thomas walked that walk, and he shared it freely. It always amazed me that some on the theological "right" in the yearly meeting considered Neal too liberal. That only showed how little they knew him.

That is not to say that Neal was perfect! He was a trained EMT, but if a camper threw up, look out! Neal would be next! Somewhere along life's journey he had picked up the nickname "Quiver Lips." He told us that one Saturday morning when I was a camper after some girls had water ballooned our cabin. In those days the cabins had screens along the top, and they had pounded the screens (and my top bunk!) and soaked us. It would have been a wonderful prank, except for one small issue- the force of the balloons hitting the screens knocked them out. By the time we arrived at breakfast the next morning, Neal was furious, and the lips were indeed quivering. We all got a stern lecture on respecting property (that means you, Tammy!) and then it was all forgotten. It was, thankfully, one of the few times over my 21 years of being around Neal that I saw him really angry. The lesson was profound, however, and over the years I became a fanatic about respecting property and not wasting food or other items. Neal was a sneaky teacher- you learned without realizing you were being taught.

After I returned from New England to NC in 1986, my relationship with Neal changed. We became great friends. I loved volunteering at camp and serving on the Camp Planning Committee to help hire staff and plan the camp themes each year. We traveled to Indiana for a Conference on Quaker Camping and attended the National Youth Workers Convention together. We would gather at his and Susie's home at QLC and play Trivial Pursuit (no matter what you may hear, the guys always won!). Every time I ever needed a reference or a friend, Neal was there. One of my greatest disappointments was that his last summer, 1994, I could not volunteer because it was my first year in Kissimmee. I had been with him his first year; I was sorry to miss his last.

Neal Thomas is Quaker Lake to me. The influence he had on my life cannot be explained in a blog. My entire ministry was driven by his example and his encouragement. Whenever I doubted myself, I often thought of something he once said to me: "Carl, you have a gift. When you get your guitar and start leading music, even the junior high boys start to sing. Anyone who can get junior high boys to sing has a gift." Moments like that one still move me all these years later. So thank you, Neal, from myself and hundreds of others who were influenced by you over the years. You showed me what it means to walk in Light. You, Susie, Doug and Martha made us all feel like family. Marilyn and I hope you know that you are loved. It almost makes me sorry for the morning we used food dye and made Neal green eggs and ham to test his gag reflex...but not quite!

Because of Jesus,