Okay a few more silly things from camp today:

• I’ve made a new friend. The Colton kid I talked about earlier… his name is actually Collin. He’s my new buddy. Tonight we had an extra long "fun hour" talent show. Colton was sitting right beside me and noticed I had a pimple on my arm… yeah, I’m sure you wanted to know this. As any kid would, Colton looks at me and asks, "what’s that?" I tell him it’s a pimple. He looks at me with a funny face and then pulls my sleeve up a little more to inspect for more pimples. He begins counting freckles, blemishes or whatever else he can find on that arm and then to the next. He talked a good bit about my arm muscles and asked how I got them (really, I haven’t lifted any weights since high school). He then starts picking through my hair. He asks why I use gel. He then finds a mole (not like the ugly protruding type, but the skin spot type) under my hair (which isn’t easy right now as my hair hasn’t been cut in 7 weeks). He then spends the next 15 minutes (honestly) picking through my hair looking for more moles or birthmarks. On one or two occasions, he asks if I have lice (scary). Other counselors walk by giving me funny looks. I shrug and say, "he’s counting my moles." Yeah, I think Collin and I are going too be good friends for a very long time.
• Oh, my bed. This is what you get when you get to camp late. I got the last bed. Yes, the kid who sleeps above me (my buddy Collin) is only 4 feet tall. I; however, must squeeze into a tiny compartment to sleep every night. I look like Shrek trying to fit in this thing.

man I love kids. They do and say the funniest things. If you can put up with the unlimited energy, you’ll laugh your face off. Oh, and if you can put up with the constant touching. I would say that if I’m with kids for any amount of time, I’ll have at least one kid in contact with me for 68% of the time. Yeah, a shy kid is pretty rare.

Okay, so I’m hanging out with this one kid in the pool. He’s really fun to throw because he is so light. Here is our conversation:

Me: dude, how much do you weigh?
Colton: 54 pounds.
me: man, my son is just a year old and he weighs like 28 pounds
Colton: yeah, but I’m still 15 pounds heavier.
me: but he’s only one, you’re seven
Colton: (without missing a beat) yeah, but I haven’t been exercising lately.

Suicides.

Yeah, I remember back in the day. I was an artist. Nothing like a good ol’ suicide. There are several boys in my cabin that obviously have been taught this sacred art and I have been graced to taste their creations.

Before I leave you with this earth-shattering post, I thought I’d share a technique I’ve never known about. On of my boys told me that he fills up his cup by playing the song/rhythm of Beethoven’s 5th on the soda machine.That song will produce a very specific suicide flavor, different form one made by another song or a a standard "equal parts" suicide.

What song would you use? I think I’d use the theme song to McGyver. What about you?

You can read more about this famous drink mixture here. The best phrase used to describe this in my book is this: "It’s not bad… it’s not good either."

I’m right in the middle of kids camp. It’s going pretty good. Like I said in a previous post, it’s one of the few times I’ve taken kids to camp and simply came as a participant. When you’re used to planning and running your own camps, it’s naturally difficult to just go as an attendee. Perhaps it would be easier if the camp you decided to attend was incredibly similar to the camp you would host. The trouble is that not two camps are alike. Many camps have varying purposes. Here are a few:

• Discipleship Camp: Some camps are designed for kids who already go to church and it’s simply an opportunity for kids to continue getting what they experience on a typical weekend. Maybe the kids are taken "deeper," but in all honesty, it doesn’t look much different than what you’d see on Sunday.
• Evangelistic Camp: Other camps are designed to see kids come to life decisions, either to commit to Christ or to recommit to following him. Kids are encouraged to invite their friends to camp.
• Blended Camp: This is a little bit of both. Opportunities are made for kids to make life decisions, but there’s also some good stuff there to help kids continue to grow in their faith.

Actually, some camps take the models above to different extremes. I think Craig Jutila, previously from Saddleback, actually made camp available only to his core leadership kids. So it was discipleship for a very specific niche of kids.

So, what is the purpose of your camp? What do you hope for the kids to get out of it? These are important questions to ask when either planning or picking a camp. When picking a camp, going to one yet expecting another can lead to a great deal of disappointment.

Here’s my take. "They" say that I only get 40 hours a year with most of my kids. But for one week of the year, I get 40 hours all at once. You know I’m going to take advantage of that opportunity. I’m big into fun… it’s got to be the coolest fun they’ve ever had at camp. I hate it when I’m at a camp that only gives kids 1 to 1.5 hours to swim. Most kids look forward to swimming the most. I typically try to book about 3 hours a day at the pool/lake. But then I go after it big time in the God stuff. My intention has always been to create an environment where kids would respond to a life-changing decision., whether it was salvation, recommitment or something totally different. In addition, I hope to load the kids up with good "take home" application stuff… so they can go out and life the life they’ve been called to.

Okay, I drove into summer camp late. All the kids arrived on Saturday afternoon, but I decided to stay back and man the fort (Sunday services) while everyone else was having fun at camp. It was a 4 hour drive that I turned into 6. No, I didn’t get lost. My good friends Joel and Heidi Hayslip, missionaries to Burkina Faso, West Africa came home for the summer. Since they are only about 2 hours from our camp facility, I decided to meet them half way.

So, I ended up getting into camp at 11:30. Yes, this place definitely qualifies as the type of camp a horror movie could have been filmed. After I parked, I made a lonely walk from the lot to the cabin guided only by the light of my cell phone. Fun.

Now that I’m half way done with my first day, I have a few observations:

• Do camps purposely put half the kids a mile away (okay, maybe it’s not a mile away) from the main part of camp and then have them make the trek back and fourth 20 times a day. It’s only 1:00 and I’ve made the trek 5 times.
• I know why I get summer colds. There is a 50 degree temperature difference each day. It had to be close to 50 degrees in our cabin last night… I think I could see my breath. The high today, somewhere in the mid 90’s. If that won’t get you sick, I don’t know what will.
• I’ve found there are two types of summer camps in the good ‘ol US today. There is the "Parent Trap" style of camp where everything is rustic including the facilities, music and programming. The other type is just modern children’s ministry in the woods. They may be in the woods, but they’ve got their powerpoint, fog machine and sound systems. This camp I’m at is the rustic type. The ones I’m used to holding are the other type. One’s not any better than the other… just different (except we sang Father Abraham this morning… nostalgic, but that’s where I draw the line).

This week I’m at summer camp. Actually, the kids left for camp on Saturday morning. Being that our best and brightest from Elementary ministry went to camp, I decided to stay behind on Sunday to make sure everything went well. Our 9:30 service was pretty sketchy, so I’m glad I stayed.

This camp is going to be a little tough for me. You see, I am a control freak… to some degree (depending on who you talk to). Camp is one of my "things." I love camp. It’s one of my favorite events all year. Of all the years I’ve been in full time ministry, I’ve always done my own camp, whether 30 kids or 200 kids. I love it. Since I got to Gateway just 5 weeks ago, camp was already booked. Yes, I am not running it. I’m participating. When you’re participating in something that is your "thing," it is hard to enjoy. Only one other time did I take kids to a camp as a participant. The camp was good and the kids had fun. However, I got to work as soon as I got home to plan out where we could host our own camp. When it comes to camp, I’m going to be a control freak. It’s the one (maybe two) times a year I get a bunch of kids for 72 or more hours without any interruptions. Great things can happen and who knows "my kids" better than "my church?" When statistically we only get 40 hours a year with our kids, I’m going to be a control freak. Next year we’re doing our own.

How am I going to cope this week? Well, pray for me. Second, I’m going to try to chill out and just get to know our kids. It will be great! Please pray for me….

In case you forgot, the US Constitution turned 220 today. Unfortunately, most people forgot. The only reason I knew was because my wife and I had a very random discussion a few weeks ago and I looked it up. For all of us fellow Americans, we should remember this day. July 4th was a huge defining moment. That was when we decided to throw off the chains of tyranny and we decided who we no longer wanted to be. However, September 17 too was a defining moment. On this day we as a nation decided who we wanted to be. Yeah, it isn’t perfect… but it’s better than a lot of other places. Continue reading »

My post last week on reinventing VBS was quite popular with a handful of comments. It does sound as if those in the blogosphere are or have reinvented thier VBS… or ditched it all together. Now, I know that many of you would agree that the methods of VBS is a little “old school.” If’ you’re reading this blog, chances are good that you’ve moved beyond flannel boards in Sunday school. So, my posting an inquery on a blog about reinventing VBS probably doesn’t reach every demographic. But, it was good to hear what you guys are doing as well as churches in your area.

It seems a common thread among rants about VBS (including some I’ve heard from staff at my church) is something like this: “Why would we invest the time and the money into something that is little more than baby sitting for our kids and the kids of our neighbor churches?” Absolutely true. I know that this is the main reason why most churches ditch VBS and a major concern the leadership at my church had about my desire to run a “VBS type” program. Ultimately, it all comes down to your VBS philosophy. If you don’t have one, then you’ll probably be baby sitting your kids this summer. Continue reading »

Are these isolated occurrences or the beginning of a new trend? Several years ago, leading churches like Fellowship Church and Saddleback church ditched VBS as we knew it. Their replacements? Shiney new events like Adventure Week and Summer Spectacular! They’re still pretty much VBS, just with a fresh and new approach. Continue reading »

I wrote yesterday about utilizing your website for communication purposes. It’s an incredibly effective method to communicate to visitors as well as regulars/members. If you make it simple and neat (ideal for all, especially visitors) and up to date with fresh information, you’ll have a great tool. If not, people may visit your page once, but rarely again.

Today I want to focus on the idea of using your website as a tool for communication where your audience can communicate back to you… and I’m not just talking about providing a link to your email. I know some churches are using FellowshipOne software which I used to use (don’t ask). They have the weblink component which is absolutely marvelous! Whether you just want to poll people, sign up for an event, or have people pay online… you can do it through weblink. For those of us who don’t have FellowshipOne, there is still hope! Continue reading »