Final Two Weeks

I am a week removed from my summer in Baltimore. I spent this past week at the beach with my family getting reacquainted and caught up with everything going on. The week at the beach with my family is always one of my favorites of the year and this time around was no different. It was the perfect way to wrap up this summer. However, before I wrapped up for good I wanted to write two more blogs. This blog will review my last two weeks in Baltimore as I did not have a chance to write in my last two weeks. My final blog will come in the next couple of days and will serve as a final review of everything I learned and how I grew this summer.

If you have been following my blogs this summer then you might be aware that on my final Sunday at Infinity Church in Baltimore I was given the opportunity to preach to the congregation in the main services at both campuses. I considered it a real blessing and did not take the responsibility lightly. Pastor Aaron was out of town with his family that week and was gracious and trusting enough to allow me to preach to the congregation in his absence. My ninth week in Baltimore was spent studying and preparing for preaching on Sunday. It was great that the sermon was the only thing I had to work on that week. I was really able to spend a lot of time in prayer, studying and reading. I was really able to focus on exactly what the Holy Spirit had for me to preach to the congregation and I was again able to feel Him directing me in what He wanted to be said. I preached on Romans 10:4-17 and spoke about the failure of Israel to understand and accept the Gospel. What we concluded was that saving righteousness comes through faith, which is contrasted with the Jew's righteousness that came through works. We also concluded that the Gospel is for everyone; however, the Jews believed that salvation was something just for them as God's chosen people. They missed the part when God told Abraham that all nations would be blessed through his descendants. The last point we noticed was that in order for anyone to accept the Gospel, they must hear the Gospel. Although Israel had heard the Gospel, they had rejected it. However, if the Gospel had not been heard they would not have had the opportunity to accept. The apostles had been sent out to preach the Gospel; it was God's responsibility to send them out. It was the Apostles' responsibility to preach the word, to make sure that Jews and Gentiles alike heard the Gospel. Now it is on the audience to believe and respond to the Gospel (of course there is the discussion on God's call and His responsibility in salvation, but this passage does not address this discussion). Paul stresses the importance of hearing the Gospel in order to make a decision. When we understand that it is our responsibility to preach the Gospel it should become a priority, because if people don't hear the Gospel how can they believe and call on the name of the Lord for salvation? Our first two points direct us on what should be preached and to whom the Gospel should be preached. We are called to preach a Gospel of faith in Christ, not work based salvation. The problem is that many people, even in the church, believe that what they are doing will save them and send them to heaven. They believe that because they're not a killer or bank robber that God couldn't possibly send them to hell. We recognized that their problem was the standard they are using to measure their righteousness. The standard we are called to live up to is not Sodom or Gomorrah; it is not the worst of the worst. Our standard is Christ Himself, something we can never live up to. This is why saving righteousness comes through faith, not by works. That is our message to a world trying to be good enough to get into heaven. Also, our message is for all people. It becomes absolutely necessary to cross cultural, social, gender, and racial boundaries. If Paul were not willing to cross those borders then the Gentiles would have never heard the Gospel. If we are not willing to cross those borders then there are millions of people made up of hundreds of people groups who will never hear the Gospel. These groups currently have less than 2 % Christian influence among them, and unless Christians are willing to cross those lines then millions of people will live and die without ever hearing the Gospel. Our conclusion that hearing the Gospel is necessary for salvation leads us to the conclusion that these people live and die without ever even having the opportunity to accept salvation. This sermon served as a wrap up to Infinity's missions emphasis month, and I do believe the Holy Spirit used this message to encourage the preaching of the Gospel.

After preaching on Sunday I still had a week of work and ministry in Baltimore before it was time for me to come home. We had a group of missionaries from Texas join us on Sunday who were there to put on a vacation Bible school in the apartments next to the church. The VBS started on Sunday night and due to heat and falling through on good advertising we only had 5 kids Sunday night. But God's grace brought out around 25 or 30 the next couple nights if my memory serves me correctly. We had new kids each night. The last two nights, Tuesday and Wednesday, I was able to do teach the Bible lesson. It was great to get to sit down and talk to the kids one more time before I left Baltimore. Most of the groups were responsive and did very well remembering the lessons and the memory verses. My final week in Baltimore I spent most of my time with the missionaries. Tuesday through Friday I was with them pretty much all day. The whole group was incredibly encouraging and really taught me a great deal about ministry. They took me in and made me a part of their group, not just allowing me to participate in their ministry in Baltimore, but even on their visiting Fort McHenry on Tuesday morning and spending Thursday and Friday in Washington D. C. It was the perfect final week ministering with them in and around Baltimore.

That's the low down for my last two weeks spent in Baltimore. I want to thank you so much for your prayers and support in those last two weeks and over the entire summer. There is no doubt that your prayers is what got me through this summer. It is clear to me that it was the work of the Holy Spirit and the strength of the Father that guided me and helped me through this summer. I will have one more follow up blog posted in the next couple of days. In this blog I will discuss everything I learned this summer and how God stretched me and grew me. I can't wait to share all of this with you. So keep your eyes open, it's coming!

To God be the Glory!

Missionaries: It's who we are!

This weekend was the first annual missions conference held at Infinity Church. To say it was successful would be an understatement. What I'm getting at is this weekend was far beyond what I had imagined. The week leading up to the missions conference was by no means a walk in the park, but the conference itself was worth all the time, money, and work that was poured into it. Of course, none of the credit goes to me or any of the other members of the mission team; nor does the credit go to our missionaries that came to speak and do workshops. All the praise honor and glory goes to God the Father who guided us and lead us through the planning process and who gave us the strength the execute the conference this weekend. So let me tell you a bit of what He has done.

Saturday was the first day of the conference. We got started around 9 and went until about 4, but man that time flew by. After welcoming everyone in, getting everyone registered and munching on some pastries and fruit we got things started with some worship and giving of praise to the Father; the perfect way to kick off anything we're doing. We had a message of encouragement from brother Rick Clapp who also preaching on Sunday. He told us how he had become involved in missions, talked about the passing of his father and how that effected his life. He told us about the doors that God opened so wide in his life that he couldn't help but stumble through them. He could not know where these doors would have lead him, but he has been taking annual mission trips to Swaziland, Africa for many years now and has even adopted a brother and sister to live and serve with him and his family. I got to share with Rick about the death of my father and my grandma within about a year of each other and how that effected me in my ministry. We never know how God will use us, or what he will use to move us.

Pastor Mike Crawford brought us our next message from the Word. What Pastor Mike had to say is something all Christians need to hear. The title of his message: Every Christian is a Missionary. His point was that asking a Christian to do missions is like asking a child to eat candy or play video games. Or asking a Christian if he has ever considered missions is like asking Kobe Bryant if he has ever considered playing basketball. What Pastor Mike was getting at is that missions is something that should obviously be a part of who every Christian is. Spreading the Kingdom and making disciples is not something that only some Christians are called to, but it is something that we are all commanded to do. Not only that, but like a child and candy or Kobe and basketball, it is something that should come natural to us. Not necessarily "good" at it at first, but where ever we go, missions should be part of who we are. Not just when we go on mission trips, or just when we're at church, but it should be part of everything we do: going to the mall, running at the track, at work, at school, at our favorite restaurant, or at the doctor's office. Missionaries: It's who we are!

The conference attendees attended two workshops before we served lunch. We offered several different workshops with missionaries and IMB and NAMB representatives. I was able to attend two in the morning. I went to a church planting workshop and learned about the importance of church planting and how it is one of the most effective forms of spreading the Kingdom. I then attended the workshop teaching how to lead a mission trip and learned the importance of keeping your team spiritually prepared for the warfare they will face on the mission field. After lunch there were three more breakout sessions. The first was attended by everyone and was a panel discussion in which the audience got to ask the missionaries questions about missions in general or the field they work in specifically. I did not get to go to the two other workshops in the evening because of getting prepared for Sunday, but we got a lot of positive feedback from everyone who attended. Everyone seemed to have learned a lot and hopefully have caught a fire for missions and evangelism. It at least raised their awareness and revealed how missions is not just something we do, but it is something that we are.

Sunday's service seemed to go over really well. Sunday was more of a cultural celebration. All the different ministries at the church were grouped together and given a continent to create a display with information, pictures, and prayer needs for the countries of that continent. Everyone did a fantastic job decorating and setting up their displays. This also raised cultural awareness as well as revealed the importance of reaching people around the world for the Kingdom cause. After the service we served a cultural meal from a local East African restaurant. Everyone really seemed to enjoy the food and atmosphere. After lunch several of the kids asked me to take them on a walk. I cherished the moment to get away from the adults for a little while and get to hang out with them. We took a walk down to the pond and sat under the gazebo for a few minutes. One of the girls said, "I've never been on a mission trip before." Several of the others agreed; then they all decided they were eager and ready to go on one. They all wanted to go on a mission trip. So I'm not sure what kind of concrete effect the missions conference had on the adults, but I know the kids are ready to go. And that alone is incredibly exciting!

This whole summer has been leading up to the sports camp last week and the missions conference this weekend. Now that it's all behind me it's hard to know what to do next. I can't believe how well both went and wish we could do them again, after a little rest of course. But I've got just two weeks left here in Baltimore and can't wait to see what God is going to do in these last weeks. Last night I was informed that I will be given the privilege of preaching to the Infinity congregation at both campuses next Sunday. It will be my last Sunday worshiping with them, and now I get to share with them as well. After seeing what the Holy Spirit did last week during the sports camp and at the men's shelter I'm so excited to see what He does through me on Sunday. Please be in prayer for me regarding that sermon. I know that it is always Him who speaks through me, and I don't doubt that He will again, but only through prayer. Thank you so much for your prayers this far; I have certainly felt them and been blessed by them.

You can also pray that the information and knowledge that has been distributed this weekend at Infinity's first annual missions conference will only serve to further a heart for missions among the congregation and that the Kingdom of God will continue to come closer and expand in and around Laurel and Baltimore.

To God be the Glory

From Timbuktu to Kingdom Come

What an incredible week this has been. I would like to go ahead and put this out there: "Best week ever!" I didn't even get a chance to write a blog for last week because of everything going on to get ready for this week's sports camp. Jeremy was out of the country and the responsibility of finalizing everything for camp fell on me. There was a lot of emailing and phone calling going on, so there wasn't all that much to tell about. Except for Monday, Horace and I rode through town a little bit on our bikes going from park to park passing out sports camp and Bible school flyers. Most of the people we talked to had a very positive response and seemed to appreciate what the church was doing for the community. It's hard to say how many students showed up because of that, but it was a great opportunity for Horace and me to get out and tell the community about the things that Infinity Church was doing.

From the time Jeremy got back on Saturday night until about 7 o'clock last night it was pretty much nonstop. It started out with a trip to the Baptist Association to load the truck up with everything we would need for the block party on Sunday and the sports camp throughout the rest of the week. We drove around for a little while after that checking on all the teams coming in on Saturday night. It was early to rise Sunday to meet Jeremy at his place and ride with him down to Baltimore to begin setting up everything for the church service outside in the apartment complex. It rained and stormed hard late Saturday night, it was still wet Sunday morning, but the rain was gone. This made for a humid day with plenty of bugs around all day long. We didn't have as many people come out Sunday as we had hoped for, but we had new people who were not regular attendees of Infinity Church, and we were excited about that. We hung around for a while after the service and some of the mission teams sang and performed for the people who were there. We started breaking everything down around 3:30 and went home and rested up for the rest of the week.

I had the privilege of spending some time on Monday morning with one of the mission groups. Vertical Generation was a group of about 85 students from Calvary Baptist Church in Winston Salem, North Carolina. They had a time of worship, prayer, and sharing on Monday morning and they asked for someone from Infinity Church to share with them some encouragement. I was there and able to worship and pray with these guys and it was a real blessing. I was able to share with them from my overflow of what God had been teaching me this summer. I described to them how inadequate I felt when I left Knoxville to come to Baltimore for the summer. I knew no one here and was coming to live in a culture completely different from what I had known my whole life. I shared that this is right where God wants us. If we could do it on our own we wouldn't need Him. But that's just it, we could never do anything for the Kingdom apart from the strength and grace of God. I encouraged the kids that on their own strength they would not survive. We all are dependent on the strength He gives us, that way He gets all the glory and we have nothing to say except, "glory to God."

I got back to the apartments in time to see the end of the Bible camp and the kids who had showed up that morning. Again, not as many as we had wanted, and the longer the week went on, the more we realized that the week of 4^th of July as not the best to try and compete with everything else going on. But all in all, the Bible school went over very well and the kids who came really enjoyed it. Throughout the week I got to know the mission team carrying out the Bible school quite well. I got to hang out with them last night actually. It is a group from Burnt Hickory Church in north Georgia. The whole group is middle schoolers and a handful of special leaders who kept up with their middle schoolers all week. I was impressed at how great the kids were with jumping in and doing the Bible school on their own for the most part. They really took the community kids and encouraged them to take part in what was going on. The leaders were there for supervision of course, but it was the kids from Burnt Hickory who kept coming up to us on Wednesday telling us they had prayed with someone to receive Christ. What an awesome opportunity for these middle schoolers and a blessing it has been for the community.

The first day of sports camp went over really well I thought. I think all the groups that were here helping were surprised at how easy it was to share with people about Christ and about Infinity Church. We had "welcome wagons" at the two entrances to the apartments that were able to share with everyone walking by on the sidewalks. This played a key role in bringing in kids the next several days. One welcome wagon was staffed by a group from First Baptist Powell and the other was staffed by a family that had come all the way up here from Florida to help serve. Both teams did great passing out popcorn and making killer snow cones (Both of which I tested and strongly approved of) and telling the people what we were doing and more importantly, why we were doing it. Monday night I got to share with the group of campers my own testimony. I told them about growing up without a dad around too much, but that God had been my Heavenly Father that had given me support, encouragement, protection, provision, and love. I think it helped the kids see that I could relate to where many of them were and how God had been there for me through the hardest parts of my life. Monday night I was able to spend with my own faith community from FBC Powell. At the beginning of this week I didn't not know any of them, but by the end of the sports camp yesterday it was as if I had grown up going to church with all of them. It was really like that with several of the groups. I'm thankful that I got to spend time away from camp with most of the groups that were here this week. It's been such an encouragement to see how excited all these groups were to be here spreading the Gospel and bringing the God's Kingdom to earth. On Monday night when I was with Powell they were having a time of sharing of what they all had done that day at sports camp. A few of the men were describing sharing the Gospel with people in the community and the kids began to get real excited. As a group they decided that since they were on a mission trip they wanted to take their Tuesday night and go the Inner Harbor,not to eat or shop, but to share the Gospel. That's what they had driven 9 hours to do, and they wanted to take every opportunity they had to share the Gospel. I was blown away at witnessing this.

Monday night I fell asleep on the couch at about midnight thirty and woke up once for long enough to read 3:15 on my watch and then roll over and fall back asleep until 7 o'clock Tuesday morning. Needless to say, I was incredibly tired. I was feeling good Tuesday though, I know it was the strength of the Lord which I had talked about Monday that got me through this week. Tuesday I was actually able to be at Bible School with Burnt Hickory and is when I really started to get to know everyone with their group. Tuesday's sports camp brought out more kids as well and I got to share with the kids how just as there are penalties for breaking the rules in sports that must be paid, there are penalties for us breaking the rules God has given us that must be paid for. Romans 6:23 tells us that we deserve death because of our sin, but God has given us the gift of eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. After presenting the Gospel I told the kids that if this was a gift they wanted to accept to find one of the camp councilors sitting with them. Immediately after I prayed one of the young ladies from the Calvary group brought Nigel to me and he told me, "I wanna accept that gift!" So I asked him some questions and made sure he understood what all of that meant, and then I let him pray and ask forgiveness of his sins and to accept the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. I had a smile on for the rest of the week!

Tuesday night Calvary went over to a men's shelter to put on a concert and I was able to go and preach to the men there. That was also a privilege and that evening was one of the strongest I've ever felt the Holy Spirit working in my life. I went in intending to preach the same message that I had to the kids, but I knew when I got there that's not what these guys needed to hear. But I wasn't sure what they needed to hear. So I prayed and prayed and searched and God told me to tell them, "God does not leave you where He finds you." So I preached a different perspective of Jeremiah 29:11 and I think the men really appreciated it. Tuesday was another late night, but at least I made it into my bed when I got home.

Wednesday morning I got to spend with the Bible camp group again; which was a real blessing. I really appreciated the work they did with the kids in the mornings. Wednesday sports camp was our biggest turn out. I talked to the kids about Jesus being the only way to Salvation because He is the only person who ever lived that did not have His own sins to pay for; therefore, He was able to pay for our sins. We had a few more kids respond and pray with camp councilors. After camp we put on a concert that Burnt Hickory came back for and sang, Calvary Baptist also sang some more songs and did a few skits that the kids really seemed to enjoy. After everything was over Wednesday night a small group from Calvary separate from the group of 85 kids took their pick-up over to help a man and wife move out of their house. They were in a pretty rough part of town and we helped move to a house near the church. So we told them about Infinity and they should be joining us on Sunday. They also have a son who is 16 that seems to be in some in with some pretty rough people. T.J. could really use a lot of prayers. Afterwards, this group went out with Jeremy and me to a place called Timbuktu for what has been advertised as the best crab cakes in the world. I must say, they were pretty good.

Thursday I got to sleep in a little bit; the Burnt Hickory was done with Bible school, so I didn't have to be in Baltimore until about 1 o'clock to set up for the sports camp. The last night of sports camp went incredibly well and I can't believe sitting here now on Friday morning that it is over. Since I've arrived on May 21 this has been the week we were working toward, and now it's behind us. I realize we did not have the turn out we would have liked, but I know the kids that were there were able to learn a great deal, not just about sports, but about Christ, which is the main goal of everything we do.

I want to give a shout out to everyone who was involved in pulling this week off. All six groups that served with us this week: the two groups from Calvary Baptist, the group from FBC Powell, the family from Florida, Woodstream church from here in Maryland that were a tremendous help in registration and crafts, as well as evangelism in the community, and of course Burnt Hickory from Georgia that did so great with the kids in the mornings. I was blessed to meet tons of new people of all ages, from awesome leaders in their church communities as well leaders in their respective youth groups. I wish I could name every one of my new friends from across the country, and I hope that my ministry will bring me into contact with them again.

You can begin praying for all the kids that accepted Christ this week. Pray that their lives will never be the same and that they would find a church community that will help them grow and develop in their relationship with Christ that started this week. Pray that Infinity Church will be able to make contact with all those who heard the Gospel from the teams from FBC and Woodstream that preached door to door in the community and get them plugged in as well. We hope that this week was productive for the advancement of the Kingdom of God. Thank you so much for all your prayers and encouragement leading up to this week. It was truly rewarding and one of the best I've ever had. I'm so thankful for this opportunity to serve the Lord in this capacity. I can't wait to see what else is in store for this summer.

To God be the glory

Into the Hills* of Maryland

The last three days have been filled with all kinds of new experiences; this weekend I was privileged to accompany the Infinity Church youth group to their summer camp. First off I got to meet a whole new group of people and got to develop deeper relationships with others I knew before. Spending a weekend in the woods with a group of middle schoolers can bring any group of adults closer together. All in all the kids were great, well at least the fellas were. I can't attest to the ladies too much. But it was great getting to spend some time with the volunteers in the youth group, even though I already knew all of them in some form or fashion I was able to really get acquainted with them. I also knew a few of the kids that went with us, but most of them I had not yet met. We had four fellas go, so Mike and I had it pretty easy. And it really gave me the opportunity to spend one on one time with all of them. It was fantastic.

I certainly enjoyed that part of the trip much more than the camp itself. This camp was structured a little different than what I'm used to. Even different from the weekend camps that I've been to. The worship services were something new to me, as odd as that sounds. It was more the worship and singing that was new for me. My favorite song was definitely the "funky music" version of "How Great is Our God" that we sang Saturday night. Let me just tell you though, we sang that song for at least 15 minutes and didn't even sing a verse! The slide on the screen could have read:

How great is our God!

Sing with me, how great is our God,

And all will see how great,

How great is our God!

(x 50)

You might laugh, but I really do think we sang that chorus 50 times. But it really gave time for that to sink in and encouraged me to just try and think about how great God really is. But yeah, all the songs were like that. The messages this weekend were well worth the trip. The camp was centered on change, metamorphosis, transformation, II Corinthians 5.17 kind of stuff. On Saturday night and Sunday morning we had a Gospel rapper preach. Yeah, that's right, a Gospel rapper who goes by "The Ambassador." I need to look him up, apparently he's a pretty big deal. If his music is as good as his preaching I'm sure I will like it. Another gentleman preached to us on Friday night. He told us about the change in his own life. He said something Friday night that just smacked me upside the head, it was intense. Talking about people who think they're saved, he referenced Matthew 7.23. He said, "For an omniscient God to say, 'I never knew you' is a BIG deal!" I had to do a double take with my ears on that. It was an astounding statement that I wasn't really sure what to do with. I realize the passage he is referencing is pretty hardcore, certainly a hard teaching. People who think they are saved will hear those words one day. Can you imagine?! It's really a warning for people in ministry who preach and prophecy, and yet God doesn't know them. It made me wanted to get reacquainted with God in a new way for sure.

So that was this weekend, and what a set of days to have behind me as I approach the days ahead of me. This is the last week to get everything ready and organized for the sports camp next week. It will definitely be my busiest week so far, but I'm excited. It was great to hear several messages this weekend all centered around Gospel presentation as I will be sitting down this week to write 4 sermons all with the purpose of presenting the Gospel. I feel like I have a pretty strong foundation for what God wants say next week to all those kids. It is great to be able to use the whole week to share with them. It will allow me to build and develop each sermon into a strong presentation of the Gospel. By the end of the week I pray that God will use me to make clear to all who come to learn sports will that they are sinners in need of a savior, that Jesus is the ONLY way to salvation from those sins, and that salvation comes by grace through a relationship with Christ which must be worked at. Just like coming to that sports camp one week out of the year will not make them an athlete, neither will making an uncommitted decision to follow Christ save them from their sins. Just like sports, this lifestyle takes practice, and just like all relationships on earth require correspondence, so does our relationship with Christ. I do not just want to tell the kids about Jesus so they will say a prayer and go through life telling people they're saved because they prayed once, but I pray that God will show these kids the way He will not only change their eternal destiny, but He will change their way of life here on earth. Similar to what this weekend's camp was about: change, transformation.

So pray that God will help me put all of this together in a way that will glorify Him, that will be truthful and honest with the kids, and that will at least plant seeds that can be harvested and discipled by Infinity Church or any other Gospel preaching, God fearing church. I have never been about numbers or twisting people's emotions to illicit a response, so pray that God will not let me settle for half truths or sharing a false, "more appealing" Gospel. I put that in quotes because people often try to soften the Gospel to make it easier to accept, and the fact is that it is not easy for self-centered human beings to abandon their life to God; however, despite being hard to accept, it is the only true Gospel. Therefore, any other Gospel is not appealing because it will not save you. So pray that I would not compromise or soften the Gospel. Pray for the camp as well, that everyone stays safe, healthy and learns life lessons along with all the sports talk. Pray for good weather. That is definitely necessary for what we've got going on next week. Pray for all the teams that are traveling up here to help us with this camp; pray that all the youth would learn from this week how to serve and minister and that they would get excited about it and want to live a life of ministering to those around them, or even going somewhere else to share the Gospel. Thank you for your prayers, support and encouragement. It has been a great summer so far and I'm only halfway there. I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for me during the next five weeks.

*"Hills" here are quite a bit different than hills in Tennessee. But it was nice being away from all the non-stop commotion of being so close to the city.

To God be the glory.

Week Four (4)

Well, it's a little late, but I'm finally getting around to telling you all about my fourth week here. It's been a lot of the same, just getting things ready for the sports camp just two weeks away now, as well as lining things up for the missions conference a few weeks following the sports camp. I did get to take a midweek trip into the city last week to take registration forms by some of the elementary schools and the library near the community where we're doing the sports camp. That was the first time I had been downtown on a week day. I was sure to leave late in the morning to miss all the traffic!

Last Sunday night I got to go back down to the city again and watch game 6 of the NBA Finals with Horace. That was a lot of fun too. His little girls are so sweet and I love spending time with him and his family. Needless to say, Horace educated me all about basketball and the NBA. He told me about Lebron "Lames" and Chris "Gosh" and Dwyane "Fade."He's a Heat hater, but I got him to quiet down a bit when I showed him I could talk trash too when I started talking about Joe "WackO." Anyway, even though the Heat lost, it was a blast. This past Saturady he and I went on another bike ride. We didn't go quite as far this time, but we had some pretty good discussion. I can tell that the Holy Spirit is present and at work in his life. Despite being a relatively new Christian, Horace is familiar with what Scripture says and seems to have a lot of wisdom regarding its teachings. It was really interesting to hear his perspective, and he taught me a lot Saturday.

The big news of the week is that Jeremy and Pastor Aaron have placed on me the responsibility to present the Gospel each night after the sports camp. Every night after everyone goes through camp, we will gather them together and present the Gospel to them before hotdogs and fellowship. I feel a burden to present the Gospel in a way that the kids will be able to understand and that will plant seeds in their lives that will be at some point be harvested into souls for the Kingdom. Many parents will be listening as well, so I hope to present the Gospel in such a way as to reveal to them their need for a savior. I feel completely inadequate. We're expecting around 200 kids. I've never spoken to more than 30 max, but I am encouraged that it is not me who is speaking, but the Holy Spirit who will be speaking through me. I started reading David Platt's new book just in time. In the opening section of the third chapter Platt speaks of the power of the Word of God in the Gospel. He talks about how inadequate he felt when Brook Hills asked him to be their pastor. It was an encouraging word that gave me confidence in the Holy Spirit and the power of the Word to present the Gospel to these kids and their parents.

Obviously your prayers as I prepare to share the Gospel four times in two short weeks would be very much appreciated. Just pray that God would continue to empty me of myself and fill me with the Holy Spirit, and that I would not take lightly the handling of the Gospel.

Also, Friday I get to take a trip with the youth group on their youth retreat. I'm not sure of all the details, but I haven't had a lot of interaction with the youth at the Laurel campus, so it will be something new for me. Pray that I will be able to build new relationships with the youth and pray for the youth that their relationship with Christ would be challenged and strengthened through this conference.

Your prayers and words of encouragement have been so helpful and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I know I can expect only more from you all, and I am so blessed to have so much support. Thank you again!

To God be the glory.

What I Miss the Most

Someone asked me just the other day what I miss the most from home. Well really, time has been going by so fast and I've stayed so busy that I haven't really had a lot of time to think about it. On top of that, the people that I miss most I get to talk to at least once a week on the phone or on Skype. To be honest, I'm hanging in there. But this question got me thinking, and over the last few days I have discovered a few things that I really miss.

1. I miss having my own personal DJ in my car as I drive around town (Christy Graves)
2. I miss playing Rockband with fore mentioned DJ.
3. I miss having someone to watch the races with, or the U.S. Open, or the College World Series (Wahoowa)
4. I miss having mom to tell me about what she's reading and then passing those books to me to sit on my shelf for a year before I get the chance to pick them up. (Can't wait to read Dietrich Bonhoeffer by the way!)
5a. Definitely missing my home cooked meals. My own cooking doesn't extend far past spaghetti or Campbell's Chunky, and the women here at the church are doing a wonderful job at cooking me meals, but absolutely nothing beats a "Jill Meal."
5b. Pop's steak
6. Mike's cheesy jokes
7. Kimmie putting her foot in her mouth
8. Pyper Grace Ogan, and the Ogan family cookouts.
9. Wild Wing's Cafe for the all you can eat lunch buffet with Rick and Tyler.
10. Summer par three golfing.
11. Talking about all the summer movies with everyone at HC7. I don't even know what's worth seeing!
12. The Office, 30 Rock, Coach, and Parks and Rec with my boys on 1st west. Among other things.
13. Quietness, or stillness would be the better word. Everything here is ALWAYS moving.
14. YOKE on Tuesday nights with all my YOKE Folk and YOKE kids.
15. The previous includes Chick-Fil-a on Tuesday nights before YOKE with Jonny Mitch and occasionally Alex. I still eat Chick-Fil-a basically every Tuesday night. But it's just not the same.
16. Frisbee in the mornings at World's Fair Park and playing in the fountains to cool off.
17. Lunch with Madison Snyder and our friend Ellen.
18. All of the greenways with endless miles through the city and the country of Knoxville.

To sum it up, I just miss Knoxville. I'm certain there is more that I will find myself wishing I had here. But I'm not too worried. I'll be home shortly and I know by the time I'm home for 4 weeks I'll be missing Baltimore. It's a catch 22 really. But I'm so glad to be here serving God, and I'm glad that I am missed at home as well. I can't wait to get back to you all.

Be looking for another blog in the next couple of days telling y'all all about week four. I've got some big news coming, and I'm not just saying that as a hook. You'll wanna read to get the low down, I promise. Also, I'm about to finish a book that I will be talking about in my other blog. It will be my first book review. It was a fantastic book and you're going to want to know what it has to say. That can be read in a few more days at www.dougslibrary.blogspot.com so ya better check back soon!

Week Three (3)

Wow, well this week has just flown by. I can't believe I've already been here three weeks. Will someone please check my math on that... This week was more of the same. Planning and getting ready for our missions conference on July 16 and for our sports camp that runs through the first week of July. If you haven't heard the story of me calling the tent rental places, then I will share. If you've heard it, hear it again. I called one of the local party rental places to price tents for our Sunday service to kick off of the sports camp at the downtown campus. Well I had been talking to one lady for a few minutes and she just stops me and says, "You are planning this event in Baltimore, right? Because with your accent I couldn't tell. We had a lady call from North Carolina the other day wanting a tent, and I just wanted to be sure..." So I started laughing, and she chuckled an embarrassed laugh when I explained that I was from Tennessee, but was here for the summer. I've had a few conversations about my accent, the kids like to make fun of me too. But all in all, I'm fitting in pretty well.

Speaking of the kids, I think I've fallen in love. I was able to teach the kids Wednesday night, and boy was that fun! No, really. It was awesome! Attendance was a little low, which helped keep them calmer, but it was great. I gotta say I stole a page from the YOKE handbook and led them in a fun song that allowed them to get all their energy out before I started talking. IT WORKED! They all sat down and said, "I'm tired!" I nodded my head and assured them that was what I was counting on. I got to talk to them about obedience for a few minutes until they got their energy back. We talked about Abraham and Isaac, and how God asked Abe to sacrifice his promised son. This was something hard, but Abraham was willing to obey, and even though it was just a test, Abraham showed himself obedient, and God showed Himself faithful. So I told the kids God asks us to do some pretty hard things too, like love our enemies and forgive those who have wronged us. So then we prayed and played games for the remaining time.

You can keep praying for both the sports camp the first week of July. That is when the group from First Baptist will be here, so you should already be praying for them anyway. Double Jeopardy; what is "two reasons you should be praying for the week of July 3-7?" Also, keep the missions conference in your prayers. Our goal is the make Infinity Church aware of the need to preach the Gospel, and to share with them practical ways they can share the Gospel from day to day, and also to present them with upcoming opportunities to serve on the mission field. Including a trip to Knoxville in August. Thanks so much for your prayers and encouragement. Keep it up!

To God be the Glory