On June 4-9, 45 students attended camp at Jonathan Creek in Hardin, KY. They didn’t set up tents, forage for food, or start fires (at least I hope they weren’t starting fires). Camp serves as a unique opportunity for students to get away from all of the distractions of home and spend a week with hundreds of people their own age in a fun, high energy environment. However, the main focus of the camp is always Jesus. One of the common misconceptions about Youth Summer Camp is that the students go and mess around doing fun stuff all week and mix in a little Bible study or Worship as a side to the main dish of fun.  Each morning the students have a short morning Worship, followed by a large group Bible study and small group Bible study.  In the afternoon they spent an hour of time alone with God and discussion of that time with our church group.  In the evening they have an extended Worship time, probably close to 1:30-2 hours followed by a debrief time where the students can talk through what God it doing in their lives. 

One of the highlights of this year’s camp was seeing a young man with our group named Tyson request to be baptized while he was there.  It was at camp in 2016 that Tyson started his relationship with Jesus.  He doesn’t have a church home that he is able to regularly attend at home so he wanted to be baptized where it all started for him.  What a special opportunity to see a young man come to know Christ through camp ministry and then to come back the next year and have the opportunity to see him take that next step in obedience to our Lord by baptizing him.

The theme for this year was Outsiders: Citizens of Heaven. In between zip lining into the lake, tubing, and shooting each other with foam balls, students were challenged to determine which residence they were living for—their home on earth or their home in heaven. Students wrestled with what their lives reflected and how they could live out their life as a citizen of heaven and many students have clear applications for how their lives have changed because of how God worked through them during camp. The unfortunate side of camp is this…it ends. The moment the bus stops in the FBC Wentzville parking lot; real life comes flooding in. Students are hit with appointments, tournaments, conflicts, and influences, that want to send them crashing off course. Living for God seems to be a lot easier at camp. The same is true for all of us, while many of us do not attend church camp once a summer, we all go through seasons of life where we feel we are spiritually invincible. Our quiet times have gotten longer, our families are doing bible study together, we are attending Sunday School, and serving in multiple ways, but these seasons seem to end and everything rushes back, and we are tossed from one distraction to the next, one priority to the other, addressing all sorts of needs around us. I don’t want camp to be the best spiritual week of the year for our students, I want it to be the first of fifty-two. We can all relate to the distractions of life pulling us from where we want to be.  The reality is God doesn’t get any quieter outside of camp weeks or awesome seasons of life—we just become poor listeners. Our week at camp was great and for many students, life-changing. Pray for our group of students in these weeks following camp, that they can continue to grow and apply the truths learned at camp.

Together, let’s pray that distractions do not become derailing for our students, or for any of us.

“There comes a time in every firefighter’s life when he’s called upon to do what ordinary men cannot.  Knowing that his inaction may lead to another’s death…and that his action may lead to his own…how he responds in that moment will follow him beyond the grave.  What separates firefighters from ordinary men is the acceptance that death awaits us all.”

I first wrote that in my personal journal over five years ago, and it’s something I believe wholeheartedly.  I believe it so much so, that every time I leave home to report for duty, I am focused on that singular thought.  Is today the day I will be called upon to answer the call that will define my career?  Have I done enough to prepare?  Have I done everything in my power to earn the right to come home at the end of my shift?  Have I studied enough?  Have I trained enough?  Have I disciplined my body, soul, mind and spirit enough to endure what I will face today?

Men, this isn’t going to be your regular feel-good Father’s Day letter, meant to lift you up and recognize your work as a father.  Instead, I believe God has placed on my heart an urgent need to challenge us all…not just you, but me too…and my challenge today comes from my twenty plus years fighting fires.

Brothers, I believe we are daily being pruned, tested, refined, and sharpened.  With the singular purpose to ensure we are battle-hardened and ready to respond in that moment that will define our lives and follow us into eternity.  How you prepare in the days, months and years beforehand will shape how you respond in that moment.

Brother, wherever you are in life, you were created by God, perfect in every way.  A sinner like the rest of us, yes, but perfect in the eyes of the Lord.  You were made with a purpose.  He has you here to bring Him glory…to make disciples.

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.  And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:19-20

But Jason…I don’t know how to do that.  I’m not a good speaker.  I’m not a natural leader.  I don’t have all the answers to people’s questions about God.  Whatever excuse you choose to insert into trying to get out of the Great Commission (and I’ve use them all myself) is invalid.  Simple as that.  It. Is. Not. Valid.

Listen brothers.  I don’t know what your gift is…but I know you have one.  Some of us are meant to teach and preach…some in large congregations…others in small groups or one-on-one.  Some have the gift of worship and prayer.  Others were given a passion for nurturing and serving others.  Maybe you’re good at evangelizing and spreading the Gospel.  Whatever it is, you need to find it…and quick.

Do you get the urgency with which I’m saying this, men!?  We’re living in a world where the Lord God will return any day, and our time to prepare is limited!  Our culture is saturated with sin, depravity, lawlessness, laziness, and apathy…devoid of the Truth that is Jesus Christ.  What are you doing NOW to prepare for the moment you will be called upon to share the Gospel with someone who is lost?  Do you even have a heart for the lost?  Is our greatest concern not for the people in our life who will be condemned to hell for eternity?  Shouldn’t that be our gravest concern and the focus of all our attention?

Men…my brothers in Christ…when’s the last time you memorized Scripture?  Participated in a small group or attended Sunday School?  Worshipped alongside your family?  Studied the bible with your spouse or children?  Spent more than five consecutive minutes in prayer?  Shared the gospel with a lost person?  Loved on your neighbors by meeting a physical need?  Served a stranger in a way that opened the door to sharing Jesus with them?  Our world, nation, state, community, church, family NEEDS you us men of God to step up to the plate…to lead…to PRAY.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in over two decades of being a firefighter, it’s that there is no “routine” call-out.  Expect the unexpected.  In this line of work, there’s a general understanding that we’re being asked to solve every problem on what is the worst day of someone’s life.  If we don’t have the answer, we better find the answer…and quick.  Adapt and overcome.

Our daily lives really aren’t much different.  While our routines and schedules can often be the same from day to day, we’re constantly thrown into situations that present opportunities to evangelize and spread the Word.  Don’t think I’m right?  When you pray over your meal in public, what do you think would happen if you asked your waitress how you could pray for her, and then asked her to join you while you pray for her by name?  Can you imagine the impact you would have in her life, and the ripple effects it would create?

Simply put, my challenge to you…to us all…comes from lessons I’ve learned fighting fires.

1. Lead. Leaders lead from the front.  If you’re not out front, you’re not leading…you’re following.  Get out in front and let your family and those around you seek the safety of your shadow.  When you’re out front, you can expect to be the one to feel the heat of the fire.  The ones behind you will be shielded by you, and you will bear the brunt of the attacks.  That’s by design.  Embrace it.  You’re going to want to quit at some point.  Don’t!  You will find your rest when you put on the Armor of God daily and allow the Shield of Faith to take the fiery darts of the wicked one.  Remember, when the shield is taking the fiery darts, your family is not.

2. Never Stop Improving. Never stop moving forward.  Never give up.  There is ALWAYS a way.  It might be impossible to see through the darkness, but it’s there.  Sometimes you gotta get down on your hands and knees and feel your way around blindly with nothing but your hands.  When life knocks you down, remember you’re in the perfect position to pray.  Never underestimate the power of prayer.  Prayer is the best armor against all trials.  When you pray for better days, God will show you a better way.  No one makes a lock without a key.  That’s why God won’t allow you to experience problems that don’t have solutions.  God is never blind to your tears, never dead to your prayers, never silent to your pain.  He sees.  He hears.  He feels.  And He’s never far away.  There is ALWAYS a way.  And the answer is often closer than you realize.
   

3. Step up to the plate. Somewhere, there is someone counting on YOU.  Be ready.  Do your part.  Step up to the plate.  Don’t let them down by being unavailable, unwilling or unprepared.

 Over five years ago, I wrote something else in my personal journal right below that first entry.  Something that I hope shapes who I am in Christ and reflects God’s love to those around me…

“There comes a time in every man’s life when he will be called upon to do something that offers him no tangible benefit in return.  How he responds in that moment will follow him beyond the grave.  The benefit of his decision to act is in knowing that he did so merely because it was the right thing to do.”

 Happy Father’s Day.