For all of those out there who are about my age, today may hold special meaning. It is 9-02-10! I will always associate those numbers with the hit TV show Beverly Hills 90210. The show ran during the 1990s. It was a show about a group of rich teens who lived in that zip code. I watched it religiously as a teenager along with Melrose Place. I watched Brandon, Kelly, Brenda, Dylan and the other characters deal with issues like STDs, eating disorders, popularity, alcohol and drugs. It was a show about teenagers made for teenagers.

Last Saturday a group of over seventy youth and adults from five churches meet in our CLC. We spent the day together doing missions right here in our community. The students took part in prayer walks, landscaping at the middle school, and leading a Backyard Bible Club at Nelson Park. It was a great day!

I can’t begin to put into words how I felt as I watched our youth plan and lead the Backyard Bible Club. They did it all from planning the lesson, games, snack, and craft to helping each child who came feel loved and welcomed. They based the Backyard Bible Club on Johan and the Big Fish. None of the children from the community had heard that story before. You should be very proud of each of our youth. This summer I have seen their love for God, each other, and those in need grow.

Did you know that President Obama is really a Muslim? That he’s not an American? That he wasn’t even born here? That’s the rumor. Problem is none of this is true, but you can’t convince a lot of folks otherwise. The White House felt compelled recently to counter the rumor mill about the president’s faith by releasing a statement that read: “The president is obviously a Christian. He prays every day.” Obama is actually a member of the United Church of Christ denomination which produced a big flap back during the election with his controversial pastor the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. (No Muslim actually has a “pastor.”)  According to a recent article in The News & Observer (August 20, 2010), the facts are: Obama is the Christian son of a Kenyan Muslim father and a Kansas mother. Born in Hawaii, he lived from age 6 to age 10 in Indonesia with his mother and stepfather. And no, he has yet to join a church in the D.C. area.

Last week I managed to pull the family away for end-of-summer beach get-away. It was a great time for us to just be together, and it truly felt like an escape from the busy routine. This was our first taste of saltwater and sand this summer so it was definitely long overdue. Soaking in the waves and the sound of the surf has a palpable rejuvenating effect on the soul. Living an hour and a half from the Atlantic beaches has its advantages for a lot of people here in eastern North Carolina—especially on the weekends. However, that doesn’t work out too well for those of us who have jobs on Sunday. So we take what we can get. Still, there is a biblical Sabbath principle that we all must find a way to work into the rhythm of life. Too much time away, or too little, leaves us out of the healthy balance that God intends for our soul...

It has been a busy three weeks for me. I'm now beginning to pack up from the summer and turn my head towards the fall events. I've spent the last three weeks knee deep in our children and youth ministries. I have spent a week at PassportKids camp, the next week on a youth mission trip, and ended it with a week of very loud VBS.

Last week was amazing! I spent it with eleven youth from our church on a mission trip to Asheville, NC. The people I spent the week with changed me. Each relationship from the trip left a mark on my life. I’d like to take a moment and share with you a little about them.

Last week, I went to PASSPORT Kids Camp at Wingate University to spend four days with nine children from FBC. Two of the nine were my sons and our group needed a male chaperone. So as parent and pastor I couldn’t escape the obvious. It had been a long while since I had spent a week at a church camp. “Back in the day,” (when I was much closer to their age) I led many a youth and college students to weekend retreats at the beach and in the mountains as well as far off places like Tennessee, New Mexico, and Canada. So I’ll admit I was a little rusty. But it didn’t take long to start enjoying the experience of being a kid at camp...

I went to camp expecting to have a fun time. I didn’t expect that God would remind me of the calling and passion he had placed in my heart for ministry. Sometimes it takes being forced out of your normal routine to experience God. There is something very freeing about dancing, playing and acting like an idiot all in the name of God with a bunch of kids. This week has reminded me that being a Christian should be fun.

Clarence Jordan died in rural Georgia in 1969 at the age of 57. He was a radical pioneer of the gospel in the racially charged south of his day. Over the years he wrote a “version” of the New Testament scriptures that was called “The Cotton Patch Version.” It is written in the language of his day—which is not exactly politically correct today. But it is what it is. This Sunday I’m preaching the old familiar story of “The Good Samaritan” found in Luke 10:25-37. But I’m afraid there is too much of a disconnect between the Samaritan of Jesus’ day, as the hero of the story, and the potential “Samaritans” of our day. In Clarence Jordan’s day, his version of the story would have raised quite a fuss. It goes as follows…

 Last week, I made it all the way to Maine. I had my lobster. The trip was great and a much needed break. On my way back down the coast, I stopped in New York City. I saw lots of landmarks of the city. I saw Central Park, Time Square, and the Statue of Liberty. My favorite spot was Ellis Island.