Windy Gap 2009 was amazing! I have been going to Windy Gap since the 1990's. It is always one of my favorite three days of the year. Located in the majestic Smokey Mountains, this Young Life Camp is so beautiful for so many reasons. As you can tell from the photos, Windy Gap packs a punch with good looks and great weather.

Our middles school students came prepared to meet God this year. As we told them, God is here! It is up them to embrace Him at camp. Pastor Grey King, teaching pastor of Five Stones Church in Waxhaw was our speaker. He is always so on target with the students. This year was no different. He gave the challenge, "Your direction, not your intentions, determines your destination." We call our time of worship "County Seat". Pastor Greg uses God's word to pierce the hearts of the students with His truth. Several students prayed to accept Christ as Savior and many others prayed to rededicate their lives to Christ.

Heath Nestor and the Five Stones Band joined us again to lead our worship time. Their energy and song selections gave the students a platform for worship. I enjoy seeing the students totally engaged in worship. Windy Gap lends to that atmosphere during worship.

Windy Gap is all about fun! The blob, the zip line, and the Sippin' Parlor take up much of the time during free time. The weekend starts with group games and the world's most famous "flour war".

For the sixth year Back Creek Christian School has joined us on our trip. They are a great group of educators and students from Back Creek Presbyterian Church in the University area.

Praise God for what Windy Gap is and has become to Carmel Christian School. It is the premiere event that CCS provides. Our graduates mention Windy Gap more than any other special event when we poll them about their years at Carmel. I trust they remember it because of the fun, because they met Jesus there, because they saw their teachers in a new light there, because they were challenged to live life for Christ there. Whatever the reason, I trust they will always remember the great God of Windy Gap.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's time for school to start! Where did the summer go? Is it me or does the summer get shorter and shorter? However long you may think summer may be, school starts next week. I love the start of the school year. Students are excited. Parents are happy. Teachers love the new look of the classroom. There is not a better time of the year for school.

Tomorrow the teachers come back for teacher in-service. It is a great time to reconnect and get on the same page with ones colleagues. They get to refocus on their mission. We teachers realize that we get to do what God called us to do --teach. A teacher can't imagine doing anything else. It is the most fulfilling occupation.

Students also have such a privilege to learn. As you know from my last blog I visited Kenya in June/July. Students in Kenya are not much different than students in America. Our resources may look different and be more abundant, but the students are similar. They discover. They investigate. They love to learn. They get to have fun while they learn.

My prayer is that all of us will make the most out of school this year. What a great opportunity we have. It is the most wonderful time of the year!

My World Became Smaller this Week

My world became a smaller place this week. I had the privilege of going on a mission trip to Kenya the past 10 days. After 34 hours of travel, all 18 of us from Carmel Baptist Church made our way to the small village of Kandaria. It has a population of about 7,000. The terrain is rugged and steep.

The people of Kandaria were so wonderful. What thankful hearts! During our home visits, the people thanked God for all that He had provided them. Many of them had never had a white man visit in their homes before. It was an honor to be one of the first.

During our stay we were able to assist the people in expanding their new water system. A giant water tank had been built just a few months before we arrived. Our task was to continue the water pipeline down the mountainside. Once completed, the villagers will be able to get water from the pipes without the long trip to the stream.

My favorite part of the trip was meeting with the teachers at the Kandaria public schools. The village has two primary schools (classes one through eight) and one high school (classes nine through twelve). Ms. Lillian is the principal of the Akada Primary School. She was my hostess for the week. The motto of the Akada School is "Excellence is Our Desire". How exciting to work with educators who want the best for their students. I was able to share my passion for Christian education and Biblical Integration. They were encouraged by my vision of sharing God's Word in all content areas, not just religion class. Many of the teachers told me by week's end that they would be using Biblical Integration in their lessons.

My prayer is that we will be able to assist the schools in some way over the coming years. There are many needs. We will be able to prioritize the needs to see how we can assist them. What a great opportunity we have to help.

As we drove to the city of Kisumu each night we passed many people who do not know of the love of Jesus. Our world needs a Savior. I asked myself the question: What am I doing to reach out to that world? I want to be a part of the solution. What are you doing to help? I encourage each of us to examine why we "do church". I encourage the American church to re-examine our priorities. I think we can do a better job.

I encourage all of us to be a part of a short term mission trip. It will hopefully change your prospective on how the rest of the world lives, as it did mine. It will hopefully change your view of a dying and lost world who desperately needs Christ.

A Tribute to Those Who Play "Second Fiddle"

This blog is a tribute to Dr. J. R. Faulkner, 1914-2009, the former President of Tennessee Temple University. I had the privilege of knowing Dr. Faulkner from 1980 - 1985 when I was a student at TTU. Dr. Faulkner taught me and the thousands of students who knew him, what it means to play "second fiddle." Dr. Faulkner was the right-hand man to Dr. Lee Roberson, TTU Chancellor. Not many people know how to play "second man" very well. So many people want to be the up-front guy, the man in charge, or the one who gets all the glory. Dr. Faulkner was one of the most humble men I have ever known. He and Dr. Roberson worked so well together. Besides their work at the university, at Highland Park Baptist Church, Dr. Roberson was the senior pastor and Dr. Faulkner led the congregational singing. When you saw the one you saw the other. Theirs was a unique friendship.

Also, I learned so much wisdom from Dr. Faulkner on leadership. In 1985 I was the Student Body vice president. I went to see Dr. Faulkner to get his advice on how to present a student body chapel that I was in charge of. His advice was so practical and full of wisdom. I look back on that special chapel knowing that he gave me permission to do something in that chapel that was unusual for that time period. He was forward thinking and inclusive.

I hosted a special Christmas service one December night in 1984. It was the first time we had ever attempted anything quite like that at Temple. I found out later that Dr. Faulkner sat in the balcony of the auditorium that night, giving his blessing by his presence. I always appreciated that He came to every play that I was in.

One of my favorite memories was attending a grand 70th birthday party for Dr. Faulkner. The evening was a "This is your Life" style dinner. Dr. Faulkner thoroughly enjoyed himself as friends from the past came out to greet him. Near the end of the ceremony a booming voice was heard over the PA. Dr. Faulkner knew that voice and looked up with unbelief. Suddenly Dr. Faulkner's long-time friend, Dr. Bob Jones, Jr. came out. They had been friends since their days in college together at Bob Jones College. For those who don't understand the disconnect between TTU and Bob Jones University, let me just say, the two schools didn't always see eye-to-eye. The fact that Dr. Bob was on campus was a huge deal. These old friends were able to renew their relationship on Dr. Faulkner's special day.

You may be reading this and wondering "who in the world are all of these people" and "why should I care." You may not care...but these people are my legacy. These people poured themselves into me. Dr. Faulkner is a part of that legacy. The world is a better place because of Dr. J. R. Faulkner.

Graduation 2009

I like graduation ceremonies. The emotion, the drama, the celebration! Graduations are the culmination of 12 or 13 years of learning, hard work, homework, and a job well done. Commencement ceremonies should be about tradition and legacy. "Pomp and Circumstance" has to be played. I think every high school should use black robes. What is with a silver or purple colored robe? Something classy about a black robe. Black goes with any color honor cord. We have an eighth grade graduation at our school. (We don't have a high school). I make our graduation a big event. All graduations should be a big event. Everyone is there to see the graduates. They are not there to see the speaker. I feel bad for the speaker. Unless he can stand on his head or say something truly memorable he has a difficult task. I heard a commencement address last month that was 47 minutes long. The speaker lost the graduates about 10 minutes into the speech. It was too bad because it was a good speech. But don't speak for 47 minutes. Bill Smith was our speaker this year at Carmel Christian School. Memorable. "Follow Jesus on the journey of life." It was simple. He gave each graduate a compass. They will remember that. Congratulations to all the graduates. As I say every year, "Make much of Jesus." You can now move your tassel and throw your cap into the air.

Eagle Scout

On Saturday I had the privilege of being the guest speaker at an Eagle Scout recognition ceremony. One of my former students at Carmel Christian School, Brady Stephenson, received this special award. He is a great young man who is very deserving of the award. As I said in my speech, Brady manages to "be on the swim team, plays classical piano, participates in church activities, participates in mission opportunities, sings in the school choir, attends all Boy Scout outings, and still has time to get all A's and one B". You know how I like to know the history behind things so I started investigating the history of the Eagle Scout award. Alfred Rose received the first Eagle Scout award in 1912. The first President of the United States to be a Boy Scout was John F. Kennedy. But, the only U.S. President ever to achieve the Eagle Scout was Gerald Ford. At the ceremony I was reminded that for every 100 Boy Scouts only 2 will actually make to the end to become an Eagle Scout. How many of us actually complete anything? I know I start so many projects only to let them fall to the way. I hope to start and finish cleaning the garage tomorrow. Drop out rates for our schools continue to grow. Only 35% of those who start college actually finish. Completion of the Eagle Scout is an amazing accomplishment. Brady has again inspired me to be a part of something that is excellent. More importantly he has shown me the value of the successful completion of a valiant task. May we all strive for such a goal. Good job my friend.

Washington DC Trip 09

I have been taking students to Washington DC for 24 years. This year was like most years: filled with fun, too much food, mostly good weather, a photo meeting with Rep. Sue Myrick, a musical at Ford's Theatre, a trip to the Naval Academy and a visit to Mt. Vernon (in photo). This year's group was able to experience a few new things. We visited the new 911 Memorial at the Pentagon. The memorial had so much meaning. Every element meant something for the victims. Those lost on the plane or in the Pentagon will forever be remembered in that special place. Next our group was able to visit the Jewish Chapel at the Naval Academy. The protestant chapel was closed for renovations so our students were able to tour the Jewish Chapel. The students and I learned a great deal about how our Jewish friends worship. We were also able to see the new $626,000,000 visitor center at the US Capitol. The space was very well done but I am not sure it was worth the price. I was so proud of our students again this year. The CCS 8th grade class of 2009 is a great group. They were so much fun to lead. They behaved well, look great and were a great testimony to those we met.