Student Life Camp 2010 Thursday

Today is the last day of camp for us and it has been a great week. Darren Whitehead talked about the world's perception of the Church and God's perception of the Church last night. We are the Bride of Christ, and we should proudly portray that beautiful image. This morning he spoke about the tongue being like a fire able to cause enormous destruction. We're all twinkies today wearing our blue "epic" shirts, and we took some pictures on the beach as you can see. There is a lot of oil on the shore today, much more than we've seen all week. It's also much fresher, for lack of a better word. It's not mixed with sand like it has been, but instead is thick and dark blobs. There are also noticably more boats out in the water with skimmers and boom, as well as several helicopters flying over. In the midst of an unforgettable week it's been crazy to see this disaster continuing to unfold. Pray for the gulf coast! God is alive and well in this place, and Student Life has a presence down here for several weeks out of the summer.

I've been so blessed by our adult leaders and students this week. Because of this trip at least seven students stepped into an eternal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is soooo worth any inconvenience we might encounter, and far more beautiful than any beach setting in the world. We begin the long journey back home tomorrow afternoon, and I'm anxious to see these students continue to live out what God has done this week. We have one more afternoon and evening to go, and I hear some seafood calling my name. Be blessed!

Tuesday afternoon brought lots of rain and a little bit of sunshine. Tuesday night brought showers of blessings. Seven of our students responded to the invitation - some of them trusted Christ for the very first time. This is why we do these things - this is what it is all about. David Nasser shared a personal story about traveling to the wrong city, and told us that the only thing worse than being lost, is to be lost and not even realize it. I think some of our students had been struggling with that judging by the conversations we had afterwards. One of our young ladies could not contain her excitement after she responded to the message. Her response was contagious, and I found myself being blown away and tears welled up as I watched her share what God had done in her life with the group.

Today (Wednesday) has been a beautiful day. Darren Whitehead joined us this morning and talked about how our culture dictates our dreams. He talked about culture has shaped our dreams and aspirations that we don't even know what to ask God for. If we could have anything we want it is usually something we think will bring happiness, security, and prosperity. We've let the world dictate what we should pursue. Our students then got to spend some time shopping a little bit before lunch and some time on the beach. We had a team play dodgeball, some of the guys tried (and mostly failed...ha ha) to skim board, and swimming. As I type this the students are in their small groups doing their bible study for the day and Sean is grilling some chicken for us. It's going to be a great night. God has truly blessed this camp and this week and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next. More to come tomorrow.

Student Life Camp Orange Beach 2010 Tuesday

We arrived here in Orange Beach yesterday afternoon after two long days of travel. Our group did an exceptional job on the road - I was very proud of them. That being said, we were all very anxious to get here and are happy to be settled in for the week. We are staying in four separate condos all on the fifth floor and each with a gulf front view. The beach is beautiful and our students are enjoying it already. The water in Orange Beach is closed due to a swimming advisory in place by the state of Alabama, but just a few miles down the road in Gulf Shores the water is open so we'll probably head down there at least one afternoon.

David Nasser and Darren Whitehead are the camp pastors for the week. David spoke last night and is speaking today then Darren will take over from that point. David challenged us last night from Isaiah 6. He said that perhaps God has brought us here to ruin our lives. That's a scary thought for students and parents who are probably already a bit leary of sending their child to the gulf coast in the midst the greatest environmental disaster of all time. David encouraged us to think about our response to God and in light of being in His presence, what needs to change in our lives. Perhaps we need to be ruined so that we can become what God desires for us to be. I'm excited to see how that plays out this week for our students. God planned for each of us to be in Orange Beach this week long before BP ever drilled a well in the gulf. I know it's going to be a great week and that the best is yet to come. More beach pics and news to come later.

Student Life Camp Thursday

I can't believe we'll be on the road headed back to Lubbock in less than 24 hours. We have had an incredible week at Student Life Camp this year. As the youth pastor who's been planning for this week for over a year it's been a blessing to watch it play out and get to be a part of it. Last night was unbelievable. Stuart talked to us about the renewal of our mind (Romans 12:2). He challenged each of us to spend time with God and in His Word. That is the only way renewal will come about. We must replace the lies we believe with the Truth of God. This reality landed heavily upon myself and several of our students last night as we entered into our church group time.

We had several students share about some sin that they had been struggling with (a lie they had been believing), and their desire to repent. When one of our young men shared a struggle it opened the door for other young men and women to share some of their own struggles. I believe we saw some genuine brokenness unfolding in the room last night. It was emotional indeed, but it was so much more than that. Students were confessing some stuff that was embarassing and difficult. I am so proud of them for their courage and their passion to become more like Christ through changing their minds. I must admit that I wasn't expecting it, but it was an unforgettable experience. I've been a part of numerous camps, conferences, and ministry events, and it's no secret that usually the last night of camp is when the waterworks come out and emotion rules. Last night was genuine and I honestly don't know what can happen tonight that will blow me away the way the way our experience last night did.

I'm so thankful for Stuart Hall and his words this week. He speaks the truth and he's dealt with some real life issues. It's almost uncomfortable to sit through at times because you know he's going to challenge you to change something in your life. At the same time, he has made me hunger to hear the word and be in the word even more and for that I am truly grateful. It's been a great week and it's not over yet. Please pray for our last day and our long trip home tomorrow. I can't wait to see my beautiful wife and our sweet little baby girl. I love and miss them so much, but I know God brought me here for a purpose. Here a few more pics from our week.

Student Life Camp Wednesday

Things are in full swing here at Student Life Camp. I think we all slept much better last night after an eventful day. Yesterday afternoon our students participated in a photo scavenger hunt. I provided them a list of things to photograph and each photo was worth a designated amount of points. The pictures were both creative and hilarious and the students seemed to really enjoy this activity. Kyle Soucy, Chance Hoff, Thomas Yeates, Caleb Sessums, and Todd Cabe finished with the most points in this activity. They were rewarded with an ice cream cone from the grill/store on campus.

On Tuesday night, Stuart Hall talked about Matthew 5:6. People so often associate blessing with material gain. Stuart also spoke about the human longing to be complete and our longing for things that are not eternal. An idea that resonates among the teenagers and adults alike is that our most powerful desire is to be accepted. We want to be "blessed". The only way to achieve this completeness, this blessed life is to be righteous. That is where we fall short because as Romans 3:10 says there is none righteous, not even one! The bar is too high for us to get over. Stuart then pointed out that the only way to get over the bar is to quit - to acknowledge our helplessness and confess that only Christ living IN us is the only way to righteousness.

This morning Stuart spoke on the need to forgive as Christ has forgiven us (Ephesians 4:30-32). He defined forgiveness as simply cancelling the debt that someone owes you. As forgiven Christians, our primary export should be forgiveness, and yet this is an issue that we all struggle with on a continual basis. Right now our students are in their family group bible study time and we'll all be eating lunch together soon. This afternoon we have some team building activities planned, and tonight will be another busy night with worship and church group time. I'm so excited to hear the comments our students are making about what God is doing in their lives this week. It doesn't hurt that we're in the mountains and the weather is incredible. We're having an awesome week that I pray will be another step on the journey for these young men and women.

Student Life Camp - Tuesday

I finally found some time to get on the computer and give everybody an update. Our week has been great so far. We have an entire cabin to ourselves. It's actually a sweet set up - secluded in the trees but not too far away from everything. After we arrived and got settled in yesterday, our students spent time in small group bible study and discussion (all the boys in one group, all the girls in the other). Our guys actually went longer in discussion than the girls, which isn't usually the case so I'm excited to see what God is going to do amongst them this week.

We then went to worship as a group with about 500 other students. Stuart Hall is a very gifted communicator and he definitely brought a powerful message last night. He talked about how doubt is something that so many of us struggle with because there is so much about God that is unexplainable. Our lives are overshadowed by what is unexplainable. He challenged us to "flip" (camp theme) what is unexplainable with what is undeniable about God, so that what is undeniable about God overshadows everything else in our lives. This really spoke to our students, as several of them shared that they have indeed struggled with doubt and frustration in their walk with God. I told our students that doubt can be a springboard to greater learning, or it could also lead to apathy and frustration. I reminded them that it's ok to doubt and challenged them to investigate their doubts.

Today is Tuesday and we were randomly chosen as the Youth Group of the Day! Student Life took our picture and interviewed our students. This information will appear on their website sometime later today. Our students are in bible study right now and then we'll have lunch together. Afterward, we are going to split our group into teams and have a photo scavenger hunt this afternoon. The weather here is dramatically different than back home. It rained quite a bit last night and this morning it was downright cold, but the sun is out now and it's going to be a beautiful day. Please continue to pray for the Holy Spirit to move without interference. Things are going great! Here are a few pictures (I'll have more tomorrow).
It was very foggy outside, but it actually makes for a cool picture.

Brothers.....what can you say!

More to come later,

Nolan

Ready for the Rockies....

We leave for Student Life camp in two days and I'm really looking forward to next week. I'm in the anxious mode right now of making sure I haven't forgotten any major details, and reminding myself to bring a toothbrush. The ten day weather forecast shows that the highest temperature while we're at camp will be 66 degrees. I am ready for a break from the 100 degree days we've been having lately. I'm anticipating an incredible week in the Rockies! I'm confident that our students (and myself) will have a great opportunity to grow closer to Christ and that our entire group will grow closer to one another.

My biggest regret is that I have to leave my wife and daughter behind. This will be the longest amount of time I've ever spent away from Avery, and it's always hard to leave Chelsea. She's my best friend and partner in ministry, and student ministry trips and events are so much easier for me when she's around. I'm praying that it will be a quick week for them while I'm away.

If you're a parent or a church member who is looking at this blog for the first time then you've come to the right place. I'll be posting updates (and hopefully pictures) throughout the week so that you can join our camp experience online. Please be praying for us as we travel to and from camp, but more importantly pray that God's will be done in the lives of our students. It's going to be a great week of camp! See ya soon!

Nolan