Change of seasons, revivals, and revivalists

Recently, my son asked me what my favorite time of the year is. My reply? The Fall, of course. There is nothing quite like the feeling of a cool, crisp breeze after a long, hot summer; it is utterly invigorating!

This started me thinking about revivals (I know my mind works in strange ways!), that special work of God's in which He pours out His Spirit (like a breeze, a la John 3:8) and brings a renewal of religion on more than an individual scale.

And...on this date in 1770, the great Calvinistic revivalist George Whitefield preached his final sermon (and then died the very next morning, September 30, at 56 years old). In his lifetime, Whitefield preached to almost 6 million people! That's about 10% of the world's population at that time or about 2 times the U.S. population today! At one point in his early ministry, Whitefield preached from the front steps of the courthouse in Philadelphia to 78,000 people(without amplification), which may not sound like a lot until we consider that the entire population of Philadelphia at that time was only 25,000! That would be like preaching to 12 million today.

Most of Whitefield's biographers record the time when he first began preaching outdoors in Bristol, England, in a mining community. The first day he preached 200 hardened coal miners came to hear what he had to say. Before he was finished, the blackened faces that stared back at him were streaked with tears. Imagine! hardened coal miners weeping over their sin and the joy of forgiveness in Christ! The next day he preached there were 2000 people; and the next day, 10,000; and the next, 23,000.

Would that the Lord raise up another Whitefield! Would that He work another revival! Join me in praying for this as we enjoy the cool breezes of Fall upon our faces.

George Mueller and Camp Hope

Two-hundred and one years ago yesterday George Mueller, the English minister famous for establishing and maintaining orphanages in Bristol without making any of his needs known to man but only to God in prayer, was born in Germany. Over the course of his lifetime, Mueller raised approximately $7,000,000 (!) to build and maintain these orphanages by praying to the One who owns the cattle on a thousand hills (and everything else too!). I remember reading an account many years ago of an interview that someone conducted with George Mueller in which they asked him how he could handle all the problems and issues that were involved in building and running the orphanages. Mueller replied by citing Psalm 55:22, saying, "I rolled 66 burdens upon the Lord this morning." That was his key.

If you've never read a biography on this man of faith and prayer, I would encourage you to do so. There you will find story upon story of how God answered his prayers visibly and in the nick of time.

That brings me to Camp Hope. I couldn't help but think of Camp Hope when I remembered the life of George Mueller. You can say what you like about the hurricane. But, one thing is for sure, we have seen God answer prayer visibly and in the nick of time. Many times we have had a need for a certain skill on a home we were working on only to pray and have God meet that need in ways that we knew it had to be from Him. Many times we have been stymied in our work only to pray and have God answer in the nick of time. Many times, too, I feel as though we have "rolled 66 burdens upon the Lord." Although I wouldn't pretend that we are in the same league with Mueller, as far as faith or prayer, I was reminded of his life when I thought of Camp Hope.

Please join me in praying for Camp Hope and the folks we help through this ministry.

New Inquirer's Class on Sunday

As many of you know by now, we will be starting an Inquirer's Class during the Sunday school hour beginning this Sunday, October 1. It will be a seven-week course designed to familiarize you with what we believe as a congregation, with the history of our denomination, and with the ways that you can be involved in the future ministry and life of our church. For those of you who are interested, we will be meeting at 10 am in the BVE multi-purpose building. You can call the church office if you would like more information or a class schedule. See you Sunday.

Saturday Night Fever

I know Lisa put a comment or two about the Saturday cookout in her recent post; but I just had to add my two cents worth to go along with it. I thought the evening was absolutely fantastic! Not only was the food great (thanks to Bob, Tommy, Mary Beth, Linda, Gail, and many others), but the whole atmosphere was simply electric (even without the lightning!). We had so many folks crammed into the dining hall at Camp Hope that the air conditioning couldn't keep up. Heather, Gail, Eva, and Lucy did a wonderful job with the signs, flowers, and decorations. There were old friends and new friends. There were testimonies to what the Lord has done with Camp Hope since its inception a year ago from "the Three Amigos," Larry Vaalburg (and Virginia, his wife), Gorton Marsden, and Bob Mifflin (who took Paul Palmer's place as the third amigo so that Paul could devote more time to overseas missions work), and from Jim Bland, the Coordinator for the PCA's Mission to North America (MNA). And we closed it all out by singing "Amazing Grace" together! What a night!

Oh What A Sweet, Sweet Sound

My phone rings, a long distance area code, a prospective volunteer perhaps. Many times during the day I receive such calls. However, yesterday I answered and the sweet sound I heard was the voice of our injured volunteer. But what he said was even sweeter. He wasn't calling to talk about himself but to inquire about the family that he was helping when he fell. I had wonderful news to tell him, the family was moving into their house that very day. Praise God! What a blessing it has been to meet some of God's servants.

Which brings me to our cookout last evening. Good food, good fellowship and a good drenching rain. We had the pleasure of honoring the first responders to our dire situation. Larry and Virginia Vaalburg, Bob Mifflin and Gordon Marsden were our rock and continued to be our rock for the past year. What a wonderful time we had seeing them all again and being able to look upon their beautiful faces and say, "well done good and faithful servants." There are many more that have given of their time and resources and to them we say a heartfelt thank you.

We look forward to the second year of spreading the Good News through our Camp Hope ministry.



P.S. Paul Palmer was also a first responder and instrumental in starting Camp Hope as well. He was unable to attend as he was in India on mission work. A great big thank you to him!

Latest Camp Hope Newsletter

The September 2006 Camp Hope newsletter is now out and available. I've attached a link below so that you can access a pdf version of it. In this edition, we focus on the first year of Camp Hope's existence and highlight the transition of the administration and operation of it from Heritage Presbytery in Delaware to our church here in Gulfport. It is worth the read.

Please pray for us as we continue to reach out with the good news (that through Jesus Christ, we can know God personally). Pray that the Lord would raise up men and women to volunteer and help us rebuild the homes and lives of our community after the nations greatest natural disaster. For the latest newsletter and other information, see our website at http://www.fpcgulfport.org/GenericPage/DisplayPage.aspx?guid=DF109A64-B1B2-4252-A8F8-13F845248003

So many books, so little time!

I was just perusing a few new books I've just gotten and was feeling a little overwhelmed at my ever-growing "to read" list when I picked up an "oldy but goody," J.I. Packer's Knowing God. I was reminded of how much I have loved this book and how formative it was for me when I first read it. If any of you out there have never read it, I would encourage you to pick it up. Sell all, as they would say, and buy it. Packer is also the author of another of my favorites, a book on the Puritans, entitled (in the U.S.) A Quest for Godliness. Both are well worth the investment (time and money) for you bibliophiles out there.

What a night!

Let me start by saying that if you missed tonight at Camp Hope, you missed a great time! Obviously, it's always good to get together with each other and with brothers and sisters from around the country to share a meal and to meditate on God's Word. But there are certain nights that stand out to me as especially moving, nights when the presence of the Lord is not just a theological conviction but an overwhelmingly evident reality. Tonight was one of these kinds of nights. The singing seriously raised the roof! The testimonies were moving! Men and women from Pennsylvania, Illinois, and, how can I forget, South Carolina, shared how God has been working in their lives and encouraged us to press on in our faith and in our work here. For a while, the effects of living in a sinful world were somewhat tempered and a foretaste of what awaits us in heaven was experienced.

It reminded me of words from that great hymn "For All the Saints:"

"But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day; The saints triumphant rise in bright array; The King of glory passes on His way. Alleluia, Alleluia!

"From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast, Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host, And singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost: Alleluia, Alleluia!"

Amen!

Camp Hope News

Lisa and Heather have recently completed a new Camp Hope brochure that is designed to help raise the awareness of the ongoing need here on the Coast for rebuilding. In the brochure, they recount what one of our newest members said about our Camp Hope ministry during the one-year Katrina Remembrance Service: "They not only rebuild homes; they rebuild lives."

Pray for us. Pray that the Lord will work through us to rebuild lives here on the Coast. There is still much hurt and much pain. There is still a lot to do.

On a related note, I received the latest update on the volunteer who fell and fractured his skull several weeks ago. His wife had this to say about her husband:

"[It] has [been] a good week. He was able to enjoy friends, the lovely weather, and the water garden from the deck. I still monitor him in walking just as a safety factor. He has had some upset stomach episodes again from the balance issue. He has therapy again tomorrow and again on Thursday. He is very tired after therapy. He is enjoying friends' visits but does tire easily. We hope to have our small group in Saturday for soup and a Gulfport recap. Maybe early church will be attempted on Sunday. We'll see what the engery level dictates! Again thanks for all the cards and prayers. We are certain [he] is at the level of recovery because of your prayers and encouragement."

Please continue to pray for them in this.

The Apostle Paul: A Football Fan?

I can't help but think that had college football existed in the Apostle Paul's day, he would more than likely have been an avid fan. Think about how many times Paul uses athletics as a picture of the Christian life (1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 1 Timothy 4:7-8; 2 Timothy 2:5; 4:7; and, though probably not written by Paul but by one of his close companions, Hebrews 12:1-2). Surely this would have been one way that he tried to "become all things to all men so that by all possible means [he] might save some" (1 Cor. 9:22)!

And, here it goes now, had he visited the loveliest village on the plains, I have no doubt but that he would have been an Auburn fan!

September 23 Barbecue

Once more I wanted to make sure everyone marks September 23 on their calendars and plans on being at Camp Hope beginning at 4 pm. If you haven't already, you will soon be receiving invitations in the mail for this special event. Our own Bob Wolford will be cooking the meat and the church will be providing the rest of the meal. So, come on out and enjoy the food and the fellowship and the fun. There will be several special guests to help us celebrate the culmination of Heritage Presbytery's involvement with Camp Hope. Larry and Virginia Vaalburg, Gorton Marsden, Bob Mifflin, and Jim Bland (the Coordinator for Mission to North America) will be in our midst, along with others, so that we can officially show our deep appreciation for the blood, sweat, toil, and tears they have given on our behalf over the last year. And what a year it has been!

We are inviting all the homeowners that we have helped through Camp Hope. So don't forget to come and join us on Saturday, September 23, at 4pm.

Call for Prayer

After returning from presbytery yesterday, where many of us from the Coast were comparing notes and discussing things here, I am more convinced than ever of the need for prayer. There are some really encouraging things happening here on the Coast. But there is a lot of opposition. It seems as though the spiritual forces of evil are arrayed against us all up and down the Coast. The "god of this age" is looking for a foothold and blinding the eyes of people here. We need the Lord to open eyes and hearts to His Word. We need men and women who will commit to pray for us and for the other churches as well each and every day (but I will leave the length of those prayers to you and the Holy Spirit!). Pray that the Word will be preached and that the Lord will build a craving in people for it. Pray that Christ will be seen as victorious and that He will receive all glory and honor in the building up of His church.

The Power of Prayer

Romans 8:28 "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good." Sometimes when bad things happen to good people we wonder why. Some home owners that we have come to know ask that very question. Why? Many felt this way after Hurricane Katrina. Why me? Why the Mississippi Gulf Coast? Let me tell you about a couple volunteering their time here at
Camp Hope. She never said, "Why did God let my husband fall and get injured?" Because she loves God she continues to count her blessings each day and knows that God is in control. As her husband recovers (more on that later) she is encouraged by the support of her new found family in Gulfport. She is still praying for God's blessings on our ministry at First Presbyterian in Gulfport even though she is dealing with her own trials. What a relief it must be for her to know that God is in control of their lives and He has the master plan.

The up date on our brother in Christ:
He is home and walking with the assistance of a walker. He will be in out patient therapy twice weekly. His conversation and thinking capacity are both quite good. His wife states, "the power of prayer has brought him back and given him a second chance on life!" Praise be to God!

Friday morning Bible Study

Every Friday morning for quite a few years now, several men from the church and several others from neighboring churches have gathered together to eat breakfast, to study the Bible, and to pray. Before the hurricane, the group met in the church. Since the hurricane, we have been meeting in the home of Crockett Lindsey. I would ask you to pray for this group of men and prayerfully to consider attending the group yourself (if your a man, that is; sorry ladies!). These mornings really are an encouragement to me and to others as well. Each week the group seems to get larger and larger. Lately, it has been hard to find a parking place! If we continue to grow, we may have to find a new meeting place...but, that's a good problem to have...and we'll cross that bridge if and when we get there!

Dates to remember and Camp Hope

We had another great night tonight at Camp Hope, in spite of the good soaking we got (and, boy, did we ever get one). Thanks go to Butch Jordan and Gloria Gillis for preparing the dinner and helping with the clean up! Come join us next week for more of the same.

Here are two dates for you all to remember (well, perhaps only one to remember; I'll let you guess which is which):

1. Today in 1620 the Mayflower set sail from Plymouth, England, bound for the new world! And the rest truly is history.

2. Totally unrelated to that, on September 23, we will be having an open house/cookout at Camp Hope with several special guests. Among these guests, we hope to have a couple of representatives from Heritage Presbytery (the churches who helped us establish and operate Camp Hope over the last year) and Dr. Jim Bland, the Coordinator for Mission to North America (MNA), which was responsible for heading up the disaster relief efforts here on the Coast immediately after the hurricane and for establishing the disaster relief fund that we have all benefited from. You will be hearing more about this very soon.

Camp Hope in Mississippi Magazine

As many of you know by now, our Camp Hope ministry was featured in the most recent edition of Mississippi Magazine (September/October 2006). The short article was part of a larger piece (the cover story) written for the one-year anniversary of Katrina that, according to the title page, takes "a look back at some of the year's most compelling stories of hope and inspiration in our state." Camp Hope's cameo, written by Ann Shivers, can be found on pages 74-5 and is entitled "Keeping the Faith." It chronicles some of the details that came together in September 2005 to lead to the formation of Camp Hope. And, unlike other recent articles on our rebuilding work, this article contains our website address so that folks can find out more about us. Check it out for yourself!

We are honored and grateful to the Lord for our Camp Hope ministry, and we thank the many staff people and volunteers whose sacrifices have enabled us to rebuild our own lives and to show others the love of Christ in such a demonstrable way.

Latest Update on Injured Volunteer

I don't usually do two blogs in one day, but I just received an update on the volunteer who was injured two weeks ago today and wanted to make that available to you. This is what his son had to say just today:

"As for my dad, he continues to make a lot of progress. As far as speech/memory and the mental side of things, while he is still a little slow, much of that has come back to where he is close to normal. Each day he gets further from the accident (which as of today was 2 weeks ago) the brain heals a little bit more and that helps. They did an MRI yesterday to check to make sure there weren't any further issues with his brain, and that came up pretty clean. He asked to do the reading himself, so I think that is a pretty good sign as to where he is with his cognitive
skills, considering this time last week he really wasn't able to read. On the physical side, his balance is still troublesome, which makes walking hard, but he feels, as well as the nurses, that it is getting better. Again, as the brain continues to heal, that should help with his balance as well. While he still is utilizing a walker, as well as some assistance, to walk, it is improving and he is feeling stronger. The physical therapy he is involved with now is pretty intense and long, but has been helping. While he is exhausted at the end of a day, I think he sees the daily progress in himself, which is encouraging.

The hospital staff indicated today that they expect him to be able to go home around Sept 12, which is great news (of course he feels he is ready sooner). The therapists indicated that at that point, they are confident he'll be able to walk up stairs with some assistance (and the rail), and should be able to walk around himself with the use of a walker or cane. That is quite a relief that the house won't need any major alterations. Once he leaves the hospital he will continue to go to therapy on a regular basis, which should help further strengthen his walking.

We are very encouraged by the progress he has made thus far, and grow more optimistic each day as to where he is going. We recognize how fortunate he is and we are that he is doing as well as he is doing.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and concern. You have no idea how much they mean to him, and to us as a family."

Keep praying!

Fall and Football!

Last night I was able to watch some of the Mississippi State v. South Carolina game on ESPN. Afterwards, I went for a run through my neighborhood. When I walked outside, there was a cool breeze blowing. What an exhilirating run! Fall was in the air. Football and Fall. Fall and Football. Two of my favorite things.

Speaking of Fall and Football, this morning I was honored to be able to give a devotional to the Gulfport High School football team as part of a new FCA they have started on campus there. Please join me in praying for Coach Marcus Wood, the other coaches, and for the impressive young men I was able to meet this morning.