July 2010 Archives

WORSHIP THIS SABBATH
Gunnison (9 AM) & Montrose (11 AM): Pastor Campbell is preaching on "Finding Faith from Old Faithful"

This coming Sunday (July 25) from noon until 4 pm there is school, Adventurer, and Pathfinder registration for this coming school year. I would like to strongly encourage you if you have a young person to contact our new principal, Michelle Caviness, to make sure that your young person is able to get an Adventist education. It looks like more than likely we will have to have a waiting list so sign up today!

A special thank you to Staci Nelson who thanks to her hard work our church school is blessed with a new web site: www.springcreekadventist.org. The web site looks up to date and classy! For those of you online I would strongly encourage you to stop by for a virtual visit.

THE PASTORAL PERSPECTIVE
I'm so thankful for the refreshing rain that we've been experiencing last night and today. It reminds me of the showers of blessing that we experience as we receive blessings from the Lord. The Lord has so many blessings that He wants to pour out on us. It was so nice to be able to turn off the sprinklers in our yard and just let nature water our lawn and garden (and give us a break on our water bill, too!).

This morning, some of the blessings I am thankful for are our new teacher, Michelle Caviness, along with her children: Kaelibeth, Grant, Caleb, and Luke. While I was over at the school I was amazed at how much work is going on over there: the outside metal surrounding the roof was off, the tiles are coming up, and the room downstairs was completely redone. There is also a new sign for the school that is getting ready to be put out in front of the school. Clearly our school is right in the midst of receiving a facelift! I'm really excited and looking forward to an exciting new school year.

The last few weeks have been sort of a "breather" for our family. Although attending GC Session was really a work trip for me--it was a really intense schedule--the trip was really rewarding and it was nice to have a different kind of things to do such as writing articles and learning more about how our world church works. I really loved the discussions (believe it or not!) about the Church Manual. The whole things just makes more sense when you see how it is put together and voted on. I also really enjoyed getting to meet lots of new people as well as see old friends. For example, a good buddy of mine, I discovered from school days is now the president of the Botswana Conference and invited me to come speak for their camp meeting.

The other really important thing about GC Session is that it shows that I am a part of something bigger than just myself, my local church, or even my local conference. It is only in a place like GC Session that you truly sense the pulse of the worldwide church as God's church--a collective entity committed to spreading the Three Angel's Messages to the world. Although the church is feeble and defective, as the Lord's messenger says, He will bring His church safely into port. Our job is to do our best in our look part of the world to faithfully proclaim His truth. When I was younger I thought that such big meetings were just a waste of money, but now after having attending one I see that there is a real reason and purpose to it, and that the investment, time, and travel are all worth it in the spiritual good and unity that it brings about.

Last but not least, we were home for a week, and then gone last week for a camping trip. We were thankful for some "R&R" as we had some family time in nature. God was really good and we were able to see lots of wildlife, too. None of us are invincable. And for me, I am able to gain renewed strength and courage by spending time with God in nature (and in His Word). To have both of His books, to spend time in prayer, is such a wonderful blessing. If you haven't taken some time for a spiritual retreat with the Lord I would strongly encourage you to do so.