August 2010 Archives

Life @ Montrose, Aug. 25, 2010

By Pastor Campbell on August 25, 2010 10:50 AM | | Comments (0)
WORSHIP THIS SABBATH

Gunnison: Pastor Norman Graham is preaching.
Montrose: Pastor Campbell is speaking about "Sacred Rhythms: Bible Study"

SCHOOL CORN ROAST
You won't want to miss out on the annual school corn roast on Sunday, Aug. 29, starting at 4 pm. For more information contact Judy Kelley with home and school.

YARD SALE REPORT
Thanks to a lot of hard work I'm pleased to report from Jerilyn Pester that Home & School has raised $1,731.35 from the yard sale on Sunday! A special thank you to Judy and Jerilyn who are leading out with home and school and for the many volunteers who helped to make this possible!

GUNNISON CHURCH MEETING
This Sunday we are having a church social in Gunnison beginning with paintball in the afternoon for those who are interested (Pastor Seth will be joining us) and a church business meeting in the evening. Please plan to be at the church for the usual pizza as we discuss church matters.

PATHFINDER SNOWSHOEING HONOR APPROVED
I want to congratulate our Pathfinders in our Pathfinder club. Yesterday I receive the very good news that our club's snowshoeing honor was officially approved with all of the requirements. A special thanks to everyone who helped make this possible (especially to Eleazar who drew up the honor patch). Details are listed on the church bulletin board.

CROPWALK REPORT
I received the following report from Jennifer McPhail thanking quite a number of our church members who were involved in this year's first annual Cropwalk event.  I especially want to share my appreciation with our church family for being involved in our community:

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Thank you all for the time and effort that was put in by each of you to make this CROP Walk successful! I am currently working on thank you letters to each congregation that participated. I will send them to each of you and perhaps you could share them during announcement time.

 

Thank you all again so very much! As soon as we have some final numbers for money raised I will forward that information to you so that you can share with your congregations. I believe number wise – including all supporters and walkers we hit around 55 participants – GREAT for a first year.


Be Well! --Jennifer


THE PASTORAL PERSPECTIVE
I'm so grateful for some rest from last week with a few extra days off for family time. We all need some "down time" once in a while and this was a window of opportunity for our family to do just that.

On Sunday and Monday I had my annual board meeting with Adventist Heritage Ministry, a group that works to preserve Adventist heritage sites. Some important decisions were made that will help to only preserve the physical sites and to create more awareness about them, but I believe that the sole purpose for doing this is to provide opportunities for what I call "heritage evangelism"--nurturing faith in those who visit and create a desire to learn more about what Adventists believe. For example, at the Bates home (the site committee which I chair) we look for opportunity to share with visitors how the discovery of the seventh-day Sabbath by Bates is a beautiful truth that tells us about a loving, Creator-God who cares so much for us and wants us to spend time with Him.

I always find it interesting when I travel the people who I meet. No sooner had I sat down on the airplane on my way out then the lady next me wanted to talk. This time I was tired so I would have preferred, I have to confess, to be able to sleep, but it was clear she wanted to talk. When I told her I was a pastor we had a lengthy conversation about her own spiritual journey which resulted in me giving her a copy of "Steps to Christ" to both her as well as for the teenager from France who was traveling home on the other side of me, too. On my journey home I was charging up my laptop by the gate. The pilot walked up to me and asked if he could plug in his iPhone. I told him "sure" after which he asked me if I was an Adventist pastor. I told him "yes," and we discovered that his older brother was a classmate of mine at Southern Adventist University back in the late 90s. Once on the plane I got paged by the stewardess that the captain wanted to see me, and so he invited me to sit up in the cockpit with him and we were able to talk some more about his own spiritual journey. Although he was raised an Adventist, he left the church in his early 20s. It was quite a lengthy story, but he shared with me that he would like to come back to the Adventist Church (he is now attending a non-denominational church), but that he would like to find an Adventist congregation where he could worship safely and not be judged. When he found such a congregation he would come back to the Adventist church in a heartbeat. I believe that circumstances like these are providential appointments where God brings people into our lives.

A personal highlight for me was being able to cross over the board on Monday afternoon into Ontario, Canada, to visit Upper Canada Village--a site that I've wanted to see for many years now. Jim Nix, director of the White Estate, has told me this is the single best living history museum anywhere in the world. We had a good visit, got ideas for Historic Adventist Village in Battle Creek, Michigan, and learned so much more about what it was like to live in the 19th-century. A personal favorite was going to an exhibit that featured how to make cheese back then. I can better understand why Ellen White cautioned against eating the substance at a time when there was very poor sanitation. It all makes so much more sense when you understand the historical context.

Last but not least, we're launching our new fall sermon series starting this past Sabbath entitled "Sacred Rhythms"--aspects of the Christian life. We began with the Sabbath and I'm looking forward to this week's message on "Bible Study" because I will be sharing some practical tips on how to make your reading of Scripture more meaningful in your Christian walk with the Lord.

Life @ Montrose, Aug. 19, 2010

By Pastor Campbell on August 22, 2010 10:18 AM | | Comments (0)
WORSHIP THIS SABBATH

Gunnison: Michelle Crawford is speaking
Montrose: Pastor Campbell is preaching about "Sacred Rhythms: Sabbath" (from Ezekiel 20:12)

SCHOOL CORN ROAST
You won't want to miss out on the annual school corn roast on Sunday, Aug. 29, starting at 4 pm. For more information contact Judy Kelley with home and school.

THE PASTORAL PERSPECTIVE
This week's note will be short since I'm taking a few days of extra vacation time that I am going to lose if I don't use it! As the end of the summer draws to a close it is my prayer that the Lord will bless each of you. I know many of our students at school our quite eager to start the new school year.

I was grateful for the creativity of our school and church board chairs who did a combined church and school board meeting last week, which was very efficient. We've got lots going on. Some notable things you should be aware of:
  • School this year will be a 4-day school week.
  • Adventurers and Pathfinders are gearing up for the new year. Make sure you get your children signed up!
  • Prayer meeting will start back up on Wednesday evening, 7 pm, Sept. 1
  • Pathfinders will now be using the Sabbath School rooms in the hallway adjacent to Pastor Campbell's office.
This week we start a new sermon series entitled "Sacred Rhythms" which will look at a variety of aspects of the Christian walk. We will be incorporating a number of speakers from our own congregation, as well as messages that I will continue to preach, as a part of the series. Stay tuned for more details.

Life @ Montrose, Aug. 4, 2010

By Pastor Campbell on August 5, 2010 9:56 AM | | Comments (0)

WORSHIP THIS SABBATH
Gunnison (11 AM): Norman Graham is the featured speaker.
Montrose (11 AM): Pastor Campbell is preaching on "Learning to Listen from Lamentations."

NEW SCHOOL WEB SITE
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
Yesterday I sat in our local Rotary club meeting for a state-of-the-school report for the Montrose County School District. It was interesting to learn that public education is the number one expense for our local tax dollars, and that for every dollar we spend we get two dollars of federal funding. It also takes 750 contracted employees to educate the 6,311 students over the 1,121 square miles that make up our county. The total cost? A $63,000,000 school budget. Amazing. This year through attrition due to budget costs they are letting go of some 40 school employees which translates to more students per teacher in the classroom. I know that for our church family that times have been tight, and it is nice to know that we aren't the only ones who have had to cut back to make ends meet. It also tells me that our community cares for our kids. What is even more important is that I know because of the sacrifice of our church members that our church cares for our students at Spring Creek Adventist School! Although over the past couple of years we've had to do some cutting back I am encouraged that we have all the students and a waiting list for our church school, which starts here in just a few weeks. Plus with new leadership on our board and staff I believe our school is going to grow and blossom.
 
Speaking of which I was so encouraged to see the significant facelift that has occurred at our facility. The trim around the building looks neat and sharp. Yesterday I caught Dan Carpenter working with Mike to start the new staircase at the entrance. They are going to pour the cement on Friday. And, to top it all off, there is a new sign by the road that looks really sharp. Now I don't have to worry about driving past the school anymore! I know that it has been a lot of our church members who have worked together to make this all happen. Praise the Lord!
 
This week I've done a lot of reflection on the life and ministry of Elisha. God's call to him, which took him by surprise. Yet he chose to leave family behind and humbly served Elijah. In Patriarchs and Prophets one of my favorite authors comments on this experience: "success depends not so much on talent as on energy and willingness. It is not hte possession of splendid talents that enables us to render acceptable service, but the conscientious performance of daily duties, the contented spirit, and unaffected, sincere interest in the welfare of others." That is the kind of leader that I want to be more like, how about you? As a church we can strive to truly be servant leaders like Elisha by taking the time genuinely show that we care for other people. Perhaps this might be a phone call to a church member who hasn't come to church in a while, or it might be to someone who the Lord impresses you to stop by their home for a visit just to encourage them. I know the Lord will impress you with how you can serve Him.

Life @ Montrose, July 28, 2010

By Pastor Campbell on August 5, 2010 9:55 AM | | Comments (0)

WORSHIP THIS SABBATH
Gunnison (11 AM): Pastor Campbell is going to be preaching a message from the book of Lamentations entitled "Learning to Listen: A Challenge of Compassion."
Montrose (11 AM): Please come for a sacred musical concert for our worship service led by "Simply His"--a musical group led by Don Mohl.


GUNNISON CHURCH SOCIAL THIS SABBATH
Rebecca Grice wanted me to let everyone know that if you're up in Gunnison this Sabbath that you're invited over to their cabin for Sabbath afternoon. Please bring your own portable chair, and in the evening there will be a hot dog roast. They will provide a nice camp fire and condiments--you just need to bring the veggie burgers or hot dogs to go between the buns! A fun time will be had by all so please plan to come for this fun church activity.


NEW SCHOOL WEB SITE
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
This week I've been blessed to be able to minister to the church members in Hope, British, Columbia, who have gathered here for their camp meeting. It certainly has to be one of the most beautiful camp meeting sites in North America (rivaling the Redwoods campground for those church members living in northern California). I've never had the privilege of being here before so I'm so thankful for the invitation to be here to share. They've been working me hard. In addition to a daily two-hour seminar on Ellen White I've also done one of the early morning worker's meetings, and this morning I filled in at the Junior tent with a devotional message for the kids there, too. It's such a blessing to be able to be here.


On a personal note I was able to visit with my great-aunt and great-uncle, who love near Penticton, on the eastern side of British Columbia. They are church members. It was only after my grandparents passed away some years ago that are family discovered that we have a whole wing of Adventist relatives who are a part of this wonderful Advent movement! Last night we went out for supper, learned new stories about her family, and on the way back stopped by to visit some additional relatives who I didn't know I even had. They had a family tree that filled in some gaps for me as I learned about our family's past. We've had a very colorful history with great villains as well as other people who have made significant contributions (I'll try to focus on the more positive angle though!). I was proud to learn that some of my family were famous in Russia for their ability to ride horses.


Genealogy is important--it reminds us of who we are and where we have come from. I'm thinking that must be why the Bible has long lists of genealogies. They appear at first to be rather mundane and boring, but I think that really they tell us stories that our Savior, in particular, was a real person just like us. He had some "shady characters" in the closet as well as some notable individuals such as King David (who even his career wasn't exactly untarnished you might say), eh? (I couldn't resist throwing that in there!).


I'm thankful for those of you who were able to help out at the school (while I was flying to camp meeting) this past Sunday. Although we changed the date for school registration we still had at least 11 young people register for school this year, which is a great start. If you weren't able to get your child registered you will want to make sure that you call Michelle Caviness at the school (249-5500). Also, right now is the time to register your child for either Adventurers (call Staci at 275-3705) or Pathfinders (call Tavia at 417-4886).

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