Mark Beeson

America The Beautiful

Come to any of our five weekend services.  You'll experience one of the most inspirational moments of your 4th of July weekend when Leroy King sings America the Beautiful and Staff Sargent Jon Anderstrom testifies to God's goodness.

Bring a friend.  You'll be glad you did.

Psalm 33:16-19a  -  No king succeeds with a big army alone, no warrior wins by brute strength. Horsepower is not the answer; no one gets by on muscle alone. Watch this: God's eye is on those who respect him, the ones who are looking for his love. He's ready to come to their rescue in bad times

 

It's the 4th of July, 2009

 

 
It's the 4th of July.

Maybe you'll pledge your allegiance to the flag of the United States of America today.

Maybe you've wondered if there is a proper way to pledge allegiance.

Section 4 of the Flag Code states:

The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag:  "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.", should be rendered by standing at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. When not in uniform men should remove any non-religious headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform should remain silent, face the flag, and render the military salute."

Sometimes knowing the proper way to do something makes the doing of it more meaningful. 

Now you know.

Romans 13:1-5  -  Every person should obey the government in power. No government would exist if it hadn't been established by God. The governments which exist have been put in place by God. Therefore, whoever resists the government opposes what God has established. Those who resist will bring punishment on themselves. People who do what is right don't have to be afraid of the government. But people who do what is wrong should be afraid of it. Would you like to live without being afraid of the government? Do what is right, and it will praise you. The government is God's servant working for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid. The government has the right to carry out the death sentence. It is God's servant, an avenger to execute God's anger on anyone who does what is wrong. Therefore, it is necessary for you to obey, not only because you're afraid of God's anger but also because of your own conscience.

Next Week A Huge Door Is Opening

Next week scores of enthusiastic and faithful counselors will be welcoming hundreds of students to "experience the adventure" of summer camp.  Not just one camp.  We're running three camps at the same time! 

1.  We've maximized our Middle School possibilities for Camp Adventure.

2.  We're hosting our "first-ever" Day Camp at our Granger Campus.  SpringHill is running the program with us and the camp is going to tremendous. (If you haven't signed your kid up...I encourage you to try.  Ask one of the leaders in our All Stars Children's Ministry this weekend when you come to church and see if you can still get your child registered.)

3.  We've got a full house at Manowe and our 5-Star Camp is serving dozens of kids who've earned a spot at our wilderness camp in Sturgis.

Next week is the week God has ordained for the "hinge-pin experience" of our campers' lives.  By God's loving grace a huge door of opportunity will swing open and our kids will take a step forward.  It is an important week and I'm asking you to pray for the hundreds of children who'll be encouraged to live well and live right for Christ. 

More hangs in the balance of GCC's ministry next week than we can imagine.  Join me in trusting God for His kingdom to come, and His will to be done, in the life of each and every camper.

1 Corinthians 16:9  -  A huge door of opportunity for good work has opened up here.

Camp Adventure - The July Edition

This Sunday DC leads another team of phenomenal counselors to deliver a great week of Camp Adventure for our MIddle School students.  I'm honored to be a part of it - to be a coworker with DC.  How great it is to partner with him, and his incredible GSM team, to help our kids take their next steps toward Christ!

1 Corinthians 3:6-9  -  My work was to plant the seed in your hearts, and Apollos’ work was to water it, but it was God, not we, who made the garden grow in your hearts. The person who does the planting or watering isn’t very important, but God is important because he is the one who makes things grow. Apollos and I are working as a team, with the same aim, though each of us will be rewarded for his own hard work. We are only God’s coworkers. You are God’s garden, not ours; you are God’s building, not ours.

My Granddaughter - Ruby Cox

                                                                                   - photo by Amber Cox

Before launching into all the 4th of July services and a second week at Camp Adventure, I wanted to see Ruby again.  The only time I've seen her was when she was born, so it was time.  I'm think she's pretty awesome ... and by that I mean she is pretty and she is awesome.

Song of Songs 6:10  -  Who is this whose glance is like the dawn? She is beautiful and bright, as dazzling as the sun or the moon.

Come to INNOVATE 2009

 

Every pastor can come.
     Every lay person can too.

Next month I'm meeting the pastors of the 100 largest United Methodist Churches in America.  You guys should all come to GCC for Innovate '09 and bring a team.

Last week I met with all the United Methodist pastors in Indiana for four days.  Now I'm offering Innovate '09 to you.  You should sign up a team of your people and come.  God is doing a new thing in the Indiana Conference.  Innovate '09 can help you succeed in new ways.

It's here. 
   It's close. 
      It's easy. 
And because of the hard economic times we're facing, we've lowered registration to the 2005 price!

Clergy or Laity, this one's for you. 
(And if you've been to the conference and want to help others get the information for Innovate '09, you can download a badge for your own blog here.)

Innovate 09

Isaiah 43:19 - See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way...

The Plan

 
                                                           - Camp Adventure photo by Jeff Myers

I'm pumped.

Tonight I get to share Holy Communion with a couple thousand GCC'ers.  It's already 1st Wednesday.

This 4th of July weekend I get to preach in our services and celebrate the freedom we experience in the USA.  We'll have the flag hung at our Elkhart and Granger campuses.  The services will be awesome!

I leave for another week of Camp Adventure right after church on Sunday afternoon.  (Sheila is staying here and helping all week to make our elementary school DAY CAMP fantastic.)

I'll get home from camp just in time to preach the weekend services.  We'll be launching a phenomenal series, studying what the Bible says about "communication."  It's an important topic and I can't wait to dive in with you.

That's "the plan." 

You can help. 

You can volunteer to serve on a weekend, or help with Day Camp on our campus, or house some of the SpringHill counselors that are working with our kids next week.  Bring a vet to one of our 4th of July services.  Bring a friend to the launch of "Sand Traps." 

Grab hold with me and let's do something great for God!

Proverbs 16:3-4b  -  Share your plans with the Lord, and you will succeed. The Lord has a reason for everything he does.

Present / Plans

For the last week I've been racing through life pedal-to-the-metal with my hair on fire. I've dreamed some big dreams, gotten a lot done, preached several times, met some great people, foolishly hurt two good friends, made the most of a few rare opportunities and completely missed what should have been one very big moment.  I honored a great man and his wife before their entire congregation. I blessed a pastor who blessed me when I was a boy. During a crucial conversation I realized I was missing a very important meeting. I did well and I did poorly.  In just one week I've burned through seven more of the days God planned for me.

I wonder how well my plans were in sync with God's.

I again find myself marveling at God's goodness, my weakness and the potential in a prayerful life.  When I prayerfully give myself to God's plans and purposes, my steps make sense even when my life does not.  When I pray I remember God expects my participation in each moment.  He also reminds me my plans have consequences.

Like Aaron and Tracy before they were married - enjoying their life in this moment and planning their future together - day after day I'm in two places at once.

I'm in the moment. I'm in the future.  I'm both places at once.

I stand on the foundation I built yesterday, facing consequences surging up from past plans, decisions, successes and failures. I also stand in my own personal War Room of strategic initiative, poised for tomorrow's friendships, journeys and adventures. I live where the past and the future collide. 

So today I'm going to keep praying. It's the only way I can hope to order my steps for tomorrow as I'm taking each step today.

Jeremiah 29:11  -   I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope.

God's Kingdom Is Coming...

Like it, or not, we're participants. There's no choice. The revolution under way around us isn't something we can choose to be part of, or not.  It is largely unavoidable.  God's Kingdom is coming.

We must not assume we can wake up in the morning and decide, "I think today I'm going to modify my world and conform my life to God's Kingdom." Your life is already being changed - your world is being modified for you - maybe in spite of you.  God's Kingdom is coming.

You are not passive, weak and helpless, so don't fear, but recognize this. Accepting God's radical reconfiguration of power and priorities will demand an intentional grasp on a whole new way of thinking and acting.  It'll seem radical. It may feel different and uncomfortable, so abandon your poetic notion that life is simple - and getting simpler.  Complexity is always expanding and the transformation of this world won't be established with easy-to-map interactions.  

Complex global problems are roaring - like a prowling lion seeking someone to devour. 

Make no mistake. The systems of this world are very resilient.  So are we.  We understand. We know the Truth. This is not a simple linear system with which you can map out the consequences of people's actions as if you're plotting the itinerary of falling dominoes.  God's Kingdom is coming but the easy prediction of near-term change is fantasy. How we will get from here to there is uncertain.  That we will get from here to there is indubitable.  God's Kingdom is coming.

His Kingdom will come with speed and disruptive violence - with a love so severe old systems will break. Nothing will snap back to old-fashioned stability. Everything will change.  Look with fresh eyes and see.  Open your ears and hear.  Radical newness is contagious.  Spreading Christ's Kingdom, rather than hoarding it, produces beneficial change you can't imagine in advance, and you can't control in the time of its appearing.

God's Kingdom is coming and the dynamics of the world-system will shift forever. Misallocated resources, underutilized talents, untapped potentials and ignored opportunities will succumb to the love of God.  Unused capacity - lingering in so many of us - will spark and catch fire.  Hope once unbearable will swell and grow. Love once unspeakable will pour from our lips and lives. 

The whole creation now groans and suffers the pains of childbirth, but one day creation itself will be set free from its slavery to corruption, entropy and decay. Not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit of God, even we ourselves groan, waiting eagerly for our adoption as God's children, and the redemption of our lives.  When Christ's Kingdom comes, and God's will is done on earth as it is in heaven, we will be transformed.

With God's Kingdom will come "shalom" - not just the absence of conflict, but the interjection of peace and joy.  Aspiring to a new order of peace in our lives, or peace on earth, while ignoring the Prince of Peace is useless.  Christ is God - unfathomable complexity - not simply reduced to unknowable chaos, but incarnate as God's Son, knowable and touchable. He is hope for a new beginning. He is your beginning.  

The Lord is God, the Supreme Judge; follow Him.

Hebrews 12:23b-29  -  You have come to God himself, the supreme Judge, and to the spirits of the upright who have been made perfect; and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to purifying blood which pleads more insistently than Abel's. Make sure that you never refuse to listen when he speaks. If the people who on earth refused to listen to a warning could not escape their punishment, how shall we possibly escape if we turn away from a voice that warns us from heaven? That time his voice made the earth shake, but now he has given us this promise: I am going to shake the earth once more and not only the earth but heaven as well. The words once moreindicate the removal of what is shaken, since these are created things, so that what is not shaken remains. We have been given possession of an unshakeable kingdom. Let us therefore be grateful and use our gratitude to worship God in the way that pleases him, in reverence and fear. For our God is a consuming fire.

Who's On Your Team?

Recovering from camp is a process demanding more time each year.  Drooling in fatigued delirium this afternoon, I clicked through some of my photos from last week's adventures.  When I saw this picture I paused and that was all God needed to break through the fog of my exhaustion with this question:

"Do you realize how important your teammates are?  Who you travel with matters more than you know - so who do you hold, and who holds you?"  Good question, eh?  it got me thinking...

Your teammates determine:
   ... your pace,
   ... your peace,
   ... your potential for success,
   ... your combined strength and corporate power,
   ... your altitude,
   ... your carrying capacity,
   ... your "bench strength,"
   ... your limitations,
   ... your options for innovation and creativity,
   ... and your influence.

So, think seriously about two things:

1.  Are you on the journey with great teammates?  If not, why not?  What will you do about that?

2.  Are you a great teammate?  (If you insist on acting like an irresponsible Bozo, why would great teammates want you to be on their team?)  if you are not a great teammate, what will you do to become one?

2 Corinthians 6:14-15  -  Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?

Uncertain Times / What's Going On?

 

"What's Going On?" 

Kim Stewart sings that Marvin Gaye song this weekend - just before Andy Stanley speaks to us in our OnePrayer series.  Kim articulates a good question. It's worth considering. 

"What's Going On?" 

Many of us are facing uncertain times.  Thousands in Michiana have lost their jobs.  Thousands more fear they'll lose theirs too.  A glace at the news opens a floodgate of concerns; Iran is getting crazy; North Korea is crazy; some of our political leaders are acting crazy.  Our kids are growing up in a virtual world of social networks and communities many of us don't understand. The new iPhone came out before we even touched an old one. 

"What's Going On?" 

In the last week scores of GSM middle-schoolers took big steps toward Christ.
In the last week new babies were born to our church family.
In the last week some good friends moved away.
In the last week parents registered their children for Day Camp at GCC.
In the last week four people in our congregation committed suicide.
All that happened last week...

"What's Going On?" 

Is God trustworthy, or not?

Come to one of our services and wrestle with the question.  Let Andy Stanley take you on a journey through the Bible. Listen as Andy tells you about Moses and David and Joseph; he'll encourage you to remember God is at work, even when you can't recognize it.

When it appears God is not active in your life, do you still trust Him?  Do you trust God in uncertain times?  Can you?  Will you?

Job 13:15a  -  Though He slay me, yet will I trust in him.

New Levels of Devotion

At an altar of prayer campers knelt and made commitments - some to follow Christ, some to accept forgiveness, some to enter full-time vocational ministry and some to turn from sin.  Some simply said, "Yes.  God, I'll do what you want, go where you want, say what you want and live as you want."

When your camper gets home, I suggest you do three things:

1.  Let them sleep.  Let them sleep a lot. 
Fatigue is an enemy and they'll be at their best when they have had some rest.

2.  Don't tap the brake. 
Fight any temptation you may have to "temper" their enthusiasm for Christ.  Even if they make bold and unusual statements like, "I'm going to win all my friends to Christ," or "I'm going to start carrying my Bible to school with me."  Even then, don't yield to your temptation to suggest they calm down, slow down or lower their expectations.  Let them dream. Let them step-up to a new level of devotion and commitment.  Let them feel your support - even when they're attempting something that can only happen if Almighty God steps in and makes it so.  (Because Almighty God just might!)

3.  Say, "That's great," or "That's awesome," a lot. 
When they tell you a story about camp, say, "Tell me more about that."  When they talk about the steps they took toward Christ, say, "That's wonderful. I'm proud of you."  Your encouragement means more to them than mine.  Your encouragement means more to them than the encouragement of their camp counselors.  Encourage them - and watch them grow!

Thank you for the privilege of serving your children this week at camp.  I love them.

1 Thessalonians 5:11  -  Encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.

Always The Best!

The counselors at Camp Adventure are always remarkable. They are devoted to the kids and committed to Christ. DC built a great leadership team for our June and July camps.  I'm honored to serve King Jesus beside them. 

After a week of sleepless nights, and no-holds-barred 24-7 ministry, this is what they look like "post slip-n-slide."  They're awesome!

Proverbs 15:22  -  Without deliberation plans come to nothing. Plans succeed where counselors are many.

Unorthodox

 

I've seen a thousand campers go down the slip-n-slide. I don't recall seeing anyone go down standing up. At least, that's the way it was until Ty Robbins did the slip-n-slide last night...

Isaiah 43:19  -  For I’m going to do a brand new thing. See, I have already begun! Don’t you see it?

Tech Staff For June 2009

 

These guys ran hard all week.  Because of them, everyone could see the speakers, medias, dramas and stage presentations.  Because of them, everyone could hear the messages, the music, the scripture readings, the sermons and the soloists. 

The lights and media tools, computers, amps and mixing boards? They set all that gear in place - and they'll take it all down.

When the band was rehearsing, they were tweaking audio levels to perfection.  When the videos were prepared, they made sure the kids can see them.

These guys worked for Jesus all day, every day, all week.  I'm grateful. I hope you are too.

They are warriors for Christ.  They are worthy of honor.

Psalm 45:3  -  Strap your sword to your side, warrior! Accept praise! Accept due honor! Ride majestically! Ride triumphantly!

Help Staff For June 2009

Not only did these GCC'ers serve the largest 1st week of Camp ever, their ministry took camp to a new level.  They've been weeping, moping, cleaning, moving tables and chairs several times a day, doing dishes and laundry and sorting mail...the list goes on and on.  They made camp soar!

My personal thanks to this great team of world-changers.  You can be proud of them too!

Romans 13:7d  -  Pay everyone whatever he ought to have: pay your taxes and import duties gladly, obey those over you, and give honor and respect to all those to whom it is due.

Bible Reading

 

Jeff holds the mic and one of our campers reads the Bible in each morning worship service.  The kids love it.  The counselors love it.  I love it. God loves it.

Romans 14:11  -  Read it for yourself in Scripture: "As I live and breathe," God says, "every knee will bow before me; Every tongue will tell the honest truth that I and only I am God."

Rainy Start to Friday

 

 

My mother told me, “Never judge a day by its weather.”

We live by that motto at Camp Adventure.  Sure we’ve had storms. Sure we’ve had rain. Sure there are consequences. (Have you ever smelled a cabin filled with wet middle-school boys?)

But, who cares?

The weather doesn’t determine our outlook or attitude.  We’re on mission for God – rain or shine.

Matthew 5:45b  -  He (your Father in heaven) causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

 

The Shoe Game

If your kid comes home with shoes that look a lot like the shoes they were wearing when you sent them to camp....this is why.  It's called "The Shoe Game" and it was made for MIddle School Camp.

Ephesians 6:15  -  Put on your shoes so that you are ready to spread the Good News that gives peace.

Camp Adventure Cookout

What's better than a meal at a campfire with friends?

Proverbs 17:1  -  A meal of bread and water in contented peace is better than a banquet spiced with quarrels.