God's tool of evangelisim -- the teenager.

   

 

      Have you ever noticed a reverse evangelism effect in youth-aged congregants and their families? By "reverse" I mean the children coming to church and bringing their parents instead of the parents coming and bringing their children. I have noticed this phenomenon on several occasions. I find it powerful, amazing, and often times overlooked. Here is what has happened some at Cedar Creek. Students get extremely involved in youth activites and God starts dealing with their hearts. This is a good thing. It is my desire to see students grow closer to God. In turn, they follow the Holy Spirit and dedicate their lives to God. This too is the way it supposed to work. In many cases, however, these students live in a home where Christ is not the center. I have seen many a tear shed from a teenager in earnest prayer for her or his parents to be saved. This breaks my heart. There is a good side of this story though. On occasion, parents will start coming to church with their kids. Honestly, I believe it is a wonderful approach used by God. Most everyone around here at least acknowledges the existance of God. They may not be sincere about their individual involvement, but they love their children enough to want them to be close to God. In turn, when their children want to go to church, they sometimes end up going with them. In the best of these situations, the parents are saved and become dedicated to walking with Christ. How wonderful! God works through a teenager and I love watching it go down!

There is a special place in Heaven for camp directors!

      It is a selfless act that all too often goes unrecognized. Anybody who has ever worked with youth and/or planned a week-long event knows the difficulties and abnormalities that can and will arise. As I've mentioned in another post, when good things are happening Satan is going to work overtime to try to destroy them. An example of that would be the most current camp issue. The camp directors found out on Monday that the speaker for the week was laid over in California and wouldn't make it in time for the first service. Happenstance you say? No, says I! Blame it on the devil. It happens every time. You can bank on it. However, "greater is He that is within [us] than he that is within the world." Our God provided as He always does and an amazing local speaker stepped up and offered an amazing first service. Needless to say, I am looking forward to what God has in store for this coming week.
  The local summer camp here in Greene County is logically deemed Camp  Greene. Camp Greene is a local hot spot for summer God activities. I never took the opportunity as a child and teen to enjoy this occasion, but I have grown to love it as an adult and youth pastor. It seems that God is blessing this particular camp. It is my understanding that the camp had been diminishing in participation in past years, but it has exploded in the past five. The reason for its recent success is (along with God's blessing) the willingness and eagerness of individuals to take the reigns and seriously devote time and effort to this cause. For the fear of leaving someone out, I am not going to name names. However, my hat is off to those who dedicate weeks of their year to this occasion.

     I enjoy assisting with camp for several reasons. First, I enjoy seeing the students grow closer to God. That is a main objective in my life, and I thoroughly enjoy it. Also, student ministry is about relationship building. If you can't build effective relationships with the students then they're not going to open up when it is time to deliver God's word and offer other ministry. Camp is a great opportunity to build on those relationships. Camp time is also a time of unity. Unity is a big part of God's plan for the Church and it is a part that is overlooked and ignored way too often. Adults in the Church could learn quite a bit from the students at camp. I love seeing them mingle with those from different congregations. That is the way it is supposed to be and it is exemplified well at Camp Greene! I’m not sure if you know it or not, but there will be no denominational divide in Heaven. Finally, I enjoy camp because I am not in charge. I know that sounds selfish and I hope you'll forgive me. However, all year long I am in charge and responsible. It is nice to be out of that role once in a while. I offer my assistance every chance I get and I try to be there as much as I can, but I am not the one in charge... and it's nice. There is nothing wrong with being the bus driver and the cat-herder for a couple weeks. Again, thanks to those who put forth such an effort to deliver God's word and love to a generation who all too often are getting overlooked. There is a special place in Heaven for people like you!

I've Been Published!! E.J. Swatsell on Scrap Metal -- Ha Ha

   

     I've been published by Group Magazine! I realize it's just a 3x5 article, but its right there in the May-June 2013 edition on page 29. It may not mean much to many people, but I'm tickled pink! For those of you who don't know, Group Magazine is a bi-monthly periodical about youth ministry and for youth ministers. It is a fountain of encouragement and knowledge. If you are in youth ministry, this is a must have. If I'm not mistaken, there is a e-copy available as well. Check it out... seriously.

     The article that was published was about a fundraiser that we do at Cedar Creek. It actually all started as a joke. I was standing in the narthex of the church one Sunday morning talking about fund raising options and an older friend and youth group supporter jokingly stated that we should sell scrap metal, because its price is high at the moment. He was joking, but it struck my interest quickly. When something like that gets stuck in my head, I might as well explore it or I'll never get it out of my noggin. One thing led to another and we started the process.

    

Here is one of the most important factors about fundraising in a rural congregation. Most members of a rural congregation have had to work hard all of their lives. They are more than willing to financially aide a cause, but not until that cause works for it. They've worked hard for what they've got, and they naturally expect teenagers in a youth group to do the same. Remember that and fund raising in the rural congregation will go a lot smoother.

     Since I grew up on the farm and still farm a little, I have access to equipment such as trailers and such. This made the scrap metal collection process easier. It was definitely a God thing, as we started with one small dump trailer load of metal. By the end of our first drive we had collected over $15,000 in scrap metal. We frequented the scrap yard so much that we were on a first name basis with the owner. He would usually add a couple cents on the pound when he saw us coming; since it was for a good cause and all. There were even congregants asking us to come clean out their garages, which we did gladly because a good sized garage usually equals about a ton of metal. Then there were a few people who donated old silage trucks that were no longer usable. They robbed what parts they needed and we rolled it up on a trailer and hauled it off.

A thing to remember is that different metals sell for different prices. An example would be that scrap sells for around a dime per pound but good copper sells at $1.40 per pound. Aluminum is also higher. Scrap yards also accept old car batteries and radiators at a higher price than scrap. Again, with God's blessings and the assistance and support of the community, scrap metal collection worked out well for us. Will it work well for you? I'm not sure, but I know that if you're willing to work it is definitely worth the effort. Happy scrapping!

Coonhounds & Ministry: James Chapter 1

 

 

James 1 2-4:

 

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

 

 

            I would like to start off by saying that I am a very happy person. God has blessed me tremendously and I know that He is the source of all my blessings. I have been blessed with a wonderful family who loves me. I have a wonderful “job” that is, in fact, so good that I am hesitant to call it a job. I have a wonderful church family that is supportive of my ministry (God’s ministry through me) at Cedar Creek. I could go on and on and on and I probably should instead of starting this next paragraph. The truth is God has blessed, and I am thankful.

            Having said that, I would like to address the nature of humanity. Please, don’t expect Aristotle or Plato, but hang on for profoundness… It doesn’t matter how good you’ve got it, there are going to be shaping experiences in your life. To the best of my calculations, I have those experiences at least quarterly. I’ll share one of them with you, and I’ll follow up with a reasoning behind the madness. Maybe you’re going through a “shaping experience” and we can laugh at this one together.

 

Coonhounds & Ministry:  

            I was an avid raccoon hunter for a total of about six months. It was a grand idea of mine, just not a very successful one. The idea was rooted in sincerity, as I wanted to find something in common with a certain group of young men within our youth group. It was a relationship building opportunity. Looking back at it, this was not the best idea I’ve ever had. After working all day on the farm on a Saturday (which is important because I was scheduled to preach “big church” the following morning), I decided to take my mediocre-at-best dogs for a run with some of the boys from the youth group. I loved these dogs, but their trainer (me) was definitely lacking. Anyhow, we turned loose at a place called Saw Mill Holler up above Cedar Creek. It was supposed to be a honey hole. Right out of the truck, the dogs struck a trail and hit it hard for about 50 feet. Then they stopped like you turned off a light switch and took a dead left toward some houses and away from any feasible raccoon. My first thought, “I’m too tired for this, what was I thinking?” I looked down at my fancy little tracking system and ol’ Charlie was leaving the country. 100 feet turned into 1600 yards in a heart beat. He was gone. So, we walked down the trail, got in the truck, and headed in that direction. The good dog, Buster, met me at the road when he heard the truck crank. He was too old to be interested in what was taking place. Charlie, however, had winded a female companion somewhere down the road and I was the last thing on his mind! I followed the tracking system and found that he was behind a house and trying franticly to get into the dog pen. Well, the house was fenced in and you don’t just go snooping around somebody’s house at nine in the evening, so I waited at the road. To make a long story short here is how this went down: A neighbor finally came out carrying a shotgun wanting to know why in the world I was lurking around the community. After he figured out who and why I was, he went with me to the home of Charlie’s attractor. The said home owner was gone and the wife was scared to death. She proceeds to lay a fine bead on my forehead with her Glock… admirable, but unfortunate at the time. By God’s grace, she understood the art of raccoon hunting and recognized me. “Go ahead and get him, help yourself,” she said. So I go around back and step over a conspicuous, knee-high electric fence. Come to find out, that fence was designed to keep their pet, 1000 pound boar hog from attacking the neighbors. She didn’t tell me about him, but I quickly found out. I finally got Charlie by the collar and was leading him back to the truck when he vomited stolen cat food on my boot. That, my friends, is pretty much the sum of it.  

 

 

 

            I have since retired from hunting. I liked working the dogs, but the end result always required the killing of the coon. I guess I’m getting soft in my old age, but I don’t enjoy that like I used to. There’s always a moral to a story like this. In this case, there are several. First, not all ideas, though good intentions, are successful. Second, never take an electric fence for granted; it is there to either keep something in or keep something out – or both. Thirdly, Satan will use any tactic possible to distract good things from happening – as in the following day’s sermon, in my case. Lastly, and most importantly, James 1:2-4! This scripture is a grand reminder that through trials (even those in our lives much more serious than the above) we can become stronger in our faith and closer to God. Life will catch up to us. Bad things, sad things, crazy things, and ridiculous things are going to happen to us; especially when you’re trying to live right. When sin came into the world, Satan made it his goal and last-ditch effort to try to trip everyone up in anyway that he can. It is not easy being a Christian, especially one trying to serve in the ministry. Finances will be tight. Toes will be stumped. Wedding bands will be lost in hay fields (literally, not metaphorically). Equipment will tear up. All of this will happen at the most inconvenient time. There is hope yet! Remember this quote from my father: “If the devil is not working on you, he probably already has you.” Even though we are waging war with Satan in this daily spiritual battle, Christ won the war for us when he died on the cross! That’s pretty significant. Also, in 1 Corinthians 10, Paul tells us that nothing will ever be placed on us that we can’t handle. That is also good news. When it all boils down, James 1 is enlightening. The trials that we are going through are the same ones that God is using to teach us endurance. It is that endurance that will allow us to “fight a good fight and finish the race.” Consider it joy!

 

 

 

June article in "The Call" -- CCCOG Newseltter

            Well, we made it again. We made it through one of the busiest seasons in youth ministry. It starts with egg making in February, and ends with graduations in May. This year was a successful busy season. Eggs went extremely well and state youth convention was one of the best that I had ever taken part in. All of these successes are to the glory of God, with the assistance of the prayer warriors and supporters of the Cedar Creek Church of God and beyond. I cannot believe May flew by as quickly as it did. It has been a very productive May. We started with our all-church fellowship dinner that I think was a great success. We had a good time with the cook out and the movie projected on the wall in the Christian Activities Center. Times like these are priceless, as good Christian fellowship is one of the glues that hold relationships together. It was also a great opportunity for fundraising for the youth group. Thanks for your support in this endeavor. Later in May came graduation time. On the 15^th of May, I had the opportunity to assist in the United Baccalaureate service of Greene County. This is an important event that should be supported heavily by local congregations. It is the last truly Christian event within the local county school systems. We are concerned with the lack of Christ in our school systems, so we need to support this event as much as possible. This year’s baccalaureate was a good one as Mr. Steve Fitzhugh brought the word preceded by the Advanced Chorus from Greeneville High School. Both venues were amazing and the Lord spoke during the service. It is also during this service that the Doer of the Word Scholarship is presented. One male and one female from each school are presented a $1000 scholarship earned by their sincerity to walk with Christ day in and day out. This is not a political award, as it is student-chosen to avoid such an issue. I am proud to say that one of the recipients of this year’s Doer of the Word Scholarship is from our youth group here at Cedar Creek. Congratulations to Mr. Dallas Malone. The following Saturday was graduation for several of our students. I am proud to have been a small part of their lives during this time. I have really enjoyed watching them grow and mature in the Lord as well as in life. I continue to pray that God will bless them as they continue onward in this crazy journey we call life.

 

            Right after graduation is a great time to get the summer ministry started. We had two “kickoff” gatherings for two of our ministries. On the 26^th of May, we had a pool party/Bible study at the home of Micky and Tammy Reaves. This was to kick-off our Sunday night youth group series. The numbers are not as big on Sunday nights as they are on Wednesday, but it is still a welcoming environment for the students as well as the Holy Spirit. On the 24^th, we had our College-Age summer kickoff at the home of Kevin and Julie Kinser. It is an overwhelming epidemic throughout the church that students are kind of dropped after they graduate from youth group. I refuse to allow this to happen at Cedar Creek. We have poured too much into the lives of these young men and women to merely abandon them after graduation. God has directed me to do all that I can to keep these students connected. Therefore, I will do my best. Because of their busy schedule with college and/or the work place, and because my main focus must remain on the youth group, I cannot offer a great deal of time. However, I do not think it requires a great deal of time to be successful. We have a wonderful college-age Sunday school class and we are starting this monthly bible study. College age students (along with anyone else) are also invited to observe during youth group on Wednesday evenings. These students know that they have graduated and are no longer youth group members, but they also know that we here at Cedar Creek welcome them in all facets of ministry. Please continue to keep both of these ministries in your prayers.

 

            The summer is usually a regrouping time in youth ministry. Many families are on vacation and are absent from church. Many of our students are gone to camps or are attempting to hold down a summer job. This makes for some vacancies within in our group during this time of year. I do not allow that to hinder ministry. I do not slow down much during the summer. Some do, and that is perfectly fine. However, there are still students out there who, quite frankly, have nothing to do. I take advantage of that. I am planning some day trips and a retreat for the summer. The number of students may not be huge, but I expect a good twenty or thirty to participate in these activities. My philosophy for the summer is this: plan ministry opportunities often, and those that can come may come. It may be a different twenty every time, but that is perfectly alright. So, if you will, please continue to pray for our group. Pray for the safety of the students and for the success of the ministry. Said success is completely related to our allowing Christ to work through us. Success in ministry is measured by the will of God being accomplished. That is my goal, as I am sure it is yours as well.

 

Thank you for your continued support and prayers. May God bless you during this warming time of year and may we all continue to remember the source of all blessings and prosperity.

 

 

With love and prayer,

 

Pastor E.J.