Vacation Bible School began tonight.  Weather is still brutally hot but we persevere.  We have wonderful people giving their time during this week.  That does not begin to include the countless hours many spent just in preparation.  Words will not and are not enough to cover the thanks due to each one of these.  My greatest prayer for this week is that all of us encounter a God moment.  Those are the times when He just shows up to do something spectacular we never expected.  This annual event still holds a special place in my life.  I remember going every year while growing up.  Little did I know that most of my summers would revolve around leading this adventure.  My stories could extend for awhile from great moments along the way.  But something changed during the past few years.  It is part of the obstacles we face now.

You really do not need me to tell you how our world is changing.  Just thinking about where we are will confirm this truth.  VBS was at one time the highlight of the church year.  It still is in many ways.  Maybe it is just me but it seems far more difficult to connect with a community than before.  Parents once would make sure children were part of this week no matter the church background.  We could go out in town to promote VBS knowing the response would go well.  You always looked forward to meeting kids and parents that perhaps were new to you.  Small towns and larger cities could anticipate a positive experience in reaching out to families.  Life is far different today.

We can spend all of our time in fault finding that does little to help our feelings.  It very well be that the problem is not with the church.  One mistake congregations make is to always think it is all our failure.  The result is that we usually never get around to dealing with solutions.  It is easier to blame someone else than to ask God for wisdom.  My whole point is to say our world is changing at a faster rate with each passing day.  This is not our fault.  It is what it is. 

Sure appears that our world is more set in its ways of resisting the church in its mission.  People are not always rebelling but just resist our efforts more than ever.  I know some people are perhaps more sinful in their decisions but it still seems more than that.  Changing church styles may help but we cannot afford to lose our distinct calling.  We change our approach as church in general every few years.  What was once contemporary is now cowboy.  We have to do more than just change what we do in a worship service.  I will just mention one thought that we may revisit soon.  Changing our world will require us to once again do it one person at a time.  We will need to build caring relationships with people who may not have a lifestyle of our approval.  We will have to tell the old story in ways that are personal in nature.  We will have to commit to people because we want better for them and not just because they are a prospect.  Looks like we need to clear this post up tomorrow.  My mind rambles sometimes so the fingers follow.  Hope you can make sense of this so we can fix it with our next post.  Until tomorrow.

Bro. Trey