Camp meeting...

Last night we went to an old fashioned camp meeting. Who knew that we had these in Ferndale? It was a camp that is reminiscent of the 50's. The slatted board walls, bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling, the cross with the message Holiness unto the Lord painted on it, hymns, a section of teens, and then the wide variety of all ages dispersed on a variety of pews abandoned from churches updating their sanctuary--and all of them donated to the camp. The colorful array of red, green, blue, and wooden benches were not the only variety of the night.

As I looked around the camp chapel, I realized that some people are mentors without even knowing it. I looked at a lady's arthritic hands as she raised them in praise to God...and I prayed that I would still praise God when pain is a constant companion. I saw a gentleman whom I have grown to love sing every song and hymn. His dementia evaporated as he sang familiar tunes. The same man put his arm around his wife and then held her hand during the preaching and I saw the love that he has for her. I listened to his wife as she praised him for building a cabin and adding a bathroom. Pride was reflected not only in her voice but in his face. And I want to be that much in love with Steve when things may not be as they are now.

I listened as the evangelist told of a woman, now 94, who was involved in Evangelism Explosion, who loved and prayed for a couple 23 years ago. The couple were living together when the EE team came to their house and after the team shared the Gospel to the woman, she made a commitment to Jesus. Later, the man made a similar commitment because of the love and acceptance that he felt from the church. The couple celebrated their 23 wedding anniversary and they were at the camp meeting. Ann would have been 71 years old at that time. She has not lost the love for the lost, even now at 94. 71 and actively seeking to share the good news of Jesus Christ to the lost...hmmm....will I have that commitment?

Another one of the saints that is a mentor is 96. She told me a couple of weeks ago that she realized that when she knelt in prayer...she could concentrate better. She felt like she had to be in that posture to keep her thoughts focused on God. 96 and on her knees before His Throne....amazing!

There are so many mentors that I see around me. Many of them do not realize that I am even watching them. Some I know their names, others, I only see. I watch as these saints give up the things that they find comfortable, like hymns replaced by rockin' music, and drums and electric guitars replaced the organ, because they are investing in the lives of those generations who are to come to Christ. One of the ladies that I see as a mentor said, we have given up a lot, and the changes that we see now is just one more thing... but if it brings people to the cross, it's okay. Their goal is the same...to see people receive the grace of the Creator and Redeemer God, through Jesus, His son.

And for that reason, I realized, camp meetings like the one last night is necessary for these wonderful believers who get a glimpse of a past that is familiar. To each of them I thank them for their commitment and their witness, not only to the lost, but especially to me.