Godly beauty shines from the inside out

by Barrett Vanlandingham
August 1, 2012

Triple digit heat, a new dress code, campers and staff getting by on very little sleep, and sharing cabin space in close quarters with people you see only once or twice a year. Praise be to God that by the end of the week kids were begging to stay a few more days at church camp. Some of you probably had similar experiences at your camps.

My youth group goes to Burnt Cabin Christian Camp on Lake Tenkiller. By the time all the other invited teenagers and counselors arrive from area towns, there are about 200 of us.

The theme for the week was “Jars of Clay” from 2 Corinthians 4:7. Our studies on this topic were great reminders that in spite of adverse circumstances, God can work wonders in our lives. He can do great things for us and through us even when we think we are unqualified, nothing but spiritual failures, broken pieces of pottery. Even if we’ve been cracked or broken, God can put us back together. Even if pieces are still missing, and we still have cracks and scars, the light of Christ can still shine through us even brighter than before! God could have chosen a seemingly more reliable method of transporting the story of Jesus to a lost and dying world. He could have used an armored vehicle or a spaceship. But He chose us!

I must say that the thing I dreaded the most about camp this year was having to enforce our new dress code I came up with: 1) standard round neck t-shirts, 2) shorts that come to within two and one-half inches above the top of the knee cap when standing. That is the height of a dollar bill.

This dress code might sound easy enough to deal with (or not). But our culture has decided that the shorts our young ladies must wear to be popular should be MUCH SHORTER, and have slits up each side. This obviously poses a problem for young men who are trying to maintain purity of mind whether you’re at church camp or somewhere in public.

Thankfully, decent clothes have not disappeared altogether. My wife and our 17-year old daughter found appropriate shorts at Old Navy, JC Penney, American Eagle, and GAP. Granted, there is a lot more to choose from at most stores if you’re willing to buy less material. After all, most designers are not likely as concerned for our souls as they are with making a profit.

At camp, I was encouraged to find that some young people who were not thrilled about the new dress code, actually changed their minds by the end of the week. Of course, the challenge will be staying strong the other 51 weeks of the year! Godly parenting can obviously be a huge help. Please pray for children and parents to take a strong stand in supporting and practicing purity of mind. Everything else will fall into place. Have a great week!

The Bible says being peculiar is a good thing
by Barrett Vanlandingham
July 25, 2012

            The other day Lisa noticed that in the flower pot on our sidewalk, something was peculiar.  It was filled with mostly white periwinkles.  And the reason I say “mostly” is because right in the middle of all those white flowers was a pink periwinkle! 

Lisa is not sure how that happened since she didn’t plant it that way, at least intentionally.  She immediately pointed this oddity out to our son, Britton, and told him there’s a good Bible lesson in there somewhere!

            So, on the off chance that Britton (typical teenager) is not going to write out a Bible lesson based on his mom’s flower pot (at least in time for me to meet my newspaper deadline), I decided to go ahead and write something about it.

            For my Bible study, I normally use the English Standard Version, the New International Version, or the New American Standard Bible.  But for my thoughts today I want to use the King James Version because I like the way it words a passage that refers to the early Christians in the first century, and still applies to us today.

            “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9, KJV).”

            Normally, people do not like to be described as peculiar.  But in spiritual matters, which is what really counts, being peculiar is not a bad thing at all.  When you look around at how the world defines peculiar, Christians find themselves at the butt of every joke, the minority, and the odd-balls that are seemingly out of touch with what is hip!

            Here’s the deal.  God never called Christians to be in the “in crowd”, popular, or normal by the world’s standards.  God calls us to be radical, different, peculiar, or “a people for God’s own possession (ESV, NASB).”

            The one loan pink periwinkle teaches a great lesson!  It is much like the Christian who refuses to go along with what the world has decided is normal and acceptable.  This does not mean that committed Christians are trouble-makers or trying to be difficult or hard to get along with.  It simply means that committed Christians have their eyes on the prize, and refuse to settle for any earthly reward that conflicts with the eternal reward of heaven that awaits those who are found to be faithful. 

Committed Christians are beautifully peculiar, just like the odd flower that God blesses with amazing beauty and perseverance in spite of its circumstances.   God bless you and have a great week!

God is always looking out for us
by Barrett Vanlandingham
July 18, 2012

            Don’t you just love it when things turn out for the best, especially when you thought it was for the worst?  As I write this article, I am just amazed at how God has been working in my ministry this summer.  And trust me, it’s not because of anything I’ve done!  I could not possibly list all of God’s blessings this summer.  But I do have space to mention a few of them.

            I direct two sessions of church camp each summer, Junior Camp for younger kids and Teenweek.  My theme for both camps is “Jars of Clay”.   Lisa and I were trying to decide if my youth budget could afford several dozen tiny clay pots for a craft project for Junior Camp. 

The 3 inch pots normally sell for about $2.39 each.  So we stopped at Hobby Lobby.  As soon as we walked in the door, we found several shelves of 12 inch tall terracotta pots for just a dollar each!  What a blessing!   Each camper painted one and took it home.  But after Junior Camp we had 14 pots leftover, unused. 

A few weeks later we were thinking of ways to decorate the camp cafeteria for our Friday evening banquet at Teenweek.  I called Sam, the camp’s caretaker.  I asked him how many tables there were so we could bring enough centerpieces.  You guessed it, 14.  God is good!

Here’s an even funnier story!  As I was planning Teenweek, I had an hour slot in my evening camp schedule that I was having a lot of trouble filling.   So I took a couple of days off and took Lisa to on an all-expenses paid trip to Eureka Springs as a reward from our congregation for ten years of service.  When we arrived, I stopped off at a bank to buy a couple of rolls of quarters to feed the parking meters.  A man walked in behind me and we began to talk while waiting in line.  As it turns out, the man is a potter who travels around with his pottery wheel and kiln, and speaks to groups about the comparisons between making pottery and how God, the Master Potter, molds each of us day by day!  And yes, he agreed to come speak at our church camp!  What a blessing.  God is good!

One final story.  A few days ago, our camp nurse for the second half of the Teenweek told me she would not be able to come to camp because of having to take off work so much to take her son to the doctor.  But God evidently knew about this a few weeks before.  That’s when Levi Walker, a product of Fort Gibson, who serves as a youth minister at the Main and Oklahoma Church of Christ in McAlester, asked me if there was room on our staff for him to bring another volunteer counselor.  I said, “Yes, if you’re sure she would make a good one.”   Well, guess what her real job is?  That’s right, she’s an R.N.

God is amazing and is constantly blessing our lives even when we forget to give him credit.  Have a great week!

Bible knowledge doesn’t help if your attitude is not right

by Barrett Vanlandingham
July 10, 2012

Funny thing happened to me the other day. I needed a haircut, but I had forgotten to make an appointment with my stylist who requires four days notice. So, I had to be a walk-in at some random shop in Muskogee. MISTAKE.

As soon as I walked in, the owner who looked like she had just been through it that day, and was in a very bad mood, scowled and said, “You need a haircut?” I said, “Yes.” She said, “Come on! Sit down right here!” I walked over and said, “How are you today?” She said, “Alright, I guess.” I said, “Alright for a work day?” She said, “ Huh?!” I said, “You’re doing alright for a work day?” She smirked and said, “I guess. How do you want your hair cut?”

And before I could even explain anything to her, she flicked-on her electric clippers and started-in on the back of my hair! Quickly on her fourth swipe, I was beginning to panic. Trying to get her to slow down, I told her that I was leading worship this Sunday and that a lot of people might be looking at my hair. She said, “It’ll grow back! That’s what I always say, it’ll grow back, it’s just hair! Besides, they shouldn’t be worried about your hair. They should be worshipping!”

I thought, “Mercy! What have I gotten myself into?” An angry hair stylist had somehow landed me in her hair lair chair, and was evidently taking her bad day out on the unsuspecting customer, me!

Feeling pressure to work fast in diffusing the situation, I began to compliment her confidence in hair styling. After explaining to me that she had been cutting hair for way too many years, she slowly but surely she began to talk in normal tones and even smile a little. I’m glad she was feeling better because it took me the next three hours for my adrenaline to stop pumping! Thank goodness, she actually knew her craft well enough to give me a pretty decent looking haircut. But it was her chair-side manner that came this close to making me bolt for the door, cape or no cape, finished or not!

In Ephesians 4:15 the apostle Paul says, “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”

As Christians, nobody really cares what we have to say to them if our attitude is not right. Yes, it is important to know the truth and speak the truth. But it is just as important to speak it with a spirit of compassion and love. God bless you and have a great week!