What’s better than the trifecta? How about the 4-fecta!
The baptisms at the Harvest Field pond were beautiful! The water wasn’t too cold, the sun was shining brightly, and the girls shared some wonderful stories of how Jesus has changed their lives. Erica Reitz (Calvary’s College Connection) read the scriptures that the girls chose, and a bunch of Calvary staffers made the walk down to the pond for the celebration. I love being part of a church that loves college students and invests in them.
This is the time of year that we experience a bit of an exodus. When the last final is taken, most of the students will flee Happy Valley for other parts of the world. It’s sad to see some of the leave, knowing that they won’t be returning in the fall. But it’s our belief that God brings students to Penn State so that we can reach them with the gospel, help them get a better perspective on life and their calling, and equip them to plug into a body of believers where the road takes them. Someone wiser than I once said: when the water in the harbor rises, all the boats rise. In other words, what’s good for the Kingdom of God is good for us. These wonderful graduates of the Pennsylvania Farmers’ College will be heading out to make their mark–a Kingdom mark–somewhere else. And we’re ok with that.
I wrestled with the leaving for years as a youth pastor. It seemed like every time we got a team built that was running with purpose, the leaders would graduate and take off. Now I’m saying goodbye to more than half of the worship team from midtown. But I know that the Lord will bring new people to step into their shoes, and we’ll get another opportunity to build and shape the next team. It’s not easy, but it’s good.
We celebrated Lynn Nold’s birthday today. It also happens to be her son Josh’s birthday. That might just be the best birthday present ever. Do you think she planned it that way? That’s some awesome womb control if she did…
You may have seen the video that I shared earlier. From way back, I have a deep-rooted love and appreciation for bluegrass. My Paw Paw was a picker from western NC, and he passed on his love for bluegrass (and Jesus!) to me. I have his mandolin, though I hardly do it justice. The day is coming when we pull out the old songs and round up the pickers for a bluegrass Sunday at midtown. If you’re hiding your banjo skills, you should totally drop me a line…
I’ll leave you with one more video. This is the Sleepy Man Banjo Boys, and they’re smokin’! And I think they (or their parents) might just love Jesus!
0 Comments