BaseCamp 2011 Day Four

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Andy Stoddard

Today is the last day of BaseCamp 2011. It’s been a great week of service to the greater Pine Belt area.

We’ve seen yards get cut, bathrooms get fixed, children get loved on, and food given out. It’s been a real great week of being the hands and feet of Jesus. These youth have given of their time, their efforts and of all that they are to really make a difference in the lives of others.

And these last two years I’ve had the privilege of working with BaseCamp, that’s always my take away. You can make a difference. You really can.

That may be one of the most dangerous things that the world can do to us. It can make us believe that we can’t make a difference. That there is nothing that we can do. That it is hopeless. That there is no point in trying to change the world.

That there is no point in trying to change yourself.

I believe in the power of change. I believe in the power of God to change lives. To change the lives of the ones that we serve, and to change our on lives as well.

You can make a difference today. Each smile. Each warm word. Each offer to help someone. Each time you don’t respond in anger. Every little thing you do, you can make a difference.

And, today, God can make a difference in you. You can grow closer. You can be more like Him. You can feel His power and His life in you today. You can be changed.

Today, let’s go make a difference. Each of us, let’s go be the hands and feet of Jesus.

BaseCamp 2011 Day Two

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Andy Stoddard

There’s an old saying that we’ve all heard – physician heal thyself. I think for me as a pastor, it could be translated – preacher hear thy sermon!

I spent the last week in worship at Asbury talking about spiritual gifts and how none are greater than the others. All of our gifts are from God, all of our gifts are at work for the same purpose of strengthening the Body of Christ and helping that Body to represent Christ to the entire world. To love, to care, to serve, to pray for, to cry with, to, in short, be the body.

Each gift matters. Each gift is important. Each gift strengthens the whole of the church.

You have a gift. You are called. You need to be living out God’s calling on your life.

So, during BaseCamp I am part of what used to be called “Support,” which is now Critical Needs. Which, I keep calling Critical Access. And I forget what it’s called and call it support.

We make lunch for the other teams. We go get things. We fix things. We run water to people. We are busy, busy bees.

But we are behind the scenes. We aren’t that visible. Other teams are tearing down things. Or are working with kids. Or are witnessing to others about Jesus.

We went to Sam’s and bought lunch meat.

So, here’s what I’m doing. I’m listening to my sermon. We are also part of the body. Without this team, BaseCamp wouldn’t work. Without this team, people wouldn’t have lunch to eat or water to drink. Without this team, our Body would not be able to function.

Even through no one sees it.

Today, I’m going to be faithful to my task, and do what I can do to strengthen the body.

How about you? Today, serve where you are. Even if it’s not in the forefront. Even if it is in the background. Even if no one but God notices.

Because God notices. And He is proud of all service done in His name.

Today, no matter where you are, be faithful.

BaseCamp 2011 Day One

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Andy Stoddard

Morning Everyone. Posting will be spotty this week. Asbury is putting on our yearly BaseCamp, where over 100 youth from Asbury and other churches come together to do mission work and service all over the Pine Belt. There is worship and fellowship, and it is really a great time to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

So, pray for us this week. I’ll try to update each morning as I make coffee for the leaders’ meeting we have every day.

Today, I want to leave you with a quote I reference in my sermon yesterday by Teresa of Avila

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

May we each be the hands and feet of Jesus today, with all the we do. Pray for these youth as they seek to do that today.

BaseCamp – Day Three

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Andy Stoddard

Yesterday was the third day of BaseCamp here in Petal and it was a learning experience. The entire week has been, but yesterday was a chance for my kids, and for me, to learn about what grace looks like.

When you are working on yards, sometimes, most times, things are perfect. Sometimes the work doesn’t go right, or the machines don’t work right or the people aren’t just pleased with the work.

We had a family we were working with this week and things just weren’t going right. Folks were working hard and trying their best, but it just seemed like nothing was going as it should. And plus everyone was hot and tired after a long few days of work.

As my crew was driving to our next site, some of the kids were talking about things weren’t going right and I saw a moment. I don’t preach to my kids a lot, I’m a preacher, that’s what they’d expect 🙂

What I do is try to use the stuff that we are doing each day to relate our work to the grace of God. Well, we were talking how we needed to love this family, even though they weren’t always easy to deal with.

And I told them, that’s what God does for us. We aren’t always easy to deal with. We don’t do what God wants. We do wrong. And, you know God must get frustrated with us sometimes. You know He just must be tempted to be fed up with us sometimes. It’s got to happen.

And, how does God respond? He responds with love. No matter how frustrated He may be, no matter what we may have done, He responds to us with love. He loves us, not matter what.

And because we’ve been loved that way, we are called to love one another in that same way. Even when it’s hard. Even when we don’t want to. Even when we are tired. God loves us no matter what; we are called to love each other.

That’s what BaseCamp is teaching these youth, and reminding us adults!

BaseCamp – Day One

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Andy Stoddard

Instead of daily reflection on scripture the next few days, I’m going to write a quick review of BaseCamp of the previous day. Yesterday, me and my crew of teens went out after breakfast and morning worship to work. I have a crew of kids that didn’t know each other. They were from different towns, different churches, had different personalities, they were just all different from each other.

And, at first, it was a little ackward. It’s tough not knowing folks and trying to figure out what to do.

And then, we went to work. And these four young folks went to work and worked HARD in the middle of the Mississippi summer. And I was very proud of them.

And it reminds me of something that I know to be true, but I’ve seen over and over again. When people, churches, people, families have no mission, no purpose, no vision, we will fuss. We will fight a little. We might not get along.

But, when we have a mission to be about, we focus on that, and we see great things happen. When we work together on a mission.

So, as individuals, as members of a church, what is your mission? What is the mission of your church? Where do you fit? What are you doing for that mission?

We all have a part to play, we all have something we can do for that mission.

Today, may we find out where we fit in that, and may we be about the mission God has given us.

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