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Louisiana District UPC Camp Meeting 2006
By Shirley McDonald
July 17, 2006
The 92nd annual camp meeting of the Louisiana District UPC was held at the campgrounds in Tioga, Louisiana, from July 2 – July 6, 2006. The thousands of attendees were blessed by anointed singing, and especially by anointed preaching. Here are comments from a few of the sermons.
Every camp meeting for as long as I can remember, Bro. Tom Barnes has always led a worship service in the “Morning Sacrifice” service at 8:45 a.m. His death at 92 years of age just a few weeks ago made these services bittersweet. His slot was filled by a different person each morning. Bro. Whaley spoke on the sound of grace as Jesus was crucified. Bro. Glen Chance answered the question of “What is the profit of prayer?” Sis. Mangun told of a time when Bro. G. A. Mangun had felt a special call to go to the church to pray for an unknown need. At the very time he was praying, one of the ladies in his church had become unconscious after surgery. When she was finally revived, she said that the sound of Bro. Mangun’s praying had awakened her—even though he was miles away.
David Bernard was the morning Bible teacher, and he began on Monday morning with an outstanding lesson on “Continuing in the Apostles’ Doctrine.” Affirming that we need to continue the doctrine of the apostles as spoken by Christ and confirmed by those who heard Him, Bro. Bernard spoke of documentation from several biblical scholars who agree that the Bible clearly shows that Jesus name baptism was the only baptism that was practiced by the apostles. On Tuesday, the lesson centered on the work of the Holy Spirit as it saves people, with one example coming from Jesus’ healing of the blind man. When the blind man kept affirming his experience of healing, he was led to the revelation of, “Lord, I believe.” The Wednesday Bible lesson was “Truth in Balance” – a powerful lesson on our balancing:
We must reaffirm the fundamentals but grant liberty in other matters that are not doctrinal. He stated that scriptural ‘convictions’ are not negotiable. He further stated that it is vital for churches to have a balance of faith and works – a mere profession of faith that fails to affect one’s actions is not saving faith.
T. F. Tenney told us “What to Do When Hard Times Come” – don’t let your present dilemma taint your future. His text came from the book of Habakkuk, summing up this way:
Stating that we are not immune from tragedy, since we live in a tragic and sinful world, Bro. Tenney then said that God’s promises are not dated; they never expire. We must learn to separate circumstances from our relationship with God. With typical “Tenney humor,” Bro. Tenney read Habakkuk 3:1 ("A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth"), saying that he had tried to research the word Shigionoth, and the best definition he could come up with was that it was a song of triumph based on ignorance – “I don’t understand, but I will praise anyway.” Verse 16 of this chapter lets us know Habakkuk was a realist, but in verse 18 he declares, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. When the hard times come, “Shigionoth it!”
Rex Johnson was the night speaker for the first half of camp. On Monday night, he spoke on “What Moves People,” stating that it is the Spirit of God that moves people. He used the example of Obed-edom, the “doorkeeper for the ark” (I Chronicles 15:24). He knew to be reverent of the presence of God (the ark) and was willing to give of himself in worship by playing both the psaltery and the harp.
On July 4, a special program on the effects and the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita was especially poignant as we watched a presentation of the devastation of south Louisiana. Area ministers who had damage to their churches spoke, with the focus on rebuilding and restoration. All expressed a deep appreciation for the help they had received during that traumatic time. The Louisiana District Campground was used as a Red Cross shelter, and Bro. Jonathan Suber told of miracles that happened in services held in the dining hall; one man was in a wheelchair and began walking after he was prayed for. In Chalmette, little has re-opened – but the church is open for services!
Wednesday night was family night, and Jerry Jones preached a “Welcome to the Family.” He stated that every unit of family relationships must be connected to God for it to be successful. He also stated that there is no such thing as “family time” or “God time” – these cannot be separated. We only find purpose in our families when we bring our connection to God into the family. God has built a family of families with the church, and this provides a family for the fatherless.
Bro. Jeff Arnold spoke on Friday night. However, the Spirit of God had flooded the tabernacle while the choir from Bossier City, Louisiana, was singing, so Bro. Arnold said he wasn’t quite sure what he needed to do. He ended up “talking” on several topics. He mentioned the woman at the well, saying that Jesus had died for all, and we have to stop being prejudiced over whom we serve. The gospel of Christ is transformation of trash to treasure. He stated that our victories will come from our Gethsemane, not especially from those times at camp meetings. We need to ask abundantly so that we can receive abundantly. Bro. Arnold said he is tired of missionaries having to beg for people to sponsor them with Partners in Missions – we need to think big and ask abundantly.
Bro. Matt Maddix preached the sermon that affected me the most. His text was “Esse Quam Videri” – To Be Rather than to Seem. Taking his text from James 1:27 (“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”), Bro. Maddix challenged us to grade our churches on their outreach to these six groups of people:
Admitting that his own church received a failing grade of 1.25 (and this was only because his church cooks a meal every Saturday night and buses the homeless to the church to eat – after they have attended a worship service), he read Matthew 25:42-45: “For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat, I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not…Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these ye did it not to me.”. We need to give Jesus a place to sleep and food to eat…we need to serve.
Bro. Maddix told us that we cannot just adopt the attitude that “well, my pastor doesn’t support these efforts” because we are the church and must make sure that we ourselves are making a difference in the lives of those in the groups listed above. After all, this scripture is in the same Bible as Acts 2:38. How can we continue to enjoy our creature comforts when so many around us are hurting? How can we continue to ignore their needs when we have been given so much? As Bro. Bernard said, “a mere profession of faith that fails to affect one’s actions is not saving faith.”
I am ready to get out of my comfort zone and make sure that I am doing my part to see that Jesus is not hungry and that He has a place to sleep. I hope thousands of others will join me.
ninetyandnine.com
© 2006, Shirley McDonald
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Shirley McDonald still enjoys hearing four sermons a day during camp meeting. She is sorry to hear that next year’s camp will not begin until Tuesday, rather than on Sunday night as it has for all those years that she has been privileged to attend.