Get a Room

Camp Whatever Fun and Memories

Once again, with the clear help of the Lord, the gang did it. What a fantastic effort put out by Chris, David, Mel and the "cast of 1000's" of volunteers to make CW what it was: a venue to allow kids to grow closer to the Lord (or find Him for the first time), clown around, have some incredible rec each afternoon, and laugh, laugh, laugh.

Every year it is amazing to see what God does through mature and growing 20-somethings who are so committed to their Lord. Thanks so much, guys, for your labor in planning, setting up, loving kids, videoing, all kinds of tech support, worship leadership, set designing, taking down, and especially for already planning for ANOTHER Camp Whatever next year! You are the best.

Now they let me serve in three capacities at CW: 1) the old man of the camp; and 2) male camp counselor;l and 3) leader of a breakout session on kids and their parents. It was an honor once again to serve - in the latter to capacities anyway! I came away again this year with many sad situations to pray for and a lot of new friendships.

In addition to the professional staff, what joy I have in the Lord when going to camp to see the dedication of volunteers: counselors, medical staff, and adults who are simply "gophers" and many others serving in behind-the-scenes, yet significant positions - all working their hearts out. It is with pride that I serve with you all.

As camp counselor Scott Alsup told me a few days before we left for camp - "Boy, this Camp Whatever, it's a 100 mph for four straight days, isn't it?"

Yes it is, Scott, and it's all worth it, as you know.

To our Lord be alllll the glory for a wonderful week of experiencing Him.

Won't you join us next year? With 500+ going this year I am sure we'll need still more leaders in 2010!

A Prayer Concern of Global Porportions

Please remember my friends. We'll call them Rick and Jeanne. They are preparing to service in another country, another culture.

And they are currently experiencing several different types of challenging events in their lives. These are potential roadblocks keeping them from focusing on what they need to be about.

Without going into a lot of detail, please pray for R&J that God will be very real to them in these days. May He remind them frequently that He indeed has plans for them and is working those plans out, even in the detours of life.

They are special people and God is going to do special things for His kingdom with R&J.

Thank-you that I can share such requests with you. My prayer is that God will bless you as you lift up Rick and Jeanne.

An Amazing Series ... The Love Dare

I hope you have been able to be part of the recent series we've been having on the Song of Solomon. We call it The Love Dare and it's been nothing short of amazing.

No one opens the scriptures on marriage like our pastor, Pat Hood. He is humorous, yet insightful in him analysis of what God's Word has to say about marriage, tactfully addressing courtship, the wedding, sex, conflict, and more sex. (How's that for a run-on sentence? Tell your English teacher, maybe she'll start reading this blog, too!)

If you have not heard Pat live, not to worry. Or if you happen to be out of the range of being able to attend (does the internet go that far?) - please get a download of the sermons from our website - www.lifepointchurch.org.

Perhaps you don't "do sermons" on the web. Just this once, I encourage you to try it. Just check it out and it might do you and your marriage some good. I have heard so many people comment on how this series has helped their marriage.

That is why I want you to check it out... to help your marriage, too. Got a good marriage? All the more reason why - to help your good marriage stay good. We all need to feed our marriages sometimes. This would be a good way to feed yours.

God bless, and may your marriage grow as He intended for it to.

Romance and Roses 2009 Pictures are Just a Click (or two) Away

I promised you some R&R pics. You can see them if you are on Facebook. (You know, by the way, that FB rules the world. At least that's what the latest issue of Fortune magazine tells us on its cover.)

Click on Facebook and look for my name for the Romance and Roses pics.

If you are not in a small group (and attend LifePoint) you are welcome to attend the marriage enrichment study Selma and I are leading on Sunday AM at 9PM, in the Hub. It will be going on for another 4-5 weeks.

Let's Look Back on the 10th Romance and Roses for a Moment ...

What an incredible evening of ... well ... just what we had intended for the evening to be -- laughter, fun, romance, delicious food, Charlie and Gina (read: more laughter!), a fine band doing Earth Wind and Fire, and yes, dancing, excellent entertainment (more laughter), some couple time - all under the umbrella of LifePoint, marriage and our Lord.

Here are some random remembrances:

As usual, Charlie and Gina Mitchell were their typically wonderful selves. Don't you just love the way they give out the prizes???

Scott and Carrie Newberg - Your story was just what our couples needed to hear. Isn't it awesome to see how the Lord can take something bad that happens in a marriage and turn it out for His glory. Praise to the Lord and thanks to the Newbergs for getting out of the old comfort zone and sharing what I know so many needed to hear. You were an encouragement to us all.

David Cox and the band were absolutely kicking! What a great way to kick off the 10th annual R&R with their sound. Thanks, David, for your work. You always work so hard on these marriage projects. I am so grateful.

Stephen Bargatze was everything I said he'd be, espcially "quirky". This illusionist/comedian was the best. Simply the best. The magic was ... magical, yet his humor was just as top-notch. His story of where he'd come from was touching. He could not have tied it in any better as he related it to his being faithful to his wife. Thanks, Stephen, for your love for Christ, for your wife and for marriage enrichment.  

All night Stephen picked on Pat Hood our senior pastor. What a good sport (and that's from a guy who loves to dish it out!). Pat's support of our marriage ministry is amazing.

And here are some folks who were behind the scenes who had to - and did - come through:

Ken and Linda Coggins - We are always grateful for the Coggins' support of our marriage ministry. And Linda, the door prizes you get for us are always just what is needed for Charlie and Gina to play off of. Thanks for your work and generosity to our ministry. Good luck in the marathon, Ken.

Susan Garland, my assistant, worked so hard with 1000+ details. Thanks for squeezing in "just one more couple"  - about 10 times over!

Larissa Reed - Spent over 30 hours developing, cutting out and painting (and re-painting - five times) the backdrop for our whole evening. THIRTY+ HOURS - WOW ! What a mind to create, and what a spirit to work so hard in getting it done. Thanks, Larissa. Awesome job.

Al Bell - Who built the backdrop's brace and infrastructure to hold it up. And it worked! (I was never in question with Al working on it!)

Brenda White - Table decorations. It was a joy to have Brenda back on the team. And to see Stephen get her up on stage for the Titanic scene was a hoot! Great tables, and you were a great sport with Stephen.

Gary and Melody Henderson - What hard-working spirits. Thanks to you two for caring about our marriage ministry at LifePoint and for the hard work selling tickets, greeting, setting up table decorations and so many more things. You are great on our team!

Phil and Natalie Wilson and Eddie and Megan Gonzalez - Thanks for all the ways you lend your input to our R&R this year. Our team is better with you on it.

A State of the Art audio/video/photgraphy crew that worked tirelessly (okay, maybe you did get tired, but you really didn't show it) in gettin' er done. Thanks so much guys. You are really the best.

I've said this before - on this blog when speaking of other marriage events - thanks to the Lord for letting us see another example of the Body of Christ working together, using our different gifts to lift Him up. He is Life and we've it demonstrated once again. Thanks, Lord for the Life you breathe into this work. You are the most amazing of all.

Finally, the R&R pics are coming they really are this time. I know what you're thinking, "Right, Rodney, and the check is in the mail." Check back on this site and you'll see.

Oh What a Night Indeed!

Pat Hood, our senior pastor at LifePoint has posted a blog with the details of last night's incredible evening of outreach for our students, and it was worth noting that God blessed in an amazing way.

He is doing that a lot in our church. Let me brag on Him in another way. Just this week, I had the privilege of seeing a couple - BOTH of them - pray to receive Christ in my office. I tell you, you witness that and it's something you won't soon forget!

For a blessing, please check out Pat's brief comments on the student ministry.

And thanks, Chris, David M. and Mel (see each of their links in "My Links" just to the left of this post) and all of the volunteers, for your work in making last night happen. God could have made last night happen in any way He chose, but He chose to use your willing spirits and hard work to bring it about. I am proud of you!

How exciting to be part of a church with such a bright future! Don't know what I'm talking about? Come join us - we're at

LifePoint Church

A 'Name Makeover' and a Presidential Word

As many of you may know, our church, First Baptist Church of Smyrna, TN, has undergone what I'll call a name makeover. That is, we are not dropping our Baptist name as our senior pastor, Pat Hood is adamant about. Rather, we are adjusting it to indicate a more glocal identity. ("Glocal" meaning an all-inclusive ministry to include everything from local to global, thus, glocal. Cool, huh? Wish I'd thought of it.)

So we are now known as LifePointChurch, FBC Smyrna campus. We will be starting other LifePoint campuses here, there and yonder in the future so the name adjustment is quite appropriate.

Here is what the sign on our church building will look like:

Exciting isn't it?

New Address

Also, with the new name comes a new church email for me. It is a simple change that will only involve altering the "after the @ part". (I think they had to keep it simple for Rodney.) My new email is:

rodney.wilson@lifepointchurch.org. Try it out. I dare you.

Please pray that our church will reflect in action what we are doing in our identity: gearing up to touch Smyrna and the world for Christ.  

New Beginnings

Finally, please pray for our new president. It is an amazingly historic time in our country while economically critical. Wise first steps need to be taken on so many levels. Plus, anyone assuming that office clearly needs a close walk with the Lord. Whether he does or not is a personal matter of course. So pray that he will see his need for the Lord to guide his steps.

I pray that President Obama will feel the prayers of the citizens he will be leading in the days and years ahead.

Catching Up Just a Bit

Hey there. Been a while. Been a lot of miles since we talked. And lots more to go, Lord willing. Here's what's gone on lately, with elaboration to follow in subsequent posts:

* Went on a fabluous marriage enrichment cruise to Alaska! (Hey, somebody's gotta do it!) Thanks to Pat for suggesting this wonderful idea. I'll speak more about it later, but just know (and I'm actually serious about this part) that a cruise is an excellent format for a marriage enrichment event. Selma and I were able to counsel with several of the couples who went. The cruise gave us session time each day with group. We also had time to counsel with another couple. Plus there was lots of time for us alone. Praise God for an awesome group and for an incredible trip to an incredibly beautiful part of His creation.

Look for info this fall about another one - perhaps south of here, for next summer. We want you on that one with us!

* Finally got over the motion sickness from the trip around Tuesday! It was a 7-day cruise. (Don't think we'll do one that long again!) Got off the ship in Seattle on Friday morning. Major hangover, but then, I have my own special brand of motion sickness anyway. Glad the hangover's over.

* Couldn't believe Big Brown did NOT win the triple crown. What's with that? Selma actually saw the last triple crown winner - Affirmed - run at the Kentucky Derby. (Don't tell them at the seminary in Louisville or they might try take away my degree!) That was 1978. We were just kids then.  

* Sad to hear that Jim McKay died. The voice of ABC's Wide World of Sports was my hero growing up. He was a class reporter. I remember watching in a dorm at Florida State in 1972 when he announced that the Israelis were "all gone" - killed by terrorists. Sports will miss Jim.

* And another huge loss - Tim Russert. Coming home from the cruise, we came off the plane in Minneapolis and looked at the airport TV's to hear of his death. I almost lost it right there. Tim was my favorite political commentator. I've taped and watched everything I could about him these past few days.

* Immediate prayer needs, please ...

-- Mom. She's in the hospital. Pray that those who care for her will do a good job. And that we have wisdom on how to handle her housing situation afterwards.

-- Thursday and Friday - Selma and I are shooting the rest of The Parent Adventure. It goes with the book we are writing. It will be a long day of shooting many different scenes, each introducing the viewer to the next session's content. We are not professional actors by any means and it can be intimidating trying to remember your lines n front of a crew of 10-12 people who are professionals.

Long blog. Pardon any typos. Sorry. As my daughter Jennifer used to say when she'd talk and talk, then stop just long enough to take a breath, "I've just got a lot to say." Will try not to wait as long to catch up next time!

A 'Super Sunday' Poem

Many of you have kindly asked how Dad is doing. There is not a lot of change in his condition these days. But understand, it makes me feel so much a part of our church when you ask me about him. I know I've probably given the same answer many times to you because often there is no change, but know how much it helps that you still ask. It tells me that you care and reminds me that I need to

* ask Faye Hubbard how Ken is doing and to pray some more for him and her;

*ask Johnny McNurney how his Mom is doing;

*ask Bobbi Ward about her Mom.

And on and on. Thank you for your reminding me to care for others as you care for my family.

My Mom is a closet writer. A good one. She has written - and has had published - songs she has composed along with many poems. It comes out clearly through Jen and Nat's writing abilities.

Jennifer is even making quite a profession out of writing and editing these days.

Natalie recently had an article published in the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Selma and I edit HomeLife magazine. We've written one book on marriage and are currently working on a parenting book. (Are you praying for us about that? PLEASE, the deadline cometh!?)

And a lot of all that writing ability comes from the Lord - through Mom.

Here is a poem Mom wrote some time ago. I know she wishes it could be this way today, perhaps for just one more Sunday afternoon. Anyway, here are her thoughts on her and her husband watching "the game":

Super Sunday

You. Me.

Book. TV.

Coke. Popcorn.

You watch. I read.

You yell. I sleep.

Excitement. Contentment.

Happiness. Home.

Well put, Mom.

Brazil Team Update

No, this is not a Brazil update. However, you can go to Chris Hollomon's blog at www.chrishollomon.org (sound familiar?) and get David Mc's update. (Thanks, Chris, for putting David's updates on there!)

I am proud of this team to Brazil - students and leaders. They've been working hard each day loving children from the favelas (neighborhood slums) of Sao Paolo. God has blessed our church so much in the missions areas it's truly amazing.

While you are at Chris' blogsite, you can remind him - again -  that I am still not his blogroll :-). I heard he threatened to put up a Top Ten Reasons I am not on his blogroll, but I think that was just a bluff. I give him a hard time ,but I love the guy. Thanks for the many of you who contacted him.

Please pray for the Brazil team - that God would protect them and that He would have His way with the entire team and trip. A wise fellow minister once told me, "Rodney, once someone goes on a trip (like this Brazil trip) their concept of missions is never - NEVER - the same. How wise and true that is. I've been in many countries on mission trips, but it was that first one to Honduras that hooked me.

Pray that God would speak to these kids and their leaders what He wants them to learn from this trip - and to shape their own concepts of missions as He wishes.