A Time to Remember
It is great to be able to take time and remember. That is what this last weekend was for
me. It was a time to remember what God
has done in my life on the small piece of God’s creation we call Falls
Creek. Falls Creek is part of some of my
earliest memories. My dad was a music and
youth minister so I usually spent the week with him. I remember following around older students to
the Icee stands. I remember my first
years as a camper at children’s camp swimming in the ice-cold swimming pool and
having morning devotions under the water tower overlooking the camp. My first year as a camper for youth camp I
was the only guy in our group. That
would have been more enjoyable a few years later. My first year with McAlester First we went
out in the streets well past curfew while it was pouring down rain. We had just played games with shaving cream
and were covered from head to toe. We
started singing “Singing in the Rain” as loud as we could. This was 1990 and the security Nazis were
still in full force. The whole cabin was
almost sent home and banned from returning over the incident.
Some of my great spiritual markers happened at Falls
Creek. It is where I learned how to
listen to God. It is the place I
surrendered to ministry in 1991. My
first big event to plan as a minister was to take a group to Falls Creek. I have helped more people surrender to Christ
on the grounds of Falls Creek than anywhere else in America. I have shed a lot of tears and heard a lot of
confessions with numerous students through the years. I would not be the same person today without
those special times at Falls Creek.
The modern worship experience on Saturday night was exactly
what I needed. It was a time to praise
God with all our heart. The service
Sunday night was a time of great reflection.
Having Bill Green lead “Saved, Saved” with Senator James Lankford on the
timpani brought back the joy of some of my fondest moments in worship under the
old tabernacle. The place has changed
considerably over the last twelve years.
The future is great as the camp is transformed into a year-round
conference center. But sometimes, it is
good to just remember what God has done.
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