Preston Mitchell's Blog

Father

Being a father is one of the greatest joys of my life.  I am not the best father by far, but to this point the kids have turned out great, thanks to my wife.  Looking back to the birth of Whitney in 1984, neither one of us had a clue about parenting.  We didn't even know how to change a diaper, so we were starting from scratch.

There were some great days and some horrible days.  But most of my days parenting consisted of praying, using a lot of common sense and always  believing that God has a purpose for these children he had blessed us with.  Now that they are all gone, I am surprised by the fact that I am still parenting.  The only difference is they listen now!  I am a survivor.  Here are some of the things I learned about being a parent:

1.    You can never afford children.  When you have them, God supernaturally expands the budget to allow you to somehow make it.  When they become teens, you turn into a ATM machine shooting out $20's at an unbelievable pace.

2.    Teaching them to value authority is vital.  One of the biggest problems I see in preschoolers to teenagers today is lack of respect for authority.  Most of them have never been told no, and so they feel that anything they do is their business.  Once they get their first real job, they will discover that's not the way the world works.  We fall under someone's authority at almost every point of our life.  And we are all under the authority of our heavenly Father!  I see way to much permissive parenting around and parents are asking for trouble down the road.

3.    Leading them to Christ is our responsibility Dads.  It's not the pastor, your wive, neighbors or anyone else.  I believe that God intended the spiritual leader of the family to lead children to Christ.  When you understand that, it really makes you think about how you live your life around preschoolers.  They watch, listen and learn from you.  How will you lead them to Christ if you aren't following Christ yourself.

4.    The way we treat our wives is the most influential part of parenting.  We model Christ's love to our children and in most cases, they are going to model the love you taught them as a husband and wife.

5.    We are responsible for the legacy we pass to our kids.  We will all pass down a legacy, the question is what will it be?  A legacy of love, joy and integrity, or a legacy of bitterness, selfishness and addiction.  The Bible is clear about generational curses being passed from one generation to another.  You may be the generation to break the curse! 

6.    The church is the most important extra curricular activity for the family. We decided at the beginning that we would center our lives around the church.  Even before I became a pastor, we did that.  God has blessed our family with great kids because of our commitment to His church.

I could add other things on, but I'll let you do that if you want.  I am so privileged to have Whitney, Mallory and Cameron and Dedo, the greatest wife in the world.  My daughters have married two strong Christ-followers who love them as Christ loved the church!   I am sure Cameron will find a godly wife as he gets older.

As I celebrate Father's Day, I just thank God for taking my hand and leading me down the path of fatherhood!

Storms and Life

Last Wednesday night, we had a terrible storm move through the area.  We lost power and had to move our students inside the hallways of the Apex because of a reported tornado in the area. It was just crazy.  When I got home, I had tree limbs and leaves all over my back yard.  With 33 trees, I expected it to be a mess and it was.

On Friday, I hauled a garbage bag out to the back yard and began picking up all the debris from the storm.  As I was raking, it occurred to me that the stuff I was raking up was mostly dead limbs.  The storm had done me a huge favor by knocking it out of the trees so I could pick it up.  When I looked up at the trees, they looked healthy and green.

God works like that, doesn't He?  When we go through storms of life, a lot of junk is blown out of our lives through the process. That's why James tells us to be joyful for the storms in life because they are really cleansing and purifying the dead stuff out of our lives.

I thanked God for all the storms in my life.  They have made me the person I am today!

Feed the Children

 Today was an awesome day for many of our high school students.  We joined with another adult group to feed children who live in an apartment complex near our church.  These kids don't eat lunch because school is out and so are the free lunches.  Some of the kids stay by themselves during the day because mom is at work. 

We had sandwiches, chips, water and all kids of food.  We did face-painting, kick-ball, frisbee, football and just talked to kids.  It's amazing to me that despite what these children must endure, they are friendly and appreciative of what we did for them.  Kids are kids, no matter their color, economic background or demographic.  They love to do the same things our kids do.  It reminded me of the times Jesus hung out with kids.  He talked about how the faith of a little child is enough to find eternal life.  Salvation is so simple that even a child can understand it, yet so many miss it. 

I am thankful for a church like FC who sees the priority of taking care of our local neighborhoods.  As one famous pastor once said, "I am not flying over one mission field to get to another!"  And that's the way I feel.  I am happy people are called to other countries and nations, but let's not forget the poor and hungry at the door of our churches.  Yanci McGregor, our Missions leader, does a great job in our local communities.  I also thank God for students who are willing to give up a summer day to do ministry!

Enjoy some of the photos!

 

 

A "ho notha' level" at The Mix

I've spent some time today asking students ifthey were ready to take The Mix to "a ho notha level."   I want to know who we can count on to reach more students with the gospel, grow students in their walk with Christ and change the world? 

If that is you, comment on this blog. 

I don't want pretender's, I want performers.

I don't want consumers, I want contributors.

I don't want fakes, I want fanatics for Christ!

After camp, we are going to unleash The Mix on 14 high schools in our area.  Get ready to rumbleeeeeeeeeeee because it will be awesome.  Sign up and we will help you to go to a "ho notha level."

Journey Camp '09

Yesterday, Chris King and I drove to Allaso Ranch to check out our 6th grade camp called "Journey!"  Allaso Ranch (www.allasoranch.com) is located in East Texas near Lake Hawkins.  I was struck by the beauty of nature in that part of Texas.  The wildflowers are still out and blazing with color, every plant is deep green and healthy because of spring rains and the ranch looks awesome.  The lake is full, the lazy river is flowing and it is packed with hundreds of 6th grade students.

6th graders are a unique bunch.  As my son says, "they are a tough audience."  But they were rocking and rolling last night at the worship service.  Andy Green, the junior high pastor, utilizes more drama during Journey  The kids really respond to the week long drama about students making right choices at their school.  Last night's drama focused on a cheerleader who decided not to become a captain of the cheer squad because it would interfere with Surge on Wednesday nights.  It was an effective way to teach an important message of commitment to the local church. 

During dinner, I was visiting with one of the volunteers who told me his story.  As a mid-50's fireman, he had spent years working in a part of the DFW area that was high in crime, drugs, single families and poverty.  He said that when he retired, he had lost all hope in today's teenager.  He had seen the worst and was convinced that teens had lost their way.  Then he volunteered to come to Allaso Ranch.  With a trembling voice, he told me that his faith in teenagers had been restored.  He saw teens whose lives had been changed at Allaso.  He met students who were living for God and not themselves.  He saw a church he loves students so much, it provided a beautiful facility to reach them with the gospel.

He had a smile on his face as he got up from the table to go and do his volunteer duty - maintenance of the ranch.  He thanked Fellowship Church and God for changing his mind!  This guy loves students!  What a story.  I almost lost it right there at the table as he walked away.

Pastors and parents, we can't give up on students.  They are the future and we have to do the hard work to keep them connected and energized.  Their potential is huge, not only for the local church but for our nation.  We have to parent and lead then by teaching them the precepts and principles of scripture.   

I was fired up on the way home last night.  It was awesome meeting students and volunteers.  Let's keep up the fight for the next generation!

  

Class of '74

Our guide book at Allaso Ranch this year will feature the jr. and sr. high staff's senior photos.  So, I went in search of a photo of me my senior year.  When I found it and spent a few minutes looking at it, I realized that the picture had been taken 35 years ago.  Wow!  That's almost impossible to believe.

The first thing I notice is the hair.  Back in the day, I had hair past my shoulders. I had just gotten a haircut because I was not in compliance with school regulations.  Your hair could not touch your collar.  I remember at Graduation practice that the admin was pulling guys out of line and making them get their hair cut by barbers at the school.  It's funny today that so many guys are going with the same look. 

The clothes were the style in 1974. Big thick striped ties with a huge knot.  I loved the pants.  The checked red, white and blue were cool.  What you can't see are my white shoes and white belt  This is also the outfit I wore to the Prom in our unairconditioned gym.  Back in those days, I loved to dress like Pat Boone and he always had white shoes on.  In the 70's school dress included jeans, green army jackets (no cammo), tennis shoes or boots.  John Lennon was a huge influence in the way we dressed.  At least pre-Yellow Submarine days.

Senior rings seem to have meant more in 1974 than they do today.  To get a senior ring was a huge honor your junior year.  I love my ring and wore it every day.  Every girlfriend I had wore the ring with the help of a lot of yarn.  I still have my ring and look at it occasionally.  That ring had been around the block a few times with girls from Bell County. 

When I look at my smooth, wrinkle free face, I didn't have a clue about what was going to happen to me.  I was a few months from going to Texas Tech and meeting my future wife. I didn't' know that I would have three kids, be married 29 years, suffer from diabetes and kidney disease, have a transplant, lose a father to Alzheimer's and be called to be a pastor at the greatest church in the world.  Not a care in the world at this point in my life. 

To all of you who are graduating in a few days, you are the same way.  These will be the best days of your life because after you leave for college, the military or work, your life is going to change in ways you can't even imagine.  Life is full of surprises, happiness, sadness, life and death, ups and downs!  Live each day as if it were your last becausee it may be.  Follow after the Kingdom of God and you won't have anything to worry about.  Don't hang out with idiots who have the potential to destroy your life.  Find the good and solid Christ followers who will do the right thing.

I hope when you look back after 35 years, you can say like I can say that God has taken me on an incredible journey and it's not over yet.  He has protected me, comforted and provided for my every want and need.  He has blessed my family financially, relationally and spiritually.  God has given me a wife I do not deserve and three kids who are making their way in this world.  He has revealed Himself to me more and more.

What great memories of high school!  Now, I have to go work out so I can achieve that same sleek body I had 35 years ago!  To all the grads, congratulations on graduation!

Camp is Coming

 I appreciate all the comments from my last post.  For those of you who disagree, that's great.  But I find it interesting that not one of you mentioned the three who were saved.  Tells me a lot!  Thanks for reading and commenting.

This weekend begins 6 weeks of summer camp for our 6-12th graders.  We have spent a lot of time in planning, praying and studying to reach these students with the gospel.  I am thankful we have our own camp now (www.allasoranch.com).  It makes everything so much easier and it's only 2 hours away. 

Please be in prayer for our camp staff led by Mark Morgan.  He has assembled a team that is ready to serve our students with unselfish love.  Chris King, Sr. High Pastor, and Andy Green, Jr. high pastor, have taken their planning to the next level.  They have assembled a great volunteer team to help make camp happen.  Cameron Mitchell, our student worship leader, has put together an intense program for six nights of praise and worship!  The rest of our jr. and sr. high staff have ramped it up to make sure that every student who shows up at camp will hear and experience the gospel of Christ. I can't wait to see God work through student's lives.  I am also excited about teaching our graduating seniors in special sessions designed just for them. 

If you are a student pastor from another church, we have a few spaces set aside for you to come and experience what we do at camp.  The cost is $500 for room and board and hanging with our staff.  If you are interested, email me at preston.mitchell@fellowshipchurch.com.  We can talk more about details.

For all of you involved in summer camps, I will be praying for you.  I know what it takes to make a camp happen and how much work it can be.  I pray God will bless your students, staff and volunteers during camp!

Happy Camping!