Preston Mitchell's Blog

The World of Color

I've changed.  I just realized that fact a couple of weeks ago while in a meeting with several staff members.  For a few months, I've not been myself.  Friends and staff were wondering what was wrong with me.  And I was wondering what was wrong with me.  I was a little slower, more forgetful, disconnected and unhappy.  That's not like me at all!  Some of my best friends on staff who were concerned about me began to ask me a lot of questions.  For the first time in my life, I was challenged to verbalize who I was and what I was experiencing....and even I was surprised about what I said.

After 2 1/2 years of bad health, dialysis, kidney transplant, 4 surgeries in 2008, 2 weddings last summer, I changed.  I was not the same as I had been in the past.  The best way to describe my life today is by using painting terms. Painting has given me a whole different perspective of life.  For the past year, I have taken up painting and it has become a passion of mine.  I love to sketch and paint.  When I look at a landscape, or a sunset or a grove of trees, I see color and shape that I never noticed before.  What I have discovered through painting is that I used to look at life through black and white lenses.  Now, I live and think in color.  Here is what a I mean:

I used to worry more about numbers, percentages, growth, programs, processes, meetings etc.  I was driven as a younger man to live out the vision and purpose of Fellowship Church. We had a short season to get it done and through God's grace we were able to build a great church.  Today, I still work to fulfill the vision, but in a different way.  I think more about people, relationships, my family, retirement, grandchildren and finances.  I never used to worry about stuff like that.  But I figure that I have at most 25 years left on this earth.  So, what will I do differently the next 25 years?  I think more about the future than I do the week.  For 20 years, all I thought about was the weekends.  That's different today.

I recognized that my role at Fellowship was changing and that was tough to take.  I was becoming more distant and less trusting of the staff for no reason at all.  The last 20 years has been an incredible time in my life.  I've seen and done things that I thought were impossible.  But now, it's time to let the younger staff take over for the next 20 years.  I'll still be leading, but in a different way.  I want to spend more time teaching and training our younger staff.  I've learned a lot over the years and I can help them.  I love working with our students and preparing them for the future.

I cry more than I ever did.  I never cried.  I kept my emotions bottled up no matter what.  If you asked my wife, she wouldn't agree. I still hide when I cry, but I do cry more. And at the dumbest things. I was working out the other day while listening to a Hillsong CD and I started weeping and praising God.  Fortunately, no one witnessed that spectacle.

Instead of reading the paper at my local coffee shop, I sketch people sitting around me.  I have a sketch book full of faces - some good, some not so good.  When I sketch them, I try to pick up clues about their personality, or what they do for a living.  Are they happy?  I can't believe that I do that.  I actually did a pastel sketch of roses the other day.  Wow!  Talk about thinking in color!  HA!

Some of you may be thinking that I am just going through a mid-life crisis.  That may be part of it.  But I think it was more of a faith crisis.  My faith had waned.  Through my distrust and alieanation, I had slipped from the presence of God. Now, my faith is stronger than ever.  Because of all the stuff I have been through, I am more prepared to see God's panoramic plan for my life. Thinking in color has freed me up to be myself, to be vulnerable, to ask forgiveness, to stop and talk to people more.  I also am able to experience the love of God on a deeper level.

I am at an awesome time in my life. 

First Day of School

Today is the first day of school for most kids in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.  The coffee shop was buzzing this morning with moms who had dropped off their kids.  I don't blame them for acting a little crazy - like spring break in college. They were free for another year!

The first day of school was a huge day for me.  I loved school and when I drop that personal tidbit on students, they look at me like I am crazy.  But, I loved school from 1st grade through my Master's degree.  I have attended schools in Europe and in the States.  I enjoyed learning, studying, writing and researching.  I also loved the environment, especially in college.  There were classes I hated like math, but everything else came pretty easy to me. Math is one way God called me to be a Pastor.  I couldn't do it, so becoming a pastor looked pretty good to me.

I was in a store the other day walking past school supplies. I couldn't help but wander down the aisle and remember when my Mom (no Dad's in those days) and I shopped for supplies.  The only place to shop in Killeen was Gibson's - which was the forerunner of Wal Mart. Smelling Crayola crayons and Elmer's glue brought back memories of school.  A ruler, paper, folders, #2 pencils, glue, crayons, and a new lunch box were the core supplies for any kid in the 60's.  There was one shelf for supplies.  Today there are 12 isles of supplies.  It's crazy.  I also got a pair (1 pair) of tennis shoes, jeans (2 pair) and a couple of shirts to wear.  Wait, I am wearing the same thing today!  Closer to the fall, I got one heavy coat and gloves for cold weather.

There was nothing like the first day when I tugged on those jeans (Levis), buttoned the shirt (from Bealls department store), tied on the tennis shoes (Chuck high tops), strapped on the back back and grabbed the lunch box (Beatles).  I was ready for battle with the Peebles Elementary School.  Every teacher we had was 60 or older.  Now it seems that every teacher is just out of college. 

That excitement never changed.  No matter what grade level or school, the first day was the beginning of something new.  We all need to get back that excitement of the first day.  In our jobs, marriages, parenting and our faith.  God has always given us the chance to start fresh, to start over, no matter how bad we mess up.  I thank God He is the first day of school for humanity! 

Recalculating

Last week, my family took a vacation to Florida.  One of the necessary devices we carried with us was my wif'e's Garmin.  A Garmin is great to help you find your way around an unfamiliar area.  You type in an address, push go and the Garmin gives you directions via a human voice.  If you choose, for whatever reason, to go another way, the Garmin says "recalculating."  I love that word.  Isn't that what we do every day of our life?

What if we approached our lives by telling ourselves to recalculate. In other words, are we on the right path that God wants for us?  Many times, we aren't and we need to recalculate.  The role of the Holy Spirit is to help us recalculate the direction we are going and go a different way.  The Garmin used the shorter route to get us where we wanted to go.  That's what the Holy Spirit does for us. Without it, I drive blind spending a long time trying to find a location. If I don't listen to the leadings of the Holy Spirit, I am going to life lost. 

I am in a season of life where I am doing some recalculating.  We are sellling our home and downsizing, That was a tough decision but Dedo and I know it is the right one.  Our kids are leaving us, so we are recalculating our priorities.  Dedo and I are constantly recalculating our marriage because if we didn't, we would end up in a ditch.  I am thinking more and more about finances and we are recalculating the way we spend money.  I am recalculating my work at Fellowship Church.  What can I do, not do, suggest, prioritize, staffing issues, friends, etc.  After 20 years of serving in this ministry, I need to recalculate my purpose for what I do. 

I love to recalculate because when you do, more energy, creativity and passion is given.  It's like wiping the slate clean and doing God's purposes in a more efficient and relevant way.  What would you do with your life if you sat down and recalculated every day?  I bet it would be more strategic and effective than ever before.

Recalculate!

Revolution

Sorry about the blogging absence over the past couple of weeks.  I am in the middle of three weeks of sr. high camp at Allaso Ranch.  We are having an awesome time here meeting students, seeing lives changed and worshipping Jesus - in East Texas.  How great is that? 

The theme of our summer retreat is "Revolution!"  We're teaching students that as followers of Jesus Christ we are part of the most important Revolution in the history of the world. Jesus' Revolution is more important that the greatest Revolutions in our history - the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, women's right to vote, civil rights and on and on.  This Revolution is the only one that has eternal consequences.  This one can change a life for more than a social transformation, but a righteousness transformation. 

If we don't act like revolutionaries, do we really believe in the revolution?  I am reading "1776" and it is a fascinating study of George Washington.  Washington was know as the leader of the Revolution.  Even though the colonist's army was badly outnumbered, under equipped and highly disorganized, Washington always believed in the cause of freedom.  He spent hours doubting and questioning if he could lead the army, but he was never unsure about the cause of freedom.  Sometimes I wonder if people who claim to be Christians but present no evidence - are they really basing their lives on Jesus?  Do they really believe? 

For others who are following Christ, we need to be contagious with our Christianity.  Like the early church in Acts, we need the gospel to "rub off of us" and onto the lost. As people see our belief in the cause of Jesus Christ, we should be highly contagious to people who come into contact with us every day.  Are you contagious with the gospel?  When people see you, do they see Jesus in your manners, speech, dress and relationships?

I know I need to  be a more contagious revolutionary.  Join me as we take the battle to the next generation.  

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!