Gone Fishin!

Barbed wire crawling 

I've spent the last week at FT Jackson at the US Army Chaplain Center and School helping the cadre there train new Chaplains is basic military skills. It has been quite an experience. Last summer I took the course myself and it was interesting being on the other side of that training. Most of the new chaplains have had little or no military experience and many are long in the tooth. They are not used to road marching, wearing heavy equipment and the structure of the Army. One thing I have noticed is that they all have a deep desire to serve their country and a deep desire to serve God. There are all shapes and sizes there. Some are Catholic priests in their 50's and some are still in seminary. I've put some pictures here so you'll have an idea of the stuff they get to do. Hope you enjoy them.

Tammy and I spent the past weekend in Gatlinburg Tenn at a conference for Middle/High school students. We had an unbelievable time. No we didn't hike Mt Leconte or fly fish or ride bikes. We were just plain lazy most of the time. I taught a seminar on personal evangelism once each day and the rest of the time we took naps and enjoyed each other's company. I met some great kids from Jacksonville and from Smith's Corner Alabama. It was a blessed time. The conference is put on by Crossroads ministries and I serve as a speaker and as a board member for them. You can check them out at www.claytonking.com. Clayton is one of my best friends and has been a traveling evangelist for about 17 years now and he's only 32 years old. Derwin Gray, former NFL player and good friend also spoke and brought the house down. Carl and Heather Cartee lead worship and I'm pleased to say that Carl and Heather have done so well since moving to Nash-Vegas!. Carls' song-writing continues to...

As I write this its 2005. I'll be 40 this year. Playing in my backyard in rural NC I never thought I'd be 40. 40 year old people were just one step from the grave when you are 10. All in all I sense that being 40 is just the beginning of new adventures for me and my family. In the coming months I'll be teaching on evangelism, the persecuted church and doing a seminar on Islam with a group from SC. I'll also be going to FT Jackson to work at the US Army Chaplain School for a few weeks. At my church I'm leading a couple of Bible studies one in the Gospel of John and one in the book of James. The in May I'll be mobilized and head to FT Jackson for a year deployment. I could be heading to Iraq, but as it turns out not this year. The last few weeks have been trying, work has been slow and I've been tested to trust God where I see very little. Its a bit like driving in the fog, you know the road is there, but everything is obscured. You just have to slow down and...