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CREATIVE CAMP

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If your 5-11 year-old can’t get to camp this summer, camp just might come to them. Greyson Williams heads up a program called Freestyle Camp under the auspices of Woodlands Camp in Cleveland, Georgia. From May to August of each year, he takes a team to a different Synergy Site every week and runs a day camp for kids. Campers get a mixture of both impactful and unforgettable experiences. The impact comes from daily chapel sessions, interactive worship, counselor-led quiet times, scripture memory, and challenges to live responsibly. The unforgettable part includes EPIC INFLATABLES, competition between teams, cabin games, free time activities, camp skits, and the Freestyle Store. Greyson says, “The purpose of Freestyle is to inspire and equip this generation to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.” This is done in partnership with local churches. They have been conducting Freestyle camps since 2019, and this year three such teams will be on the road throughout the southe...
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Creative Short Films

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  The love of making films started in my childhood. With nearly thirty short films under my belt, I started creating a short film every month by and for the local community. Since I own FuZion Videos, a media production company, we produce high quality short films with a minimal budget. Many of our previous short films were created around Christian themes, but our most recent monthly films focus around the community. We believe every good story has a problem with a solution, and every good business solves a problem. So we started working with local businesses and non-profits to encourage local involvement of businesses and talent. Our short films show with the trailers at the local theater. The owner of the theater is heavily invested in the local community and happily added our monthly shorts. While our short is in the theater, we upload weekly "behind the scenes" and "how to" videos. At the end of the month, we release the short film on our YouTube channel and sha...
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Creative Sermon Notebooks

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I took a snapshot of our grandson in church last Sunday as he took notes on pastor’s sermon. It reminded me of a time when his father was a young child and we were in a church where I was the pastor. Carmen had prepared home-made sermon notebooks for each of our children. She simply stapled together some sheets of paper, cut to a size that would fit inside their Bibles. We expected them to write down something from the Sunday sermons at an age-appropriate level. That might mean an actual outline of the sermon, a comment on the verses being discussed, or even a picture inspired by what they heard. Over Sunday dinner we would look at the notebooks and review the lessons learned that morning. One day we were surprised to see an elaborate picture of a violent storm drawn by our middle son Kent. There were dark clouds, bolts of lightning, and cartoon captions of the BOOM of thunder. Caught in the storm were two stick figures. I mentally reviewed the sermon but couldn’t recall any re...
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CREATIVE CONTINUANCE

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  Missionary Bruce Tuttle was back in Ukraine recently, but only for ten days. He has been working in a nearby country with his son Micah because of the war. But during ten hectic days he was able to preach in four churches, meet with many pastors, and visit Christian Life Baptist Church. Christian Life Baptist Church has been in the process of renovating a building in spite of the ongoing fighting around them. Igor Solod is their pastor. Bruce put together a short video of the progress they have been making and sent out an appeal to supporting churches. Prices for building products have increased as a result of the war. And government offices continue to require expensive unexpected documents. The result of that appeal was amazing. $50,000.00 were given to help them complete the work. “The people of Christian Life Baptist Church and I heartily thank you for your prayers,” writes Bruce. “The wonderful giving of many will enable the church to soon move into its new home.” I ha...
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CREATIVE CURES FOR INSOMNIA

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  We were raised with the cure of counting sheep. That is, until Irving Berlin wrote, “Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep) for his blockbuster   White Christmas . Counting your blessings is a great idea, but it’s not the only option. Here are some other potential cures for insomnia. Quote scripture. Try to think of every verse you have ever memorized and go through them in order from Genesis to Revelation. Give thanks. Start with the oldest person in your extended family and thank God for each one by name right down to the youngest. Sing. You don’t need to do this out loud but mentally sing through every song in your church hymnal (or big screen as the case may be.) Start with “A” either as the first word or the title and go through the alphabet. If you have been in church for any length of time you will be surprised how many lyrics you remember. Pray. Keep a variety of prayer lists in mind. Try to recall the names of missionaries from your prayer cards (see last weeks blo...
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CREATIVE MISSIONARY PRAYER CARDS

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  “God bless all the missionaries. Amen.” Prayer time was over and all of the missionaries, all over the world, in all their work, had been blessed. There is a better way. Purchase a photo album designed to hold 4x6 pictures. Collect prayer cards for all the missionaries your church supports, plus any others who visit your church. Place all of them inside the photo album so they are readily accessible. NOW – use your collection as a reminder to pray specifically for those missionaries, their fields of service, their families, and their work. Do it daily. There was a man in a church I pastored in Pennsylvania who had done this for so many years that it took him well over an hour to pray through his cards, and he did it every day. Even if you don’t match his dedication, your prayer will be more effective than “God bless all the missionaries. Amen.”
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Creative Historical Archives

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  The role of the archivist is to discover history. But sometimes an archivist makes history. An article in the Greensboro News and Record by Nancy McLaughlin on February 10, 2025, has this title: THE JIMMY CARTER WE NEVER KNEW? She reports that archivist Jim Lutzweiler has initiated a bidding war for his correspondence with former President Jimmy Carter who died December 29, 2024. “Bidding starts at $100.00,” writes McLaughlin, “although Lutzweiler says he has a minimum selling point, which he won’t say because the bidding isn’t over.” Since that article appeared, the auction has been completed. The seventy letters and memos from former President Carter sold for $21,000.00. “I have written a book about this correspondence between Carter and myself,” Jim wrote when he sent me the article. Jim’s first correspondence with President Carter dates to October 31, 2000. From there, a friendship developed through letters which included both serious and humorous conversations. Many of the i...
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