Thursday, June 11, 2009

Jonathan to Operation Barnabas


We will be leaving Friday morning to take our son, Jonathan, out to the Powell Grace Brethren Church near Columbus, Ohio where he and four other teens from our church will join nearly 100 other teenagers from all over the country for Operation Barnabas Orientation. These teens will then spend the summer traveling the eastern coast of our country in daily ministry training and experiences. This is a wonderful program that has the real potential for life change in the lives of those teens that participate.

I am very excited for Jonathan to be part of Operation Barnabas this summer. Jonathan has a real heart for ministry and I believe that this will only fan that flame in his life and prepare him even further for the future ministry God has in store for him.

I am also excited because in just a little over a year, Jonathan will be heading off to college. Jonathan has always been one that has enjoyed staying close to home so a full summer away from mom and dad, and having to really care for himself, will go a long ways to help prepare him for the huge adjustment it will be to move to Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia come August 2010.

So, Laura and I will leave early Friday morning for the 8.5 hour drive to Ohio. It’s 425 miles but no matter where we go as a family, we only end up averaging 50 miles an hour including stops. After getting him settled, will drive two more hours to near Dayton where we will have dinner and spend the night with a couple who were our very best friends during the first 9 years of our marriage and ministry when I was on staff at Community Church in West Milton, Ohio. There names are Joe and Dayna Garrett.

Joe and I would make a trip to Chicago nearly every year where we would catch an afternoon Cub’s game at Wrigley Field. From the time of the final pitch, within 30 minutes we could be in our seats across town at Comiskey Park for the White Sox night game. Some years we even took Laura and Dayna and let them shop in downtown Chicago while we enjoyed the ballpark. I am really looking forward to seeing Joe and Dayna and catching up on what God is doing in their lives.

We will then leave after breakfast on Saturday to drive back to Lititz. It’s 475 miles from Dayton to Lititz so that should be a 9.5 hour drive for the Distler family. We should be back home in plenty of time to get a good night’s sleep so I am ready to preach three times on Sunday as we start our Dollars for Dummies message series.

Let me take the time to say a very sincere “thank you” to all who responded to Jonathan’s support letter. Thank you also for praying for Jonathan and the other teens from our church who will be spending their summer on Operation Barnabas.

We will head back out to Columbus on July 29th to pick Jonathan up and hear all about his summer experience.

2 comments:

Justin Bailey said...

Pastor Scott,

Have you ever heard of a pastor named Rob Bell? I was introduced to his teachings by a Chaplain in my unit. I watched "Everything is Spiritual" a few days ago for the first time. It was a life changing experience. Since I have ordered all of his "Noomas" and numerous books and videos.

I was just curious as to whether or not you have heard of him or experienced any of his messages.

Pastor Scott said...

Hi Justin. Yes, I have heard of Rob Bell though I myself am not very familiar with him or his ministry. Frankly, I have read some who are supportive of him and some who are not. My guess would be that there is a lot of good in his teachings but as is the case with every teacher, including me, you can't just go by what they say. You have to check out what they teach and what they write with the Word of God.

Good to hear from you!