Do men really give a rip about Jesus?

 

Men coming to the Cross in Hershey, PA. 

Do men care about Jesus? Of people attending church services today 61% are women and 39% are men. [http://www.uscongregations.org/key.htm] Does that statistic answer the question? I hope not. Maybe as you looked around the sanctuary this past Sunday you saw those same kinds of numbers and asked yourself what is wrong.

Let me give you some encouragement. While we might not being going to church we are realizing that we need to take a more active roll in the spiritual lives of our families. Men are seeing the need to be authentic and to share our struggles. Men are learning that they need to make their family their priority. Men are learning that they can't defeat temptation without a daily relationship with Jesus Christ and God's Word.

This past weekend I was in Hershey, PA [yes, I went to Chocolate World] and worked at the Men at the Cross event held at the Giant Center right next door to Hershey Park. Around 2000 men were there caring about Jesus. The event was also webcast so people all over the country participated too.

Stu Weber
Todd Wagner
Reggie Dabbs
Rick Rigsby
Joe White
Gary Smalley

These close. "I Timothy 1:5" friends spoke at the Men at the Cross event in Hershey and gave a great challenge to men to find a "Timothy" in their life. Someone who they will disciple for 24 weeks so that that man can then become a Paul to someone in their life. Ultimately to reach the whole World for Christ through life-on-life ministry.

If you would like to see the event program in it's entirety it is now available as an archived webcast at www.menatthecross.org. It is available until December 22nd, 2008.

Here is just one of the testimonials received from the webcast participants:

I'm a recently dismissed worship pastor who had just about given up. I
was ready to move back into the bleachers. I realize tonight that I have
been holding back from God. I have no idea what God has in store for me
now, but I'm going to wait for Him. I want to be one who He "strengthens
whose heart is fully committed to Him" (2 Chron. 16:9). I pray that God
will show me my Timothy so that I may do my part in fulfilling the
Commission. Thank you for making this webcast available. And to think
that this is only the first hour of the event. Praise God for bringing
me back!!

In Christ,
Dave, Indiana

Tell us about men that care about Jesus. Leave a comment.

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Sayso - Kanakuk Parents Online Forums

 

Artist rendering of the new "Sayso" online forums area being planned for the new kanakuk.com 

In the 8+ years that I have worked at Kanakuk Kamps I have been most impressed by the parents, Kampers and staff that consider themselves part of the Kanakuk family. Never having been on staff or a Kamper myself I didn't know the depth of your passion, loyalty and strength. I've been blessed by parent's words of encouragement and wisdom, inspired by the stories of Kampers and sharpened by the dedicated service of the staff. It's a shame we haven't had more time to talk, to share, to connect and more closely live the Christian life together.

Sure we bump into each other at closing ceremonies or our kids drag us together over the years, but it can be so much more. I have a vision that Kanakuk Moms will trade life's moments, that Kanakuk Dads will give each other inside tips on making an impact, that our staff can keep us all fresh and encouraged, that kids can entertain us and more of it all the time. What a great community we have! You have so much to offer. 

When we roll out the new kanakuk.com we'll have online forums; connecting points, discussions, and yes, connectersations! This area for Parents, Staff and the public will be called "Sayso" after a traditional camp meeting time where kids will share their experiences, stories, testimonies, often around a campfire.

So pull up a chair and prepare to share and connect with someone just like you, someone who gets what it is to be a part of Kanakuk. You'll help us all become better people and shine a light for the World to see.

Can you share this blog with someone you know today? Let them know that the Kanakuk forums will be for them too.

This is getting long but I just have to check with everyone and see how the school year is going. Leave a comment about your favorite school start-up story. Let's start to share today!

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Fall projects list in the Kanakuk marketing department

Here is a partial list of projects that we are working on in the Marketing Department at Kanakuk Kamps.

1. 2009 Staff Recruitment video
2. 2009 Staff promo commercials 
3. 2008-09 KanakukLive! Movie (A Tim Oliphant video experience)
4. The new kanakuk.com rollout (leave a comment if you are willing to beta test the new site for us sometime in the next several days)
5. Coffee
6. KanakukLive! event print and digital materials
7. Hershey, PA Men at the Cross Stage Management
8. Hershey, PA Kanakuk Kamps booth (Any Lancaster County Kanakukers out there? We could use a local volunteer to help with the booth.)
9. 2010 concept research
10. Director blogs (see sidebar)
11. 25 Days of Christmas mailing
12. Kanakuk Kamps Term Videos (out in early January)
13. Tons of other small stuff 

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Kanakuk Kamps Employee Benefit #136

After being without power at my house for over 24 hours, with 7th grade discipleship group, school and work all scheduled for early Monday morning my boys and I got up in the dark and made our way to the K-Kauai Staff building for some light and a warm shower!

Most importantly the long day without power taught our family a small amount of empathy for those in Texas, Louisiana, and the rest of the Gulf residents ravaged by Hurricane Ike and his friends. We live with so much in America and yet have so little margin in our lives. We did fine without power and water for a day. We have Wal-Mart, good friends, and a solid roof over our heads. But, what if we had been without for days, weeks, or even months?

As my wife and I lay in bed last night, listening to a neighbor's generator run, she commented about how people used to live like this all the time, many within the last 100 years. It was one of those reality check moments when priorities get jostled into a deeper, more meaningful order.

My new found empathies go out to all those effected by the storms in the Gulf and the World. To all those sleeping under the stars tonight, wondering where clean water will come from tomorrow, I hope you find shelter and hope. God has a plan, even for clean water.

As I drove to the first stop of the day my wife called and said the power had just been restored. While I'm glad I won't have to get ready for work at Kanakuk Family Kamp tomorrow, it was a nice employee perk (#136) this morning.

Have you been affected by the storms? Share your stories here so we can be praying for you.

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2009 Kanakuk Enrollment is Off the Charts

On Monday we sent out the following e-mail to all 2008 & 2009 Kanakuk Families.

In the first 18 hours after the e-mail there were 201 enrollments. The vast majority of those were Kampers new to Kanakuk! At the end of 24 hours there were 280 enrollments. At this pace we’re filling very fast and are way ahead of enrollments this time last year.

Total Bunk With A Friend requests to date are 339 with a little more than half accepted already.

The e-mail:

New in 2009! Kanakuk is pleased to offer your child the opportunity to Bunk With A Friend™ in the same cabin.

If you’ve been waiting for a reason to enroll your child for Summer ’09, then this is it! 

Enrollment is already up over 100% compared to last year, with some terms full and many more nearly full.  Our new Bunk With A Friend™ program is certain to cause a rush of new enrollments, and we want your child to be a part of it.

Even if you've already enrolled, you should know that our Directors are busily preparing to make this summer the greatest ever!  They’ve dreamed up all kinds of new programs, parties, and activities that are sure to have your child talking about Kamp long after their term is over. One of the ways you can help make this the most exciting summer in Kanakuk history is by taking advantage of our all new Bunk With A Friend™  program.

If your child and a friend have birthdates within 12 months, and will be attending the same Kamp and Term, simply logon to your account at www.kanakuk.com and click on the Bunk With A Friend™ link.  Just 3 easy steps and we’ll send your invitation to your child’s friend letting them know your request.  Once they’ve accepted your invitation, we’ll send you an email letting you know.  Please note that you can only make one Bunk With A Friend™ request per child.

Mom and Dad, you know the lifelong value of sending your child to Kanakuk for the summer - you’ve seen the impact in their lives.  If you have friends who have never sent their child to kamp before, Bunk With A Friend™ is a great way to help them feel more comfortable making the decision – logon or call us and we’ll help you send them an invitation. Imagine the impact your child and their friend can make together after a summer together at Kanakuk!

Feel free to logon and take advantage of Bunk With A Friend™ right now. And, if you’ve been hesitant to enroll your child for a lengthier term at kamp, Bunk With A Friend™ is a great way to ensure that those longer terms are even more special and exciting.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call one of our wonderful registrars at 417-266-3000 or email us at registration@kanakuk.com

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Hang with me!

 

 

Sam Hoover doing and then not doing his video thing.

I'm buried at work! I'll be back to blogging soon.

I have serious news about enrollment and how it was affected by the Bunk With a Friend feature announced on Monday.

I'm dying to give Sam Hoover a huge shout out on here about his performance as the video guru at the MATC events too but I've been too busy. Oh, I guess I just got that one done :-) Seriously Sam does awesome and is a critical player in making it all run smooth! Train robbing skills!


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Big Change Coming on Monday

You've never been able to do this at Kanakuk!

For over 85 years Kanakuk Kamps has provided an "Exciting Adventure in Christian Athletics". Over 85 years of impacting kids in a way that shows them the love of Christ. For all those years Kanakuk has lovingly and caringly placed kids of the same age in cabins together with 2 or 3 of the best counselors we could find in the world. It's worked great and kids always leave with friendships that can and often do last a lifetime. More choice is coming!

On Monday we are launching Bunk with a Friend!  Parents and kids will have the opportunity to choose one friend that has a birthday within one year of the Kamper to stay in the same cabin with them. All of this will be done online through Parent's Place. You can make a request and approve a request online. Then manage the request as needed.

This new feature is a great opportunity to invite your friends to Kanakuk or just make sure you stay with that Kamp friend you made last year.

We'll be sending out an e-mail on Monday (unless there's a glitch:-)) that will explain it all in detail.

I'm in Omaha, NE and I'll be back in Branson on Sunday. Joe White has begun a new ministry this year called Men at the Cross that seeks to reach men with the vision of the Paul/Timothy Discipleship model given us in the Word of God. It's a message that men are hungry for; God is blessing these events. You'll see me sharing more about it in the weeks to come. Next week is Forth Worth and then Hersey, PA the following week.

Heather Headley sang this morning and it was just amazing! I've never felt someone sing with that much emotion in my entire life. She has an amazing talent and heart for worshiping God. I can't begin to describe it but I'm glad I'll hear her again in Hershey.

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8 Fish on the Back of Your Pinto

Rick Rigsby, from Texas A&M on stage at Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs 

The first night of the Omaha Men at the Cross is done. It was awesome!

Sitting in the Speakers prayer meeting just before the event, I was struck by the power of God to orchestrate so many things together in a perfect way. There were some great guys in that meeting; Michael W. Smith, Brian Daniel, Gary Rosberg, Joe White, Rick Rigsby, Reggie Dabbs, Steve Farrar, Greg O'Dell, and t heir are others I'm forgetting. The thing I noticed though about that meeting was the unity of Spirit. Just humble guys wanting men to be closer to Jesus.

Rick Rigsby, was one of the speakers Friday night and brought a great challenge to men to be authentic Christians. One of my favorite lines from Rick was "ego is the anesthetic of stupidity". He is also waaay funny. At one point he told the crowd that "To be a good Christian you don't have to have 8 fish on the back of your Pinto." And, any speaker that can reference 8 track tapes and make you laugh, has it going on. Rick really is a great speaker, but more importantly he is a broken man of God who gives Him the glory.

I'll try and post more from the event later today. Greg is ready to go to breakfast.

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Kamp Dad John Raley Spotted Back Stage

Joe White and John Raley pose for a quick photo in Houston. 

Kanakuk dad and Houston attorney, John Raley attended the Houston, Men at the Cross event. He met briefly with Joe White back stage after the event. His wife Kelly helped with the Kanakuk Kamps booth.

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Kanakuk Kampers at Men at the Cross

There was more than one Kanakuk Kamper at the Houston Men at the Cross event. Lots of Kanakuk parents too. This is a picture of Joe White with Cody Reeter and his friend Stephen Snow. Thanks you guys for coming to the event!

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Brian Keith Daniel Men at the Cross featured painter

Brian Daniel signs his original artwork from the Houston Men at the Cross event performance

Joe White has found a really talented painter to share the stage with Heather Headley at the Omaha Men at the Cross event. Brian has done all the Men at the Cross events and I believe is scheduled to do the rest of them this year. In Omaha Brian Daniel will paint a picture of Christ on the Cross while Heather Headley sings. I've seen Brian paint and heard Heather sing. It will no doubt be a highlight of the event!

More about Heather after the next event.

You can learn more about Brian and his artwork at www.seraphimonline.com. On the website you can see video of Brian's performances, see where he'll be next, order prints, and learn how you can have him come to your church or event. Brian is a great guy, down to earth and just ready to serve God through his gifts as an artist. He and I have some similar job background and I look forward to seeing him again in Omaha.

Hey Brian--I'll see you in a few days!

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I'm Headed to Omaha for a Men at the Cross Event

I'm going to rapid fire some posts today and tomorrow to catch up from the Houston Men at the Cross event. I leave on Friday for the Omaha Men at the Cross event and will no doubt have some posts after that to share. Greg O'Dell and I will be tag teaming the stage management duties the rest of the year. Mollye is going to run the Kanakuk Kamps booth for Omaha and beyond? She's also helping us with the  stage management preparation.

Scheduled for the Omaha event is Heather Headley, Michael W. Smith, Reggie Dabbs, Rick Rigsby, Joe White, Christopher Julian, Rick Cua and others.

Joe is also going to speak at First Family Church in Overland Park, KS on Sunday morning. If you are in the are I'm sure they would love to have you join them.

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Brandon Heath Song Writer Backstage Photo

Brandon Health put on a concert at the Houston Men at the Cross event. I was busy during the concert and only got this photo of Brandon and the band backstage right before they went on. (Adam Martin fans check out the dark shirted figure lurking in the background.) From what I heard Heath is a talented song writer who really gets the emergent church and it's desire for community. Check out his music video.



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Kanakuk Directors Prepare to Blog

 

Andy Braner, Kanakuk Colorado Director, spoke today to all the other Kanakuk Kamps Directors regarding what he has done regarding Facebook, MySpace, Podcasting, videocasting, and blogging. He shared some great ways to communicate with the millions of people now doing the majority of their communicating online. I then shared some ways that they can get started and some ideas about what they should blog about. They had some general concerns about the time it would take and if this was really the most effective way for them to communicate. I think all of them see the need to be online and many of them have already chosen to give it a try. Give them a couple of weeks and I think you'll start to see them posting.

When the new www.kanakuk.com launches at the end of this month we are going to do our best to have the Director's blogs all in place where you can easily get to them and subscribe to their RSS Feed.

When you start to see your Kamp staff blogging, encourage them by posting comments, let them know you appreciate it. They truly are just looking for the best way to stay in touch with you over the winter months.

I've already talked to several of the Directors about next summer. They don't miss a beat when it comes to planning the next greatest summer of Christian camping.

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