In praise of latex balloons and painting rocks

“As there are no little people in God’s sight, so there are no little places. To be wholly committed to God in the place where God wants him—this is the creature glorified.” Francis Schaeffer

Another Vacation Bible School for Chetek's one and only “multi-church” VBS is now in the books. It was touch and go there for a bit whether or not Outback Rock would happen but the creek didn't rise at Poowan Springs and the Lord came through. We passed Wallaby Wash and got to the outback with all the help we needed and a small passel of 19 kids to minister to. Every participating fellowship was represented in one way or another either through the staff that served or in the ideas behind the various activities that occurred between Friday night and Saturday noon.

G'day mates!

One word that characterizes this edition of VBS is “simple” - hot dogs and lemonade for our Friday night dinner, recorded worship music to jam to, bean bags, latex balloons and uncooked pasta noodles for the games we played, pieces of slate that were painted during crafts, teaching moments on Pastor Norm's deck or in the “grotto” in his basement, and vanilla ice cream cones at the conclusion of our time together late Saturday morning. In a day and age when kids are for good reason referred to as the “plugged in” generation due to their penchant for electronic gaming and all things to do with their phone, how good it is to remember that a game of tag can still bring joy to a child's face.

4 year-old & 3rd grader

Every VBS that I've ever been a part of over nearly 24 years here in Chetek has a different vibe and flavor to it. Boot Camp (2009) transformed the grounds of The Refuge into an army base – complete with guards! SonCastle Faire (1999) turned Advent into a castle right out of the Renaissance and last year we were digging in the sand at Chetek United Methodist at SonTreasure Island (2014). But one of the things I appreciate about this latest segment of VBS is its intimacy. Kids weren't broken into groups based on age; rather, they were a mixed lot so that a fourth grader might be in the same group as a 4-year old. That's where smallness worked for us. The larger number of children you have to herd the greater the possibility that the weakest among you will be literally run over. But at Outback Rock that didn't happen. “Big kids” were looking out for “little” ones and – wonders of wonders – they were all having fun together.

For the second year in a row, Refuge joined the host fellowship for a combined worship service. Last year, we joined Chetek United Methodist the morning before VBS began that evening. This year we joined Advent on the day after Outback concluded. We do this together why shouldn't we celebrate together? Besides, it's good to be reminded that we are part of something way bigger than our own fellowship; that “those people over there” are not them; they're us. Their worship service simply has a different flow to the one we're used to but the same Spirit. As my wife remarked to me over dinner Sunday afternoon, “We only sang a few songs but I felt such a strong presence of the Lord while we did.” Absolutely.

I agree with Francis Schaeffer: in the kingdom there are no little people or places. Right now in our county a certain congregation is “it on a stick.” They have a brand new building complete with coffee bar and their ranks have swelled (among them a few disaffected Chetek people). Signs that promote their fellowship seem to be everywhere. Good for them. May the Lord bless their efforts to expand the kingdom in our county. But what they may do on a large scale, we are doing here in fit-to-order scale. In the kingdom what in the end do words like “big” and “small” really mean? Nazareth was a small town. So was Bethlehem. So was Lystra (Timothy's hometown). So was, by comparison to Jerusalem, Capernaum where many of the early disciples hailed from. Jesus still finds people who will trust and follow him in 'burbs just like that. It reminds me that I'm a part of something significant that is way bigger than me and who knows what fruit will come from the seeds that were sown this past weekend in the hearts of “ankle biters” (an Aussie term for children) – and those who cared for them – in the outback. And if my Australian slang is correct, that's aces. 

To see more images from Outback Rock follow this link: Chetek's Multi-Church Vacation Bible School