IT’S Just A Game! Right….

If you were to add up all of the years that my wife Julie and I have spent on hard bleachers of volleyball courts and Baseball fields it would total up to 20 plus years. You would not believe the some of the things that we have heard over the years from the stands of these Hard Bleacher seats. Here is a sample we heard the other night at a fall

baseball game for High Schoolers, a 16 yr old kid is up to bat, the count is 3 -2

( a Full Count ) the boy swings at a high pitch and hits it straight up in the air making for a easy catch for the first baseman, and then from the hard seat bleachers his dad stands up and yell’s ” Terrible, just Terrible, what is wrong with you” heck I was just impressed that he got the bat on it, but to this dad, and I use the term loosely, the son was a flat out failure at the plate! A few innings later, the same young man was playing third base, and there are runners on first and second, a sharp hit ball comes screaming towards this kid, and I cant beleive it, but he fields it perfectly ( I would have ran the other way ) and touches third base and gets the lead runner out! But for dad, that is just not good enough, he felt his kids should have made a Major league play and whip the ball to first base, so the dad stands up and starts yelling at the poor young man and made sure that he knew his father thought he was stupid for not making the throw! I can go on and on with these kind of stories from the baseball fields and volleyball courts all over Tennessee, Washington and Oregon, but I think you get the picture. Thinking of this poor 16 yr old kid, it occurred to me that in 2 years he would be off to college and becoming a man. Is this what this dad wants to communicate to his kid on the last few years at home ” you are horrible, you are stupid’. I have already sent one daughter one son out the door and my 17 year old son is down to his last 8 or 9 months at home with his mom and I. I want my kids to know that when they leave the house and jump into this world on their own that they are LOVED, they are SMART, they are WONDERFUL, they are my pride and joy. Something tells me this

16 yr old boy is not hearing this, but the opposite ” terrible & stupid’ . I just don’t get it, do we really believe that our kid is going to be the next Josh Hamilton? Do you realise that if you added up all of the professional athletes from the big 3 ( baseball, football & basketball ) there are only 2,050 in the country! Sorry dad, but the odds are not great! So, is it really worth hurting a relationship over? Basic

ally these kids, our kids are on loan to us from God… so how about we just sit back and enjoy watching our kids have FUN, even if they strike out!

Oh, by the way I am not just talking about non christian dads here, no I have seen some very Godly men, even Pastors do and say some crazy stuff. Please relax and enjoy, these seasons of life are way to short! Lets be our KIDS NUMBER 1 FAN

Top 10 Reasons You Might Want To Check Out Club Beyond

1. You can share Christ with teens who move all over the world.
2. You can enjoy exotic and unknown foods.
3. You get to ski in the Alps.
4. You get to use acronyms and pretend you understand what is being said.
5. You can be all that you can BE!
6. You get to serve families who protect our country.
7. You get serenaded by a bunch of army men and women sometimes at 6 AM.
8. You can live in America and it still feels like a foreign country.
9. You get to love on teens who have a parent deployed.
10. You get to make a difference for Christ.

Back To The Passion!

It is bittersweet that we say goodbye to Rog Hill. For two years, Rog helped build and lead the team that carried out the Serve ministries of Grace in his position as Serve Pastor. Through Rog’s leadership and willingness to delegate and build teams, Grace is now heavily involved in missions and ministry in Clarksville and around the world.

Rog is not leaving Grace Community Church; he’s simply leaving our staff. Rog and his wife Julie spent 25 years in youth ministry with the Youth for Christ. Recently Rog has sensed a call to return full-time to those efforts. In Rog’s new position, he will manage and train youth leaders around the country with Youth for Christ. His specific focus will be on those groups, which work with military bases. When Rog isn’t traveling, you’ll see he and his family continuing to serve in a volunteer basis at Grace. We wish Rog well as he continues to pursue God’s call on his life.

The above note was written by Ron Edmondson. Ron is a good friend who was brave enough to actually hire a dreamer who does things his own way ( not saying that’s good) but he took a chance on me by hiring me as the Serve Pastor at Grace Community Church here in Clarksville,TN. For two years I was privileged to learn and grow in my leadership abilities under Ron, and for two years I learned what serving in a large church is like. I HAD NO IDEAL! I will be forever in awe of these men and women who pastor in our local churches, to be honest, I am not sure how most of them do it…always on call, constantly putting out fires, never really pleasing everyone yet loving those very people with all of their heart. These guys are truly Gods heroes, and they are mine as well.

Now don’t get me wrong, my 2 year church experience was great, as I said, I learned so much that I can apply for years to come. I think what really stood out to me was “PASSION” it has been a while sense I have seen people minister with so much passion as the staff at Grace Community Church. And it was that very passion that made me realise that it was time for me to get back to my first love and passion, Youth Ministry. So here I am, back for another 25 years of ministering in my PASSION! And back to fundraising… but if it your passion, it is all worth it.

Thanks Ron & Chad and the Staff at GCC

• Ron Edmondson
• Michael Hyatt
• Randy Elrod
• Spence Smith

• Doug Fields
• Mark Oestreicher
• Tic Long
• Josh Griffin