Buckets, Coolers and Camp Chairs…

During the summer months, the set-up pictured above is what gets stuffed into our trunk before we head to the ballpark. Baseball buckets, packed coolers with waters and Gatorades, and camp chairs – pick your piece of equipment above, and it’s traveling with us weekend after weekend. But on Thursday mornings, they come out of the trunk for this nice seating arrangement in our garage. Comfortable? Not really (except my red camp chair and I’m the oldest haha). Functional? That’s all that matters to them.

Each Thursday morning at 6:15am, high school athletes pile into my garage for a weekly “d-group” or discipleship group. This started years ago, with a few college kids that are now seniors – while they were seniors, who invited in some sophomores to join them. Over time, those sophomores turned into seniors, invited some other sophomores and even a freshman of their own. That freshman and those sophomores are now upperclassmen in this group – and they haven’t quit. What’s wild, they went from meeting at local breakfast establishments to just the raw authenticity of the garage with no food (or distractions as they called it) – only the coffee and protein shakes they bring along with them. And they brought in more guys. And now they’re picking up freshmen in the neighborhood.

This morning we had “real talk.” A few missed the meeting, and their peers made sure to track them down and invite them – to hold them accountable. Not ugly, and not rude. Just out of love. This morning they shed the cell phone Bibles for real paper Bibles (breath on a page is what Louie Giglio calls it – and I love that). We dove into God’s Word again – and we challenged one another. Again. And next week they’ll do it again. And if all goes right, my 8th grade son who was still fast asleep, will be in that garage next year as a part of this group. One senior will be gone – and he’s a solid leader for these fellas. But what started for him as a freshman will be handed down to my freshman son, all because consistency is key to growing spiritually.

We hammer the three Ds each week: Duty. Discipline. Delight.

Reading God’s Word isn’t easy for most of us. Praying takes time and to be quite real, we don’t handle our time very well as a people living on God’s great planet. As we said this morning, we let pride play a major factor in our lives when it comes to living out our faith in front of others. Most people don’t like to pray aloud. Most don’t like to be questioned about their spiritual work ethic (and it isn’t works-based… it’s just about the drive to go deeper).

But this group shows promise. They’re different, in a good way. They know what they’re battling, because they call it like they see (and feel) it. They ride one another in a good way when they miss – because they know personally that it changes them. They text in prayer requests weekly. They earnestly love one another. They truly love the Lord and are trying to work out all of the kinks.

This morning one of them said, “man, can we get a solid reading plan for the Bible? I think I need that to help me stay in it.” His sentiment was echoed by the entire group. Why? Because they crave the growth that they know is right on the edge of where they are currently. They can sense it.

And then there’s me. Thirty-seven year old me. Sitting in my camp chair, in awe of what God can do inside of a chilly garage. What’s wild is this: I’m trying to work out all of the kinks in my spiritual walk too. I’m trying to read the Bible more and spend more time with my Creator. I’m trying to be more bold in my evangelistic efforts too. I’m trying to make disciples that make disciples too. I battle a lot of things too – on a different scale, but their growing spiritual drive is contagious.

So what about you? Maybe you should find some camp chairs, buckets and coolers – and a few folks who will sit around and talk Jesus on them every week. A picture may be worth 1000 words, but this one may be worth dozens of salvations over their lifetimes.

Duty. Discipline. Delight.