June.06 prayer letter

Hello! Here's my June prayer letter for supporters. Enjoy!

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C H A N G E S

It has been quite a month for h2o! There are some things on the horizon for the ministry of such significance that I thought I would give the look of my prayer letter a slight makeover! Hopefully this will help as you read it to organize my thoughts and updates into different topics or ‘articles’ if you will.

Well, as many of you know well and as a number of you know only from my letters over the months, h2o has always operated under the umbrella of ministries in association with Chestnut Ridge Church here in Morgantown. We were intended to be a downtown church plant of Chesnut Ridge, a ‘next generation’ church that would be in great position to reach the campus and the residents of downtown Morgantown, and I believe that’s what we became, and the Waterhouse has been our church’s home. Our small congregation has always been a part of Chestnut Ridge as a whole, committed to the church’s vision for reaching the state for Christ, functioning under the leadership and guidance of the church’s elders, and upholding the same values that bind all Great Commission Association churches and ministries together. However, it has been a joy for Billy and I to serve and grow with our brothers and sisters at h2o in a different environment from the ‘big church’ that is more in line with who we are according to our personalities and backgrounds and preferences.

As Chestnut Ridge has grown, the need for a new building for the main congregation has prompted us to design and begin construction on a mammoth project out at Cheat Lake, and we’re set to move in to the 2000-seat, campus-layout building this November (again, many of you are quite familiar with this!). As costs of construction have increased along with the size of the project, we have had our faith stretched as we have sought the Lord for funds and asked people to give to complete the building. However, a deficit of a few hundred thousand dollars has remained, and the staff has had to look for ways to erase it. An idea came up a few months ago to think about the possibility of selling the Waterhouse, which belongs to Chestnut Ridge, and the funds from which would more than cover the deficit as well as provide for some options of other meeting places for the campus church. Of course no one highly desired this course of action, and Billy and I were willing to do anything to help raise what was needed for the new Chestnut Ridge building, if only we could save the Waterhouse. But as time passed, fewer and fewer alternatives presented themselves, and we at h2o were given the opportunity to reevaluate a lot of things, including our identity as a ministry and our purpose on campus.

We came to conclude, through many discussions with Chestnut Ridge’s senior pastor Tim, that though we had been operating as a distinct church as a result of being planted downtown, it would be better for the church as a whole if we focused less on providing a separate Sunday service and more on what we consider (and what I’ve affirmed to you all along) to be the ‘heartbeat’ of who we are: canvas groups and soul groups, the small environments where life-change really occurs. There are a few hundred college students and young professionals who attend Chestnut Ridge on the weekend but aren’t plugged in to any meaningful small group during the week. So our main function is to connect with people in this phase of life and get them involved with people who can sharpen their God-guided lives. What atmosphere would be best for such connections? Well, h2o has always wanted to have a café of neutral ‘churchiness,’ and the storefront you see to the right has recently popped up on our radar.

The storefront is actually quite near to the Waterhouse. While the Waterhouse sits at the top of High St. on the perpendicular Willey St., the storefront is in fact on High St. near the top, on the right side of the street and to the left of the pizza place Casa D’Amici, which is next to a building on the corner of High St. and Willey St. opposite the Waterhouse. Basically, a stone’s throw away! We had originally wanted a café to be inside the Waterhouse, but the truth is the Waterhouse has always been a somewhat imposing and uninviting edifice, and it would have taken quite a lot of time and money that we may have never had to get it the way we wanted. This unapproachable nature of the building I believe has perpetually been to our disadvantage as a church and is further enhanced by a near lack of windows.

Don’t get me wrong; I love the Waterhouse, and I hate to see it go. I had a lot of big dreams for it, including (but not limited to) an art gallery, a reading room, a study hall for students, a recording studio... I was very distraught when the proposition to sell it first came up, and I prayed very hard that we wouldn’t lose it. But I begin to see God’s hand in all of this, and I’m actually very excited about the future of our campus ministry. I believe we can accomplish most of the above-mentioned endeavors as well as others and everything we’re doing now in the café environment. There is actually a great advantage for many of these things in the café due to it being smaller; it actually becomes more intimate and friendly for conversation. And it’s definitely more visible than the Waterhouse with nice, big storefront windows. College students and young people in general are hard to ‘pin down’ to come to meetings with set times, so a café that’s open a lot where Billy and I can work and other leaders can come and study or chill or whatever is ideal to connect with people in a more spontaneous, casual way.

Another huge positive as far as the operation of our ministry is that Billy and I will be working more closely with the members of the Chestnut Ridge staff team as the ministries of the entire church move toward greater centrality of vision and purpose. It’s nice being part of a team, and it’s hard being kind of a ‘satellite’ out on your own, connected by some communication but not much else. We had a great meeting with Pastor Bill (the associate pastor and other elder of the church) and Trey (the technical director/executive pastor who helps advocate needs of various ministries and who has a been a huge help with our transition; he also is who I used to work more closely with for h2o and who I’m looking forward to reconnecting more with again) about programming for the café and philosophy of ministry. They, along with the rest of the staff, will help lead and guide and work with us through this process and as we carry on in ministry.

I’ll let you know in a future letter more about all the ‘goings-on’ of the somewhat new look of h2o as we sort through it. Though as a congregation h2o will be joining the big church for services on the weekends, much of our thrust will remain the same. We want to help independent young people truly embody Christ in all they do, or INCARNATE Him in the flesh just as He was God incarnate, and to live out their Kingdom lives together, becoming fully human, as Christ was. I bolded this because it will never change. And actually, we will still put on a low-key small service on Sunday evenings, starting this fall as an alternative for those who don’t prefer a very large service.

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H O P E

Well, normally I’ll have more than one article in my letters as I alluded to in the beginning of this one. J But obviously this is such a big thing, so I wanted to devote a good chunk to it and keep you informed. What should you pray for, you ask? Probably the biggest things right now are that we can sell the Waterhouse, start renting the café, and get it all set for the fall. Through these changes, Sarah and I have great hope for the future. Thank you for hoping with us.

In Christ,

Cameron

10K part 2

Please read my previous post to get a little more insight into the few words posted here.

I had a few more thoughts about running and the race, but they seem to have disappeared. But that's okay. I'll let you draw out the parllels between running and this life for yourself from my last post. Running is so pure; I can see why it was the only competition in the beginning of the Olympic tradition. And I can see why it's used so much in Scripture to give us a great image of our job here. In fact, before I leave you with some pictures from the run, let me quote another piece of the Text that very much sums up running and life; it is one of the earliest passages I remember memorizing:

'...one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.' --Philippians 3:13b-14

Here's me and Ethan and Drew in the 2 miler we ran after the 10K.

The 10K, when we were still with the 60 minute pace guy! (We finished 10 seconds after him.)

'Pressing on toward the goal.' Near the end of the race, which, incidentally, is the best part of any race!

Ten Kilometers

'Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.' --1 Corinthians 9:24

On Saturday, I ran the Greater Clarksburg 10K. It was the 10th annual for this run, and it was also the 10th time me and my dad have run it together. It may be the last. We'll see. We think we're in a group that may be as small as 20 who have run all 10 10Ks, and we think we're likely the only father-son duo to have done it. Here's a picture of us from the 2004 10K:

I also ran the accompanying 2-mile run with my dad and little brother Ethan, who hadn't ever run that far before. So all in all, I ran about 8.2 miles on Saturday (though when Ethan said he had to stop and walk a few times on his run, let's just say my dad and I didn't oppose him in the least). The kicker is, I don't run! This 10K and the Charleston 5K we do in the fall are pretty much the only times I run during the year. I used to do a little more, but it mostly was related to training for the 10K and other 5Ks me and my dad would do over the years. Since I've been in Morgantown, I've run less and less until I pretty much find myself lacing up and donning the bandana to run only for the 10K and 5K.

It's not that I don't enjoy running. Actually, during the 10K this year, I went through the spectrum of emotions and thoughts, some of which were quite satisfying and others that were somewhat painful. There was more than one time I was tempted to quit, and often it would be the sight of my dad still straining on that would keep me in it. Usually after the painful and uncomfortable feelings would dissipate, a warm sensation would fill my entire body, and though I certainly wasn't totally free from the stress of the physical activity, a joy so deep welled up inside that it's hard to describe. It's as if I could feel Life, with a capital 'L,' the objective sense of being that only God can give, coursing through me like never before. Other times, water stops (teams of friendly volunteers holding out cold water in cups) would come at just the right time and give me the little relief I needed to go a little further. There was a particular heavenly place along the route that we had the privilege of passing twice (since the course was 2 laps) which had a lovely man with a lovely water hose that he would spray lightly but refreshingly on any runners who beckoned him. Passing through that Life-giving mist was indescribable each time, and I felt renewed like never before.

I noticed that there were times when I wanted to close my eyes and other times where I wanted to strain toward a goal with all the strength of my vision. The most memorable of the first was when we were climbing 'the hill' for the second time; this is one of the hardest places on the course because of the steepness. I didn't have a whole lot left and I was dreading it. I closed my eyes and prayed for energy, and when I did, somehow it seemed a little easier. I didn't know how much further I had to go because I couldn't see it, and all I had to do was listen to the sound of my dad's footsteps to stay in line. It was almost as if I had transcended my body, which I oftened desired to do to be free of the pain. But then at the end of the race, once the big FINISH line banner came into view, my eyes were sharp and never looked down or any other direction. That banner was pulling me toward it, and if only I could keep my gaze fixed on it, I would be sucked in by something greater than myself.

To be continued...

MySpace

And hello again! I promised I would make another post this week, so here I am! I've got some exciting news. As you know (if you read this blog), I'm a big fan of music and love to create songs. Well, now I have a great outlet for some of these songs to be heard. I've created a music profile on myspace.com! I really had no idea how many artists (and people) are on myspace; everybody from the most well-known artists to tiny little independents like myself. So it seems a great place to share music and let yourself be known to people who never would otherwise! I've got a couple ROUGH songs on there right now, but hopefully later this summer I'll have a few more (slightly) professional ones done. I've added the link to the page to the right: it's www.myspace.com/cameronkingmusic. Please check it out and tell some friends! My siblings have myspace accounts as well as a number of friends, and you can view their profiles from my page. It's a great way to stay connected with people.

I wanted to paste the little bio I wrote up for myspace here as well, because it expresses well (I hope) some of what drives me toward songwriting and music. Enjoy!

'I love Melody. No, not a girl (my wife's name is Sarah), but Melody, that mysterious and beautiful vessel on which is carried the tones and sounds and rhythms of Song which every human being finds elemental and substantial in life. What culture or people group or tribe of any era in history doesn't have songs and arrangements and chants that tell the story, with or without words, of their time? Song is something, I believe, that goes beyond our subjective experience here and speaks (or sings!) of something distinct and original and wholly other than us, 'further back and higher up' to quote a great mind of the 20th century, into the very throneroom of He who boomed forth the first Song which now reverberates through everything into eternity.

The pursuit of Melody in song, which is ever new and ever elusive, is something I find to give me some of the greatest joy in life. To attempt to echo, however pale it might be, but to echo nonetheless back to Him some of what He's revealed to us of His Song is exciting and fulfilling for me. Thus the new creation of a song will always supercede in importance its skillful performance; the latter may happen with a broken voice on an out-of-tune guitar in the corner of a dark room, but the song itself will still be intact, just as strong and just as whole. I am a songwriter.

I write songs about life and love and pain and mystery and joy and beauty, trying to touch on what we're all sorting through and hopefully giving someone something they can take hold of, something that connects them with Truth in a way that is hard to define but is perhaps more real in the realm of Music than anywhere else. Sometimes the subtle and haunting turnings of a melody can be more powerful than the words attached to them. I will occasionally leave the fashioning of these words to others more talented, as I will with the performances of some. But some will be my own feeble offerings and will be what they will be. I hope my songs help my life and others' lives to be more rich and colorful and reveal a bit of the world as it truly is, which is often hidden.'

Nags Head

Hello! If you're wondering why I haven't posted in over a week (which you may not be since I often do so; but just in case--), it's 'cause I've been at the beach! Sarah and I went with my family to Nags Head in the Outer Banks (OBX), NC. My family loves the Outer Banks. We have in the past gone more to Duck Beach, which is to the north of Nags Head, as you can see in this nifty map. Nags Head is home to Jockey's Ridge, the largest sand dune in America, and our house was literally right across from it! When we stayed at Duck in the past, we would always come down for an evening at the dunes and at the store Kitty Hawk Kites which is right next to it (even though Kitty Hawk is the name of another little town to the north -- confusing, I know). Anyway, it was so cool being right by the dunes because we could go whenever we wanted; they're awesome. The beach was right behind the beach house we rented as well. That's what's so cool about the Outer Banks: they're just a narrow strip of land with the ocean and the sound on either side. You really feel like you're just floating on some kind of ship made of land. We were also nearer to Manteo, which we visited more than once. It's this beautiful, quaint community with a great bookstore and coffee shop. I think it still has somewhat of a colonial feel. It's named for the Native American who was a great aid to the Englishmen who established the first English colony in the Americas there on Roanoke Island in 1587. It's also the home of The Lost Colony, America's first and longest running (now in their 69th season) outdoor drama, which recounts and dramatizes the events of the strange disappearance of the 120 people who occupied the colony. To this day it's still a mystery what exactly happened. The drama was beautiful; it was set among real trees and you could see the water of the sound behind the stage. It was dusk when it started and as the stars came out and the sky darkened... it was quite something to see.

Anyway, Sarah and I had a great time on the vacation. I'll put some pictures up of it next week. I have to wait till then because Sarah has the camera this week at Young Life camp (Rockbridge) in Virginia, which she went straight to from the beach. I miss her very much, more than I can express, and life feels quite empty without her. But I'm so proud of the work she's doing with the MHS girls, and camp is an amazing week in an attending high school student's life. All the same, when she gets back late on Friday I will be giddy as a school boy!

More later this week...

h2o morgantown live

Hello people! I just wanted to note that I've added another website in my link section to the right. This is exciting! It's 'h2o morgantown live.' Billy has set up his h2o messages this summer as a podcast for iTunes. You can listen to them from the site, or you can subscribe to them FOR FREE in iTunes! Just go to the podcast section of iTunes and enter 'h2o morgantown live.' Aren't we technologically savvy? Right now there's 2 messages on there, the first of 8 on the great I AM. I might in the future have a page of my own on the site with some of the live h2o worship music, so keep an eye open for that! Anyway, this is a neat way for some of you who aren't in the area to get a small taste of h2o or to stay connected with us and our heart. Enjoy! (Be sure to check out the other pages of the site too.)