I love summer time at Legacy. Summers at Legacy just seem to be less formal, more relaxed, really fun. That’s not to say the pace is slower. No, no, no. It’s faster, much faster. Maybe even a bit hectic. But it’s really, really fun.

Wednesday night sno-cones. Brand new youth interns to initiate. Mission trips and summer camps. Messy games day. All the college kids back home, roaming the church halls, showing up for morning prayers and Bible studies, crashing our backyard pool, toilet papering our house. Sunday night cookouts and kites. Extra visitors. Faith Builders. Even in the middle of all the vacations and travel and trips, it just seems like summer is when our whole church family is really together. And it’s a lot of fun.

And, of all the special things and times we enjoy during our Legacy summers, VBS is my favorite.

I love Vacation Bible School because I get to see our church family at its best. During VBS, we give of ourselves to little kids. We do things we don’t normally do, for the sake of little kids. We sacrifice. We bend. We stretch. We get down in the floor and pick up washers, we burn our hands on Shrinky Dink ovens, we cut out sheep and sew rock pouches, we build sets and learn songs, we run up and down stairs and make one million trips to the workroom. For the sake of little kids.

I love Vacation Bible School because I get to watch people like Eric Gambill and Charles Barkley (real name) break out of their shells. I’ve never heard more than six words out of either of these guys. But I’m inspired when I watch them sing and dance and act as David and King Saul. For the sake of little kids. And those outgoing people with all the personality and talents? People like Kristen Sharp and Christy Roof, Vic Akers and Bill Crawford? It’s a blast watching them take it to that next level. Over the top! And where else can you see Doug Deere in eight-inch platform shoes, with an accent that sounds like a cross between Foghorn Leghorn and Mr. T, hamming it up as Goliath, and then tearfully pouring his heart out to the church when it’s all over, reminding us that our God is bigger and stronger than anything that might stand against us.

David Watson dressed one of our fifth graders, Elizabeth, as Goliath during our story time last night. He decked her out in a styrofoam ice-chest helmet, bubble wrap armor, a dashboard sun screen for a shield and an industrial sized leaf blower as a sword. Yes, he connects to our kids. Mike and Judy St.Clair and Jennifer Skelton wielded the hot glue guns to help our kids make little flat sheep out of recycled water bottles. They looked like road kill. In a funny way. Daryn Pope played David & Goliath Jeopardy with the kids, carefully making sure all four teams ended up with the same amount of points. And just as carefully making sure we all talked about the strength of our God and David’s great faith.

I love VBS because for four full days we all do things we don’t normally do. For the sake of the little kids. I love VBS because I keep thinking that one of these days it’s going to click that we need to always be doing things we don’t normally do for the sake of others. We need to be willing, even eager, to bend and stretch and run. We need to want to move and grow and serve for the sake of others. We’re quick to sing the songs and do all the hand motions, to throw out our backs moving stage pieces, to get our shirts messy with glitter and paint, and to walk the same little boy to the bathroom three times. For the sake of little kids. But sometimes for the sake of others we won’t budge an inch or move a muscle or give in on a single point or bow to a little request. I keep thinking that if we practice stepping outside our comfort zones for the sake of little kids, we’ll be more able to step outside our comfort zones for the sake of all our other brothers and sisters in Christ.

Peace,

Allan