The New Drug

With the Sexual Revolution that started in the 1960’s came a tidal wave of relaxed views on God’s gift of sexuality within the protective walls of the marriage covenant.  One of the downsides of setting aside this protective barrier has been the current proliferation of Pornography use in our culture.

“Teens & young adults rank not recycling as more immoral than watching porn.” 
-The Porn Phenomenon

“The Porn Phenomenon is a wakeup call. When 54 percent of Christian young adults ages 18-24 seek out porn at least occasionally, & when two out of the three youth pastors & more than half of senior pastors say porn is a current or past struggle, we have a genuine crisis on our hands. Porn is undermining God’s truth in the lives of young people & eroding the credibility of the Church.” 
-Josh McDowell

“…pornography is the greatest cancer in the Church today.” 
-Chuck Swindoll

For the last few years I have been working with men who are addicted to Porn.  My journey began when I started mentoring some college students and they indicated that they struggled with issues of purity.  My immediate assumption (not a good idea) was that they were speaking of improper relationships with their girlfriends.  I was asked to give a talk on pornography at a student men’s retreat.  Preparation for that talk opened my eyes to a world that I had no idea existed.

Today’s pornography is not the Playboy Bunny centerfold of the 1960’s.  With the advent of high speed internet came an onslaught of creative ways to lure men and women, boys and girls, into fantasy relationships that quickly hijack God’s design for experiencing pleasure, and the issue moves from a moral one to include a bio-mechanical one.

The entrepreneurs of Pornography have found ways to capitalize on our need for intimacy.  The human body is uniquely designed for a relationship with our Creator God and our fellow man, the deepest to be experienced within a covenant relationship with our spouse.

In his article “Sex and the search for Intimacy”, author Dick Purnell writes:

“Each of us has five significant parts in our lives. We have the physical, the emotional, the mental, the social, and the spiritual. All five of these parts are designed to work together in harmony. In our search for intimacy we want the solution today, or yesterday. One of our problems is that we want "instant" gratification. When the need for intimacy in a relationship is not met, we look for an "instant" solution. Where do we look? Physical, mental, social, emotional, or spiritual?     It's the physical.”

It is in this physical dimension that porn creeps in and takes thoughts captive.  All of the men that I am working with began their journey with porn at a young age, 10 to 12.

The first experience of seeing porn induces a feeling that draws you back for more.  As the frequency increases, the euphoric rush comes, then the shame increases, and the cycle moves into a new phase.  Visual stimulation leads to self-gratification which leads to shame.  The process quickly takes root and the unique design for sustained action leading to Godly pleasure becomes hijacked.

New discoveries in Brain Science have uncovered the way our pleasure center works.  The body releases Dopamine, a neurotransmitter, in varying quantities when we are engaged in activity that we enjoy.  The moral assessments of these activities are governed by two things: first, our cognitive belief of what is right and wrong, and secondly our sin nature, what we will do based on those beliefs.

The same dopamine hit that comes from an act of kindness and love also comes in varying intensities from other activities such as eating and drinking.  Food addiction has the same captive qualities as porn addiction. Indulging in these activities generates a dopamine rush which encourages us to repeat the action.

One difference between substance abuse and porn abuse is that substances like alcohol, drugs, and food dissipate with time but the visual images of porn are stored in our amazing memory banks and are not easily erased. Yes, the memory of the high of marijuana and cocaine will be there, but its reminders will not be seen on every billboard you pass or television program you turn to or magazine you look through.  There is no such thing as “dabbling” in porn.  Even if one makes efforts to step away from it, one carries the residual memories of what has already been seen and done.

I use the term addiction reservedly because “addiction” in our culture has become a medical term that indicates disease and an “it’s not my fault” mentality, something that I had no choice in having happen to me, like Cancer or Lou Gehrig’s disease.  I prefer the Biblical term bondage, but addiction is a more startling, in your face kind of language, that invokes the deep urgent need to do something about it. Addiction then is not an excuse but a term that encompasses an understanding of the issue.

Another major difference between substance addiction and sexual addiction is that substance addiction is much more acceptable as a topic of discussion in the church and as well as the greater culture.  As a consequence, sexual addiction/bondage is an unspoken issue.  It is the shameful thing that good moral families just don’t talk about.

Unfortunately our culture is inundated with high speed internet pornography.  Experts use the term Pornified to describe its prolific use in our society.  The hard porn of the 1960’s is now the soft porn advertising choice of marketing.  The Barna Group recently did a study of hard porn use and the results are staggering. A majority of men between 18 and 30 are regular porn users.  The majority of them have been regular users since childhood.  Consequently, Dopamine hits from porn watching have become the “New Drug”.

Porn watchers have become intimately, emotionally bonded to a two dimensional image on a computer flat screen.  The successor to the computer screen is their smart phone, where pornographic videos are available 24/7, virtually anywhere.  The advent of WiFi enables them to access it at Starbucks, McDonalds, on a flight to San Diego, or in their parent’s living room.  One unintended result is erectile dysfunction in 20-something males.  The problem is not in their plumbing but between their ears.  Their brain has become re-wired for a computer screen and a real person just doesn’t excite anymore.

The user sees Porn as a “faithful friend” that relieves the stressors of life every time.  There is no possibility of rejection or scorn from the images presented.  It is not just still pictures but the person enters an on-screen video production and becomes vicariously the hero in the scene.  He or she is the one who is the object of the actor’s desire.  You see, porn addiction is an intimacy disorder.  I cannot overemphasize this.  I believe it plays an important part in the decision whether or not to seek help.  “If I get rid of the addiction where will I get relief for my need for intimacy and unbridled acceptance?”

It is my experience, however limited in scope, that a majority of people are using porn to medicate a deeper “wound”.  These wounds come from a wide variety of sources, from past and current relationships as well as various life stressors, and ultimately from not knowing and embracing the depth of love and acceptance available to them from our Father Creator.

All of my guys were drawn into the false intimacy of porn while enduring the trauma of normal adolescent relationships. We are constantly encouraged to measure our self-worth according to the dictates of the culture around us.  Life on the school yard is hard and the absence of a vibrant parental support structure opens an opportunity for the evil one to offer something synthetic to boost your self-worth.  That is where the snare of porn entraps the mind and they are caught in a web of lies that takes on a life of its own.

My interaction with students opened to me a world where porn and video games occupy a significant number of hours of their day, engulfed in “fake love and fake war”.  The guilt factor doesn’t exist in the “no absolutes” generation.  The problem for them is that there is an inherent shame that persists from our being created in the image of God.  They may not have guilt, but the shame “blind sides” them.  “If this is not wrong based on my understanding of my “if it feels good do it mentality”, then why do I feel this dreaded shame?” This issue of woundedness does not just affect adolescents but can be a catalyst for anyone of any age, male or female.

It turns out that porn is not the main issue but is merely the method of medicating the pain of life.  Take away the porn by moral obedience to the law and the addict will just find another way of medicating the pain. Even to the point of doing acts of righteousness.  We find that idols of the heart come in a wide variety.  The only path to freedom is to understand our unique relationship with our heavenly Father and his unwavering love for us.  Establishing a love relationship with him becomes the path for overcoming the wounds that take us to other idols.  Only love can break the bondage.  Law can never do it.

The millennials and Gen X ers are not the only ones who are addicted to porn, it is multigenerational, and although the statistics are staggering for the general population, the most alarming thing to me is that the statistics within the Church, the body of Christ, are not a whole lot different.

I have a young 20-something homeschooled friend, who comes from a wonderful Godly family.  He recently revealed publically that he had been addicted to internet porn since he was 12.  It began innocently enough with a visit to a trusted friend’s home and grew to a bondage that governed his life.  His parents were unaware of his addiction.  It is a secret bondage for most.

That bondage extends to men and women of all ages and it is a hidden plague that is affecting the church. The Barna study showed that only 7 percent of churches have any program to address the phenomena, and it is a tsunami that will engulf the church and render it ineffective.  Many in my generation just don’t know that the problem exists.  Yet it captivates pastors, elders, deacons, and its dominance is found across the spectrum of the church body.  I can’t stress enough that it affects both men and women.

Unfortunately because of its shame factor, we are not able to establish a “sexual addiction” group with a signup sheet in the narthex.  Unless it is affecting our immediate family we just don’t know the depth of the problem nor what we can do to help those in our midst that are struggling with its grasp.  When it is prolific in our immediate family, the shame of it keeps us in silence.

There is Hope!  

I recently attended the Set Free Global Summit championed by Josh McDowell.  The summit was the first major gathering of the body of Christ dedicated to the issue of Pornography addiction in the church.

We heard from the latest Brain Science researchers as well as leaders in the Church who are focusing their efforts at offering a Biblical approach to bringing the issue into the open and, more importantly, offering a scriptural process to overcoming the bondage.

The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Roman church in chapter 12 exhorts us, in view of God’s mercies, to present our bodies as a living sacrifice Holy and acceptable unto God which is our reasonable act of worship.  He further asks that we not conform ourselves to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

I used to think that the “renewing” was merely a cognitive, biblical knowledge acquisition process.  But with the advent of new discoveries in how our brain works, I have come to realize that there is a physical phenomenon that is at work as well.  You see our brain has neural pathways that take on a “grooving” as we develop repetitive responses to life issues.  As we develop habits our brain moves those responses from a prefrontal cortex “reasoning” section to the Limbic or “automatic” response section.

For example, we get into our car, reach for the door handle and shut it, put our key in the exact slot in the steering column, start the car, grab the seat belt and buckle it, reach down and put the car in gear, and we do it all without taking a second to think about what we are doing.  But if we get a new car, we find ourselves searching for the key slot and looking at the gear shift to see what we need to do.  Very quickly we will make the new neural pathways that will again let us get into the new car and get underway as a limbic response.

This is the process of renewing our minds.  It is the same with our knowledge of God.  We read and study the Bible to understand what it is that our Father desires of us and then we think about this revelation in light of our current way of action.  We cognitively choose to do it God’s way and the process of moving from forced response in situations to a more automatic response takes hold.

Neuroplasticity is the name given to this ability for our brains to change.  We were designed to be able to respond to various stimuli encountered in life and re-groove our brains to respond differently.  Isn’t our God amazing!

So the hope we have is that sexual addiction can be overcome by the power of God working in conjunction with his Word and the teaching of the Holy Spirit, enabling us to put off the old manner of life and put on a new way, essentially renewing our minds.

Thankfully we have men and women who are devoting their efforts to developing processes to accomplish the great goal of becoming Holy as He is Holy relative to porn use.  What began as a moral issue, and quickly became a brain issue as well, can be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

This hope can become reality when we create a culture of openness in the church. One roadblock to that is the fact that sexual addiction carries a stigma.  Confess that you have an addiction to food, alcohol, or pain pills and you will get a loving, concerned, empathetic response.  Confess an addiction to porn and everyone will move away from you.  The focus of the substance user is the substance itself, but people assume that the focus of a porn addict is them, or their loved ones.  The continual draw of Pornography is much deeper than simply a lust for sex.

We find that one of the biggest hindrances to restoration is the cloak of denial.  Addicts in bondage to shame are accustomed to avoiding bringing the issue to light at any cost.  Denying that they have a problem is the only way to keep the secret.

Consequently, they find themselves holding on to a friend they desperately want to be rid of, and so the battle continues.

I am confidently looking forward to a near future time when the church is open to understanding the deep soul wrenching shame of sexual addiction and embraces the paths to restoration for those caught in its grasp, a time when Pastors and congregations are free from the stigma so that those in bondage can get the help offered in community with their church families.

This help will still need to be offered in a safe confidential manner.  But a culture of understanding and compassion can be established that will be lovingly attractive to those hiding in darkness.  Jesus gave many examples of this kind of warm understanding for us to embrace.  “Let him who has no sin cast the first stone” comes to mind.

This culture of understanding will extend to leaders as well who find themselves in bondage to porn. Christian leadership at all levels are beginning to recognize the depth of this issue and moving from a punitive approach to a restorative approach.  As one of my favorite philosophers says, “everyone is addicted to something”. My addiction is just more palatable than the sex addict.

In conclusion, pornography purports to offer a cool, refreshing drink that will satisfy the longing of the soul, but as Jeremiah 2;13 says “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water”.  Jesus offers living water and he who drinks that water will never thirst.

Restoration is the process of repairing the broken cisterns and filling them with the water of life that Jesus stands ready to abundantly provide.  Come then, all ye who are heavy laden and He will give rest to your souls.  Jesus feels your pain!

If you want more information on how to come along side of someone who is struggling with the bondage of sexual addiction feel free to contact me at kellenbenz@juno.com.  I have been blessed to come across some great resources that are proving effective for the guys I meet with.  One of those is the Conquer Series available at conquerseries.com

Until next time,  

Godspeed,
Glenn

Pioneer Village at Sherry White Ministries

February found us in central Florida serving at Pioneer Village, a part of the Sherry White Ministries family.  Pioneer Village is a twenty five acre farm that provides therapy for ladies that are enrolled in a one year addiction program.

There are typical farm chores that need to be tended to at Pioneer Village and the ladies in the program spend every afternoon here.  There are horses, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, ducks, rabbits, a lama and a peacock.

  

The care of these animals is a task that many of the program participants have never had the experience of doing.  The interaction provides an emotional connection as well as a responsibility component, being care givers to animals that need human attention for their existence.

There are gardens to cultivate, weeds to pull, pens to clean, and stalls to muck.  The labors provide a distraction from the draw of a destructive lifestyle along with a connection to God’s creation, resulting in a days end weariness that is soothing to the soul.

The farm serves another purpose integral to the recovery program that is aimed at creating an environment for the program participants to engage with their families.  One weekend each month Pioneer Village is the gathering place for the ladies and their estranged families.  The animals and farm activity provide a conversation breaker for moms who need a diversion for their loved ones from the “elephant in the room”, addiction.

There are two rustic cabins that have been built and provide an opportunity for a mom to spend a night with her children.  The setting of the village is designed to duplicate an early 19th century town that will include a future prarie chapel to accent the existing general store.

The ladies in the program live in town at Lydia’s House, an early 1900’s home that has been beautifully restored and fitted to serve up to twelve ladies.  The participants are responsible for keeping the house cleaned, the yard tidy, and meal preparation.  There are classes that they attend there, aimed at building Biblical character as well as equipping the ladies with long term tools for overcoming addiction.

This is the second time we have had the privilege of serving here.  The ministry has a far reaching impact on the families and friends of the ladies in the program.  Addiction impacts in various ways and we have had the privilege of meeting a number of graduates of the program.  

Their testimony of how they came to a personal relationship with Jesus and how he has transformed their lives through the program and their new life as productive members of their communities is a sincere tribute to the efforts of everyone who contribute their gifts and talents to this ministry.

We do serve a patient God!

A real highlight of our stay here at the farm was attending the wedding of two of the past graduates of the program.  Terry and Amber were united in a beautiful ceremony in front of one of the cabins that was named in honor of Amber's two children.  They both have a tremendous testimony of how God rescued them from a life of addictions.  Terry went through the men's program which has been temporarily suspended.  We met him when we served here in January of 2014.  We were honored to be in attendance.

It's harvest time for Velencia Oranges in the groves surrounding the farm

The sites here are magnificent!  Perfectly level concrete parking pads

Our Sower partners on this project were Art and Donna McElheny from near Buffalo New York.  They began serving with Sowers about the same time as we did. They are full time RV’ers, spending the winter in the south and the summer months at a Bible Camp near their home town. We enjoyed working with them.

The men’s duties at the farm are coordinated by Bud Bowling who has volunteered at the ministry for ten years.  Bud and his wife GariAnn are full time RV’ers too, and live in Medford Oregon in the summer and winter here at the farm.  Bud is a master carpenter and has built many of the structures here and was the major re-builder of Lydia's House.  GariAnn works in the ministry office.

We were also joined by Sam White, a friend of Bud's from Oregon.  He and his wife Marjoe are full time RV’ers and this is the third winter they have served here.  

Art and I had a great time working with these guys.

Jane’s work here has centered on the two thrift stores that are located in Wauchula. The Mustard Seed is a typical thrift store and the second, Heaven Scent, is a retail store that specializes in upscale items that have been donated.

Heaven Scent is a recent addition and opened at the beginning of our third week here. Jane and Donna spent their time sorting items and making displays on the shelves in preparation for the unveiling.  Their design touch added much to the ambiance of the store.

The guys spent most of our time on the farm doing the various tasks that crop up.  The thing I like about serving here are the diverse needs that seem to change priority from one day to another.  It feeds my Attention Diversion Design, formally known as ADD :)

We laid out the rough location of the Pioneer Chapel as well as four future volunteer RV parking spaces so that the county planning folks could give their blessing.  At the Mustard Seed we installed some new lighting fixtures and shelving units and hauled excess furniture and electronics to the landfill.   

Removing fencing from the old Wild Boar pen

Recycling a load of metal   

Our biggest task was to continue construction on a new wood shop at the farm.

Closed in and ready for the next volunteers to finish the inside

Our second grandson, Bowen, celebrated his 2nd birthday the weekend we arrived. Rachel and Mark live about 2 hours from Wauchula.  

We spent two weekends at their house and they came to the farm for two weekends.

The second weekend they came up we attended the winter training center for the Lipizzan Stallions which is located not far from Pioneer Village.

What magnificent animals.  Rachel especially enjoyed them.

Homeward bound !    We leave here on March 2nd heading home to Summerville SC.  We will stop on our way near Jacksonville at Seamark Ranch.  

Seamark Ranch is home to an orphanage that we visited a number of years ago when our RV ministry was just a dream.  We had checked out a number of orphanages in greater Florida exploring ways we might serve children.  We found on our exploration that the children need a longer term direct interaction than we felt we would be able to provide.  

Seamark Ranch is located on four hundred acres with an equestrian center as well as typical farm opportunities.  The children live in houses with eight orphan siblings along with a host parent couple and their children. 

When we visited, way back then, we were welcomed by Fred Meiners, the executive director, and his wife Debbie. They graciously invited us to stay overnight in their home and the visit with them gave us a sense of the vision of Seamark.  

Since serving with Sowers we have learned that serving ministries doesn’t require direct involvement with the target audience to be effective.  We will spend a few days there exploring ways we can serve the Lord Jesus through their ministry. 

We will be home for March and, in April, will be in Union Mills NC at the Center for Intercultural Training.  Lord willing we will move on to Pennsylvania for the month of May.  Then back home for June and July.  

August will bring the birth of our ninth grandchild.  Maribeth and Ben will welcome their third child.  They have decided to wait till the arrival to determine if it is our third grandson or seventh granddaughter.

March brings the celebration of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the rugged cross of Calvary.  I use the term celebration because, although the painful process of His crushing death was beyond comprehension, His rising from the dead on Easter morning is the crushing blow to death for the believer.  

Eternal life with Jesus is the free gift that His death and resurrection affords everyone who would place their faith in Him.  Jesus died for Sin and rose from the dead.  That is the Gospel, the good news.

Romans chapter 5 says “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners Christ died for us.”

Won’t you place your trust in Jesus’ shed blood.  It will be the full payment required to reconcile you to the God of the universe.

This truth is what propels Jane and I on in this Journey.

Until next time,

Godspeed,  Glenn and Jane

Merry Christmas

Dear Friends and Family,

                Warmest greetings as we enter this Christmas season.  Christmas time has always had a special feeling for us.   The giddiness of anticipation that comes from childlike wonder, tinsel on the tree, ornaments that bubbled as they glowed, gifts on Christmas morning, family and friends coming over, and the treat of Mom’s Christmas cookies were just some of the sights and sounds that we enjoyed as children. 

By God’s grace, that all gave way to a complete understanding of the real meaning of Christmas when, in 1978, Jane and I experienced our first Christmas as followers of Jesus.  You see, up until that time the manger story was just that, a story.  

In October of 1978 we came to understand that the baby born in Bethlehem came to bring a peace that was not an emotion, but a peace that can only come as a result of a personal relationship with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus.  That relationship was made possible as the baby became the Savior at Calvary.  He came to bear our Sin penalty on the Cross.

It was not enough to have knowledge of the nativity but we realized that the whole bundle of the events of Christ’s life paved the way for us to become reconciled with the God of the Universe.  We had only to invite Him into our lives, which we did at the end of that October.

That event began a lasting relationship that has deepened with each passing year and the Spirit of Christmas lingers on throughout the year as we commune with God on a daily basis.

What an incredible gift that is available to anyone who would place their trust in Jesus!

And so we find ourselves in the 37^th Christmas season of our walk with the Savior.  And my how this year has flown by.  We will spend this Christmas with Rebecca’s family in Rome GA and New Years at Maribeth’s house in Asheville, along with Julie’s family and Jason.  Mark, Rachel, and Bowen will be at home in Florida celebrating with Mark’s family.

We were blessed to be able to have all of the children and their families join us in Maryland to celebrate Thanksgiving with Jane’s extended family.  Jane’s dad will turn 93 this April.  He still lives alone and goes to work most days, putting in several hours at his Farm Supply store.  The Kellenbenz clan has grown to eighteen counting the grandchildren.  Needless to say, there was plenty of excitement.  We had over 40 for dinner!  Thankfully he has a large house that accommodates such a lively crowd.

This picture of Pop with all of our Grandchildren is precious to us.

Olivia, Ella Mae, Micah, Veda, Wren, Isabel, Bowen

This year began with Jane having surgery to remove a blockage between her kidney and bladder that may have been there since birth.  The onset of recurring kidney stones prompted the need to take care of the problem.  The surgery was successful and a recent sonogram confirmed that all is flowing and no stones are present!

                

As a result of the surgery we were not able to do our January and February Sower projects in Florida.  We were able to resume our travels in April and did four projects this year, April, May, September and October.  

We are scheduled to be in Florida this coming February.  Our regular January journey will be re-routed to Rome GA for the birth of our eighth grandchild and sixth granddaughter who is due to arrive mid-January.  She will be the third girl in Rebecca’s family, joining sisters Ella Mae (4) and Isabel (2).  Rebecca, Corey, Ella Mae, and Isabel are still serving the Lord in Rome GA with Shorter University. 

                

Julie, Eli, and Micah (2) welcomed sister Veda into their family in July.  She is a wonderfully happy child, a disposition she inherited from her Grandfather.  Eli continues his studies in Wake Forest NC at Southeastern Baptist Seminary.

                

Rachel, Mark, and Bowen are doing fine in Bonita Springs, Florida.  Bowen will be two in February and he is a lively boy keeping mom and dad busy.  He is on the move from morning to night.

                

Jason continues to build his Snapon tool business here in the Charleston area.  He puts in many hours but has been successful building his route.  He lives near us though we don’t see him that often.

Maribeth, Ben, Olivia (3), and Wren (1) moved in July to West Asheville, NC.  They have joined with several families to pioneer a new church plant, bringing the good news of salvation through Jesus to the eclectic culture of folks that live there.   We sure hated to have them move but we are excited about the call of God on their lives and their obedience to pulling up roots and going.

Jane and I celebrated our 40^th anniversary in March.  It is hard to believe that we have been together for that long.  She is a trooper and puts up with a lot from me.  Our love is growing with each year.

Well that brings you up to speed on our family.  We trust that your Christmas Season will be a blessed one as you contemplate the birth of our Savior, Jesus. 

Remember, Wise Men still seek Him!

Love,  Glenn and Jane

               

Doe River Gorge

We have completed our October project with Sowers at Doe River Gorge in northeastern Tennessee.  The Doe River gets its start high in the peaks of Roan Mountain which is about ten miles from the place where we are serving.  Roan Mountain stands at 6,200 feet and provides a magnificent panorama of the lower Appalachian chain.

The river takes a winding path through mountain passes; it’s most beautiful right through a geologist’s delight, a deep Gorge which is located on the property that is the home of Doe River Gorge Christian Camp.

Their Web Site states -  "Doe River Gorge is a place of rugged mountains, scenic meadows, vertical rock cliffs, rushing whitewater rapids, and colorful flora. Steep mountain walls surrounded by thousands of acres of the Cherokee National Forest guard this refuge from the outside world, creating an inspirational and pristine sanctuary for getting to know the God who created it all."

Doe River Gorge camp was formed in the early 1990’s, the vision of a youth pastor in neighboring Johnson City.  My parents served with a similar RV ministry in the mid 80’s through the mid 90’s and I was privileged to visit them here at Doe River while on a business trip to Knoxville.  The ministry was in its early stages when I was here and, needless to say, much has changed.  

Over the years the Lord has developed a wonderful place that has a vision to reach young people with the Gospel and He has provided folks with gifting and programming that challenges the physical, informs the intellect, and confronts the spirits of young people.

This aerial view focuses on a small area of the property and shows the lake and the Depot which houses the cafeteria and camp store.  The striped tent is used as a dining hall and the white tent is for worship services.  The tents have concrete floors and are a clever cost effective means of providing a large space.  The lake is an excellent place for aquatic fun and includes a zip line that ends up dunking the rider in the lake.  Located in the trees to the left are two lodges.  In the upper left are box cars that have been converted into bunk rooms.

These converted box cars sleep eight campers in each one.  There is a sleeping compartment and a sitting room, as well as a complete bathroom in each car.

I remember my Dad working on these boxcars way back when.  I don't remember exactly what stage this part of the project was in, but he and Mom loved serving at Doe River.

The Doe River ministry program uses various physical challenges such as repelling in the Gorge, high ropes courses and strenuous hikes, as well as mental challenges such as archery and marksmanship and recreational activities in the lake and river, as well as equestrian activities.  The camp has Christ focused staff that address the spiritual using teaching that challenges youth to think through a Christ centered World view.

The lake is drained each year and cleaned then refilled with water that is pumped up from the river.  

The zip line is tethered high up on a platform that is quite a climb from the lake.  I think it is designed that way to make the kids work for the ride.  This climb is not one that they will be running back up over and over.  The path winds its way through rocky terrain.  As you can see it does offer quite the thrill!  This picture was taken just below the launch platform.

The view above is from the area up near the box cars.  This open meadow was created when the state needed fill for the new highway that goes past the property.  They did all of the excavating and grading for the ministry in exchange for the fill material.  It is such a God thing to have the state come in and do all of your land preparation for free!

This fireplace is in an octagonal pavilion that the picture above was taken from.  It is used for weddings and other gatherings. Sowers had a part in the construction of the pavilion and it is located along the river.  The stone fireplace has a stone cross in the center above the mantle.

There is a unique feature of the camp that dates back to the late 1880’s.  There was a narrow gage railroad line that was built connecting iron ore rich Cranberry NC and later Boone with processing plants in Johnson City TN.  It was referred to as the “Tweetsie” line because of the shrill sound the whistle made echoing through the hollows. It served these mountains for seventy years hauling passengers and freight.  The tracks near Boone are still used as a tourist attraction but the full line from NC to TN is no longer in use.

The tracks came across the mountain and wound down through the Gorge that is owned by the ministry.  Volunteers have restored a mile or so of track and they run a small diesel powered tow car that pulls a couple of passenger cars up through the Gorge. 

Isn’t it just like our Lord to have provided this wonderful asset a hundred years before it would be used for displaying His Glory of Creation to the kids that attend camp here!  This picture was taken on Family Fun Day.  Each fall the ministry opens it doors to the community.  This train load are headed up the Gorge to see the beautiful fall foilage that paints the mountains with the message, God lives!

We were privileged to have Rusty, one of the staff guys, take Jane and me, along with our Daughter Maribeth, husband Ben and our granddaughters Olivia and Wren on a ride up the Gorge one day on a battery powered vehicle that was custom made for small groups.  We were accompanied by the Bakers, some friends from Arkansas who had spent a week at our house in Summerville then stopped at Roan Mountain for a few days on their way back home.

The colors on the trees were at their peak beauty up in the higher elevations and the majesty of the rock formations which make up the Gorge are incredible.

The river winds down these slopes creating a breath taking view of the Majesty of our Lord.  Just a sneak preview of what God has prepared for our eyes to behold.  

  "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him"  1st Corinthians 2;9 

There is a different setting around each bend in the river, awaiting your discovery and musing.  Just sit on a rock cropping out in the middle of the current, listening to the sounds of the creative order sounding out their soothing refrain.

This view is from the bottom of the repelling wall.  The platform on the upper left is quite a ways up and provides a challenging descent to the railroad bed at the bottom of the wall.









We arrived at Doe River on Monday the 5^th and started work on Tuesday morning.  Jane headed for the Cedar Mountain Lodge to help the cleaning staff.

The Cedar Mountain Lodge is on the left and the Mountain Meadow pictured above.

The great room in the Cedar Mountain lodge is magnificent.  The floor to ceiling windows provide a great view of Doe River which passes by just outside.  This is a special spot for fellowship with eight groups of rooms with bunk beds for 10 guests.

As Jane got settled in with Karen the housekeeper, I headed for the walking bridge that crosses Doe River.  My first task was to power wash, then help apply a sealer to the wooden planks on the bridge.  The bridge spans 120 feet and connects the main camp with some cabins on the other side of the river.

Rusty was a big help with this task.  He worked at Snapon Tools in nearby Elizabethton for over 30 years as a quality/efficiency expert.  On his retirement he joined the staff here and is making a mark on the ministry looking for ways to streamline their processes.  He is quick to help out wherever needed.  He is a joy to work with for sure!

One of Jane’s focuses was on cleaning behind the bunk beds in the eight dormitory style rooms in both the Cedar Mountain Lodge as well as the Mountain Meadow Lodge.

Some of the staff  moved the beds to the middle of the rooms and she cleaned the walls and floors.  Each dorm room also has a bathroom as well that needed her loving hand.

The finished product pictured on the right looks great.  Between cleaning and carpentry Jane stayed pretty busy and the cleaning staff sure appreciated her “Fair Haven” cleaning skills.

Before we started with Sowers we volunteered several times at Fair Haven Ministries, which is located about fifteen minutes from Doe River Gorge and is a respite place for weary pastors and missionaries.  They have fourteen chalets and cabins that are deep cleaned once each year.  Mary and Bill Wymer are the couple that oversaw the cleaning routine.

They have a system that works quite efficiently, and covered everything that we had never cleaned at home, like removing the vent fans from the bathrooms for cleaning and oiling.  Needless to say those cabins, some built in the late 1970’s, are in great shape as a result.  That’s where we get the phrase “Fair Haven Clean”.  If you are looking for a great place to vacation in the mountains for a week and have free lodging in exchange for a few hours per day cleaning, then check them out on the web, Fair Haven Ministries.

There are several options for lodging here at Doe River.  There are the boxcars which sleep 8 and the two lodges which sleep large numbers, the three cabins that are nestled together along the river, and then there are gazepees.

These are called gazepees, a cross between an gazebo and a teepee.  They are some of the oldest structures and are the strict domain of the guy campers.  Mainly because there is only one bathroom and it is up the hill from the "village".  They have beds built in around the perimeter of the structure and a loft with several beds up there.  There are six of these gazepees in the village. What great fun for the guys!

The second task on my list was to install a skirting around a house trailer that is used by the interns for lodging.  Doe River has started an intern program that seeks to provide an opportunity for young men to learn the inside ropes of camp ministry while waiting on the Lord for guidance and future direction.

There are currently four guys in the program and a couple of single staff guys live in the trailer as well.  With the underneath of the trailer exposed to the elements they had problems with freezing drains last winter.  Closing in the space will keep the winter winds out.

The first task was to attach a board to the bottom of the trailer.  Then a 2x4 treated plate on the ground and then verticle studs on two foot centers to attach the hardy panel siding to.

There were several points on the back of the trailer where the waste plumbing came out.  These proved to be tricky to fit the panels around.

For this part of the project I needed an extra pair of hands.  Jane helped me attach the panels.  I should have had her hold the panel while I took the picture.  One thing about being the only couple on a Sower project is that we get to work together.  I helped her with some of the cleaning and she helped me on this task.

The great thing about Sowers is that you always have an interesting challenge awaiting you.

As the Sower song goes, "Hear ye the masters call, give me thy best, for be it great or small, that is His test.  Do then the best you can, not for reward, not for the praise of men but for the Lord.  Every work for Jesus will be blessed, but he asks from everyone his best, our talents may be few, these may be small, but unto Him is due our best our all!"

This anthem is sung each morning by the Sowers before starting the day.  It proves very useful when tempted to cut corners.  Jane and I even sing it when we are the only Sowers there :)


It turns out that this project took us the majority of our stay to complete with a couple of detours along the way for small projects that cropped up.

One of the pleasures of serving with Sowers is the wonderful people that we are privileged to work with.

We were able to meet up with some of the folks we served with last fall at the Center for Intercultural Training, CIT, in North Carolina and at Summit Grove in Pennsylvania.  Jeff and Mary Peace and John Stoner are serving at CIT for the month of October and we were able to meet for dinner in Spruce Pine NC, along with Art Reagle the facilities manager at CIT.  What a great reunion with spectacular people.


Doe River Gorge has been the most beautiful place we have served so far.  The views from our RV each morning and evening were spectacular.  The staff is so appreciative for your service and the vision of the ministry, and their execution of it, is excellent.

We are back at home in Summerville with our next Sower project scheduled for February.  We will be serving at Sherry White Ministries, in Wachula Florida.  We had planned on serving in Florida in January as well, but the Lord had other plans for us.

We will be welcoming our eighth grandchild in January, as Rebecca and Corey add number three to their growing family.  We are excited for Ella Mae and Isabel as they await the arrival.

We will travel to Maryland for our traditional Thanksgiving celebration with the Bowen clan.  All five of the kids will be there with spouses and children so we are anticipating a great reunion, and plenty of chaos.

We have so much to be Thankful for.  As we look at the evening news we see many of our fellow pilgrims looking for stability in a world in which it is proving harder to find.  There is only one place that absolute freedom can be found and that is in the hollow of the hand of our creator and sustainer, Jesus Christ. 

Colossians 1; 16-17 says that The Son, Jesus, is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

If you have never trusted him as Savior and Lord, then now is the time.  He desires your worship. Your trust will be rewarded with a peace that passes all earthly understanding.  He sets up kings and removes them.  He has a plan for the ages that is being worked out with precision.  He is not surprised by instability and uncertainty.  Rest in Him.  Be thankful for His work in your life.  Worship Him.  He deserves our praise and adoration.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Until next time,

Godspeed,  Glenn and Jane