Picture Perfect

My Perfect Mask

Hey everyone. My name is Chris Gore. I’m the Student Pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church. Just wanted to share a little about myself. This is the 2nd Children’s camp I’ve ever been to. When I say ever, I mean ever. The first church camp I ever went to was 2018, when I took a group of youth in Alabama.

When I was about 12 years old, I gave my life to Christ at Winchester Road Baptist Church in Huntsville Alabama. It was during our vacation Bible School that I realized I was a sinner in need of saving, and Jesus was the only one who could do that. I graduated high school in 2002 and in 2003 I joined the Army and spent time at Fort Knox learning how to drive and shoot a tank. I spent a total of 13 years in the Army, I drove tanks, I was a recruiter helping people join the Army, and before I got out, I became a news reporter for the Army. One of the coolest things I’ve ever done was while I was a reporter in the Army and it helps me win two truths and a lie every time! Y’all know how to play? Here let’s play real quick, it’ll help you get to know me better. If you don’t know how to play, I’m going to say three things. Two will be true and one won’t be. You have to tell me which one you think isn’t true.

I got to drive a race car around Talladega Super Speedway

The New England Patriots is my favorite NFL team.

I watched a cat get a rabies shot while it sat in a potato sack.

For those who guessed # 2, you’re right! I actually don’t watch the NFL

Yes, I got to drive a race car around Talladega and YES I did watch a cat get a rabies shot while it sat in a potato sack in South Africa! And I have proof of both!

Here is me with the race car and

HERE IS PART OF A VIDEO OF A STORY I DID IN SOUTH AFRICA.

One thing about being in the Army, or the military in general, is the military likes to make everything look perfect.

When we parked the tanks, they all had to line up perfectly, the grass has to look perfect, when we are in our dress uniforms, we have to have everything perfectly placed, and I mean down to the quarter of an inch. But here’s the thing, it’s all just a mask.

There was one time we had a very important person come to look at our tanks. We cleaned and cleaned and cleaned every thing we could clean and then we painted the inside. No matter how much we cleaned, the inside was still really dirty, so when we painted it, it looked perfect, but it wasn’t, it was still dirt under the paint.

And each of us can be the exact same way when it comes to our own lives. We like to put on a perfect mask. We want everyone to look at us and go oh, they have everything together, their life is perfect. When in reality, our life is far from perfect.

Take your Bible and open up to 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.