Eric Camp

Christ-Follower, Husband, Father, Pastor

recent posts

about

Husband, Father, Pastor! I am the Senior Pastor of Collective Church on The Gulf Coast in Pascagoula, MS. Visit my Facebook page at facebook.com/ericcamp or the Collective Church website at www.MyCollectiveChurch.com // facebook.com/ourcollectivechurch

  • Recency Bias

    Definition of “bias” – prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.

    We are all guilty at times of what is called “recency bias”. For example, let’s say you have a friend that you have been friends with for 20 years, or even 10 years, or even less than that, and you have been so thankful of this friend through the years. Maybe they have been there with you through difficult times, good times, whatever!

    One day, let’s say within the last day or so or even a week ago, this friend does something or says something that totally makes you mad and ticks you off majorly. How is your view of this friend in this moment?

    For most people, we will allow a recent event or happening to overshadow years of consistency and closeness and cause us to disengage or withdraw based on this one happening or event. This is called Recency Bias. We are bias, in a negative way, towards what recently happened and completely forget or let it nullify all the good and the years of closeness we may have had with such a friend.

    This happens on jobs, in marriages, with family members, and really in every part of our lives. We go to a restaurant for 10 years that we love and the most recent visit we may have had wasn’t as up to the expectation of all the previous visits and we then discredit this restaurant and say things like “I’ll never go back”. With people, we say things like “you always do …..” when in reality it may have been just one time, most recently.

    This happens In church world too. Someone can attend a church for a year and absolutely love the church and the community, but maybe 1 thing was said or implied, and then all of a sudden, “I’m never going back there again!”

    We need to guard ourselves in this area because this is where offense is birthed and unity is killed. We measure everything based on the most recent event instead of remembering the many good things and maybe years of consistency and happiness that we may have had with a friend, spouse, restaurant or whatever. Again, this is called “recency bias”.

    I am guilty of this. But now that I am more aware, I am working on being more intentional on not being bias to the most recent events, happenings or experiences. Maybe our friend had a weak moment. Maybe something is going on with them that you dont know about. Maybe the restaurant had a lot of new employees because it is hard to find good help anymore! Maybe, just maybe, they are human just like us and we need mercy and grace in our weak moments and situations just as they do in theirs. One moment of frustration shouldn’t negate a lifetime of relationship or negate years of positive experiences.

    I want to encourage you to be aware of this just as I am attempting to be in my own life. Be on guard. The spiritual forces that be are not pushing us to closeness and unity and transparency and vulnerability, they are tempting us with divisiveness, deception, isolation and anger and offense.

    1 Peter 5:8 ESV // Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

    Push back on the recency bias and train yourself to think more positive and have more mercy on people and places… I promise you, you will need it yourself at some point.

    Galatians 6:7-9 ESV // Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

  • The Power of The Christmas Season

    We are 3 weeks out until Christmas Day 2025. We all have said how alarming it is that time goes by as fast as it does! It seems like just a few weeks ago we were moving into the Summer season.

    I want to invite all Followers of Christ to participate in their church’s activities, services and gatherings over the next few weeks, especially the Sunday before Christmas and Christmas Eve. Studies have shown that Christmas week is still on the most attended times of the entire year for those seeking faith and for those looking for a church family. Let’s not drop the ball on the opportunities before us!

    Something simple as inviting your co-workers, family members, neighbors, friends, enemies, or whoever could be an invite to a changed life for them, and honestly, for you too! Nothing like seeing folks you invite take a step of faith, especially if they choose to follow Jesus!

    The Power of Christmas is that most folks are open. Most folks are stirred to seek a service or gathering to attend. There is an awareness and draw this time of year that we, as the church, need to be very intentional on capitalizing on.

    At Collective Church, where I have the honor of serving as the Lead Pastor, we will simply have a Christmas themed gathering all month, but especially on Sunday December 21 and a special Christmas Eve Candlelight Gathering on December 24th at 5:00pm.

    You are invited!

    Let’s experience the power of Christmas together as we celebrate the Messiah coming into the world!

    Merry Christmas!

  • “I’ve Heard… Somebody said…”

    Let me ask you a few questions:

    Do you believe everything to be true that you read on social media? Do you believe everything to be true that you see on TV?

    I have heard on so many occasions lately people say things such as the title of this blog. Somebody said something, I have heard this or that, and these are not positive things that are being described, they are typically negative.

    Everything we hear from other people or read online should always be received with an understanding there is partial context to the storyline. Just because someone says aliens are headed to Earth doesn’t validate the claim as 100% truth. Just because someone says they had a bad experience at a restaurant, church, school, job, etc, doesn’t make it 100% valid against the entity or organization that one may be speaking about.

    We don’t have conversations anymore to resolve conflicts or issues, we just gossip about it like we are innocent and have no fault in the issue in which we are gossiping about. There is always another side to any story and context is vital in order to uncover absolute truth of a situation.

    I personally have started inviting the accused party into the conversation if someone is attempting to tell me something that sounds or seems uncharacteristic or detrimental to their integrity. After all, that IS what Jesus Himself said to do in the first place!

    I write this because it’s alarming how many negative conversations and gossip are believed just because we heard someone say this or that about someone or something. Be Bigger than that. Especially as a Christ-follower.

    When we don’t, chaos and confusion and lies seem to envelope and surround people and organizations and even churches because someone only told a half-truth.

    Pray for wisdom and discernment in all things.

    If in doubt, do what I do, go yourself to place or the person accused for clarity. Take the one accusing with you if you can, it’s amazing what confrontation and conversation can resolve if we will just have the courage, obedience and audacity to do it!

    Matthew 18:15-20 // “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

    18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

    19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

    James 4:11 // Do not speak evil against one another, brothers.The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

    Proverbs 16:28 NIV // A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.

  • 1st Wednesday at Collective

  • I don’t know where to begin… This may be controversial….

    In the last 2 days there have been 2 senseless murders in this nation. One on a train in Charlotte to the young lady from Ukraine, Iryna Zarutska, and today with the assassination of Charlie Kirk in Utah. My heart is truly broken. However, I am not surprised for several reasons.

    This nation has been trending further and further away from God for years, even in “The Church.” While we sit and wonder and are heartbroken over the news we read online and hear on the TV, we have to really begin to take a look in the mirror at why “some” of these things happen. I am not blaming the church, I am blaming the apathy and the complacency that we have allowed to creep in to our lives and into our Church Gatherings (services).

    Folks today are more concerned about how many songs the worship team will do, who is singing, how long will the sermon be, and who is the new person sitting next to them than they are actually BEING The Body of Christ and participating in glorifying and honoring Christ. We sit in pews, or chairs, not really caring what goes on unless it directly affects us personally. That is apathy.

    Too many times those in the church are looking for someone to rebuke, correct, get offended at or complain to more than they are actually being the change that is needed by loving their neighbor as themselves! Everyone needs encouragement and just to see someone actually cares. All of us do! As a pastor, I hear maybe 1 compliment to every 99 complaint or frustration. (Collective Family: I don’t say this for pity or to encourage you compliment everything, just stating factual numbers).

    We watch a youtube video by someone we don’t even know who criticizes and ridicules “The Church” or church leadership or whatever, and then we get offended and mad at people in our own church family because of this voice of a hater whom we don’t even know who is just trying to get likes and views on their channel to make them more money! We are easily persuaded when we aren’t solidly rooted as a Follower of Christ.

    The root of pride and ego is running things. In The Church. In the government. In business. Everywhere. Humility is scarce and therefore so is the presence of God. Folks are offended over EVERYTHING. Don’t get an email or a message back in expected time, they just go to another church or gossip to others about it or post some passive aggressive graffiti on social media. It’s a sad day. “The Church” does not look like what Jesus expected or even desires it to look like today. Too much of the worldly culture has overrun Biblical values and humility.

    Nathan Sam, a dear friend of mine from Louisiana and former staff member at our church, said that folks want revival and a move of The Spirit of God, but what we need to understand is that Revival will not come without Repentance and without Reverence.

    We need Revival in our nation. Evil is increasing at an alarming rate. Christians should be praying for and aiding in being that light Jesus referenced in our homes and in our communities. Revival and a genuine move of God will start when we repent and reverence God in our homes, not just in our Church Gatherings.

    In closing, to sum all of this up, we are seeing a decay of culture even more and more and even in “The Church”. We can see a change if we are willing to be the change and grow in our faith beyond the shallowness that so many currently swim in.

    The death of Charlie Kirk and Iryna Zarutska is truly heartbreaking because this nation is better than that. We are better. We have to do better. Someone could have helped Iryna after she was stabbed. Someone, I am certain, should have noticed the assassin today in Utah, but just passively looked the way until it was too late. See something. Say something. Better yet, see something, DO something.

    We need Jesus more. This nation will only get more of Jesus if “The Church” as a whole pursues him earnestly, Biblically and genuinely.

    Please pray for these families. Pray for one another. Love one another more than you love yourself, that in itself is a great start to seeing healing and revival in our land.

  • Convictions of a strong team

    1. Authenticity is everything. We are not leaders who shepherd, we are shepherds who lead!

      2. Ownership isn’t optional. We are not employees at a company, we are ministers of The Gospel of Jesus!

      3. Mission is our mandate. God doesn’t exist to serve our mission. We exist to serve His.

      4. Problems are opportunities. Problems are the opportunities God has given us to change the world! There are seasons where we have more “opportunities” than others!

      5. Together we Win. We can do more as a team than we could ever do individually.

    1. vision, mission and execution

      I am greatly thankful for the Church that my wife have the honor and privilege of leading in Pascagoula, MS. Collective Church is a body of followers of Jesus who are eager to grow deeper in their faith and fulfill The Great Commission that Jesus Himself has called us to:

      Matthew 28:19-20 ESV 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

      “Knowing Jesus and Making Him Known” has been our vision for many years now. I often ask people “how” or what is the “why behind the what?” As a church, we are implementing our “how” with our vision. This will be our mission for everyone that calls Collective Church home. Below is the “how” we are going to fulfill and execute our Vision as a Church. For those of you who are a part of Collective, Thank you! Collective should look like the people God sends to be a part of this family/movement. Thank you for building The Kingdom and growing with us all as we align ourselves with fulfilling the Great Commission!

    2. Disciple-Shift

      At Collective Church in Pascagoula, MS, we are making some adjustments to help off-set what I am seeing as an epidemic in the American Church. I have written on this a few times before, but will only be brief this time. The epidemic is a shallow Americanized-Christianity that is not really a Biblical Christianity at all.

      Jesus said to Follow Him and Go and Make disciples. We, as church leaders, have done a great job doing services and events, but a poor job at actually making disciples and empowering the people to do the same.

      Our Vision Statement at Collective is “Knowing Jesus and Making Him Known”. The question then is, “How do we do that?”

      I am rolling out this weekend a clearly detailed Mission to complement this vision statement:

      GATHER. GROW. GIVE. GO.

      We all are responsible. Individually, however, we have to take responsibility for our own lack of spiritual depth and discipline. Are we a disciple ourselves? Are we following Jesus or are we just doing religious things? Are we growing in our faith or are we complacent?

      As a pastor, it is one thing to put on a performance on Sunday morning and another to lead a movement of people who are disciplined in Following Jesus.

      So Collective Church, our journey begins Sunday. We begin this new approach to Church and we also begin our 21 Days of Prayer. Sure hope to see you everyone Sunday at 10:00! Have a great weekend!

    3. Some random thoughts..

      The Bible… So many people believe that The Bible, The Word of God, is about “us”. First of all, The Word of God is about God. The 66 books of the Bible are compiled manuscripts and letters that are all about God and His Nature and His will and His desire. It is not about us. It is FOR us, but it is ABOUT God.

      We are not the center of God’s Word. Jesus is. God is. The One True Creator of all things is The Center of His Word. Once we know who God is, we can then know who we are.

      Too many Christians use God’s Word to judge other people when we first should be using it to judge ourselves. That is exactly what The Pharisees did in Jesus’ day.

      I heard a pastor say one time that the most dangerous people are people that know The Bible, don’t have The Holy Spirit and don’t love Jesus. Let’s Read and study The Bible, depend on The Holy Spirit for understanding and for all things and follow Jesus with our lives completely, then we can be used by Him to accomplish His will and desire for us while on the earth.

      One more thought… The Church as a whole is in a time of transition. Out with the gimmicks and the performance and in with the genuine authentic presence and surrender to God. This doesn’t always come in a shout or a holler or loud music. Sometimes it is in the quietness and the stillness of the moment. Folks are tired of performances and gimmicks in The Church, me included! And our church used to be great at doing some of them!! :/

      I have heard folks accuse us of being seeker-sensitive at Collective… They that say such things are misunderstanding… We are seeker-sensitive in the sense that we are sensitive to the seeker in a way that we are going to love the sinner and we are going to show all the grace Jesus would show to those trapped in a life-style of sin without yelling and screaming at them or turning them away… However, we are not seeker-centered. Meaning, we are a church centered on growing in the faith to become better more devout Followers of Jesus, as stated in His Word, but we are going to have understanding and mercy for those who are yet to surrender their lives to Christ in order to hopefully reach them with the Love of Jesus.

      No church is perfect and every church has it’s own DNA and personality and mission and vision. If Jesus is the focus and the center of that, it will take every church to reach this world for Jesus. Let’s not compete, let’s complete!

      Have a great weekend! Go and serve at your home church this weekend and make a difference in the live of other people!

    4. A lot of truth…

      Why Are There So Many Denominations—and Does It Even Matter? https://relevantmagazine.com/faith/church/why-are-there-so-many-denominations-and-does-it-even-matter/