Trust Without Borders

For me, 2013 will be remembered as a year of venturing into deeper water. I have learned so much from our Good Teacher, the Holy Spirit this year. I'm sure you have heard someone somewhere say that we go through different cycles in life. I believe that now more than ever. But what I see a little differently now is that it's not just one cycle at a time. We are cycling in various areas of our lives constantly. At any given time, we are in a phase of breaking, listening, healing, learning, seeking, waiting, exaltation, breakthrough, etc. I can be going through another learning phase in my marriage, while being in the middle of a breaking stage in my finances, and simultaneously experiencing a revelation in ministry! 

In the life of a believer, these cycles are directed by God (well, they are for everyone, but believers choose to acknowledge it). We still try to control the cycles...we try to shorten the hard phases and stretch out the ones that involve blessing. But what I have come to understand more clearly is that my responsibility is simply to acknowledge what phase I'm in, and be obedient to what's in front of me. God's job is to direct the cycle - the duration, the intensity, the results. All I have power to do is respond to the Good Teacher as He speaks through whatever phase I'm in. The visual that God gave me to understand this is a surfer. I am fondly recalling the beautiful days living in Hawaii as I write this on a freezing cold day. :) 

Let your imagination follow me here... The power and magnitude of God is obviously represented by the ocean in this illustration. Its depths are unfathomable. Its behavior is mysterious and unpredictable to the human mind. It provides sustenance, beauty, and pleasure to those who experience it. At times, it even produces fear. And the way it swells, ebbs, and flows are like the cycles we go through in life. We have no control over the pattern of the waves. We have no idea when the swells will come. We cannot predict the size of the swell or where it will end up. We simply have a choice. Will I dive in? Will I furiously kick against the current because I can't see land anymore? Will I just stand on shore and watch because I can't swim and there could be sharks for goodness sake? 

I've done all of those things. When God has whispered vision into my heart, I have responded in so many different ways. I

could beat myself up about the times I was wrong or I may have missed it. But even through my mistakes over the years, the Good Teacher has been leading me to the next level. As I look back over my years learning to swim in this incredible ocean, I see how God's plan has been working under the surface, guiding the current, holding back the swell when I wasn't ready. As we head into 2014, He has clearly said "Stop paddling and treading water - it's time to ride the wave." There are cycles for everything. I'm looking right into the moment of opportunity to stand up, take my stance, and allow the power of a God-sized vision to propel us forward in reaching people for Christ in a new way. The swell seems massive - way too big for me to survive. The risks are immense. I may wipe out and look like a complete fool. And hey - I'm not alone on the board. What about those that will join me? What if I fail and disappoint them? 

But this is what it comes down to...I've wanted to surf all my life (I even drew pictures of it as a child - born and raised in the Dakotas)! The strength training and conditioning has been done. The swell is undeniable, even though the timing is mysterious to me. I am all in. I am stepping out. So what this means for me specifically is that I step out and ask our church to come together to provide a brand new facility to allow greater ministry to students in Yankton and the surrounding area. I don't know where it leads or how it really happens, but I sense the swell is coming and I want to be ready to ride the wave. Vision isn't about seeing the end...it's trusting the One who causes the swells to heave, and taking action when He says "GO!" 

Be obedient to the thing that's right in front of us. God will direct the rest. Are you all in?

My1shirt Campaign

On November 24th, 21 students and leaders from Journey SM joined with many others in South Dakota to wear one t-shirt for thirty days. It was the last day of SD Youth Convention... I had introduced the idea during a youth service, so we had a bunch of students that were already raring to go. But during that service, DYD Mark Zweifel shared the vision behind My1shirt - and when he finished... we were so PUMPED to be a part of something way bigger than ourselves.

We never would have imagined the impact it would have in Yankton. A couple days before youth convention, I saw a post on Facebook from my friend, Rob. He works for our local newspaper, and that sparked the idea to call the paper to see if they might be interested in doing a story on our students! When I called the newsroom, they were immediately interested in the idea. So when we got home from youth convention, the reporter met us at the church to take a group picture. I was so excited to see that they put the story on the front page! We started to get comments from people in the community and it immediately increased our visibility. The day after it was published, I got a call from ABC 9 News in Sioux City! They saw the article and wanted to do a news piece on it the next day! I love it when God uses His influence to maximize His glory through our lives. The students did such a great job with their interviews. And even though there were a couple of minor details that were skewed, both press opportunities turned out really well! All credit goes to God - now it's our responsibility to use the momentum to maximize this opportunity for Speed The Light.

It's a minor inconvenience to wear the same thing for thirty days... But it has caused a significant shift in the worldview of our students. They have a new awareness for how others live across the globe, and now they're sharing that awareness with others. We are so grateful for those that have supported Speed The Light through my1shirt. Teachers, students, and even a sweet elderly lady that called from an assisted living center in town. May God multiply their investment to further the message of Christ around the world.

If you haven't heard...My1shirt started with a teenager in Minnesota. Here's Courtney's story (copied from www.sdyouth.my1shirt.com - visit the website for more info):

Courtney Olson was a junior in high school when, at the beginning of 2010, she sensed God speaking to her about setting a Speed the Light (STL) goal of $10,000. She had no idea how she was going to raise the money, so she prayerfully brainstormed about creative ways to reach her goal. The one-month t-shirt concept was born. Courtney decided to have a special STL t-shirt made and wear it for one month straight. Thirty of her friends joined her effort. They collected donations daily or asked for one donation for the entire thirty-day period. In 2010, she raised $3,000.

Though she did not reach $10,000, she decided to go for the same amount in 2011. However, she implemented some changes to her strategy. She asked her youth leaders if there was a STL project that was associated with ministry to those involved in human trafficking. The team chose to focus on Project Rescue, a ministry to women and children in sexual slavery that focuses on providing physical, emotional, and spiritual rescue, as well as, holistic restoration. STL provides vehicles used by Project Rescue.

Courtney recruited 178 friends (both high school and college, saved and unsaved) to participate in wearing a STL t-shirt for a month. Each participant was required to pay $20 for the cost of the shirt, but an anonymous donor committed to pay back the $20 if students raised $100 or more. Before the group even started asking for donations, she had already matched her previous year’s STL total!

Students were divided into smaller groups so Courtney did not have to manage the entire group on her own. They met weekly at Centennial High School and Emmanuel Christian Center in Spring Lake Park, MN, to collect money and engage participants in the heart behind the project. Each student had the opportunity to hear and learn of God’s love for people and His desire for the lost to return to Him. At one of the meetings Courtney even presented the Gospel story, knowing that not all of the participants had made decisions to follow Christ.
Through her efforts many students came to know the love of God, and $16,957 was raised for STL in just one month. Even more incredible, because of her heart and passion for missions, in two years (but technically two months) she raised almost $20,000! Courtney is impacting the world and is an encouragement to everyone she meets. When students participate in STL, they too have the opportunity to see God do the miraculous.

Summer 2013

Summer is already winding down. I definitely have some emotional attachments to summer ministry experiences that are hard to let go of. How do I even begin to explain that?...

We start off with summer camps. Always a major reference point that students go back to over the course of the year. Their lives are affected so deeply and intensely that they are literally different after experiencing it. Yes they may go back and struggle with some of the same issues. But you can't undo what God does. You can't unexperience the incredible power of God's presence. It is imprinted on their minds and hearts, and those moments will replay by the Spirit's prompting just when needed most.

The connection with students in the summer is so unique. A lot of the stresses that they carry most of the year are shrugged off in the summer. Academic pressure, compacted schedules, constant barrage of what everyone else is doing and wearing and... In the summer - relief. Beach days, late night Facebook conversations, campfires and s'mores, concerts, revisiting hilarious cabin memories. Priceless.

El Salvador missions trip. Can I even articulate it... Being displaced in a culture that is beautiful but perplexing, surrounded by a language that leaves you lost and humbled, falling in love with people that are strangers, and seeing God supercede all of that through prayer and hugs and tears. It's a privilege that no Christian should ever miss out on. Its impact is varied from person to person, but it's undeniable. And the transformation is both instantaneous and residual. Again, the Spirit will prompt recollections of certain moments weeks and months later to rekindle that desire to be a world changer. There's no way to measure that kind of impact.

So I don't know that I can say I am ready or excited for the school year to start quite yet. Even though the structure brings consistency...is that valued above bursts of amazement? Even though the commonality brings some connection...is that valued above the solitude of time on a mountain with God?

I guess it all goes back to balance. It always does. We can't live on the mountain top or in a new foreign mission field. After all, if you stayed, then it would become your new normal. So we are thankful for the incredible moments that God provided, and we pray that the ways it changed us will be evident to everyone around us. We pray that those moments will have eternal impact on us and on others we influence.

So here we go Journey Students! We are contenders for the faith! We serve the Ultimate Fighting Champion who has trained us for this very moment. We don't know what opponents we will face each day, but we know they will be there. And we have been trained for this. The fight is part of our destiny! The training, the victories, and the knock downs are all part of the Journey. I have a lot of treasures from this summer - and I know that they will serve as fuel for what is ahead of us. Are you ready, world changers?

I Timothy 6:11-12 (NIV)  But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 

Rock-a-thon

So we are going to host our first ever Rock-a-thon in Journey Student Ministries. The money we raise will go to Speed The Light. I did a rock-a-thon in youth group like a zillion years ago and it was a blast. What a fun way to raise money to help carry the message of Jesus around the world!!

Students are excited - now I'm praying that translates to them raising pledges to rock. GO SPEED THE LIGHT!!!

New Year Refocus

The Christmas season is so fun and crazy...and a total departure from "regular life". The regular routine of life is pretty much out the window for most of us! You stay up late - talking, playing games, watching movies - with relatives, friends...then go to bed (usually in the guest room or on the pull-out couch)...then wake up, after sleeping in late, and eat an incredible amount of fattening food all day long. There are always plenty of emotions to tap into when you're with family you don't see very often. Someone's usually annoyed or frustrated because of someone else, the kids are usually loud and easily bored, and it's difficult to remember what day it is because things are so "not normal". Hopefully there are also wonderful family moments, warm hugs to share, and maybe even a few sentimental words exchanged.

And I look forward to the crazy wonderful chaos of it all every year! But now that's it's winding down, I am really looking forward to a week to refocus and "start fresh". I am looking forward to the week of prayer and fasting more than ever this year. I don't know if you've ever set aside time for fasting before, but here are a few reasons why I enjoy this time (even though it's very difficult at the same time).

• The end of the year usually seems to end with lots of disorganization (for the reasons I mentioned in the first paragraph). So after the new year begins, I am SO ready to get refocused. I don't really buy into the whole New Year Resolution thing, but I do believe that it's important to take time to evaluate where you are, where you'd like to go, and how you think you'll get there. I think that the perfect time to do that is while you're fasting! Your body is cleansing itself of impurity - what better time to allow your mind to be washed by the Holy Spirit? There's a certain spiritual clarity that comes when you commit yourself to a fast.
• Don't allow your fear of having wrong motives stop you from fasting. Something I hear from a lot of people about fasting is that they are afraid they're doing it for the wong reasons. Like "I like losing weight, I feel like I'm being more 'spiritual', I'm going to try to convince God to do something for me..." Those are all things we've all thought about. I've decided in the last couple of years that I'm not going to let those things stop me from developing a spiritual discipline that Jesus Himself practiced! Yes, I think I will struggle at times with having right motives while I'm fasting. I think that's part of the struggle between the spirit and the flesh. But instead of giving up, I'm going to talk to God about it (He already knows), and ask Him to help me grow in faith so that my motives come into line with His will. Developing a discipline is always a good idea! You may waffle a bit in why you're doing it, but it will be another weapon in your spiritual arsenal...and when you get stuck in a difficult place, you will be glad it's there.
• I don't want to just keep trudging along in life. I know that God has guided my life and will continue to do so. But I'm serious when I say I want to see Him do something HUGE here. I think there are a lot of amazing stories that He's waiting to write, but He's waiting on us to be ready. We get too caught up with just trying to make our life better that we miss some incredible opportunities to impact others for the Kingdom of God! Wouldn't it be awesome to see a great move of God in our community? Like to see people crammed into a church service because they just can't wait to see what God is going to do next? Maybe it won't look like I imagine it - but I know God desires to see an epic revival - even in little old South Dakota. :o) On whatever scale (large or small) it might be, I want to see God's Spirit move among us...and I want to do whatever my part of that might be. From what I see in the Word, Jesus said that His followers will fast when they're seeking His return. I'M READY!!!
• Good death practice. Paul says that we have to die daily as we walk this Christian life. Fasting is definitely dying to the fleshly appetites. By telling your body NO, you are setting aside the natural desires and appetites, and asking the Lord to fill you with supernatural nourishment. We ALL need more of this. If you really want to see your loved ones come to know Christ, if you really want to see your school or workplace filled with believers, if you really want to find God's purpose for your life...then this is a great time to put more of you to death. Less of me, more of Him.

I'd like to challenge you to go a step farther in your fasting this year. We are fasting together as a church - to seek God's direction for us. If you have no other reason to fast - that's your reason! We are only as effective as we are surrendered to the will of our Heavenly Father. Without His direction and the fuel of the Holy Spirit, we are just running in place here. Working hard - but not going anywhere.