We led contemplative worship at our recent Youth Dynamics staff conference. One exercise was to think about what was holding you back from trusting the Lord more in your ministry. We wrote them down on post it notes and stuck them on the window of the conference hall we were in.The we had an area to symbolically wash our hands of these things and enter into a new season wholly invested in following the Lord in ministry.

For me, “control” and “expectations” hold me back from giving everything up in my life and ministry to the Lord. I worry too much about measuring up and feel like everything is on my shoulders. It’s funny, it’s all the Lord’s to begin with and it continues to be His. I just fool myself to think otherwise. It’s all His. It’s all the Lord’s.

You have any to confess and walk away from?

We’re being talked about. Yes, I mean we. This blog is being talked about by youth guy Jonathan McKee on his blog - more specifically the post “Picking a Fight: SYAP is Stupid.” I say we because this post has 40+ comments and most of them are yours. Thank you for making this conversation come alive.

While he doesn’t agree with my level of honesty in approaching SYAP, he does agrees with my point about the event. Jonathan has some good points about See You At the Pole as well.

Check it out here…

May God bless us with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that we may live from deep within our hearts.

May God bless us with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of God’s creations
So that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless us with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war,
So that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless us with just enough foolishness
To believe that we can make a difference in the world,
So that we can do what others claim cannot be done:
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and all our neighbors who are poor.
Amen.

Words cannot contain what broke out Saturday night. Authenticity, transparency, don’t do it justice. The Lord moved. I was moved. It was amazing.