Deeper Life

This past weekend, we hosted a Deeper Life Retreat for high school students. It was truly a breath of fresh air. The focus of the retreat was, "Practicing the Presence" of God. When I invited youth ministers to this event, I told them that we weren't having any comedian, a big band or any kind of events that revovled around people being disgusted by bodily functions...and we still had people come!

The night kicked off in R49 with a celebration of the Lord's supper. Instead of giving the kids a chick-a-lit and a shot glass of communion, we had fresh homemade bread, grape juice in goblets. Dinelle Frankland kicked off our discussion about how this feast was a joyous occassion in which the early Christians celebrated the resurrection of Christ. Something fascinating happened...Christ showed up. Kids began to share stories about their faith. Sponsors began to talk about how they had never known Christ through his supper. It was a special moment.

We then took the kids on a prayer walk. The kids that were in my group began to pray the most heartfelt prayers. They prayed for friends who were at prom to remain pure. They prayed for the elderly people in their churches to soften their hearts towards the concept of change. They began to pray for family members to know Christ.

We then took them over to the chapel where we had candles set up with a spotlight on the cross. As we walked them into the sanctuary, the students were met with scripture on the big screen. For over an hour we just sat in God's silence and listened to his Word.

Then we had the youth ministers pull the kids out one by one to wash their feet. This was a beautiful sight to see. One by one, the youth ministers told their kids why they brought them to this retreat. One by one, they told them why they loved them.

We then led the kids up to the upper floor of the chapel where Brian Johnson taught about God's plot for using imperfect people to expand his kingdom.

As you probably noticed, the whole night was built around the night of Jesus' death. Supper, pray, foot washing and etc.

The next day, Neal Windham taught our guests how to meditate on God's word through Benedict's Lectio Divina. The kids were blown away. They had never been taught how to read scripture in order to devour it. Wow!

One of the things that came out of my time of reflection was Jesus' words in John 15. "If you remain in me, I will remain in you." This semester has been a roller coaster. When I am honest with myself, I want to quit right now. I don't want to finish seminary, I don't want to lose financial security in 3 weeks. I don't want to find the energy to lead a trip to Romania. I don't want to raise support. I just want to go and start the work of helping the bibleless peoples know the Word of God.

I know that I must remain in God and allow his words to remain in me. If you look further in this passage, Christ reminds us that we can do nothing apart from him. I know all these things to be true. I just need God's strength to make it happen. Maybe that's the whole point.