Tennessee Baptist Convention

50 Years of YEC

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

Again, I was privileged to participate as a volunteer in the 50th Youth Evangelism Conference put on by the Tennessee Baptist Convention. For me, it’s been 7 years in a row that I’ve been able to help out.

I still can’t get over the Friday night invitation when I lose count of how many students are coming forward to give their lives to Christ. I never went to a Billy Graham Crusade in person, but I can imagine that this invitation felt a lot like one of his.

The whole entire area around the stage was filled with these students who prayed to receive Christ. Even the speaker, Clayton King, was amazed.

I heard that in the 50 years of these conferences, over a million students have attended and somewhere in the neighborhood of 50,000 kids have come to saving faith in Jesus. That comes out of a lot of sacrifice, dedication, and faithful service by a lot of people.

Hats off to Kent Shingleton, who once again led this year’s conference. I hope I get to thank him again for allowing me to be on the ground floor for something that can only be explained in terms of the power of God.

It’s 11:59 pm and I have to be back at 7:30, so I see lots of coffee and naps in my very near future. And maybe Chick-fil-A.

I hope to make it 8 years in a row in 2019, but for now, I will relish another chance to serve and be a part of something grand.

Lost and Found 2: The Non-Sequel

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I call it Lost and Found 2, not because it has anything to do with the my previous blog called Lost and Found, but because I couldn’t very well have two blogs with the same name, could I? And on a random note, I just finished watching the movie Brave, so I’m hearing a Scottish accent in my head as I’m typing all this.

When I volunteered at the Youth Evangelism Conference, I and all the other volunteers stayed at the downtown Doubletree hotel, courtesy of the Tennessee Baptist Convention. It was quite lovely. But somehow in my hurry to get dressed the next morning, I left one of my favorite t-shirts on the bathroom floor.

I didn’t catch the oversight until I got home. I was very tempted to give the shirt up as lost. I mean after all, it’s only a t-shirt, right? But I really liked this t-shirt. So I called the hotel and got transferred to the lost and found department. Or technically, to the answering machine of the lost and found department. Twice.

Any normal, non-OCD person might have given up by this point. But as I have mentioned many times before in many various settings, I am not a normal person. The OCD part is debatable.

I was going to be in downtown Nashville in the middle of a very wintery day today anyway for some other non-exciting event. So I thought, “Why not? What will it hurt to drop by the hotel and ask in person?”

It turns out the third time’s a charm. They did have my t-shirt, which I am now wearing, and everybody lived happily ever after. Except for those who had to go out into the bitterly cold weather.

The moral of this tale is to not give up, even when what you’re looking for seems hopelessly lost. Like maybe a lost coin. Or a missing sheep. Or maybe even a prodigal son. As someone said before, Keep asking. Keep seeking. Keep knocking. Don’t give up. By the way. that someone just so happens to be Jesus, so I’d do what he says.

Remember that you were once lost, too, and Jesus found you. He didn’t give up on you, and even though you might not have thought yourself worth the time and effort, he did. He didn’t (and won’t) give until he’s found you and rescued you and brought you all the way home.

That t-shirt that I went to all the trouble to find? It’s an Elvis Presley t-shirt from Goodwill. And yeah, it was completely worth the effort.