yec

50 Years of YEC

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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.

Someone In Your Corner

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For Jesus is not some high priest who has no sympathy for our weaknesses and flaws. He has already been tested in every way that we are tested; but He emerged victorious, without failing God” (Hebrews 4:15, The Voice).

I saw something I thought was beautiful yesterday at the Youth Evangelism Conference last night.

After the invitation, I saw a young girl talking with an older woman, probably a youth leader or a youth parent. The young girl was obviously upset about something and crying and the woman was giving her best sympathetic ear.

That may not sound like much to you, but it spoke to my heart.

I’ve been in places before where the one thing I needed was to know that someone was in my corner, that someone believed in me enough to listen to what I had to say, crazy as it may have been.

Sometimes, you may not even want solutions. You just want someone  who will listen without judgment and who can say, “I know exactly what you feel because I’ve been there.”

The good news possible is that I have a high priest who understands. You have a high priest who understands. Jesus has experienced everything you and I go through, yet without failing like you and I sometimes do.

The best news is that Jesus isn’t someone who feels bad for us, which leaves two people feeling bad. He’s actually able to do something about it (credit to Mike Glenn for that one).

He’s actually able to take those stupid mistakes and bad decisions and to turn the outcome into something glorious. He’s more than able to redeem a life previously wasted and without meaning and make it count. Make it shine.

We have a High Priest who specializes in second chances and do-overs. That’s what I’m thankful for again tonight.

PS My time volunteering at the YEC was a blast (as usual) and God willing, I plan to be back next year for what I think will be my sixth year. Or maybe seventh. I’m really not good with the math.

 

More of the Good Kind of Tired

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So, if you read last night’s post, you know I had to be back at the YEC by 7:30. I managed to arrive on time, even though I cheated on my alarm and gave myself an extra 20 minutes of sleep. It was worth it.

The whole weekend was worth it. I saw at least 1,000 students give their lives to Christ. I heard great worship music and great preaching. I was reminded of my own YEC experiences as a teenager waaaaay back in the 80’s.

I used to think most Christian t-shirts were cheesy in the extreme. I still do. But after helping to sell them for two days, I understand them a little bit better.

I know that as a teen, I wasn’t always able to articulate my faith very well. Sometimes, the t-shirt helped. Then again, if I live one way and my t-shirt testifies to another, I defeat the purpose.

My favorites were the one that had a half-bitten apple and the words “My bad. -Eve” and the one that said “satan is a poo poo head.” I also thought the one from Adam’s point of view was clever. It simply said, “Got rib?”

So yeah, I like Christian t-shirts again. I mean, just about every t-shirt out there makes a statement. So do all those labels on coats and shirts and jeans. The question is “What kind of statement do you want to make?”

Do you want people to know you wear the “right” labels or that you identify with a particular sports team? Or maybe that you want people to know that you love Jesus?

I still think the best way is still telling your own faith story in your own words, but sometimes you need a conversation starter.

So back to the YEC. A good time was had by all. The end.

I think after all that, I’ll have no trouble sleeping tonight.

A Good Kind of Tired

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I’m beyond tired at this point. But it’s a good kind of tired. A very good kind.

I volunteered to serve at the 2014 Youth Evangelism Conference. This time, I helped to man the booths where t- shirts were being sold. And man, did we sell a lot of t-shirts.

It was once again amazing to witness God moving in the lives of so many students. Especially at the altar call. I know there were literally hundreds of students who went forward to give their lives to Christ.

That alone makes the evening worthwhile. Even if it means losing a few hours of sleep. 7:30 am will feel like a brutally early start to the day after a late night. And it’s a Saturday. But I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

On a side note, every time I volunteer at the Municipal Auditorium, I wish I had a time machine. There are facsimiles of old concert tickets all across the place. Apparently, you could see Elton John way back in 1973 for the grand total of $3.50.

Lack of time machines aside, I always end up being blessed by these events and once again hopeful for the future. Most of all, I’m thankful that I can give back after once being blessed as a student at the YEC. And yes, I was a student once.

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.

The Wild Weekend of YEC

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I’m tired. It’s been a hectic, crazy 48 hours, but it has been so much more than worth it. I volunteered again for the Youth Evangelism Conference at the Municipal Auditorium in downtown Nashville. The atmosphere was electric, with close to 10,000 students and adults in attendance, anticipating what God was going to do next.

Well, God didn’t disappoint. I saw lots of students going forward, making decisions for Christ, not just being satisfied with playing religious games but willing to give everything to follow Christ.

One thing I remember from the weekend was the speaker talking from Jeremiah how God boiled down his people’s rebellion into two things: forsaking the fountain of living water and trying to quench their thirst from broken wells. They gave up the living water to drink mud.

The solution to my struggles and your struggles isn’t to try harder or to be more committed. The issue isn’t about effort. It’s about appetite. What are we feeding on? Is it everything the world says will fulfull us? Those things may taste good at first, but they leave us unsatisfied and still hungry and thirsty.

Or are we seeking after Living Water and the Bread of Life? For me, am I cultivating a good appetite for God and letting him fill me up so that I’m too full for anything else?

The answer is to feast on Christ. Let him be enough. Let him be your strength, your power, your supply, your joy, your reason for living. Anything else that you devote your life to or prize highly is an idol. Anything other than Jesus that tells you that it will take care of you no matter what is an idol.

I’m sure that I heard this somewhere else, so I can’t take credit for it. How do you defeat an idol? You starve it. You don’t give it any time or a affection. Instead, you give all that to God who deserves it in the first place.

I went to serve and be a blessing and once again found myself blessed and served. I was challenged and motivated to hunger and thirst after God more than ever before.

I hope that’s your desire, too.

 

The YEC: Coming Full Circle

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I got a chance to volunteer over the weekend at the Youth Evangelism Conference at the Nashville Municipal Concert, hosted by the Tennessee Baptist Convention.

It was like coming full circle for me. I was one of the students at the YEC a long, long time ago. This time, I got to see it from the other side. It was an amazing experience.

I saw hundreds of youth walk forward to place their faith in Christ. Not inherited or intellectual faith (as the speaker put it), but real, intimate faith in a real, living Christ. It was one of those moments I hope I never forget any part of. May we see many more such movements of the Holy Spirit on the next generations (and on all generations, for that matter).

I ran into a guy I went to high school with who told me his brother, who graduated with me, had been transformed by the grace of God. Once he had a wild streak and was a partyer. Now he’s a missionary to India getting ready to be in charge of reaching an unreached people group. Only God could do something like that!

I walked aound the Municipal Center, looking at poster-sized replicas of old concert tickets. Apparently in 1978 and 1979, you  could see Bob Dylan and Jackson Browne and other great live acts for $7.50. What I would do for a working time machine.

I probably saw more Christian t-shirts in two days than I’ve seen in the previous year. My favorite one was one that said “This shirt doesn’t have a Christian message,” but on the back it said, “But I do.” That’s how it should be. Our witness should be in our walk and our talk more than in what we wear.

I hope to volunteer again next year and do more. I hope to see God’s Spirit move in power again. I hope that never gets old for me.