Passion '08 ATL

Passion ’08 made its stop in Atlanta this weekend. It was a long-awaited experience…I think I registered in September! There's just nothing like praising Jesus and worshiping him freely with 10,000 of your closest friends. We broke down and had church this weekend in the Gwinnett Arena! God is surely leading this movement called Passion and the Holy Spirit is moving in our hearts.

Louie made a sweet list of moments, key words, and phrases at the 268 blog that represent the weekend. I don't know that it will make complete sense, though to outsiders. I'm going to post my notes here...and I'm writing for the sake of those who couldn't make it.

First a few thoughts...
May it be said that I am thankful to God and all the leaders he has in place for providing a place to sing, shout, dance, watch, listen, learn, grow, and DO SOMETHING NOW. The Passion movement has undoubtedly influenced my life tremendously. At Passion '07 in Atlanta, I internalized many biblical truths that have changed my course. I posted my notes last year on Facebook, but there are approx. 14 pages of them, so you can say I warned you if you decide to check them out!

This year's Passion conferences are all over the globe—in six US cities and then in 17 cities across the world. I'm pumped that so many more people are going to experience Passion this year, but the four-day event turned one day + one night event was a sad thing for me. There wasn't much teaching like there has been in the past, and I missed it!

I am glad the DO SOMETHING NOW campaign is growing. It makes sense that when thousands of Christians gather together, the neediest people in the world should feel the effects of their time together, their prayers and efforts. And I definitely love that 11 villages in Africa will have wells soon because poor college kids were given the opportunity to give what they could for these kinds of things to be done in the name of Jesus Christ! Praise you, Father!

OK, now for the notes...they are cryptic and not as organized as I'd like, but here goes!

a thought from Louie (04/11)
"I'm not mad at the church because if I was running the church, there would still be problems because last time I checked, everything I've been running has problems too."

I appreciated that statement considering the overwhelming amount of highly publicized critical discussion about the church these days. This also reminds me of something my momma always says..."You'll always be disappointed when you look at the people around you, but you'll never be disappointed when you keep your gaze upward, on the Father."


Francis Chan on the Holy Spirit (04/12)

Matthew 5:16—“Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Francis posed the question, how do we do things where people don’t glorify us but the Father? By the Holy Spirit!

Acts 2—When the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, and the apostles spoke in all different languages, people weren’t like, “Wow, John, he learned Spanish in like two minutes!” No, the conclusion of the experience was, “Repent and be baptized!”

Francis testified of the work of the Holy Spirit in his church in California. He said the elders have relationships that are like, “Hey, if anything happens to you, I’ll take care of everything. And see these keys? Yeah, it’s like my car, your car, everybody’s car, whatever.” They have taken a hard look at Acts and everything is like a 180. They’ve decided if they’re going to do church, they want to do it 100%.

One day a Jehovah’s Witness dude came to Francis’ house. Francis had a godly attitude about it…he said he didn’t get into fight mode. He said the Jehovah’s Witness guys put him in really sad, sad mode. He looked at the guy and said, “You know I think what you do is awful because you go around talking about my Jesus.” They discussed a few issues, particularly the person of Christ, and Francis provided Scriptural support (Daniel 10:13) for why Jesus is not an arch angel, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses claim. Then, Francis asked him if he came to the conclusions he had by opening up the Word or because he had been indoctrinated by other people. The guy listened and told Francis he was actually learning that day. After the guy left, Francis said he asked himself the same question. Then he realized, “If I were on an island and all I had was this book [the Bible], do you know what I would be thinking about? The HOLY SPIRIT.”

One day, Francis asked his wife, “Have you ever wondered what goes through the mind of a caterpillar? I mean all his life he’s like crawling on the ground like, ‘oh, there’s a new speck of dirt,’ and then one day he takes a nap, a really long nap. Then he wakes up and he’s like [Francis makes wing motions with his arms]…SHUT UP!” This is kind of what it’s like to be a new creation in Christ! There is an obvious difference when the Spirit is present!

Romans 8:11—And if the Spirit of him who raised Christ from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

Some of you respond to that like, “Yeah, but my problems are way bigger than that.” Ahem. That’s like saying, “Oh well, I prayed for the Holy Spirit, but I still lust or struggle with that.” It’s also like saying, “Well, I bought a treadmill. I don’t know why I still haven’t lost weight. I mean, I bought it.”
Keep in step with the Spirit!
Galatians 5:16—So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
Galatians 5:25—Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Keep in mind God wants this way more than you do…what kind of Father do you think he is?
Luke 11:13—If you then, though you are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask?

2 Chronicles 16:9—For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

What is man? The power lies in the person of the Holy Spirit.
James 5:17—Elijah was a man just like us.
Francis said, “Elijah had nothing on me. Moses? Big deal. He was just a man. The power is in the Holy Spirit.”

“Have you heard this so many times that you don’t get it? You are a temple of the Holy Spirit. I pray you would be freaked out by that.”


The testimony/prayer of Sam, the girl from mainland China who came to Passion ’08 DC…
“I didn’t know what to pray except, ‘God, will you take me?’ And God didn’t disappoint! He took me!!”

...and finally, my favorite lyrics of all the new songs we sang:

Heal my heart and make it clean; open up my eyes to the things unseen. Show me how to love like you have loved me. Break my heart for what breaks yours; everything I am for your Kingdom's cause. (from "Hosanna")

We are free, we are free, yeah the Son has set us free! Drop your chains, sons and daughters, come and run in liberty!

African violets and a Reese's cup

A couple weeks ago, I got a bummer email from school. I had planned to study in Europe this summer through one of their programs, but they ended up canceling the trip. Ya know, I was just so excited about it…and then one day, just a couple months from the departure date, I check my email and with one click—bam—the bad news hit me like a smack in the face. I shed a few tears right there at work.

I’m interested to see what does lie ahead for the summer…but one thing is certain, God knows. He’s already got that worked out and his plan is surely better than what I had going. I just want to be at his service. This story is completely unfinished, but praise God…here’s how he comforted me in my little moment of disappointment…

The day after that message, Melanie, the quirky graphic designer, comes in to the office, with a cute little African violet plant and places it on my desk along with a Reese’s cup (my favorite). Before I could say anything, she pointed outside at the pouring rain and said (in Mel fashion), “Uh, look outside, uh, even the sky is sad about your trip.”

This is just one example of what I mean when I say I love the creativity of God. Thank you, Lord, for spurring us on with such a range of expressions of your love and compassion. Sometimes it’s a word aptly spoken and at other times it’s a hug or a smile or just the presence of a friend. Many times it’s a jewel from the Scriptures. God, thank you for Mel and the flowering plant and the Reese’s. I trust you with my life, and that includes this summer. Thank you for your faithful love.