written 10/15/11
the three.
coming on the field with X squad, I knew my time with them was short. 4 months. you can imagine my aghastedness at realizing month 3 just ended. only one month to go, oh dear. but at the end of month three, lots of exciting stuff tends to happen. change, transition, and catalyst after catalyst into new realms of growth for the squad. but one of the most exciting things that has happened this past week, is the selection of X Squad's newest Squad Leaders.
as garrett and i prayed into who the Lord had chosen to lead this squad, He proved so faithful (yet again) and revealed to us three people who are anointed to head up the charge this crazy army is already pursuing. i'd like to introduce you to them.
michelle is a woman that dwells in the secret place. every since i met michelle, the word "more" constantly falls from her lips. she hears things from the Lord in such a deep way, that you know she spends most of her time in the deepest places with Him. her revelations continually have the fingerprints of the Holy Spirit on them and make you crave more intimacy with the Father. and through her revelations, it's obvious that michelle is continually 800 miles ahead of the rest of us. but she refuses to stay there by herself. she's constantly inviting the people around her into the "more" she's come to love and yearn for. the image i get is that she's one of the few people actually sitting at the banquet table we're all meant for, and digging into the abundance He has provided for us. but as she double-fists on the giant turkey before her, she's waving everyone she meets to come sit down next to her and dig into to the goodness of her God. she's all about the relationship with her God and wants nothing more than the people around her to step out of the courtyard they've been confined to for so long and see that they can enter into the Holy of Holies and meet with the Father face to face.
briana joy is a woman of vision. she see things in a different perspective than the rest of the world, and offers such a freshness to the people around her. this woman walks in a level of humility that oozes confidence in who she is as a woman of God. she is a woman of faith, a woman of honor, and a woman of wisdom. her roots stretch so deeply into the Lord that nothing can ever shake her. she refuses to let the world's definitions hold her back and every day claims more and more of who she is as the Lord designed her to be. and when she opens her mouth, the wisdom of the Creator seeps through. her discernment in situations and the steps she takes to call people into their true identities as men and women of God shatters darkness and allows light and clarity flood into their lives. she is a beautiful balance of a peaceful woman, but a fierce fighter. she walks fully in her authority as one redeemed by Jesus Christ. it allows her to have such grace and comfort in the way that she talks and the things she does, while also having a power and spirit of victory settle on those around her when she is near. by just being her, she is going to be a vessel of freedom and healing among the men and the women of this squad.
jason is a man of passion. but the crazy thing is that the passion seems to grow bigger and bigger every single day. he is a man that loves well and is able to meet people where they're at, in the midst of all their junk, and offer hope. his trust in the Lord and His promises, his passion, and his joy are incredibly contagious. he empowers the people around him to walk in their own gifts and strengths and opens peoples' eyes to see themselves as the Lord sees them. this man has a voice of power and of truth that is somehow flooded with the Spirit as well. his state of continual surrender to the Lord is allows him to be a mouthpiece, a holy vessel, for the Lord to speak out Truth and Life over countless people. strength and courage are thickly on him and echo throughout any place he steps foot. the Lord has set him up as a general for this squad. one that will lead the charge into battle assured of the victory that is ahead, shouting a battle cry that makes the earth shake and enemies tremble because of the power and passion behind it. jason is a man of God, walking into more and more power every single day.
just a few days after calling them to step up into their new roles, we hopped on a flight to Varanasi to meet up with the rest of the squad. as i read through Zechariah on the plane, a certain word made me chuckle: "stork". garrett had been seeing storks for the past three months and could never shake them or figure out what in the world they meant. as i showed him that storks were actually in the bible, he smiled and said "hey, read that whole thing".
"then i looked up–and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! they had wings like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth" zech 5:9
then as i glanced to other side of that same page, a section title caught my eye. "a crown for joshua". at the end of month 2, the Lord had pressed Joshua 1 on my heart for the men of the squad. and in my recent chats with Jason, he had shared that Joshua was a character that the Lord drew him to again and again this past month. in fact, the night after the three agreed to take up squad leading a complete stranger came up to jason during worship and said "you like joshua". so i read it:
"take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, joshua son of jehozadak. tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: 'here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. it is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. and he will be a priest on his throne. and there will be harmony between the two.'" zech 6:11-13
so two storks and joshua are going to lead X Squad into their next season. i can already feel the pressure of the squad being held back under our season of leadership. garrett and i can only lead them so far, and under us they can only go so high. but it's so clear that they're meant to soar, to fly to the highest places. so as we pass the baton, of course it's bittersweet. i love this group of crazies and it's going to be hard to leave. but i know that i need to get out of the way for them to catapult in the more-ness they've been craving. under the three's leadership they are going explode out of the gate and sky-rocket to the heavenly places. look out heaven, here comes X Squad.
