Raising Up a Generation

On Friday, October 16^th, one hundred sixteen men and women from all over the United States and Canada got together for the first time, after only speaking to each other a few times through little blogs here and there. People from all different walks of life, different church backgrounds, different families, found themselves groaning for more in their relationships with The Father. So after praying, applying, and praying some more, they came to Gainesville, GA to be trained for what would become a starting block for walking in the steps of Jesus Christ. They will be leaving for The World Race in early January 2010.

Over a year ago I was in the same position. I remember flying from Philadelphia to Atlanta with butterflies in my stomach the whole ride. I didn’t know who I would see or what I would experience, but I knew it was where I was supposed to be. Walking into the terminal to meet the rest of my squad, I had no idea that these people I would be small-talking with about where we were from or “what we do” would become my real family, true brothers and sisters, men and women with whom I would travel and grow.

But this time around, over a year later, I got to see things from the outside. Having just moved to Gainesville to work with the training program for The World Race, I was assigned responsibilities throughout the training week. One of the biggest things was to observe the M Squad, in order that I may be able to help in forming the teams that would go out together in January. The participants began the week unsure, awkward, and frankly, afraid. They didn’t know what they were signing up for. But as Michael Hindes, director of The World Race, taught and shared his wisdom, he hinted as to why the 100+ people had come to Gainesville (despite their popular beliefs). It’s not because they want to travel the world. It’s not because they want to be nice to people. It is because there is a whisper inside of them that desires more for their lives.

Jesus taught us how to pray, and for what to pray. He says,         
                                                                              “Father… may Your Kingdom come… on Earth as it is in Heaven.”                             Christ talks about the Kingdom of God, Heaven, manifesting itself on this earth, during our lives through the works and faith of His daughters and sons. In Romans 8, Paul says that we are considered heirs of God’s Kingdom, and co-heirs with Christ. Now let’s get theological here for a second. We, as Christians, believe that Jesus Christ was not only fully Man, but also fully God. So if Christ is God, then He has full ownership of Heaven, or as some called it in the Hebrew Texts, Zion. And through faith in Jesus Christ, (Him being the Way, Truth, and Life) we become one with The Father with Jesus. Paul says we are co- heirs with Christ of God’s Kingdom, and Jesus says we are one with God.

A question I have heard asked before (which, frankly, should be asked more often in the Church): If the only reason for getting “saved” is so that we may get into Heaven, then why don’t we simply say “Jesus is Lord” and then die? And the answer is found right in The Lord’s Prayer: May Your Kingdom come to Earth! God doesn’t want us to proclaim Him as our God and then get lazy. The Prophet Isaiah talks about the lame walking, the blind seeing, the captives being set free, all of the things that the Messiah is to speak into existence in the Kingdom of God. We, being all of the AIM/World Race Staff and participants, believe that Jesus is the Messiah, and we believe that we have the Love and Spirit of Jesus Christ within us. So if we are to be Christ alive today, we need to live like Christ- walking, thinking, breathing, trusting, speaking like Christ. When Jesus walked the streets, He spoke and Life flourished! He noticed the blind man on the street that everyone passed by, and the blind man’s eyes were opened. Jesus touched the leper’s body, and the leper was clean. God’s Kingdom on Earth!

This may be a radical thing to say (to some of you), but I believe that with the strength, power, and authority we have in the Holy Spirit that dwells within us, given to us by the Love of Our Father, we can do these things. Because we are Kings and Queens of God’s Kingdom, we can speak and life will flourish.

Many of the World Race participants who come to GA for training camp have never heard this concept. Or they just think the gifting of the Holy Spirit is something that only happened in the first and second centuries. Or they’re afraid of being those loud and crazy people Paul rebukes in his letters to the churches in the New Testament. They have been brought up in their churches to be quiet, serious, comfortable, “successful”, finding their own place in the pews of the building called “God’s House” (when did God ever dwell in an institution? He loves camping out). But when the Squads called Massive and Numerous left the training facility in Gainesville, they walked out knowing that the Power and Love of the Creator dwells in them and they are going to be heirs of His Kingdom in the Nations that have been promised to them, proclaiming Heaven come down on those places!

Father, I thank You that you have called these men and women to walk in Your Presence, Your Authority, Your Love throughout the nations. I thank You that You don’t want us to get comfortable or lazy, but that You call us to radical lives of inheritance, to walk in health and strength, sharing Your Love with the nations, our brothers and sisters who do not know that they are Kings and Queens. Father, I pray that You would show M and N Squads Your Glory, Grace, and Favor as they prepare to be stripped of themselves, refined, and then built back up as the Men and Women You promised them to be from the beginning. We love You, we praise You, and we thank You for all that You are! Truly.