I’ve been at home in
Tampa,
FL visiting friends and family
for most of this week. I took some vacation time to say goodbye to some friends
I won’t see until I return from
New Zealand,
as well as do some support raising for
New Zealand. It was a great chance
to unplug and reconnect with old friends. One of the highlights of my time home
was a visit to my young adult ministry, Revolution. This ministry is
practically a baby, only going for a year and 7 months. But it is full of heart
and passion. I had the privilege to help launch this ministry back in October
of 2005. It was myself as the special event creator, Bobby as the lead
speaker/musician extraordinaire, Mike D as the funny man emcee, Kedron as the
graphics guru, Kevin as the man behind the coffee, and a few others that put
feet to this vision. When it came to life, we were all a little shell shocked.
Not only did people show up to our first service, 165 people showed up!! What a
night! And God has been oozing out this ministry and its leadership ever since.
We’ve done the regular Monday night service thing, we’ve done the special
service including one called “Silence” in which not a word was spoken, but God
was worshipped throughout. We’ve done the “edgy” outreaches, my favorite which
included canvassing all the college campuses and handing out blow pops with a
label stating “A Church That Doesn’t Suck”. We’ve done small groups and we’ve
adventure trips. We’ve done community service and mission trips. We even pulled
off a community wide art show for which over 1,000 people stepped through our
doors. It’s been an amazing ministry to be a part of. They’ve even been
supporting me consistently as I’ve gone out to pursue new ministry ventures.
As I was back there, feeling at home immediately, I was able
to hear about the leadership’s new vision for Revolution. One thing I’ve always
appreciated about Bobby is his ability to dream. He’s a big time dreamer….which
is why I connect with him so much, because I too, am a dreamer. Bobby went
through Scripture and talked about the dreamers…Joseph, Timothy, and others. He
talked about how essential it is to have a dream. He told us about people who
are changing the world we live in because of their dreams. There’s a 10 year
old girl in
Canada
who raised over $7million to help the homeless. http://www.ladybugfoundation.ca/
She’s 10 years old and God gave her a dream! Bobby then laid out his dream for
Revolution, and it challenged all of us that call Revo home to be a revolution
in our city. Over the coming months he plans to give practical ways this can be
done, and more ideas to inspire us, but it got me thinking.
Where did all my dreams go? I came here to
Georgia to
fulfill one of my dreams (working for a missions organization) and lost my
other ones in the process. I used to have lists I wanted to accomplish in my
lifetime. Everything from being on a TV game show to visiting all 7 continents.
But all of those seemed to have dried up these past 5 months. Being away from
all things familiar and working with a new ministry and living with new people
has been challenging. I’ve really been struggling as I’ve lived here. I have
been having trouble seeing exactly why God called me here. But as I sat there
in a slightly uncomfortable orange chair, I felt the blood rush back into my
dreams. I saw the scabs tear back and I saw life resume. I am a dreamer!! I
have things I want to accomplish in this short time God has given me on this
earth. How could I forget? It was so easy to forget my dreams, and I never want
to do it again.
As I prepare for
New Zealand, I know it will be
fulfilling another dream of mine (to live in a foreign country). I am scared
and I am excited. What if I don’t raise all the money? What if I fall in love
with the country and the people and never want to leave? What if I’m miserable?
What if God doesn’t speak and I have no plans for the rest of my life? What
if…I never dream again?
Somewhere in those questions, I feel God calming me. And I
am just excited to see what is next!!
