As I sat in our debrief, singing worship songs with Chuck Day and then listening to some of the teams tell stories from the past month, my head was spinning from the day’s conversations. I was thinking about the future and thinking about the past.
Seth’s vision is ‘a generation fully alive’ and we met today as a group to discuss what happens after the world race. Seth shared some of what AIM is thinking and said that he would like to empower and guide people as they pursued life fully alive. From this discussion, I did not get the feeling that Seth was as interested in building a personal kingdom, though he admitted that there is some of that ambition in him, but that he is interested in expanding the kingdom. Seth and AIM are interested in supporting the world racers as they pursue where God is leading them. To me, this always sounds good on paper, but I have not really witnessed it to work…maybe I have just been blind?
As I have shared with Seth where I believe God is leading us, he sounds really into supporting this vision, not just with a slap on the back and a ‘go get em, tiger’, but with a real approach to getting it done, to putting the flesh on the bones.
As I sat in the large meeting hall, drinking the water and chewing “Big Red”, I thought how crazy it is that God has taken me from who I was and is really changing me and forming me into who God designed me to be. Over the years I have been changed slowly, trying to learn from mistakes, usually banging my head against the wall as the same weaknesses always held me back. But finally following Blackaby’s advice and seeing where God is moving and putting myself there has made all the difference.
I mean, the vision of the world race was so big it could only happen with God, and getting to the world race could only happen through God, stuff that has happened out here and lessons I have learned could only happen through God. Now, pursuing the next step can only happen through God.
My first point in this is for people who are kind of wondering what God has for them, people tired of religion and hungry for God, this world race is worth looking into. For people who have dreams of finding their identity and pursuing their destiny, but at a loss for how to do it, look into the world race. The leaders of this crazy idea truly desire to help people pursue their dreams, to take a risk, and our leaders seem pretty capable of some God sized dreams and actions, uh, again check out the world race.
For me, out here, and for my wife, this has been a real struggle. The word ‘crucible’ keeps popping into my head and I am not really even sure how to use the word correctly, it just seems to fit here. Linnea and I have both been changed, our dreams and destinies have changed- they have grown and evolved this year, it is exciting, and even though our relationship has had some strain, we love each other more than ever, and I know this because I just asked Linnea for confirmation.
I believe we are living and pursuing an amazing dream and we hope that the rest of our lives will be a model of people following our God, the way he wants us to….
A dream is developing for a non-religious, though bit of Jesus-freak type of ministry. Probably not something that all the old church boys or church ladies will appreciate, probably really offensive to the really religious, but for those really religious types we have what is called ‘church’. We are going to pursue something really heavy on risk and adventure and testosterone, a man’s ministry that has as its bottom line developing fathers for the fatherless.
The fact is, I am not the man that really even knows what I am doing, I am a 32 year old limping through the cowboy/warrior stage (from Eldredge) while I should be really developing the ‘lover’ in me, I have been married for 27 months and I have so much to learn. The fact is I am still struggling with being a ‘beloved son’, and would have struggled with that for the rest of my life if the light hadn’t dawned on me. Realizing how much I have to learn before I die has caused this to become some type of quest, complete with coconut horse noises.
The vision for this is to find some other cowboy/warriors, young and developing ‘lover’s, and walk together as we pursue our destinies. To initiate men, give them permission, as Eldredge says, to be men. Violent men, world changers. Men that people write books about, men that leave a legacy. Modern day ‘Bravehearts’ and ‘Gladiators’. To bring back some of what is missing from american christianity, which is….read my other blogs.
So that is where we are headed, for details, I will fill you in as they develop, but this is where we are headed…this will happen.
For you readers, especially the guys, I couldn’t resist this one: check your jock strap, or the more biblical statement, gird your loins. I suggest the ‘world race’ as your next step, watching people come alive is amazing, how would you look if you were TRULY ALIVE?
