slow down

i'm back "home" and my life is again flying at a prodigious pace.

this weekend up north was positively blessed, for all of you who have been praying, or are otherwise interested.

curious lesson i learned:

my entire life, people have taught me, "prepare, prepare, prepare!" in regards to preaching. i feel that the Lord is saying the opposite: "wait, wait, wait."

this is in no way trying to disregard the essentiality and indispensability of Bible study and prayer...but i'm beginning to buy William Booth's (and Rowan Castle's) theory-- 15 minutes of prep before a preach.
i believe that my life is sermon prep-- i study the Word daily, i listen to Jesus daily, and my experiences and such lend me illustrations. this is plenty of prep. i do an hour of sermon prep every day when i do my rations in the morning. i do at least 3 hours of sermon prep every week when i do a war room shift. i do nonstop sermon prep as i commune with Jesus when i walk down the street. I do sermon prep whenever i buy a stranger a sandwich, or give them my socks. i do sermon prep as i keep my ears open to His voice.

perhaps we only need 15 minutes to ask Him what He wants to say through us to that congregation at that moment, and pray for Holy Spirit power.

so, while i could sit down and brainstorm and study for hours prior to a message...i find what is more effective, and enjoyable, is to always keep my ears turned toward Jesus. He tells me what to say-- this friday night it happened to be in the car on the way to youth councils. saturday night it happened to be during worship, and as the preach was happening.

anyway: beautiful weekend. God kept our team on our toes-- He changed our plans to His (frequently last minute...could have been earlier had we been listening instead of planning!) and consistently used us a we opened ourselves to Him. 40ish kids at the event, mostly believers: a few went from life to death this weekend, a few died to sin, a few met Him for the first time, though they believed for years, and more than a few wept. dear teens.

Lord-- we want fruit that remains!
God of peace, make them holy in every way, and may their whole spirits and souls and bodies be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. You will make this happen, for You, who called us, are faithful. (1 Thess. 5:23-24 olivia style)
amen.

never quit the field. the harvest is plentiful, the workers are few.