like a fire

This last Thursday I had and event with Middle School kids. This was our big back to school kick off event. The previous year, we had a lot of buzz from it and it was perceived as a success. This year, I went into it with a little apprehension and a lot of expectations. What actually happened changed my perspective.

Expectation #1: Bigger is better
My biggest expectation was that we should have even more people this year than last year. It just makes sense. The buzz from last year should carry over into this year and there should be a bigger turn out.

God had other plans. We had to schedule on a school night this year to get the band we wanted. It stormed earlier that day. There was less of a pool of inviters and maybe some less Paul Revere types of invites. All of this is to say that we had a little over half of last year’s turn out. As it turns out, bigger wasn’t necessarily better. We actually got to know more kids by name and had a lot more show up later at church and at youth group.

God’s plan: We will have a much higher retention from the outreach this year than we did last year. More teens will remain in the ministry and be cared for.

Expectation #2: Execution should be flawless
Much of the night went very well. Pam, my administrative person, handled the details perfectly and I didn’t hear about any big problems that night. The band had some issues, though, mostly with sound. During the most intimate time, just after a very heart pulling talk, the band sang one of their songs. In the song, something just went crazy with the sound producing a very fire alarm-ish effect that wasn’t part of the normal song. The soundman actually just pulled everything down. The band finished basically a capella. And about 20 students were changed from that moment. Something about the intimacy of hearing the guys sing without any PA or effects just moved the crowd.

God used that moment to break some huge barriers. One teen, who wouldn’t even respond to me or shake my hand earlier that night, became a neck hugging frenzy. She was a completely different person after that experience.

God’s plan: Get all the fluff out of the way so that I can transform hearts. I have seen music change so many lives that I could never count them. But God used a technical glitch to break down walls in people’s hearts and got the glory for it himself.

I don’t know why this is amazing to me. I see God do these things daily, yet I still am amazed at how blind I am to the workings of God and the things he does with our weakness. Maybe one day, I will look back and see that I have become used to God breaking outside of the mold that I create in His ministry. Somehow, I hope that I don’t, though.