Atom“Christian Community - Full and Rich: The Jesus, Justice, Jazz Tour”
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us…” Ephesians 5:1
Steve Olson and I have been in search of an authentic cup of coffee. Steve is one of the youth leaders at Trinity Lutheran in Detroit Lakes and one of my coffee drinking buddies since the last time First and Trinity did a National Youth Gathering Trip to San Antonio. Steve is a good guy (our own Tom Olson’s brother) who loves his Lord, loves taking kids on trips, and loves coffee. I like him. And that’s good because we sit next to each other on the bus…hour after hour after hour…and chat and drink coffee. Unfortunately, since leaving Detroit Lakes the quality of that coffee has been a bit lacking. Motel and convenience store coffee just doesn’t quite cut it. But we are in hopes of a better experience once we get to New Orleans. Authentic, “full-of-life” coffee is what we are hoping for.
Authentic, “full-of-life” Christianity is also what we are hoping for – wherever we are. It is certainly available to us in our home town. But trips like this expose us to a unique experience of such “full-of-life” Christianity, an experience that many of these young people (and those of us a bit older) may never experience quite the same again. It begins with the bus ride and 50 some people spending many hours in close quarters…getting to know each other, praying with each other, occasionally worshipping with each other, laughing a lot with each other, making sure everyone is present and accounted for…and appreciating the uniqueness of each, the various members of the body of Christ.
Today we will arrive at the gathering – 37,000 young Lutheran Christians and their friends – and we will celebrate our oneness in Christ Jesus. We will be reminded that we have been chosen and gifted by our God and that God has a hope and a plan for our life in God’s world. We will hear teaching from God’s Word and reminders of God’s love and purpose. We will be encouraged by others on the journey with us as we hear stories of their lives – the struggles they may have had and the ways in which the Lord Jesus has helped them or directed them. We will laugh some more and we will sing loud and strong. Dynamic musicians from around the country and around the world will share God’s love and call through music that pushes and pulls at our hearts. And the Holy Spirit will move among the 37,000 and we will experience “full of life” Christian community in ways we may have never experienced it before. The first time I attended a National Gathering and experienced these thousands of young people around me singing and giving thanks to the Lord I was overwhelmed. (Remember, my confirmation class was a class of three. I thought Christians were the “faithful few.”) To experience worship in the body of Christ in such a way is an encouragement hard to explain. Trust me when I say it is powerful and life-changing.
And then we will serve. Authentic, “full-of-life” Christianity serves as Christ has served us. At 6:30 a.m. on Friday morning (it has to be a work of the Holy Spirit to get 50 young people up and on the road by 6:30), we will move into the community of New Orleans to take the love of Christ with our hands and feet. Most of the 37,000 will be doing work project on one of the days of the Gathering to further the recovery of New Orleans from the devastation of recent hurricanes. And the Spirit will move among us and we will experience what it is to be the body of Christ that cares for those we don’t know, but that are known to our Lord. And…we will have found what we are looking for: life lived in Christ, lived in love, full and rich.
And along the way, Steve and I will find some coffee, too. Hopefully it will also be full and rich! Thanks for sending us on this journey, friends! Thanks for being a blessing to so many young people through your gifts and your prayers.
Serving with you,
Pastor Wade
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