Thursday, January 11, 2007

the Game is on!

Last night's youth group went just as I hoped. No one lost the vision. I think the vision was bigger this time, too. Quite a few from the group got up and shared in "the pour-it-out chair".

Of course, I've been so excited about youth group and so restless for over a month now, that I'd been reading and praying about something to say again. But sitting there last night, I decided I would just listen to what everyone had to say and just build off of that. It worked much better than any "plans" I would have ever made. God's hands are terribly steadier than mine will ever be!

We basically talked about changes that need to be made in our lives and between each other. Cathi talked about how she's run upon a rebirth of Bible reading. I got her Eugene Peterson's The Message for Christmas and it really sounds like it's making sense to her. I was really hoping it would. Joey asked for some prayer and encouragement for things going on with him. Stephanie told us about a realization she had about people she'd been keeping company with, and how she feels like she needs better influences in her life. I got up and talked about how we Christ-followers need to band together, but make sure we keep love between us. On that, I taught about the concept of us making up Christ's body and how we work together (Romans 12, basically).

What really surprised me was that one of the younger kids then got up and said her questions about loving people were answered and how she'd been wondering that for a while. This girl's name is Patti (I don't actually know how to spell it, so I decided to create my own way). She was the one that amazed me the most last night, but probably mostly because I don't know much about her. She stood out among her peers last night. A leader.

Pastor Dot decided that leaders should be brought out of the group and should be used to organize and compile ideas for the upcoming year. She took nominees from the floor. Patti nominated herself. First person to raise her hand. I nominated Joey. Cathi nominated Andrew and Richard Gabe. Marina nominated me. Cathi was nominated by I girl I didn't get to meet. This girl sat in the front row dressed all "emo", and she looked like she was totally into what we were all saying. There were seven of us in all, I can't remember the last nominee, it right under my nose cause I know them so well.

It's exciting. I'm gonna be part of a "planning committee" or something like that. The whole time, I had the "Fellowship of the Ring" scenes when they were all sitting around the ring in Rivendell running through my brain. It was comic. I can't really make left or right out of what I plan to bring forward into this group, so I think I'll just let things work themselves out. I'm just so excited to be part of the game plan.

My first idea is to extend the actual "teaching time" we've got. We were limited to only like two or three minutes each last night. I talk to much... rather, I teach too slowly... inserted to many words and metaphors here and there, trying to cover too much ground when I talk. It was kinda hard. The time limit is not all a bad thing, though. It keeps me at bay so that I can be sure that the time that I DO get is not wasted, and so that nothing goes up to my head.

PRAISE THE LORD. 2007's gonna be a little different.

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