There's Been A Fire At The Church

Hello Church,

Have you seen the Youth Room lately?

For me, the biggest reward I get from being a pastor is watching people who are legitimately, genuinely, authentically and aggressively pursuing discipleship and discipling others.  My experience tells me that this is not as common as you might think.  There's lots of reasons to be part of the church and many of them don't necessarily have much to do with following Jesus.  There are social reasons; family reasons; moral reasons; psychological reasons; nostalgic reasons; prestigious reasons; and even superstitious reasons.

But have you seen the Youth Room lately?

Every so often I watch someone catch fire for Jesus... a hot fire... a fire so furious that there is no way it can last forever.  This is rather rare.  So when it happens, I soak up all the joy and try to catch this wave of fire and ride it for all its worth.

So have you seen the Youth Room lately?

Sometimes someone can catch fire and many in the church don't quite grasp the fury of the fire.  They might know that 'this person seems different' or 'this person seems more excited than usual', but the fire can be underestimated.  I invite you to look closer.

Go see the Youth Room.

It isn't even finished yet, but it's still worth a look.  The results of catching on fire can look different for different people.  It can be a sudden attitude adjustment, a recommitment to serve, a restlessness to do good works; lots of praying; or a need to just talk and talk and talk about their spiritual awakening.  For others?  It can be as simple as remodeling.  For a few, it's a combination of all the above.

Kevin is just one of many throughout my 24 years of ministry that I have seen catch fire.  I am of the opinion that we don't pay enough attention to the fire.  We don't celebrate it enough.  We don't empower it enough.  We don't support it enough.  The fire is what makes the church a unique place for encouragement, hopefulness and love.  It is what keeps us embracing an optimistic Faith in a pessimistic world.

Go see the Youth Room and be encouraged.

God is Good,
Pastor Joe