Heather…a young woman found me eating breakfast at IHOP Thursday morning, and told me her story. Last year she was a student of the arts in college, and then came to the 2007 Arts Conference. God used the event to re-direct her entire career plan, and now she is serving full-time at a church in the arts ministry. I was reminded of how high the stakes are at these events, and how profoundly the Holy Spirit works inside the hearts of so many who attend.
A man from Pennsylvania...to protect his privacy, I won’t write his name. But I had a moving conversation Thursday with an arts leader who has faithfully served his local church for 17 years, but is now feeling a bit of restlessness and confessed that his joy is waning. His eyes filled with tears, and I could read the guilt all over his face as he admitted his contemplations of making some kind of change. This man loves his church, his pastor, and all the people there. I believe he is only trying to pay attention to the truth that maybe God is prompting him to a different kind of role in ministry, or possibly to another place. But he was clearly quite uncomfortable wrestling with those thoughts. I saw him again on Friday. His eyes looked peaceful. He had slept well, released his concerns to the Lord, and was in a much more trusting place. I think all will be well as he carves out time over the summer to listen to the Spirit and discern what is going on. I look forward to finding out what happens (he promised to touch base).
Surprise moments on Friday…I was delighted by the refreshing music ministry of Kendall Payne, and her response to her less than perfect keyboard work. She’s only played that instrument for 18 months! Her character, the depth of her songs, the richness of her voice, were truly a gift to all of us and I found her to be a breath of fresh air.
At the end of Francis Chan’s stirring, stretching, remarkable message, we all began to sing God of the City. When Francis told me the story behind the writing of that song as we sang down in the front row, I just knew everyone needed to hear that story. So up he went, and then we sang it all again – with an entirely different perspective. The song was written by a guy in a city of Thailand where there are 30,000 prostitutes, as he led worship essentially in a brothel…and believed that greater things are yet to come for God in that city…WOW! Only God can orchestrate moments like that one. I smiled as I drove home, knowing that once again, the best parts of the conference and the most transforming results are completely out of my hands and the hands of others on our team. What an adventure to walk with God and to be stunned by all that He does. I will never know all the stories of private moments with the Spirit, of personal confessions and moments of surrender, of serendipitous conversations in the lobby, at restaurants, in the rental cars, and even in the bathrooms. OK, maybe I’ll hear some of that in heaven. But for now, I simply want to keep telling God “Thank you…Thank you…Thank you.”