Enfleshment

Jim Rayburn's Final Message to Young Life staff in 1970

“By far the greatest job in the world today is just to thumb the pages of the New Testament, which was written to make Jesus Christ known, and to do it in the presence of a group of people who are listening, who know you care about them, and no beans about it; people that you’ve taken the time and the trouble to prove that you really care.” 

Most people live on devastated surfaces of their life and are not ready to hear about, "the greatest story ever told."  They are looking for someone to understand, empathize and walk with them through the journey of life.  

When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:

God's spirit is on me
      He's chosen me to preach the message of Good News to the poor
Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners
     and recovery of sight to the blind
To set the burdened and battered free
     to announce "This is God's Year to act!" 
Luke 4:18-19 (quoting Isaiah 61:1-2)

 The word here that is often used to preach and in the Greek does mean to share the good news.  However, in Isaiah the word is BASAR, which is actually "to put meat on, enflesh" the Good News of God.  

We don't actually preach at people.  Somehow we need to become the Gospel for people to encounter.  To do this we need to learn to be cared for and to care for each other.  So much we talk about how God cares for others, but do we realize that God cares for all of who we are?  We must enflesh the Gospel by first letting it wash over us.  Do we let it impact our hearts, our relationships, our dependents, and our vocations?  How do we let forgiveness flow into us and out of us?  What are you harboring now?  Do you let the Gospel be enfleshed to you?  

1.  What is the care we receive? (Does it impact our core?)
2.  What is the care we practice? (Do we make the Gospel about morals, behaviors or truly about Good news?)
3.  What is the care we extend to others? (How does that overflow from us?)

Work Crew is a Big Hit

This past weekend we took three of our high school friends to work crew for a winter weekend.  They served college students in the coffee shop and dining hall.  They are learning that growing Christ is also learning to serve and love on humanity as well.  It isn't easy and not always fun but doing so with an open heart is a blessing to us all.  

One of the beautiful things we get to do with our high school friends is serve right along beside them.  They aren't less than us but stand shoulder to shoulder to us.  I am reminded of Jesus in John 15 when he said, "I no longer call you slaves, because a master does not confide in his slaves, I call you friends, for I have told you everything the Father has told me."  

It is a sweet place to be--loving on, serving with, and teaching the truth of who Jesus is.  Some of the conversations from the weekend were: 

1. What holds you back from risking everything for a life with Jesus? 

2.  What is hard about your relationships as you try to walk with Jesus? 

3. I don't want anyone to go to hell.  Is there a time when Hell will be defeated? What does the end of the world look like?  

This is notes from Letters to a Young Life Leader by Bob Mitchell

Some girls acting silly at Monde Schwartz's house.

Reaching the "outsiders" will require much more than providing a good program of club and camp activities for them.  The ministry must be "incarnational".  That means going where kids are, seeking to understand their culture.  We must build relationships of love and trust.  Jesus, "the Word become flesh," did exactly that.  He personally entered our broken world to show forth the love of God.  Now he asks us to continue his incarnation.  

A simple explanation of this principle [winning the right to be heard] is that the one who proclaims the gospel is the same one who has spent much time with kids, being with them to establish credibility and trust.  

Tucker [a Young Life staff kid]  observed that the proclamation was given by leaders who had climbed mountains with the kids, who had done crazy skits that put themselves down, and who had hung out with the kids around camp.  Speakers had the attention of campers because they had been with them to establish credibility and trust.  

Prayer is the work

I believe that Satan knows how to distract ministry people from the work.  He does this by making mountains of paperwork, communications, jobs, requests, and planning.  But, what if the work was just to get up in the morning, pray for those around you and entrusted to you, and somehow that day try to express to them the vastness of Jesus.  Oh, Glorious Day!

From the book, Letters to a Young Life Leader, "It is fair to say that Young Life was bathed in prayer in those early years.  'Prayer is the work,' Jim would remind us."

Lord, this is the day you have made.  I am overcome with thankfulness at the opportunities that you have created for Young Life in the Greater Mankato Area.  Grant us with favor with our high school friends so that we can love on them like Jesus loves on us.  Grant us favor with your church so that the body of Christ can see the active part we play in introducing kids to the kingdom.  Grant us favor with donors so that we might expand our territories so every kid has the opportunity to hear the truth about who you are.  

I love the prayers of Jim Rayburn and I echo them in my prayers this morning "Send us your kids."  These are not our [Young Life] kids, they are not property owned by anyone but let us shepherd those you give us.  

Thank you for your never ending love.  

Justin gets messy in the Young Life first annual Crudfest. 

I recently received a text message from a Youth minister that ate lunch with a student that has been very regular in coming to Young Life.  He asked me if we were being intentional with connecting with Justin.  Justin said that Young Life is making a profound impact in his life.