The Great Unknown

Wow. Where to begin. This first post may be kind of long, but the  back-story is important.


I'm sitting on Youth With A Mission's University of the Nations campus in Kona, Hawaii. It's day 2, here. I just turned 30 yesterday, so the new beginning seems fitting. 


The pivotal part of my story began about 10 years ago. Jesus- who He is, and what the Bible tells us He offers- had been invading more and more of my thoughts. I began reading the book of Acts in the New Testament. I saw the things that God did in peoples' lives and started wanting the same; I wanted to know the Lord's nearness like they did. So when I realized that God was waiting for me to surrender to Him- to let Him do in my life whatever He wanted, and for me to live with Him being my King- I stepped toward Him and said, "yes."


In the years following that decision to surrender I found myself beginning to visit many nations: Mexico, Hungary, Germany, Switzerland. The Lord was starting to release me into the destiny He had for my life; the things He had built me for were starting to be lived in. 


During my times in Hungary I learned about an organization called Youth With A Mission. A friend who had worked with YWAM (pronounced, "y-wam") for years told me about their initial training program called "DTS," or, Discipleship Training School (yes, YWAM enjoys acronyms). He made a few convincing arguments for my attending one of these in New Zealand, where he was the assistant to the president of the organization. So I prayed about it... yea, Jesus answered... as He tends to do :)


September of 2002 I found myself selling many of my belongings and raising support in order to pay for airfare and the missionary training program. With a one-way ticket that I purchased on the way to the airport, I was off to NZ for the 6 month school.


While I had been getting to know the Lord so much during the previous 2 years, my time in YWAM proved to be the training grounds for what I feel are the most significant things about relationship with Jesus: hearing His voice, and obeying what He says.


I returned to Georgia from NZ in March of 2003, but only for a few days before heading to visit my brother and his family in Illinois. When I arrived it was a prime opportunity to put into practice what I had just learned. When my brother invited me to stay in IL with him for a little while, joining him for some construction work and the youth ministry he was leading, I asked Jesus what He thought. He reminded me of some things He had spoken to me while in NZ about being someone who would influence the next generation, "those who will become world changers." With the words the Lord impressed on my mind came a sense of peace that I had learned to recognize as assurance from the Lord that He was speaking what I was hearing.


I stayed in IL and started getting my roots set in. Part of that was beginning college at Olivet Nazarene University, in a city about 30 minutes south of the town I was living in. I enrolled full-time in the fall of 2003 and began to commute a couple of times a week while continuing construction work with my brother. 


In 2005 my brother and our pastor approached me, asking me to pray about applying for the Youth Pastor job at our church (my brother was planning a move back to GA to begin a church). I agreed to see what the Lord would say.


As I sought the Lord I heard, "This is what I want you to do for me for right now." Again, there came a strong assurance that this was the Lord speaking and I had the excitement and boldness to walk into what He was leading.


From June of 2005 until February of 2011 I worked as Youth Pastor of Lighthouse Fellowship in Frankfort, IL. I saw many miracles while there: God's heart being revealed, boldness being released, freedom from despair and rejection, growth in intimacy with Jesus, and learning to hear the voice of the Lord. So many lives, including my own, were influenced by the Lord's work through so many people- filled and led by the Holy Spirit- who worked in that place. It was priceless.


The powerful work of the Lord doesn't come without some attempts at havoc from the enemy. Satan hates the power of God being released. He hates it- and hates those servants of God through whom Jesus works. Let me stop here and say that this part of the story will be as true about each person who seeks and obeys Jesus as it is about me.


Some turmoil had been mounting at work that caused me to seek the Lord for some clarity and His heart and mind about the situation.


As I went to Him He told me to "Ignore the problems. It's not for you to fix. I will fight on your behalf. Just look to me. I'm going to speak to you about the plans I have for you."


Pause. 


I want to back up a few months and fill you in on the unfolding of some amazing things the Lord showed me that will be relevant to understanding the next part of this story...
but that'll have to wait until tomorrow :)