Portland, Portland, Portland. That word (and place) has been a reoccurring theme in my mind, and I’m afraid it won’t leave until I get it onto this computer and up on my blog. About a month ago my friend and I decided to make a road trip to good ol’ Portland, Oregon. Luckily we know a great church there and some great people to meet up with! Little did we know what we were in for! As I begin I hope that you let any of these words, sentences, or phrases spark your attention and begin your own personal wildfire in your life.
To start off - my friend is interested in going to a bible college over there and needed to plan a date to go visit and tour the campus. Her and I had wanted to take a mini-vacation, so we thought let’s plan it, pack up, and head out. We knew one person there, was going to meet up with one gal that we had briefly met, and the rest was up to us. We also decided to stay on campus, in the dorms. We were excited beyond all get out and were close to being hyper the whole way there…besides the car sickness of course. My idea of the whole trip had something to do with hanging with friends, lots of laughing, seeing the beautiful Portland, and enjoying God in all of this. All that happened, plus more, just in a way that I didn’t expect.
(Let me warn you, this might be quite a lengthy post as this has been on my mind and heart for some time now. God obviously won’t let me just “shake” the experience because He came and brought a nice “shaking” to my comfort zone and views on a couple of things.)
I am the pastoral administrator for my youth church and am walking through the journey of figuring out and making sure that every single young person is connected and plugged in. The thought of seeing every young person connected and seeing their lives being drastically transformed has become my heart. Apart of who I am. I would even go as far as to say that this ministry has somehow mixed itself into the very DNA that makes up who I am. Basically, I think about it a lot. So, of course I’m going to think about it when I go to a new church. So, I had these questions literally taking laps through my mind on our way there. How do they connect people? How friendly will they be? What’s it like to be a new person in an amazing church? What am I missing at home when I meet new people? I haven’t been the “new person” for about five years and have completely and utterly forgotten the…oh, what’s a good word…torture. No, that’s a bit too harsh, how about…completely and utterly forgotten the feeling of looking invisible, uncared for, and…horribly uncomfortable. That may not be the truth of what is really happening, but that sure is how you feel.
Now, as I continue this post I want to reinforce that this church is GREAT and those moments of unlikely feelings quickly passed. But, those brief moments taught me what it’s like to be on the other end of the deal and how stinkin’ important it is to look up from your own feet to stick out your hand long enough to meet someone new and make them feel welcomed and valued. Without going into lengthy (more than I already have) details my friend and I were put in some pretty awkward situations. Having people look right pass us, meet us and five minutes later act like that introduction never happened, and standing in the back during an event are very hard to walk through – yet, the very thing I needed to stretch myself into to understand how to reach new people, and the areas I personally need to change in my own life. As I got up each day and continued to taste the bible college lifestyle I found that I began to fall in love with my role I play in the church, with the youth of the NXT, and with God’s heart for young people. As I watched young people all around me passionately pursue God’s call on their lives I couldn’t help but think that I wish every young person that attends the NXT and FLC catches what all of these people have caught: value, significance, vision, dreams, joy, the list could go on and on.
Honestly, I was amazed at myself. My brain was racing with thoughts, ideas, and dreams on how to reach people now and how I can reach them in the future. It consumed me like a fire consumes a dry field in the dead of summer. And, I have to say that those few moments of uncomfortability (is that a word?) was worth every God thought, dream, and idea. I wouldn’t have traded any moment of the trip for what God has so dearly pressed on my heart.
I have to add, just to show how good God is, that I was amazingly blessed by a few people. They were the few that took their eyes off of themselves and simply asked questions, remembered our names, checked up on us, and took us around town all the while having meaningful conversations. That blessed me beyond reason and left an imprint in my heart. I found myself thinking about each one of them on the drive home and how I can incorporate at home what they showed to my friend and I while at Portland. I want to show God’s love, even in the little things. I learned that God’s love seems to show the brightest when it is shown in the little things, the unexpected, and the minute details that every new person sees and feels.
Let me leave you with this challenge. When was the last time you walked up to someone you hadn’t met and actually sat with them for longer than 5-10 minutes? Did you remember their name when you saw them the next time? I would encourage anyone who reads this to allow God to show you His heart for people that don’t know him…or in my case people who do know Him. God will be faithful in showing you his vision and passion for people in general or maybe someone closer to you than you think. Look beyond yourself just once and you may leave a life-long imprint on someone that helps mold that person into the man or woman they are called to be. God is big, and we all know that. But, let’s show someone how big He really is by a simple handshake and a few questions.
