I made it home.  Sorry for not having something available yesterday, but the typepad system that hosts my blog was down yesterday.  I actually had something typed up and ready to publish when the site went down.  Needless to say (and yet I am saying it…go figure) I lost what I wrote.  I am not going to try to remember today what lost yesterday, but rather I will write what is on my heart right now.

Wrapping up the Nashville trip.  On Tuesday, July 11 we wrapped up our time in Nashville.  Our closing speaker was TJ Anderson, a youth pastor from Stillwater, Minnesota.  I really liked what he did.  He asked the kids, "Are you the church of the future?"  Everyone shouted, "YES!"  He asked again, "Are YOU the church of the future?"  Everyone shouted louder, "YES!!!"  TJ then said, "Then you have bought into the biggest lie of the church.  You are the church of right now."  That was brilliant!  The whole point of this youth gathering was to train and encourage these kids to be leaders right now, not sometime down the road.  Age has nothing to do with leadership.  God has called people of all ages to be leaders (Consider Jeremiah in the Old Testament and Timothy in the New Testament.  They were confirmation age when God called them).  Anyone and everyone can make a difference right now.  We can make a difference because God enables each and everyone of us.  God needs you…now!

My heart jumped with joy when TJ drove that point home with the kids.  But it gets better.  When we got home I talked with a parent whose child went to Nashville.  She said their child was excited to talk about their experience and then said what they learned; "It is O.K. to be a Christian everyday of our lives."  WOW!  Right there made this whole trip worth while.  I can’t tell you how happy I am.  My job now is to continue to encourage these kids and not let them forget.

<If you are not connected to Salem, please don’t stop reading.  I do have a point coming up for you.>

Eventually we had to leave Nashville.  We left at 11:30am on Tuesday, July 11…a 1/2 hour earlier than planned, which was fine.  We got out of the city and stopped for lunch.  We hit some heavy rains along the way which slowed us down a little, but not too bad.  Nothing too eventful happened on the bus.  I did notice the kids talking more with kids from the various groups.  It looked like some connections were made.

We drove through the night which, once again, was not too restful.  I did not get a spot on the floor so I hardly slept at all.  We pulled into Jackson at 5:20am on Wednesday and unloaded.  I finally got to bed just after 6am.  Yesterday was a long and tiring day.

Now what?  Now it is Thursday and I am feeling somewhat back to normal.  But here’s the thing, I also feel a little different.  Nashville was a lot of fun but we all know we cannot stay on the "mountain top".  We need to return to the "valley" where we live.  So now what?  I feel a little different now.  I am questioning myself (in a good way).  I am re-evaluating myself (in a good way).  I am not doubting my call, just how I go about the ministry God gave me to take care of.  And the reason I am asking myself these new questions is because of a question that was posed to us in Nashville.  "Why does Jesus matter TO YOU?"  "What difference does Jesus make TO YOU?"  "Why do YOU believe?"  Interesting questions aren’t they?  Have you asked yourself those questions before?  Well, try answering them now but don’t use vague answers like: "Because my sins are forgiven" "Jesus gives me eternal life" "I fell better".  Those are all good answers, but they don’t go far enough.  Explore your heart and answer them.  What does Jesus mean to you?  If we can’t answer that question then we can’t hope to be missionaries in this world.  If we want to share the Gospel, we have to be able to open our hearts and answer that question:  What does Jesus mean to YOU…really?  It’s an important question.  So take some time to think about that and I will be back.  Later I will tell you what Jesus means to me.  Amen! -EDH-