We've been back about a week now from our annual leadership academy. It was a wonderful time of equipping our youth with faith skills to share stories, articulate faith, and name the people that have had an impact on their life. The high of the week, without a doubt, was when we had 11 of our OWLs--older, wiser Lutherans, join us for an afternoon of faith interviews. High schoolers interviewing the older folks. They laughed together and cried together. Then they prayed together and had those who witnessed it cried together. Awesome and amazing. God's blessings in a huge way! Hoping that it is a way to bring these groups together in real ways--even on Sunday mornings for study. What a wonderful week it was.
Who knew that a 98 Degree day while at camp could be a God sighting!
We were supposed to go for a cookout on Wednesday night--chillin' and grillin'. But, due to the weather, we figured there would be far too little "chillin'" because of the heat. So we scrapped the picnic and stayed at Wittenberg instead. And we all agree that this was a God sighting!
Instead of grilling we did a faith activity. We blindfolded the students and sent them into a room. And we left them there. Alone. In the dark. Abandoned. The goal for the students was to get to heaven. But they couldn't see. So leaders came and did their best to get the blindfolded students to follow. But, only one of the leaders was worth following. Jack played the role of Jesus. The other leaders were doing their best to get the students to follow them--not towards heaven--but in any other direction they could. The other leaders were the demons. So, student by student, we brought them into the room and let them try to figure out what voice to follow, what voice to trust, and which way they were going to go. Only Jesus knew the student's name. Only Jesus was able to take the students to heaven. One by one, every student was able to discern the right voice to follow and the right way to go.
It was a powerful God sighting and a powerful way to remember how important it is to pay attention to who we are following. As the group processed the experience, the insights were deep and powerful. Hopefully it will remain in the minds of all of us as we listen for the voice of Jesus in our lives.
It is a lot of work to bring three children to camp! Deanna and I were walking with our kids towards the CDR (that's the Central Dinning Room) for dinner. We thought it a good idea to get the girls out of their stroller so that their legs could get moving and they could burn some energy. It worked--too good! It did not take long at all for our two girls to be running in the exact opposite direction from each other. Fortunately, this is not new to us. We were hoping they would run along the wide pathway towards dinner. Instead, each took turns down different paths. All the while, Ethan was trying to encourage both of them to head towards the dinning hall. He kept yelling at them, "You're off the track!"
The Academy at Witt theme for the week is "Face to Face." It is a theme pulled from 1 Corinthians 13:12. Paul reminds us that our vision is temporarily impaired. We can only see dimly--and only by looking at a mirror. But there will be one day that we see the Living God Face to Face. The leadership academy is a week long training in staying on the right track until that day we receive our full sight. As we see dimly, we look towards a day when we will see much more clearly. Our time together is spent equipping our youth with the ability to stay on the right track as we wait. And let me tell you, we have many remarkable youth. Only a portion of them are represented on this trip--but it is wonderful to watch and witness as they grow and love one another.
Much of our focus and teaching time is challenging each of our youth to share "story talks." Last night we heard each of the youth introduce themselves and share a nugget about who they are. But we have quickly escalated the stakes. Right after dinner we heard everyone tell of a time when they endured through something difficult or conquered a fear and a great trial. The point was to share a story of a time when it was worth it. They shined. Stories were shared of real fears that were conquered. Times when self sacrifice was evident. Fun stories and powerful stories that blew me away. It is so refreshing and hopeful to hear high schoolars who are able to self-reflect and point towards personal growth. This, I believe, is central to our path of discipleship in Jesus Christ. These youth are well on their way!
Pastor Scott
We've been back about a week now from our annual leadership academy. It was a wonderful time of equipping our youth with faith skills to share stories, articulate faith, and name the people that have had an impact on their life. The high of the week, without a doubt, was when we had 11 of our OWLs--older, wiser Lutherans, join us for an afternoon of faith interviews. High schoolers interviewing the older folks. They laughed together and cried together. Then they prayed together and had those who witnessed it cried together. Awesome and amazing. God's blessings in a huge way! Hoping that it is a way to bring these groups together in real ways--even on Sunday mornings for study. What a wonderful week it was.
Who knew that a 98 Degree day while at camp could be a God sighting!
We were supposed to go for a cookout on Wednesday night--chillin' and grillin'. But, due to the weather, we figured there would be far too little "chillin'" because of the heat. So we scrapped the picnic and stayed at Wittenberg instead. And we all agree that this was a God sighting!
Instead of grilling we did a faith activity. We blindfolded the students and sent them into a room. And we left them there. Alone. In the dark. Abandoned. The goal for the students was to get to heaven. But they couldn't see. So leaders came and did their best to get the blindfolded students to follow. But, only one of the leaders was worth following. Jack played the role of Jesus. The other leaders were doing their best to get the students to follow them--not towards heaven--but in any other direction they could. The other leaders were the demons. So, student by student, we brought them into the room and let them try to figure out what voice to follow, what voice to trust, and which way they were going to go. Only Jesus knew the student's name. Only Jesus was able to take the students to heaven. One by one, every student was able to discern the right voice to follow and the right way to go.
It was a powerful God sighting and a powerful way to remember how important it is to pay attention to who we are following. As the group processed the experience, the insights were deep and powerful. Hopefully it will remain in the minds of all of us as we listen for the voice of Jesus in our lives.
It is a lot of work to bring three children to camp! Deanna and I were walking with our kids towards the CDR (that's the Central Dinning Room) for dinner. We thought it a good idea to get the girls out of their stroller so that their legs could get moving and they could burn some energy. It worked--too good! It did not take long at all for our two girls to be running in the exact opposite direction from each other. Fortunately, this is not new to us. We were hoping they would run along the wide pathway towards dinner. Instead, each took turns down different paths. All the while, Ethan was trying to encourage both of them to head towards the dinning hall. He kept yelling at them, "You're off the track!"
The Academy at Witt theme for the week is "Face to Face." It is a theme pulled from 1 Corinthians 13:12. Paul reminds us that our vision is temporarily impaired. We can only see dimly--and only by looking at a mirror. But there will be one day that we see the Living God Face to Face. The leadership academy is a week long training in staying on the right track until that day we receive our full sight. As we see dimly, we look towards a day when we will see much more clearly. Our time together is spent equipping our youth with the ability to stay on the right track as we wait. And let me tell you, we have many remarkable youth. Only a portion of them are represented on this trip--but it is wonderful to watch and witness as they grow and love one another.
Much of our focus and teaching time is challenging each of our youth to share "story talks." Last night we heard each of the youth introduce themselves and share a nugget about who they are. But we have quickly escalated the stakes. Right after dinner we heard everyone tell of a time when they endured through something difficult or conquered a fear and a great trial. The point was to share a story of a time when it was worth it. They shined. Stories were shared of real fears that were conquered. Times when self sacrifice was evident. Fun stories and powerful stories that blew me away. It is so refreshing and hopeful to hear high schoolars who are able to self-reflect and point towards personal growth. This, I believe, is central to our path of discipleship in Jesus Christ. These youth are well on their way!
Pastor Scott