That Thing 2012 Part 2
Last week I took some time to talk about the positives and negatives of taking a group our size to That Thing. This week, I want to focus on our specific experience at That Thing. Read on!
That Thing always does an amazing job of focusing on putting the rubber to the road when it comes to our faith, and this year was no different. The keynote speaker for the week was Steve Carter. One thing he said that really stuck out was, “Do you follow a safe Jesus?” He quoted John 4:4, which says, “Now he had to go through Samaria.” This in reference to the path Jesus was taking while on his mission. The point Steve made was Jesus didn’t actually HAVE to go through Samaria. Most Jews back then took a path that went around Samaria (those two nations did not get along), so why did it say Jesus had to go through there?
Jesus had to go through because those people needed him as well. Even though Samaritans and Jews were mortal enemies, Jesus knew those people HAD to hear what he was preaching. Steve used this example as Jesus being “unsafe.” Do we just sit in pews and sing songs or do we go out into the community and help those we are afraid of? This challenged a lot of teens, and myself, which is pretty amazing considering how simple that particular verse is.
Another session I personally thought was amazing focused on the story of Hosea. Check out this video: part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4. They showed it at camp. I was blown away. It really put flesh and bones on that story. In case you don’t know, Hosea is a book in the Old Testament. God commands the prophet Hosea to go out and marry a prostitute so he can experience what God experiences with the people of Israel. Steve asked everyone who they felt bad for, the guy or the girl in the story. It was interesting to hear everyone’s point of view.
Personally, this wasn’t as much of a massive, experience-the-Holy-Spirit-like-a-tidal-wave week as those in the past, but it was still extremely impactful, and made a difference in so many lives. I had some great conversations with a lot of youth about what they want to do this next school year to spread the love of Christ, and several people made a first-time commitment to Jesus. You can’t ask for more than that. The next step is to help everyone follow through with what they feel called to do. You can help with that by praying for me and all the other leaders so we can keep in contact with all of our youth and guide them on their path, but also pray for the specific youth that they may continue down the path God has paved for them.
I can’t wait until That Thing next year.
Positive Concepts: The Interweb Version 