Searching for Meaning and Purpose...

I've been reading an excellent new book by W.P. Campbell (I'll post the review later for Zondervan and everyone else to see) about how to turn controversy into ministry and am struck with some thoughts on vision. Nehemiah was a man with great vision. But the question we often skip is where that vision came from! Nehemiah was broken for the city of Jerusalem and its inhabitants, which led him to prayer, fasting, and mourning. He was GREATLY leading from a long-term prayer emphasis! But how often do we (as Christians and specifically those in leadership positions) neglect prayer and instead focus on the things we "need" or "ought" to do? I mean, I know I am often busy "doing" ministry (planning events, prepping the current series for junior and senior high, running the 4 days a week programming that exists our ministry, planning worship, making/sending mailers, doing stuff for the presbytery, doing miscellaneous stuff for the church, filling in...

Today I saw a vision cast by a high school junior to impact his entire school this next semester. Not en masse , but individual by individual. It's exciting. He understands that it's not about a few words we say, but about investing ourselves into peoples lives so that we can earn the privilege of speaking into their life. He knows that it's about love, not just the people we like or are like, but the people who are weird, smelly, or just plain rude. It gives me hope. Hope to know that all the words we say and things we do as a ministerial alliance mean more than just getting a bunch of students together. Hope to know that we are making a difference, one student at a time... It helps, a lot, to see things like that. Especially on days when you're assailed with thoughts asking if I really make a difference, if it's really worth it, if I do anything... It's great to see students grabbing onto the truth and running with it. It also sharpens my desire to m...