My home church has gone to Go Tell for years and years and I have gone all but twice since I was in seventh grade. This year we went back to Taccoa GA.
The first speaker was Shannon O'Dell and he spoke about how we can fit in anywhere and fake almost anything around the appropriate people but when life squeezes us and we are in a bind the real us comes out. He challenged us with the question "what comes out of you when you are squeezed?" He then had an illustration with oranges, one of which he squeezed and juice came out like it should, but the other he squeezed and a green slimey sludge came out. So again, "what comes out of you when you are squeezed?"
Night two was Tony Nolan. He told a story about the "Great Blondinie" who walke across niagra falls on a tight rope. He went there and back. He then walked out and made an omlete in the middle and came back then asked for a wheel barrow and took it across and back. There were hundreds if not thousands in attendance who had began chanting his name and encouraging words like "we believe in you" "you can do it" "your the best" and after a few minutes of the crowds uproar Blondinie asked if they thought he could do it again with a person inside the wheel barrow. Of course they began chanting again and he quieted the crowd again and retold all that he had just accomplished before their eyes going across so many times then he said "since you all believe, who is getting in the wheel barrow?"......dead silence swept across the crowd....Even after what they had seen nobody was willing to put their life on the line when just moments before they knew that he could do it. Thats how we are with God, we know he can do it and we give lip service to the fact that we believe but all God wants is for us to trust and believe and get in the wheel barrow!
Wenesday Night Clayton King was our speaker and told amazing stories of some of his missionary adventures but the big thing for me was a descision that I made that night. If you have followed this blog you know that missions have been on my heart and thats kind of why I started this blog, anyway after he shared these mission stories I was starting to feel God pull at my heart and Clayton got ready for the alter call and called for new believers so I said "good i'm off the chain"...well....afterwards Clayton said that the two things he has seen God do at Go Tell is save sinners and call people to ministry and I was like "oh crap" so I did what any good baptist would do...I held on to the pew! lol I knew God was calling me but I faught it and held on to the pew. When he was done with that alter call I felt like I was home free. Then we began to sing again and one of the songs went something like this "take my life and let it be all for you and for your glory".....really?!....so right there I gave up, I was tired of feeling God breathe down my neck on the Issue so I surrendred to ministry. I admitedly don't like it and i'm now sure what all God wants from me whether it be missions preaching or what but I am open to whatever it is that He asks of me!
In the morning we had a guy by the name of Christian Newsome speaking for those services and he did an outstanding job! I thoroughly enjoyed him but especially his Wednesday morning service which was entitled: Get Strong and Stay Strong Spiritually. I will just leave you with the notes he gave us
Get Strong and Stay Strong Spiritually
1. Consistently read, understand and be impacted by God's word
a. Plan
b. Place
c. personal goal
d. always use the pen
e. have a proper bible, a study bible
2. Have to have close Christian friends
a. change your friends (either whitness to them or change them all together if that doesn't work)
3. Date only strong Christians
4. Develope a Prayer Life
5. Find a Mentor
6. Develope a Spirit of Worship
7. Begin Serving in Ministry
8. Find a Leadership position in a Strong Ministry
9. Be Willing to Sacrifice
10. Resiliency
Its great Stuff!!!!
The last night, on Thursday was Ergun Canner who spoke about family and how we can be let down and how blood should be thicker than water but isn't always because we are all human and sin and let each other down but there is one who will never let us down and who has a much stronger connection with us than just blood, God! He is our father above all others and in whom we need nobody else!
So, on our way back on the buss a few of us felt convicted about how much we have read our bibles, in large part to Chrisitan Newsome and we decided we would start one of those read the bible in a year plans and then someone said they would feel like a failure if he didn't do it by Christmas....so, we got a chronological reading of the bible in a year and started doubling up the days to finish and we have even gotten ahead of that and have read all of job and about half of Genisus in about a week! It is great to have them for accountability and to bounce our thoughts off of each other!
Anyway that is most of what has happened since my last post. Also the worship was amazing, it wa so good that I feel like I actually worshiped God for the first time! Thanks to Exodus for leading us into the throne room of God every service! In short it could be sumarized like this....GOD IS GREAT!!!
