Friday, 05 January 2007

• Snapshots of Urbana-St. Louis

  "I tried not to write...in a world where anyone who can write does...  [Yet] in the end, I wrote because the act of writing causes me to stare more intently at Jesus."  ~Don Everts, God in the Flesh.

  The Picture:  Thousands and thousands of tables and chairs.  A darkened football stadium with a bare stage stretching almost the length of the field.  Rows of empty exhibit booths and bookshelves.  And boxes and boxes of Urbana goody bags, waiting to be handed out.
  Behind the picture:  There's anticipation in the air.  All the staff are walking around expectantly and prayerfully, as if they know something's gonna happen.  It's not so much prophesying as it is recognizing the potential.  Recognizing that a place normally used for football games and boat shows is going to be holy ground.

  The Picture:  Time-lapse.  22,000 delegates in various forms of bodily praise - some standing with hands outstretched, some kneeling facedown.  Lights flashing from the stage.  If you look closely, you can maybe make out the mouths moving in different languages.  Oh, and the most important part...their eyes are closed.
  Behind the picture:  Double-vision for me is hard.  Either I see the forest or the trees, not both at the same time.  It's so hard for me to comprehend how God can bask in the worship of masses and yet hear the adoring words individually.  More impressive is how He speaks to us singly and separately, in just the ways that we need.  If you search Xanga for "Urbana 06", there are at least 170 bloggers describing their own experience.

  The Picture:  Oh, that one?  That's the lobby of the America's Center.  It's about 30 people standing in a circle.  I know it's hard, but if you can look really really closely, that's me in the center of them.  I've got my knees locked, trying to keep my balance since everyone else has their hands on me.  I'm also trying to stay standing since having 30 people pray for you and your law school fellowship is rather powerful.
  Behind the picture:  A few hours earlier, I was standing on the floor of the main session debating whether to go with WashU or NYU during the community time.  And then God said "Duh!", and then I said "Duh!"  A few minutes earlier, the 30 of us had split up into groups of two or three to do a guided prayer for our campus.  And now we were gathering together to pray for the different fellowships.  All this because a day earlier, we had gotten together for a pizza lunch.  And what might have been a normal get-to-know-you thing became a here's-what-God's-telling-me-thing.  Things like "to change the campus, we need to be one body" and "hey, we need to be praying together" and "what does God want for this campus, for this student body, in 15 years."  More and more, I see God giving me a heart for NYU, and not just the law school too.  And God said "duh!"

  The Picture:  People from ACF, Harambee, One Voice sitting together at Urbana.  And somewhere else in the arena as part of the body, Justin and Josh representing Overflow.
  Behind the picture:  Jason, John, GraceyGoose, Jamal, Howie, Chioma, Dishon, Olivia, thesurface, the class of '07 (like all of 'em), and the list does go on and on.  a room on the first floor of Park where, year after year, people gathered for 24/7 prayer.  Praise nights, interministry nights, interministry socials, open mikes, Deliverance, Visions, CityLights, etc.  It's been a long time comin', but God is faithful to His vision.

  The Picture:  Me, in a generic place, talking to someone, but their face has been blurred out.
  Behind the picture:  Most of my conversations were a result of walking around, and out of 22,000 people, God would say, Here, bump into this person, and talk with them.  So whether it was over a meal, in the bookstore, in the hallway...thank you for talking with me.  And trust me, at no time this week was I trying to be Socratic.  I was amazed at how I saw a little more of God in each person I met.

  The Picture:  I'm sitting in a seminar, or in a session, and my head is nodding because I'm so tired.  Except all of a sudden, my eyes go wide.  (This is the moment before what the speaker says has sunk in, before the applause rings out around the room, before my head jerks up.)
  Behind the picture:  Someone told me to dream again.  In fact, they all did, in their various ways.  Some more explicit, some more subtle.  In fact, I was told that it was my job to dream big.  I don't have the privilege to think small.  I'm not allowed to settle.  Dream on.  Ephesians 5:14 ~ "Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."

  The Picture:  Me at home now.  I'm snuggled up in bed under my covers reading one of the books I got from the bookstore.  Volunteer discount, 70% off baby.  I look comfortable.
  Behind the picture:  I'm anything but comfortable.  Some of these words tear at my emotions, my feelings.  Some of these words make me soo scared.  I've stayed away from saying anything too personal, partly because that's who I am, and partly because it's a little too vague, too fearful to verbalize.  The pictures are good memories, but to tell you the truth, Urbana 06 has just begun for me.  And once again, I just want to be ready.

  Currently Reading The New Friars: The Emerging Movement Serving the World's Poor By Scott A. Bessenecker see related

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