A Song Rising up to Heaven in Koso

Passion 2011: Third Session

"And this, this is Hannah... a world changer, " Louie Giglio announced with a hint of admiration.

My eyes took in the woman on stage. A young woman. A passionate woman. A world changer.

Throughout Louie Giglio's interview with Hannah, I continued to feel my pulse quicken. This woman was only twenty five, yet she had gone to the ends of the Earth-- to the Koso people of Western Africa. Upon college graduation she was determined to go to an unreached people group and share the love of God to those who had never heard the Gospel before. She shared this idea with her best friend as they were driving and the two determined they'd go together. However, in the middle of this conversation, they got into a car accident, instantly killing her best friend. After living through such a tragedy, most would give up... but Hannah knew where God had called her and three months later found herself in Africa.

After being in Africa for a couple of months, Hannah contacted Passion and let them know that she was working among the Koso people and would love their prayers and support. The day Hannah and Passion had decided to Skype, Hannah's mother died-- bringing her back to America for a time.

Despite this tragedy, Hannah went back to Africa and continued to work among these people. A year later she was able to witness the first Koso believer. And now? Now, there are about a dozen Koso believers among an ethnic group nearing 500,000 individuals.

Before I knew it, I felt tears sliding down my cheeks. This story inspired me.

During the Passion Conference we were encouraged to donate money to the translation project: bringing the gospels of Mark and Luke to the Koso people in their own language. The amount was $200,000, yet by the end of the weekend, this amount was raised. I was blown away by the fact that my small donation was helping further a project half a world away...

And now, now a song is rising up to heaven in the Koso language.

A Life that is Worthy

Passion 2011: Second Session

"Whatever happens conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ." -Philippians 1:27

Again, one of those verses that is seemingly simple to understand, yet glancing over it and moving on does not allow the meaning to actually sink in and change the way we live. During the second Passion session, Francis Chan took the time to unpack this weighted verse, allowing me to see the meaning in a new light.

It's like having one of those moments when you think to yourself, Ahhh... I finally get it, but knowing full-well that sometime next year you're going to have a: Now I REALLY get it moment. But isn't that the beauty of our journey of faith? Isn't that why we have assurances that God isn't finished with us yet (Phil 1:6)? Because we're constantly growing and constantly learning and by God's grace, constantly taking part in this process we like to call sanctification.

If I sit down and really think about what the Bible says-- I mean really says-- I get extremely confused. It doesn't make sense that a holy, beautiful, majestic God would have any sort of desire to know me. It doesn't make sense that though the punishment for sin is death, I'm still breathing. Inhale. Exhale. Yup, still alive. It doesn't make sense that a perfect Lord would step down from heaven into a lowly existence in a broken creation... for love. It doesn't make sense that God has new mercies, morning after morning. It doesn't make sense that Almighty God watched his son crucified because he loved us. This doesn't make sense.

But it's true.

And if I actually believe this message, shouldn't my life be different?

You see, when we are called to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ, our lives need to make sense in light of the Gospel. The word "worthy" means "same weight, equal." Francis Chan brought a scale on stage. If the Gospel sits in one basket and my life in the other... how does it measure up? If the reality of eternal life-- or death-- is something I truly believe, then shouldn't my life reflect this deep conviction?

I should be living with a tenacity that pushes people out of darkness and into Light. Extreme measures to bring the Gospel to an unreached people group? Radical sacrificial lifestyles in the heart of America? How can it even be "extreme" or "radical" when placed next to message of Christ?

When this message sinks from my head and into my heart, a captivating, crazy kind of love knocks me down and carries me away.

"I don't want you to be afraid of anything." -God

Dying to Gain

Passion 2011: First Session

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21

Doesn't this verse often rank in the, "oh yeah, I know this verse" category? How many times have I come across this verse and read over it quickly, because I'd let familiarity slip in and blind me to the meaning behind this verse? Too many times.

I find this verse so hard to grasp because, for one, it is so grammatically strange.

"To live is Christ."

Whhaat...?

"To die is gain."

I'd never really heard much of an explanation of this verse besides, while you life, live for Christ's glory and when you die, rejoice because you will be with Christ. And while this may be true, it didn't carry that much weight for some reason. But sitting in the Fort Worth Convention Center that first night of Passion, flipped this verse upside down and inside out for me. With some simple sentences, Louie Giglio shed light on this verse in a new way.

"I think Christians today have flip-flopped this verse. We say, 'For to me to live is gain and to die is Christ.' You see, we believe that we're living to LIVE and to get as much out of life, to GAIN during this life, but when death comes along, we're not TOO sad, because we still get Jesus after a long, successful life."

I shifted in my seat and allowed that sentence to sift through my mind. Was that what was happening? We were living to gain and then dying for Christ? Was I living to gain? My thoughts raced, skidding to a stop at my dreams and goals and ambitions. I want to live and make a lasting impact on this world. I want to live long enough to see a dent in poverty, to see the captives free, to see lives transformed. I want to be a mother, a wife. I want to live.

And while I think we are meant to live life-- and to live it abundantly (John 10:10)-- this cannot be the be all, end all. I cannot be more preoccupied with living so I can do things for Christ, than living so I can glorify him through everything. My ultimate reward, my prize worth living for, is my precious Savior. The things of this world ought to grow strangely dim when I contemplate his glory.

"To live is Christ," I whispered, "and to die is gain."

Oh Jesus, that I may live only for you, that you would be my supreme treasure, that I may live knowing that if I died today, I missed out on nothing because I have you.

Passion 2011

Ten and a half thousand individuals. College students-- for the most part. One weekend.

Passion 2011.

It's been exactly one week since I attended the Passion 2011 conference in Fort Worth, Texas. As you know, I've been helping out with the junior high girls' small group this semester. Though I don't really interact with the high schoolers, the youth group operates more or less like a unit. The youth pastor mentioned that they were taking a group of high school seniors to the Passion conference and were in need of a female chaperone. I checked my schedule and it was clear, so I signed up for it. Though I was excited to attend the conference, I was also looking forward to meeting some more students and getting to know the youth pastors a bit more.

As the weekend approached, I found myself getting more, and more, and more excited. I knew I was coming out of a slightly dry season and was looking forward to a weekend focused on Jesus.

And then after 14 long hours in the car, we finally arrived at the Fort Worth Convention Center on Friday night. Worship began with Chris Tomlin leading us in "Our God." The sensation of worshipping with over ten thousand other believers in one place was overwhelming. That night Louie Giglio spoke and then we were lead in worship by David Crowder Band. It made for quite a long night and the next morning we were up and about quite early, making sure we would make it back to Passion by 9:00 am. Worship, speakers, worship, lunch, worship, speakers, worship, action, worship, speakers. In a rapid flow of events, quickly transitioning into the next, the conference was over.

I remember watching the landscape change, the light shift and finally, staring at headlights on the way home. I knew that I had been changed-- something in me was different. I wasn't able to place my finger on what that was, but I knew there was a difference. A new lesson. A new conviction. A renewed desire. I sighed and knew that the process of digesting all that I had taken in at the conference would be long.

With that said, be on the look out for the thought-out lessons. I'll be trying to post one for every session we had. They'll probably show up here about once a week. We'll see :)