The reason I decided to write this post was because I've been bottling up some anger, and I feel I need to let it out in a socially acceptable manner. This is known as sublimation (Sucesss! I'm learning something in school).
Anyways, back to the topic. Our South West Regional Youth Fellowship Conference is literally a week away from when I'm posting. We have a decent amount of people registered, and I'm very ecstatic for this conference. We are hosting it, and I honestly, from the depths of my heart, believe that God will work astounding miracles, and the Holy Spirit will be very tangible. Yet, there are those that decide to make excuses and lie about why they aren't coming. Also, there are others that complain that we're not having a band, or that JP from Watermark Community Church isn't preaching. This is why I asked the question to begin this post. To those of you that state that we don't have a band or that JP isn't speaking, do you honestly believe that is a good enough reason not to come? I can honestly attest to the fact that our Praise & Worship team is an amazing group of talented individuals coming together for the glory of God. They are not doing this for themselves, or so that you guys can drool over them. I understand that Sehion had a band last year, and those guys were great, but Sehion also has limited resources. I appreciate Sehion for doing such an awesome job with what they had. Why should St. Paul's who has more people do the same thing? Also, when those guys were singing, how many of the girls were worshiping? I heard comments that the girls thought those guys were hot, and all that jazz. This is how you know that it is more of a performance than it is a worship. When did worship become about the band or the people and not about God? Matt Redman and many others sing this beautiful song that puts it best. "When the music fades and all is stripped away, and I simply come. Longing just to bring, something that's of worth, that will bless your heart...I'm coming back to the heart of worship, and it's all about You. All about You, Jesus. I'm sorry Lord for the thing I made it. When it's all about You, it's all about You, Jesus." Heart of Worship is a song that we sing so many times in church, and sometimes we don't pay attention to the words and the immense meaning behind it. Look at that though. "It's all about You Jesus." Can we REALLY say that it's all about Him when we come for Worship, or is it about the speaker, the band, the folks around us, and the million thoughts that are flying through our head? Another issue people claim is that the speaker isn't JP from Watermark Community Church. Believe me, I've heard his sermons. They are something else! He is very down to earth, and he is engaging. The only problem is, many of his teachings are different from our Mar Thoma teachings. People claim that the Mar Thoma Church is way too strict in this regard. Perhaps we are, but that's the same in all churches. People within the Mar Thoma Church knows more about the Mar Thoma Church, because they are a part of it, but they don't know half of what goes on in the background of the other churches. Nondenominational Churches have their own teachings, and they won't let a Mar Thoma Achen or a Baptist Pastor come preach at their churches. To be honest, the Mar Thoma Church is more lenient than some of these other churches in whom they allow to speak. Our speaker is Rev. Alan Hitt from the Methodist Church, and I met with the guy. He is very engaging, and I am sure that the Holy Spirit will speak powerful messages through him. We, as a community of believers really need to stop limiting our Lord. If we truly knew Him for who He is, then His power should not cease to amaze us. To know that He does all of this for us is another mind blower. I am in awe of His grace, mercy, and love for humanity. Yet, I myself have mentally limited Him on several occasions. For that, I seek His forgiveness. Honestly, I believe we all need to examine ourselves and how well we know our Lord if we're going to limit Him to nondenominational preachers and outside bands. Please note that they are also a Praise & Worship team, even though they call themselves a band. Majority of these "bands" are really Praise & Worship teams, because they haven't signed a record deal with anyone or released albums. I'm not here criticizing or labeling anybody. I'm merely stating my opinion on what we as humans (including myself) do on a regular basis.
Another thing I found out was that some people lied about why they won't be coming to Regional Conference. Listen, I can understand if you simply just don't want to come, so you say you don't, but don't take out the effort to lie about something like this. If you don't want to come, please just say that. Don't make up a million excuses or lies about why you can't come. If you feel that you shouldn't come because you won't be there for the right reasons, come anyway! That again is limiting God, because even if we come with our mentality set on worldly things and not on heavenly things, God can easily change that. Chris Tomlin sings, "How great is our God, sing with me, how great is our God, and will see how great is our God." He who created the universe and all that is within it will not hesitate to do anything for us. Just don't limit Him.
This year, I wanted to do something different. We will be having Prayer Warriors and Intercessors. You may ask what the difference is between the two. Well, the Prayer Warriors will be there praying for the people whenever the people need prayer. Intercessors will meet early in the morning on Saturday and Sunday praying for this conference. This is the basic definition of Prayer Warriors and Intercessors. I'm really looking forward for this. No matter what, I ask that you all keep this in your prayers.
By the way, this post was not meant to try to garner more people into coming to Regional Conference or to put anyone down. It was merely sublimation, so that I could get some of this tension out of me without being a jerk. If you would like to register, please note that it is $85/person and that you can register until Monday, October 24, 2011 at 11:59 PM on www.prisonbreak2k11.com.
"He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"
-Romans 8:32 (NIV 1984)
"Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit."
-Psalm 147:5 (NIV 1984)