“Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)
Since 20 November 2010, the day Haiti became a definite part of my future, I have looked with anticipation toward the coming year, filled with the expectation and—dare I say it?—hope that God has something momentous in mind for my soul. Indeed, He has already proven Himself faithful, and as usual, it didn’t happen in the way I had imagined. Or the place. Only in retrospect have I noticed the change He wrought in me began in Boston, at the pesky, pricey winter conference I had overlooked as a mere prerequisite—the short staircase needed to mount the big stage of Haiti.
What should have been an adventurous takeoff to 2011—a 23:55 New Year’s Eve red-eye to Boston—began rather anticlimactically as the flight was delayed and the few half-hearted cheers at midnight were drowned out by a passing vacuum-pushing janitor in the otherwise deserted terminal at LAX.
Adventure recovered swiftly; after rendezvousing with Courtney at the airport and settling at the hotel, we set out to wander around Boston, eventually stumbling and then embarking upon the “Freedom Trail”. Anyone familiar with my Lord’s sense of humor and/or the status of my life lately may already have grasped why that particular title might indicate something about my impending future. I, however, was not as perceptive and trotted happily and obliviously after the red brick marker in the pavement, making witty references to The Wizard of Oz. I claim that overly intense interest in the historical period in question and the absurdly delicious clam chowder for lunch distracted my reason and impaired my senses. (I’m just a little embarrassed because I only recognized that somewhat blatant sign from God as I began writing this).
Fortunately, God isn’t one to show me Thing(s) I Need to Know (ThINK) in a brief interpretable sign and hope I get it. In fact, one of the ways He tends to speak to me is to physically show me the same message in so many ways and places that it is, at some point, no longer possible to assume it’s all a big, freaky coincidence. Thus, upon reentering the conference center and seeing the theme “FREE” everywhere—capitalized just like that as if for emphasis, all over the place, on my nametag, on my program, literally projected onto the walls like the insignia of a certain superhero—my suspicions were aroused.
The talks were listed in the program: “Free Spirit”, “Free to Go”, “Free Together”, and more. The workshops leapt out at me: all on leadership and outreach, which frequently occupy my mind, the Spirit, with whom I had been consciously aware of lacking a relationship, and a healed heart. The Prayer Journey, too, focused on freedom in Christ.
In brief, I feel light of heart since the trip. I feel physically well, filled with the Spirit and His fruits, and burning with eagerness to dig deeper in the Word. I am excited to share with you what God is doing (and, of course, coming to you soon, about Haiti). I wish I could impart to you a hint of the impact the last few weeks have had on me, rather than just describe it; but you can experience a bit of the conference for yourself and be inspired.
"Free Together" is the best teaching on community I have ever heard and is well worth a half-hour of your time:
"Let Freedom Ring" was also very convicting (about outreach) and includes an insightful and hilarious analogy relating the Holy Spirit to the water from a garden hose:
Bret Ogburn's other talk, "Free Admission" (a fresh take on the Gospel), and two helpful talks by Darryl Smith ("Free Spirit" and "Free to Go") are also accessible at that website.
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