The be.loved Conference

This past weekend, we hosted our first be.loved Conference.  It was amazing.  What progressed throughout the weekend was honestly stunning to watch.  But let me start even earlier.

The leadership team of the be.loved Conference is truly that.  Leaders leading.  They each took charge of an area of need and were incredibly successful in accomplishing everything they set out to do.  I heard over and over throughout the weekend, “I can’t believe this is the first time you guys have hosted an event this size.” Or, “Everything has run so smoothly this weekend!”  The longer the weekend progressed, the more awestruck I became with the leadership team.  It was an opportunity to watch the family of God do what they were made to do.  From setup, to crowd control, to worship, to tear-down the weekend was spectacular, though not without hurdles…

Friday night started out with less people in the crowd than we anticipated.  Not only that, but it didn’t seem like too many of the attendees actually wanted to be there!  Not exactly what we’d hoped for for an opening session.  I actually overheard a worship leader mention that it was the toughest crowd he’d ever been in front of, and that he was pretty sure someone leaning on the stage was twiddling his thumbs!  What a way to start the conference!  But the Lord would not be denied.  What started out with little engagement, soon began to develop into what we had hoped:  Jesus encountering people and transforming their hearts.  By the end of the night Friday, many people, young and old, had been prayed for and ministered to by the be.loved Prayer Team.  We left Lakeview Arena Friday night encouraged by the work the Spirit was doing.

Saturday started off strong as Heather and Trevor led worship and Adam Tuttle shared from the Word about God’s love for His beloved Bride.  Many who started the night Friday without much interest were being tenderized by the love of God.  As the day progressed Saturday, we could feel and see the momentum of the Spirit of God.  More and more people were allowing God to do a deep work in them, and were being marked by God to become His disciples, His followers, His beloved.

By the end of the night Saturday, those who were twiddling their thumbs on stage in disinterest Friday night, found themselves almost involuntarily dancing with delight as they encountered the Living God for themselves.  You can see the pictures on Facebook under the FireUP be.loved page just to see that I’m not exaggerating.  There were literally between 75 and 100 people dancing before the Lord in front of the stage as the conference ended.  This wasn’t an overly charismatic group performing a learned response, it was young people and old people who had encountered God for the very first time, and some who were encountering Jesus again and renewing their love for Him.  It was amazing.  There was such an incredible change in 28 hours, it couldn’t be credited to anything but the power of Christ Jesus.

We’ve heard many stories of changed lives, and transformed hearts in the past three days.  Maybe you have a story to tell.  Share it on the Facebook page, or through email at: fireup@mqtchurch.com.  We are so incredibly grateful that Jesus met us this weekend.

Planning for next year’s event is already under way.  We’ll be starting our Encounter services throughout the region in December of this year.  Keep an eye on the website and the Facebook page to stay up to date, and stay updated on the School of Life and Ministry website (www.mqtchurch.com/slm) to continue to be challenged and encouraged in your relationship with God as the year progresses.

Thanks for praying with us this year, and we’re looking forward to the next years together with you.

 

The Good News

Some time ago, I was studying Paul’s writings to the church in Ephesus in the books of 1 and 2 Timothy.  As I read through the aging apostle’s writings I was struck with his fascination of what he called, “the blessed Gospel.”  Here was a man who had seen and done it all for Christ.  He had matured as much or more than any man had in Christ, and yet, here he was, absolutely fascinated with the power and beauty of the Gospel!  I was pierced by my own flippancy toward what is “the power of God to us who are being saved.”  I had viewed the Gospel as something for non-Christians to hear, and for new Christians to make their foundation, but beyond that we should mature into something greater.  I’d been a Christian for years.  Yet again, I was confronted with Paul and his childlike adoration of what Jesus had accomplished through His death, burial, and resurrection.  Was it possible that I had far undervalued the enormity of what it meant that God Himself had become a man— to die, and then be raised from the tomb after three days?  What incredible wonder is this that the Creator would enter His own Creation simply to let them kill Him— just so He could have them???

Over the course of the following months, I was struck, stunned, astounded, and driven to my knees in awe and gratitude over what Jesus Christ did for me, for us.  I had never known how complete His work truly was, and why He was able to utter, “It is finished,” until that period of time, and my life was revolutionized once again.  All it took was one moment with God, when He opened my eyes and I saw what He’d done, and everything became clear:  ”It is finished.”

In two and a half weeks, at FireUP be.loved 2011, Jesus will be the center, the essence, and the everything of this event.  The Good News will be proclaimed, and lives will be changed.  I hope yours is one.