So I seem to be the last person in my household who has yet to blog about my fascination with One Thing. There's so much still downloading into my brain and (more importantly) into my heart that I don't really know where to begin.
I must say I preferred the teaching above the worship. Wow. I don't really know how I could say that, given the exorbitant party held for Jesus on New Year's Eve. But, yeah, the teaching was profound, intriguing and thought-provoking (very good for a 2L, deep-thinker that I am). There's just so much there. Tidbits...
I attended all four sessions on Leadership (two tracks on Full Time Ministry and two on Called to Leadership) because I think that is where God wants to take me. Anyway, there was one on the Five Fold Ministry (Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Preachers, Teachers) where the instructor spent almost two hours and didn't even get to the evangelists, preachers and teachers. The most powerful thing he stated at least to me was at the end when he stated that the key to having, attaining, and/or maintaining one of these "offices" in the church was a foundation in the Sermon on the Mount, on essentially character development before leadership. He talked abit about the book God's Generals and Ted Haggard and other leaders in the church that messed up, forgot their oil, and ended up ruining their respective churches, movements, etc. So I decided that since I am essentially in none of the five roles right now, though I would like to attain to some (apostleship seems the most me), I believe that I will simply focus on character development and filling my cup with oil.
I love Mike Bickle's sermon on the ten virgins, the five with ministries that went out in the middle of the night because they had left their oil behind and the five with lights that never went out because they maintained oil in their lamps. I SOOO was given direction from there in our prayer time back to Psalm 23: Thou anoint my head with oil until my cup overflows. I had a song in my head that was slow and melodic asking the Lord to anoint me with oil followed by a very fast transition to the words "and then SET ME ABLAZE!" God gave me so much at the conference I still don't understand most of it. Two more things, both from the solemn assembly... I felt like three times that I had oil on my hands. Second, I saw this picture of me kneeling down and praying and very literally being a ball of fire, not one that consumed me but one that emanated from me while I was praying. That was cool.
More stuff... Allen Hood talked twice and I love his preaching and I would love to go to the FSM to sit under his wisdom but the more I think about it the more I ask God to simply fill me with His wisdom Himself that I might live out a life of meekness before God and be given my own stories and own experiences from Him. One of the things Allen talked about was preaching in the End-Times and how much the stereotype needs broken of pastors leading small (500 or 1000) member congregations for 30-40 years and then retiring without ever actually doing anything for the Kingdom to true, passionate, bold preachers to the nations who will not stop with the limited scope of 1000 member churches but will truly minister to the nations. Allen also talked about why we aren't that way now, specifically mentioning how lies and deceit have worked their way into our lives and into our churches. For me personally, I can say that when I was growing up I wanted to be a preacher. This was back when I was like seven and saw my Dad and other role models doing it. But then the disqualification came, with me accepting things like how I don't talk right, I'm not eloquent enough, etc. Things like a deacon in my church telling me not to read Revelation because "it's too confusing and you won't understand it" at age 10, a year after I was saved. Anyways, long story short, I believe that I have been told to reclaim this calling to preach (though the whole apostle thing might come later). I want to do things like go back to the church I grew up in and scold them wretchedly about how wrong they were/are and how they need to repent. But I can't do that in love yet so I'm going to wait until then to do that. I'm interested to see what Ben needs of me as part-time/full-time staff.
Oh, when I reach heaven and God asks me what I did during my 70 year internship, my answer will now be "I love Jesus." Not I did this or that (obviously because works don't do it) and not as much "I claim the blood of Jesus" because that mentions Him but now my response to what He did. I will now say "I love Jesus!" (Can I get married now? When does the honeymoon begin? :-)
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I really liked your last paragraph! I am so blessed to see your hunger for the things of God. I think it is so vital that we stay out of "leadership roles" until we know are character is steady. I think that is a message that needs to resound through out the church. People are often looking for a name for themselves or some standing in a church. But, we are only solid when we have the release from the Father. Jesus waited till He was thirty to fully release Himself in ministry and He was the Son of God.
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