I'm getting excited. Tonight I get to share on what may be my #1 passion button. I get an opportunity to stand before a room full of HIgh School students who have grown up in church, come from "Christian families", are involved in "Christian Communities", and are surrounded by "Christian Friends".
As we kick off our DTR (Define the Relationship) Series, I get to share the story of kid who grew up in that same surrounding and spent 18 years with a lot of Religion, but never truly experiencing a Relationship with Christ. To protect that person's identity, I will not use his real name.
Perry Drenkert had an incredible family, and awesome church, and a loving youth pastor. He knew all the right answers and was able to put up a pretty decent front. He didn't want to go to hell, but he also wanted to find the bare minimum he had to do in order to avoid it. He knew about God, and what Jesus did for Him, but he didn't know God as Father. He had missed what it meant to have Jesus as friend. He thought it was about what he did, and missed the fact that it's about what He's done. When it clicked for Perry, there was freedom, purpose, passion and a whole new way of living.
Tonight is about defining the Relationship as opposed to Religion. Christian Religion is an amazing thing, but only when understood in the context of the Relational nature of the Almighty. When the relationship is removed, it's dead, empty, and damaging.
Did I mention that I pretty pumped up!!!
As we kick off our DTR (Define the Relationship) Series, I get to share the story of kid who grew up in that same surrounding and spent 18 years with a lot of Religion, but never truly experiencing a Relationship with Christ. To protect that person's identity, I will not use his real name.
Perry Drenkert had an incredible family, and awesome church, and a loving youth pastor. He knew all the right answers and was able to put up a pretty decent front. He didn't want to go to hell, but he also wanted to find the bare minimum he had to do in order to avoid it. He knew about God, and what Jesus did for Him, but he didn't know God as Father. He had missed what it meant to have Jesus as friend. He thought it was about what he did, and missed the fact that it's about what He's done. When it clicked for Perry, there was freedom, purpose, passion and a whole new way of living.
Tonight is about defining the Relationship as opposed to Religion. Christian Religion is an amazing thing, but only when understood in the context of the Relational nature of the Almighty. When the relationship is removed, it's dead, empty, and damaging.
Did I mention that I pretty pumped up!!!
1 comment:
Awesome man. I also knew a guy like that. Forget his name... something color-head... Redhead, Blackhead...
Also, thanks for being passionate. We all need to see that in each other.
It's all about intimacy man. Love it.
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