(deep breath)…

Wow…

After already trying a couple of times to describe my Passion 2010 experience to someone, I’m realizing how inadequate all my words are. I’m either struggling to find enough words to describe it, or I’m using way too many. The closest thing I can come up with that somewhat gives justice to my feelings is to repeat the theme for the week… Awakening!

Let me see if I can explain…

When I heard there was going to be another Passion conference this year I wasn’t the least bit surprised. I literally thought to myself, “well… I guess they got off their little ‘world tour’ high and now they’ve got to come back to pay the bills”. The event really wasn’t a big deal to me at that time and I didn’t intend on going. My overall perception of the Passion “movement” was becoming more and more cynical ever since I went to their last big event in 2007.

I didn’t like the fact that they kept saying “the movement is turning into a global awakening”. I thought it was trying too hard to make itself into some huge thing that it wasn’t(at least in my eyes). And that view stayed with me for a while, probably because I had chosen not to keep up with what they were doing or attend any of the tour events. I thought they had pretty much passed their prime and most likely wouldn’t make it much longer.

I considered myself a balanced skeptic because I felt like there were just things that the Passion guys didn’t “get”. I respected their heart and loved the music and messages they produce, but I couldn’t help but think they were more concerned with starting a movement and becoming(or staying) the “next big thing”. And God was showing me that it’s not about that. My view of Christ and His church has been so refined over the past several years and I just felt like the Passion crew wasn’t “about” the same thing I was “about” anymore.

But as you can probably already see…I went… and all that got blown away quick!

It started first thing too. In session one, Louie introduced the idea of being “awakened”. And the thing he wanted us awakened to was a true understanding of God, His plan, and how He works His plan. In his final session he rephrased it as having a “complete 180 degree theological turn around” and that is what produces everything else that Passion is. To which I gave a huge “right on!” in my mind. Because that’s exactly what’s been happening to me in the recent months and years! I was so glad to hear that preached out loud to these college students.

The rest of Louie’s first talk was about Lazarus and how the details in that story were so contradictory to what everyone else thought should happen. Lazarus’ family warned Jesus that he was sick and dying. Yet Jesus waited two days before going to see them. He LET Lazarus die. Why?

“But when Jesus heard it he said, ‘this illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” - John 11:4

SO THAT GOD MAY BY GLORIFIED THROUGH IT! That’s why! To which again, I was like “Yes! That’s it! That’s exactly what I’m all about!”. I just never thought that these guys had gone that deep. I didn’t think they understood that God’s underlying purpose in saving us doesn’t have anything to do with US at all! It’s all about Him!

As the week went on God continually reversed my perception. Not only by showing me that the Passion movement had really been on this wavelength the whole time, but also by showing me that this wavelength was much bigger than I even thought.

So not only did I NOT get disappointed by what I experienced, but instead God glorified Himself in me far more abundantly than I ever expected. And he did it through the people that I doubted for so long.

The whole week reverberated with the message that the end goal of God is to glorify Himself and that we receive ultimate satisfaction in Him when that happens. I came to a stronger understanding of God’s universal plan that started in eternity past with His predetermining of our creation and purpose. Then because man fell away from Him, God sent Christ to restore us into fellowship with the Father. But I realized this week that so many times we stop with the crucifixion, as if that was the mighty climax in God’s story. But NO! That’s not the end! The end goal we strive for and look forward to is the glorification of God for eternity which will simultaneously overwhelm us with ultimate joy!

That’s the last act! That’s the climax! And that truth was the most important thing I was “awakened” to during the last 4 days. I just pray it happened for every one of the 22,000 students that were there also.

I’ll post more details about the different speakers/sessions in the next few weeks. I just wanted to attempt to convey the fact that God will always blow away your presumptions/expectations when you don’t see it coming. I’m so grateful for how He opened my eyes this week and can’t help but continue to seek His glory as my life’s purpose from this moment on.

I’m also grateful to hear that Passion is in fact becoming a movement that intends to help awaken young people the gloriousness of God! With a goal that is so God-centered, I’m am more than convinced that my generation has the strongest potential for grasping and spreading the truth than any generation before us. So bring it on God! Plant your spirit in us and work out your plan to the glory of YOUR name!

If you have anything to add or are encouraged by this at all I would love to share in that with you. Please either comment here or on my facebook or shoot me an email evanlogan@gmail.com

*photos taken from the 268 blog - http://268generation.com/blog/

Gotta make this real quick.

Community groups ARE what Passion is about. And people don’t get that. When I say “what Passion is about” I’m not even referring to the amount of emphasis they put on them. Because in a sense, I don’t think they put enough emphasis on them. I’m talking about the fact that the ultimate goal of Passion (God’s name and renown) is worked out THROUGH these community groups. It revolves around them.

The relationship-building that happens between 6-8 people you’ve “supposedly”(ahem…Sarah Beth/Paige) never met before is phenomenal. God spreads his mission through the church, but the church works it’s mission out through relationships! That’s what it’s about!!

I was honored to be selected as the leader for our family group and can’t tell you the blessings that Christ has poured on me through that. Being able to step up and guide these friends I’ve found into a broader understanding of God’s ultimate plan has been one of the best experiences of my life. And I’m humbled by it.

I can’t speak for the ones that don’t get as much out of those groups and thus find other things to do… but all I can say from my experience is that I would be missing out on God if I missed out on community groups.

Thankful to the Lord for giving me the refreshing that I asked for.

The photo says it all…

I don’t have the time to go into all my thoughts leading up to the conference right now. But I intend to do a review of the whole experience at the end of the trip.

But I do want to say that many of my presumptions going into this (most likely) last Passion conference are already starting to get blown down. I asked God to do that to me, and He’s shown himself out once again.

The theme of the week is “Awaken”… it’s about coming to that moment where God opens your spiritual eyes to the bigger picture that he’s working out. It’s about trading something small for something way bigger. It sounds cliche on paper I know, but it’s so representative of many different times in my life over the past few years. It seems like more and more often God reveals something new to me that I never really grasped before and it is literally like he’s woken me up.

But this concept has really impressed me coming from the Passion guys because I’ve been skeptical lately that college students don’t really get this idea, that we’re all in one big picture for God’s glory and our joy and EVERYTHING works towards that goal.

In the first session Louie introduced the whole concept by using a story I never thought would fit… the story of Lazarus. He talked about how Jesus took steps that everyone else thought was stupid and didn’t understand. Jesus actually waited till it was too late and allowed Lazarus to die… Why? So that HIS glory could be displayed in a greater way. God, in His sovereignty weaves everything in our lives together for that purpose. And I’m so glad that all these students are getting fed that message because it is just the beginning of a path that will lead to fuller, deeper understanding of God’s true character.