Saturday, July 20, 2013

An Unexpected God Moment


Last night, Reggie Dabbs was the speaker at Sonshine before Audio A took the stage. Reggie had spoken at the high school a few years ago for a YFC lyceum, so I was glad we arrived at the Sonshine grounds early enough so that Mike could hear his testimony.

Reggie is a fairly passionate person, so it was not surprising that an altar call followed his testimony. He directed those who had made a first-time commitment to make their way over to the Compassion tents (directly behind where we were sitting) so that he could get some information from them and talk/pray with them.

Having grown up in a Christian home and having maintained those values my entire life, I have witnessed several altar calls in my lifetime. I would be lying if I didn't say that I have become a little calloused to them, tuning out when I hear a speaker heading in that direction. Such was the case with Reggie last night.

It was a different story when I saw a flood of people leaving the stage area and heading toward the tent behind us. What a powerful God moment.

First, I was amazed by the vast number of people who had made the commitment. Since Sonshine is a Christian music festival, it's easy to fall into the assumption that everyone there is a Christian, or at least knows/likes/knows something about Jesus. . .but the size of the crowd wasn't the big moment for me.

As an introvert, one of my favorite things to do is just observe. As I sat in my lawn chair behind the relative safety and anonymity of my sunglasses, I searched the faces of those who were making their way to the tents. Some were obviously overcome with emotion and were crying while others had a perplexed look like, "What did I just do?"  All were somber, contemplating the gravity of the decision they had just made. As I pondered their reactions, I wondered why they weren't happy and laughing. But as Newsboys sang last night, "There may be pain in the night, but joy comes in the morning." The first step in becoming a Christian is admitting you need a Savior, and that is exactly what these people had done. . . but even that wasn't the big moment for me.

As I continued to surreptitiously scan their faces, I came to a profound and joyous realization. Because of a "Holy Spirit cocktail" - Sonshine + Reggie Dabbs + Holy Spirit, these people had made the life-changing decision to commit their lives to Christ. For each face that went by, I thought, "We will see each other in heaven someday. . .Whereas an hour or five minutes ago, that wouldn't have been the reality." As I pondered this, I heard Reggie's voice behind us as he quietly prayed and encouraged with the new believers.

They have a reason to look apprehensive and feel overwhelmed by making a commitment to Christ. They have chosen a difficult path to navigate for the rest of their earthly lives. The world culture is aggressively opposed to Christianity and Christian values right now, and it's not going to get better. In choosing to follow Christ, these new believers have also chosen an earthly lifetime of being disliked, rejected, and challenged. For each face in my line of vision, I prayed for that person - that s/he would remain strong in his/her commitment and not abandon it when it gets rough in the future.

Then, my thoughts shifted in a new direction. For each person in line, I could have easily walked by him on the way into the gate, I could have directed her to ticket sales yesterday, I could have shown him where to park his car when I was helping with traffic, I could have pointed her in the direction of the nearest bathroom. . .but I did nothing to help him/her make the most important decision of his/her life . . .because I assumed that s/he already had. I realize this was an extreme reaction. Even so, the bottom line is that I had a strong feeling of responsibility. . .for someone I didn't even know. So that got me to thinking. . .

Who else am I walking by each day? Who, among friends, relatives, acquaintances, and daily interactions, do I just assume have made that commitment? That question could probably make me crazy if I let it.

The bottom line is that each word I say is just air, but each action is a sermon. The question to consider is what am I actually preaching? Most of us are not Reggie Dabbs - passionate, charismatic speakers who (with the Spirit's help) bring crowds to Christ. Even so, we each have a story, and we each have been born with a desire to belong and a capacity to love. For new and seasoned believers alike, if we do our part, which is moving when God says, "move," and speaking when God says, "speak," He will most certainly take care of the rest.

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