So for the past few weeks, I've been praying that God would send someone in my life that could help me see how change genuinely works in people because I'm ready for something to change in my life.
I'm not sure how many of you know what the title of this post means, but think extended youth rally for college students and you've pretty much got the idea.
I didn't know what to expect when I arrived at the church early Friday morning, but I feel like keeping no expectations made the weekend more enjoyable. And how could I have had any expectations? I have never been to this particular function and I knew absolutely no one who was there.
We arrived in Tulsa around eleven and played with some kids in an apartment complex that might have been Section 8 Housing. We had a lot of fun, but we were exhausted by the time we got to the conference.
The Park Plaza CoC is incredible in size. I was a little overwhelmed, even attending Memorial the past few weeks. But it was a good time over all. As everyone started to arrive, a group of students from Austin walks through the door. We were all kind of mingling amongst our group and slowly branching into others, when this girl about my height and about half my size walks up to me and says, "Hi, my name is Vanessa!" She was very spunky. So I told her hello and that I was Amanda. "Oh my word! Every Amanda I know is super cool!" she said. We talked and laughed and she introduced me to another girl from Austin who's name is Erin. They were both very sweet girls. I had only known them less than ten minutes when Vanessa insisted I sit with them. But they're not just the normal people, they're front rowers. I didn't have a particular objection to this, in fact by the end of the conference I sort of grew to like it.
I can't say too much without feeling like I'm bragging, but I just have to say that the Lord has a funny way of sending exactly what you need exactly when you NEED it.
I hate to be "that person" but there are a few criticisms I have of the conference. For one thing, I do not believe that the use of instruments in worship is scriptural. I tried very hard to keep an open mind about what was going on this weekend, and I'm not saying that we just went crazy, but some boundaries were pushed if not crossed.
We had lots of prayer time this weekend, which is good, but I do not think that playing songs while asking someone to be alone with God in prayer is in any way helpful or scriptural. I am not saying I'm going to go walk into everyone's church and tell them exactly how to run things, but it was very distracting to me and I didn't actually get much praying done during that time. It was more distracting that there were people singing while we were supposed to be praying than the instruments that were playing in the recordings they were running. This was just the main instance that comes to mind because it was the biggest deal to me.
I feel like I have come to terms with a lot of issues in my faith that I have problems with. I am a firm believer in Ephesians 5:19. I still do not believe instruments are acceptable in worship, they're not biblical as far as I can tell and they're simply too distracting. I believe there are different types of worship and that no one should be made to feel like less of a person because their expression is different from your own. At the same time, I think it is disrespectful to the people around you to say, "Accept my habits because I'm not going to change them just because they're causing you distraction in your personal worship to the Lord our God." That, to me, is selfish and un-Christlike in nature. I am more a believer now of acceptance than I ever have been, and by acceptance, I mean the acceptance offered to us by Christ because Christ does not care WHY you come to him. However, at some point he does care why you stay. God can not make a MESSAGE without your MESS.
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