Raising a Prophetic Generation
Details
Night 1 - Confess WHAT to WHO?
The first night started with some (heavy duty) basics. Mark
talked about
sin, and its effects on our lives. Among other
things, he spoke of the need for
confession. In our
breakout session, the
youth were asked to go to counselors, and confess the biggest
sin or problem they were dealing with, or which they felt the
Lord urging them to deal with. The counselors were then
supposed to let them know that in Jesus' name they were forgiven.
As usual, our youth didn't fit the mold. One of the seniors,
someone we all trust and look up to, confessed publicly
to an area in which they had blown it, in a way that could have
brought shame on not only them, but the whole group, their parents,
(leaders in the church) and even the church. They asked for
forgiveness.
It just got better and better. We spent most of an hour hearing
the youth publicly confess to one another and asking
forgiveness. Between the leaders we knew about most of it, but
there were a few surprises. The biggest surprise, though, was
simply seeing the youth interact in this way. Public confession
is not an easy thing. This was real. Nobody tried to
stir it up; we couldn't have made this happen if we had tried!
And they were really forgiving each other and encouraging one
another. It was so awesome!
Sibling rivalries were ended. Insecurities got trashed. Some
kids let go of some serious hurts and hatreds. Afterwards,
there were a few individual confessions, but these were directly
to the involved individuals, not just to a handy counselor.
Forgiveness and love was so deep, it was just incredible.
(Will it last? Well, I'm updating this over a year later, and
the kids who forgave each other are still hanging out together.
A good start, eh?)
The next 3 days consisted of several sessions per day, plus free time.
Most of the sessions where
we all met together included drama, dance, or skits by various youth
groups. These sessions also included praise and worship times, and
prayer and ministry times.
Free time was spent on
the beach, at the pool, waverunning, parasailing, horseback riding,
4wheeling, etc.
Guys
During one of the sessions, Mark spoke to the guys
about being a Godly man. He used illustrations from his
own life and people he knew well, explaining some of his
failures, and how God forgave and healed (as did the other
people involved). This honesty made a real impact on some
of the youth; one guy who had really not wanted to come
began to soften at this point.
The guys got initial bracelets, except the letter blocks
were "W W J D", standing for "What Would Jesus Do?", as
a reminder of how to handle our dealings, especially with
the gals.
Gals
While Mark was with the guys, his wife Sandy was
talking to the girls about their being precious packages
from God. I asked my daughter, Esther
for a summary. (Since I had cut
my hair I had no chance of sneaking in. 8^)
The gals got little gold boxes with gold ribbons,
containing ribbon necklaces with silver hearts on them.
Sandy explained that as precious packages, they weren't
to let anyone take off their wrappings or tear them apart,
and that they were to keep their hearts from getting
tarnished with sin.
Destiny
Alan spoke the first evening about destiny, how we each
have one, and about ``destiny thieves'' - whatever
would rob us of any part of our destiny.
Quiet Times
Alan spoke on almost everyone's least favorite subject as
only Alan can do it - and we lapped it up. He covered
what they are, what they aren't, why they are important,
how to do them and what not to do.
Hearing God and What to Do with What We Hear
During two morning sessions, Carl dealt with the issue of
prophetic giftings with the youth. He covered everything
from the basics (knowing when it's God) to being careful
to understand what we are to do with what He says (speak it
privately? speak it publicly? intercessory prayer?) to
how to share it when appropriate to mistakes (avoiding them
and dealing with them when we don't avoid them).
The Core of All Ministry
Tommy spoke to the counselors one morning some
overlooked basics of ministry - receiving correction,
confession, and counting the cost.
Identity Crises
Another morning, Tommy spoke to the counselors on the
importance of knowing who we are as Christians, who we
are, and the problems when we don't know that.
Ugly Ducklings
The second night Alan spoke about God turning ugliness
into beauty, and offering what we have - which means knowing
what we have to offer. He reminded us that it's not all
about us, it's about Him.
Daddy Loves Us
The final evening, Mark spoke about God as not only our
Father, but our Dad, and us as His kids, on the Holy Spirit
and us, and on the natural versus the supernatural.
Last updated:
04 February 2002
Copyright 1997 Miles O'Neal, Austin, TX. All rights reserved.
Miles O'Neal
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c/o RNN / 1705 Oak Forest Dr / Round Rock, TX / 78681-1514