I’ll be honest. I can be somewhat of a skeptic. Admittedly, I have no real reason to be. More times that not, God has come through for me. I’ve been able to witness some pretty amazing things. I’ve even seen what some might consider a miracle or two. But God continues to exceed my expectations. This summer proved to be another example on an ever-increasing list labeled “Eric’s faith is too small.”

MOVE Friday night. I saw six of them this summer. But whether it was Oregon or Tennessee didn’t matter. They all looked the same. As each evening came to a close, we’d call the students’ attention to a little green envelope they received earlier that night. The instructions were pretty simple. Inside the envelope was a task, one of fifty tasks to be exact. If you open the envelope, you have to complete the task. Be careful because the tasks are really hard. In fact, you probably shouldn’t open the envelope. Seriously, don’t open the envelope.

We didn’t want it to feel like manipulation. There was a safety hatch if they wanted to bail. It wasn’t just rhetoric either. These tasks really were tough. One of the fifty said to collect 500 coats for needy kids in your community. Another required the recipient to learn a foreign language and go to a country where it is spoken next summer. Another said to skip prom. What? Skip prom? I’d rather go to Burma!

Each week I stood on stage after making the pitch and watched as hundreds of students threw my warning to the side and stood to say that they were going to open the card. Remember that scene in the proverbial movie where the heroic captain/school teacher/vegan was going to be killed/fired/made to drink milk unless he surrendered/stopped using rap music to teach poetry/ate a hamburger but then all of the sailors/students/PETA supporters stood up in his defense? That’s what it was kind of like. There was always crazy determination in their eyes. High school students are gutsy, they really are gutsy.

I’d select a few from the standing and bring them up on stage to open their card in front of everyone. Chris opened his card in Tennessee and learned that he wouldn’t be buying any new clothes for a year. He made the commitment, in front of 1,200 people, to give that money to the children’s ministry at his church. Chris is gutsy, really gutsy.

Yet Chris isn’t alone. There were literally thousands of other students who stepped up and accepted the challenge to be a kingdom worker this summer. Right now, these stories are playing out in soup kitchens, recycling centers, and locker rooms all over the country. You should get involved too… at your own risk of course.

Go to www.weamplify.com to see the stories of these gutsy kingdom workers.

The first night of MOVE Tennessee 7 was last night at Lee University in Cleveland, TN and it was a great night of worship.  The Aaron Pulsue band really did a great job and played some killer songs, perfect for the opening session.  It was a fantastic balance of get-up-and-jump tunes mixed with humble-yourself-before-God songs.  Well done.  He even revitalized an old 90s worship song that I remember singing back when I was in early high school.

And we will dance on the streets that are golden

The glorious bride and the great Son of Man

From every tribe and tongue and nation . . . .

You know the one I’m talking about.  Well, even if you don’t I’m sure you can appreciate being in a place that is wholly worshipping Jesus.  There’s really nothing like it.  It’s awesome to see so much passion put into the music and so much power coming from the voices of a thousand people all singing as one to God.