Best Thing I Heard at SYMC 2013: Day 3

1.  Water what’s strong.

Don’t waste time trying to nurse what’s dead – invest in what’s strong and allow it to overtake the weak areas.  LOVE IT!

2.  Sometimes the messenger IS the message.

Definitely sometimes the messenger enhances a message that might have otherwise been missed.

3.  I killed people in the Bible for lying to me.

Yep – God don’t mess around…so help me always be honest with you, Jesus.

4.  I don’t get carpet.

It’s a floor covering made of fiber, Matt.

5.  We shouldn’t be driven there.  We shouldn’t someday make it there.  We should start there.  (on our knees before Jesus.)

Bring me back to that place in my life, Lord, where prayer was the first thing – not the last.

6.  I am with you – even in the aftermath.

Thank God – I might even say ‘especially’ in the aftermath.

7.  God does say he care for the flowers – and they live in dirt.

God’s provision doesn’t always look the way we think it should.

8.  It’s time to focus less on the why and more on the who.

Amen!

9.  I’m flippin’ Phil Bell.

It sounds so cool with a British accent.

10.  Dad, can you help me with my NHS forms?

I’d rather do ministry with that kid (and his brothers) than any other kid on this planet!

Best Thing I Heard at SYMC 2013: Day 2

1.  Mustard is not a shy condiment.

Indeed.  Neither is horseradish – it just doesn’t get the credit it deserves.

 

2.  I was on my way to Anchorage and had a hang-over….I mean lay over!!

Well which was it, Mike?  Because both could probably be plausible.  Don’t try to cover your tracks now – it’s too late!

 

3.  Don’t go viral for the wrong reasons.

Tell that to Sweet Brown.

 

4.  When most are running away, you guys run into the fire.

I have never thought of student ministry in these terms – but it is so accurate.  I pray that I can help other parents and leaders start running toward the fire!

 

5.  If we really believe God’s strength is our strength, we’d start before we were ready.

Whoa.  This still leaves me feeling winded.

 

6.  Katie is awesome.

Yes.  I know this.  And I am never more honored and humbled at God’s mercy on me than when I stand in a crowd and listen to her speak His wisdom into the lives of  students, families, and leaders.  She is altogether amazing – and I am rich beyond measure.

 

7.  You don’t get much more white Mennonite than that.

True.  I’m glad Lecrae didn’t have to see that, Joel.

 

8.  We should always play to the size of the heart, not the size of the audience.

He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.   Ecclesiastes 3.11

 

9.  Don’t believe the lie that your present circumstance is your permanent circumstance.

It’s such an effective tale, though.  It evaporates hope and dims sight to blessing.

 

10. God is not in the business of better – He’s in the business of new.

Thank God for that!  I don’t need to be better.  I need to be new.