twenty-three

The short sprint is over. The long, well-paced race through the year begins.

Last night we had the very first INN of the new school year. It’s hard to describe exactly all that goes into such a night as this, especially from the inside. If you’ve experienced what a Tuesday night is like during the year at the INN, you probably have some perspective for the nature of these large "kick off" gatherings, but it truly an "other" experience to be behind the scenes and work to make it all happen. Last night, and this week in general, I’ve remembered precisely why I work where I do. I love it.

But, before I get to why I love it, maybe I should say a bit about what went into last night. Every year, we try to have an opening night experience that is welcoming to the many, many students who are joining us for the first time. This year we themed the night around the concept of running away to the Circus. The doors of the church were transformed into the entrance into a "big top" tent. We had a trapeze artist hanging from the balcony. We had cotton candy, balloons, and all kinds of great posters and streamers. And, we had a wonderful "ring master", Nate, who emceed the night with some welcoming pizazz. Our staff introduction video was all about the 9 of us "selling out for the circus", a rag tag group of runaways whose random abilities conveniently meshed to form a troupe to tackle a new year. So much creativity seemed to flow from the staff and students who joined in and made it an awesome night.

And so, I love it. I love the energy that we all felt in the room last night, the anticipation of a new year together. The deep bonds of friendship and family that so many of the students feel with each other and with our staff. The movements of God in our midst, guiding us in worship, walking alongside us as we look forward to a year of small groups, mission trips, service projects, and experiencing him. It’s hard not to love this place.

It has also been a significant week for me as I’ve transitioned in my role on staff. As I’ve begun to take on the music side of things, I’ve been more and more excited about being where I am. I feel passionate about helping students learn and grow as they experience what it means to be a music leader, what it means to worship and lead worship. This weekend at our student leader retreat, I was sitting with our music team people, playing a song we’ve sung so many times, and I felt this great sense of being in such the right place, a sense of being where God has called me for this season of my life.

We have a long year ahead and, as I tried to last year, I hope to share some of these sacred moments here as we go through it. I use the running imagery at the beginning of this post because I’m beginning to understand what Paul was talking about when he describes running the race to the end, finishing strong.

4 Responses to “The Long Race has Started”