I have been overcome by extraordinary experiences so much so, that every time that I sit down to write about it, I'm just undone. See, a good writer can have an average day and, later on, meditate on the details of the ordinary and communicate the treasures that were hidden in the moment. It's the difference between writing that I was walking down the street (ho hum) or lingering on the feeling of the ground beneath my feet, the cool breeze on my cheek, and the heat of the sun on my neck in the same turn. What confounds me as a writer is the blatantly obvious that is, by itself, so spectacular that writing about it does it no justice, in fact, it makes it seem ordinary by comparison. This is why journalism is so hard. Nobody is objective because the details of what can be communicated about any moment are innumerable. Part of this is my explanation of why I haven't written lately. "You mean you have too much to write so you haven't?" Yeah, pretty much. It's a lousy excuse, I know, and since I can't possibly make you understand, I'll instead, tell you an extraordinary story and see if I can do it the justice it's due.

A young man named Ethan came to a conference this weekend and signed up to go on an outreach team on Saturday afternoon. Around 200 students were sent out in teams of 8 to do prophetic evangelism or what we call treasure hunting. The treasure is the gold hidden in the lives of people. I'll leave you to figure that out on your own. Ethan was praying at the end of the outreach class and two things came to him distinctly, that is, he became aware that he was most focused upon the following two things. The color blue, and the pain he felt in his left arm. They first went to Best Buy and saw a man with his left arm in a cast and blue sling. Emboldened, they approached him and politely asked if they could pray for his arm. He replied in the affirmative and after they prayed he said his arm felt warm and the pain was gone. Much more happened but I'll stick to this thread of the story, that is, the color blue and the pain in the left arm. The team went into a Chick Fil A and saw another guy with a broken arm in a blue cast that was removable. Ethan approached the man, telling him about the story of the prayer, the color blue, and the pain in his left arm. The man was excited and allowed Ethan to pray for him and afterward, took the cast off and moved his arm without pain in such a way that moments before he hadn't been able to do. His broken arm was healed. A girl with fibromialgia was also prayed for in the Chick Fil A and as the power of God came upon here she fell out of her chair and the team had to help to settle her back in her seat. The pain left and she was healed. Call me on pointing out the obvious but Ethan had an amazing day of witnessing the miracle working power of God flowing through his hands.

Ethan hasn't always had good days though. A year earlier, Ethan's Dad and Mom, Jerry and Julie, had just been in Houston where Jerry had just received his ordination into full time ministry. A former Air Force test pilot, Jerry was an adventurer to the core and had answered the call to do mission work in South America. He had just called me in Maui to share his vision for reaching people in his upcoming ministry and had never sounded more certain about his future. On the way home from receiving his credentials, Jerry and Julie were both killed in a car accident. If anyone has reason to be offended at God, Ethan does. If anyone has reason to drown themselves in confusion brought on by intense grief, Ethan does. If anyone has justifiable cause to create a case against faith, Ethan does. Yet he hasn't.

The Kingdom of God is built upon the foundation of the persistence of people who refuse to be derailed by disappointment. Being willing to step beyond the hurdle of offense and die to the ability to be stalled by things they don't understand is the mark of a true revivalist. Ethan's father left an inheritance for his sons by laying hold of a mantle that was larger than his own life, and now his son is walking in such a way as to increase that which he has been entrusted with. Ethan has volunteered as an intern at the Austin House of Prayer now, and is spending his free time cultivating an intimacy with the voice of God that his father and mother valued so much. Tonight, I sit and think about the miracles, and realize that Ethan and the 200 other revivalists who went out this weekend, are all contending for breakthrough that is bigger than one life can carry alone. It has brought me back to Romans 1:16, "...I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes..." Don't allow disappointment to deny you of your destiny to disciple nations. The Gospel is not the theory of God, not the philosophy of God, it's the power of God, and those who position themselves to encounter the Presence and embrace the Gospel will experience the Power.
(photos by Andrew Cole and Ashleigh Montoya)