Same Stuff - Excellent Non-Assembly Line

Darrell Wood and I had the opportunity to visit RevGen at it's finest from 29Nov to 2Dec. Many excellent meetings and miles of travel taking the ambiance of the area. I would suggest that the trip was successful in that both Darrell and I had some life changing experiences. Everytime I take in the Nashville area, my life is changed. As we were landing onto the Nashville airport tarmac, i leaned over to Darrell and mentioned to him that it feels like I am coming home again. Not sure if this is because I yearn for the raw artsy cutting edge spiritual stuff that is so prevalent over here. I have visited this area 3 times in the last 8 months - the excursions are different every time as so are my expectations. Maybe, this is where I realize the changes to my journey's milestones ........ who knows. Mine is not to understand why but to 'just do it' (please note that this goes against my german, engineering knowledge and understanding - really uncomfortable and stretching but very good for me).
We met with the Rocketown folks and took in the tour of the facility (if you are ever down in Nashville, you've got to see this). Ben Cissell, (Outreach Director) and Mary Virginia Settle, (Operations Manager) know most of the kids from the surround area by name......... impressive. Took in a show by some local screamo bands with about 500 other kids that same night. The next day we saw an article called 'Down with JC' written by the Nashville Scene about Rocketown's influence in Nashville (check it out). That same night, Joseph Rojas (CEO of Revolution Generation and band leader Seventh Day Slumber) talked to us about how he would like to see a RevGen Canadian contingency ............ hey i am just along for the ride - watching God do it. Amazing!! - the youth mentorship program for Southern Alberta & Canada is falling into place so quickly now. Next we visited with Wayne Headly (Director) of Global Cafe in downtown Nashville. The three floors of this building was once Planet Hollywood. Mondays to Fridays the Global Cafe is used for meetings, entertainment, fashion & other gatherings and Sundays a church service is held. On Sunday, we took in a church service at Journey Ecclesia in Franklin, TN. We then had the privilege in meeting some of the leadership team after the service. An excellent post modern church that believes in loving on the people as displayed during Jamie's message of the prodigal son.
A very successful trip!!

Heart of a King

There a few people to be considered as true kings from my perspective like Aragorn (Lord of the Rings), David (bible) & Jesus (bible) to list a few. I know of some other kings that i rub shoulders with from time to time. Wow, Ed knows some royalty! Some kings are well known for ruling and conquering different lands. Some kings were selfish in using the peasants of the land for the gain of themselves and not for the kingdom. According to John Eldridge, it would seem that the men were destined to be kings as he says:

We come now to the goal, in some sense, of the masculine journey, the maturity for which God has the been fathering the man since his first breath - to be a King. To wield power, influence, and property in his name. It is a great and noble an undertaking as it is difficult; history makes this very clear. The reason for many of our miseries up the earth in these days is that we have lost our Kings. Yes, we find men in power, but they are not true Kings. And that is a dangerous situation indeed, when a man is made King who is unfit to be one, and it has brought the ruin to many knigdoms - homes, families, churches, ministries, businesses, nations.

John continues in his book "The Way of the Wild Heart" (cw 2006) that the problem of the earth and masculine journey boils down to when can you trust a man with power? The annals of the kings (bible) are for the most part a very sad record due to corruption and selfish gain. People like Moses, David, Charlemagne, Lincoln are hard to come by. So what makes a good king? John Eldridge suggests that one should consider the heart of the king:

Most of the men I know in some position of power and influence are not holy enough to handle even what they do have, and they are doing damage as we speak. They operate out of their business training and "principles of leadership," they operate out of a great deal of their own brokenness, but they do not, on any sort of regular basis, check in with God, submit to him, live as a man yielding his plans to him.

Mr. Eldridge also mentions that the kings are "on behalf of others", they roll up their sleeves and toil for the good of the kingdom for the sake of the people. Examples are Balian in the "Kingdom of Heaven", David in the bible. Kings offer a place of refuge like the Jesuit priests in "The Mission"; they rescued the South American tribes from the Portuguese slave traders.

The missions they create in the jungle become outposts of freedom and life, little kingdoms of heaven where the native people thrive, creating cottage industries, schools, a music academy. They usher in a sort of golden age for the tribes, willing to put their lives on the line to serve the weak and vulnerable.

I think that some readers may be getting the drift. We are given the power and resources and influence for the benefit of others. One of my favourite courageous heroes of all time would be Mother Thereasa. She was a queen! I am so fortunate to have lived and heard about her reign in the little kingdom of Kolcata, India. She was a perfect example of "on behalf of the people" as she used her influence, power and resources around the world for people in Kolcata. Did you know that she died about a month before Princess Diana? Think about it!
I know some people that i have rubbed shoulders with today to be considered kings in the city of Calgary and town of Okotoks. Someday, i too would like to be like the kings I see from day to day.
Check out my friends blog from YWAM as he touches on purpose - Al's Musings