The ministry of Youth for Christ is filled with creative and bright individuals; many of them with youthful energy and passion. Frequently the fruit of such staff is personified in video form. It might be a story they convey, an activity they highlight, or an event that they promote.
So, with our Youth for Christ/USA national conference just weeks away, a creative burst has produced a flurry of creative and entertaining video. I expected this; and frankly, hoped for it. What I didn’t expect was the way that such an effort would spill over and involve such a wide variety of individuals.
Let me paint this more vividly; June Thompson is my assistant at Youth for Christ. I am the sixth YFC President that June has worked for. She’s competent, bright, insightful, and steady. She epitomizes the support role and she lives her love for Christ in tangible, service-oriented ways.
So imagine what it’s been like to have a front row seat watching June become a star on the latest surge of Youth for Christ videos. Our young staff have appropriately and effectively used both her reputation and her demeanor to deliver witty, fun and entertaining content for our staff to enjoy.
I’ve learned a great deal from June Thompson over the past seven years, but this lesson really nudges my soul. When most staff members would have rolled their eyes, or dismissed this as an outrageous idea, June signed on. She signed up for what most of us would have written off; and in doing so she has inspired twenty and thirty-year-olds across the country.
The “Teach Me How to Wolgie” video is something special within Youth for Christ circles. It’s an invitation to our national conference in February, but so much more than that, it’s an invitation to stretch and grow and surprise those who think they have you figured out.
Courage isn’t birthed in the womb of predictability; it explodes from the foundation of possibility. It ignites what is latent; it involves what is complacent. It defies what is assumed.
When you watch the video; enjoy it. But as you do, ask yourself the question – what have I avoided or ignored or declined that I should have embraced? What was it about June’s stellar performance that adds fuel to the fire of abandon.
Isn’t this what happened to a carpenter inNazareth? Molds obliterated. Assumptions blown.
Here you go: http://vimeo.com/34630056
Predictability can be overrated! You go June!
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