"Center" and Re-Centering

I’m actually typing this little blog post outside. Those of you who came to Shift traveled to Chicago a week too early - it’s 71 degrees outside right now!

Even though the weather was less than desirable last week, I felt like I was able to leave behind some of the clouds that have been hovering over my heart recently. I was able to “re-center” my soul with God and my calling as a youth-worker.

The first day of sessions were crazy intense for me. And from the vibe in the room I could tell that many of you were sitting with the weight of the work that we have ahead of us. From Brian McLaren’s opening charge to live out the kingdom of God right now in this broken world – to Mark Yaconelli’s simple, honest reflections on spiritual formation in students – to Shane Claiborne’s unashamed fire for justice ... it was enough to make even the most complacent of us sit on the edge of our seats.

That first day set the tone for the rest of our time together. I could feel it in the air. And I hope that you could feel it too. You and I have a very important calling on our lives. As we sang the song “Center” together on Friday morning ... I was struck once again with the reminder that we must re-center our lives on Christ every day. And in that moment, in those last hours, I felt that hundreds of us were united with Christ and his call to return to our communities and live a re-centered life.

I hope that your time with us was energizing and inspiring. I’m really looking forward to the days ahead. See ya next year.

[Brandon Grissom is worship leader at Elevate, Willow Creek's Junior High Ministry. brandongrissom.net]