Are you BREATHING? #SYMC

It’s always a great feeling when you hear a great speaker and you feel like His message is directed at you. It’s God telling you, “This is what I want you to hear.”  Last night’s opening general session with the Simply Youth Ministry Team and Francis Chan had gave us the encouragement to BREATHE, something we aren’t accustomed to doing as youth leaders.  As we were leaving the session I found myself apologizing to my team because there have been moments on the trip where I’ve forgotten that I’m with adults and not a group of teens.  I found myself organizing their time with instructions like:

• We need to check-in at…
• Make sure we meet at…
• If you have questions, find me at…

They are adults, they can figure all of that out for themselves and even if they can’t they don’t need me.  Just as I’m away this weekend from the ministry I lead, I’ve got great volunteers and after hearing Francis Chan speak I’m confident the program will soar in my presence.  And that’s because:

Breathing can mean:

• Taking a step back.
• Getting out of the way.
• Slowing down your pace.

It’s basically about releasing control over your life and allowing the Spirit to lead.  It’s a truth we struggle with embracing, because it’s scary.  Breathing means trusting in God; however, it also makes us vulnerable to a list of What Ifs (What if the teens don’t hear a message from me?)
As you continue through the weekend here at Simply Youth Ministry Conference find time to just:

• Sit With Scripture For Enjoyment And Not Work
• Find Men And Women To Connect With To Lead To Future Accountability
• Time To Just Go To Your Room And Be Still (Even if that’s sleep)

My encouragement to you is to accept God’s invitation through this conference to just BREATHE.

What did you learn from last night’s message at SYMC?  How do you BREATHE when things get tight?