Day 7.  Movement.

Jesus is a movement.  He is not about monuments, systems or external structures.  He is a river of life, “And everywhere the river flows, everything lives.”  Movements are fluid.  Movements move.  Movements are not on a schedule and are not always predictable.

Passion began with a desire to spark a movement among the university-aged young people of the world.  Yet this does not happen by huge conferences alone.  Our brand must be more than catchy phrases and packed-out events.  Passion will only be a movement when one altered life shines His light in the darkness for all to see…one light soon joined by another, and another, and another.

We are working hard today on the details of Passion 2010, and are so honored so many are headed our way.  Yet, the external stuff of this gathering is not what we need.  Some will be fooled because we fill an arena and sing the songs.  But, unless we bring our hearts to Him–open, honest and bare, no Spirit-birthed movement can flow.

I don’t know about you, but I am coming needy to Passion 2010.  I want Jesus to break, heal and reshape every part of my heart…of our hearts.  We, as Passion, can’t make that happen, yet I am convinced it’s what we need more than anything.  And why together we pray…

Father, we desperately need You.  Help us.  Come to us.  Breathe on us.  We desire to move beyond the outward layers that impress, but do not change the heart.  Today, I am raising my hope to You.  I believe in Your power to heal, awaken and restore.  Wind of the Spirit, come.  Blow on me again.  Blow me onward.  Wildly forward.  Powerfully alive.  Godward forever.  For Jesus sake, Amen.

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” John 3:8

Day 6.  Continually.

With a global reach, it’s quite possible someone is reading this post every hour of the day, around the clock.  While we are sleeping in the US, someone wide awake is praying along with this journey in Asia or Australia, making for an unbroken chain of faith and expectation that is leading us from here to Passion 2010.

So, wherever you are today, let’s make it our goal to pray without stopping, covering every little part of Passion 2010 in Jesus’ name.  We know our adversary is trying to wreck it all before we even arrive in Atlanta, so let’s look up to the One who is above and over all, trusting to Him our lives and the days ahead!

Make a note.  Put a sticker on your watch.  Set the alarm on your phone.  Set up a prayer-text time with a friend.  Call somebody.  However works for you, prepare the way.

So together we pray…

Holy Spirit, awaken our hearts throughout the day and night, and lead us in the ways we should pray for Passion 2010.  You know every facet and need.  Link our hearts around the world and across the nation, and encourage us in the fact that someone else is praying at the same time we are somewhere on the other side of the globe.  Father, let Your Kingdom come and Your plans be done.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Day 5. Global.

At the beginning, Passion was intentionally about impacting the 17+million university students in the USA, 80% of whom say they are “not born-again” based on a UCLA Survey of over 250,000 incoming freshman and transfer students each year.

Those numbers are still staggering, and very much fuel the cause of the Passion Movement. But, in time, the Passion vision began to spread to students elsewhere, taking root in countries we would have never dreamed of at the start.  Our global expansion fully bloomed last year as Passion circled the world (a few times), gathering students in 17 world cities, highlighting their importance to the future Church and, in most cases, hosting the largest ever university gatherings for Christians those cities had ever witnessed. In 2010, God willing, we will return to eight of those cities as we continue to widen the wake of our movement and serve the students of the globe.

While the majority of the 21,500+ people headed to Atlanta for 2010 are from the US, many are coming from places far and wide. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 40-50 nations will be represented, many of those still praying for visas to attend.

Our world shrinks daily and our Body transcends borders. We are a part of a global wave and we are His!

So together we pray…..

Father, thank you that we are living in these days where it is possible to be so closely linked with the peoples of the earth.  Continue to expand our awareness of our global community, and our place in the tapestry that is humanity.  We want to see Your fame spread to all people and every nation.

Today we are praying with every student and leader still seeking a visa to attend Passion 2010.  Please give them favor with embassies and officials and open the way for them to be a part of this gathering.  Where some have been denied and have another chance to present their case, please change the hearts of those overseeing their case, allow them to travel to the US for these days and send them back to their communities and churches with renewed passion for Your fame where the live.

For Your name in all the earth, Jesus! Amen.

May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine upon us,
that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you.
May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth.
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you.
Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us.
God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Psalm 67

Day 4. Expectant.

This year we have been carrying the idea that “expectation creates the atmosphere for the miraculous.”  Once again, we are not trying to push a catchy slogan, rather to appreciate the fact that in scripture Jesus always rewarded those who came to Him expecting something supernatural…and that is the case today.

So many of us cruise through life simply existing from day to day.  Yet to call ourselves by His name should cause us to face every circumstance with the expectation that everything is an option because He is God.  It’s not that we are creating a formula that forces God’s hand, but  that we are seeking to live with a growing awareness of His presence and power in all things.  We are fighting against the tide of “whatever,” and wanting to please Him with faith that matches all of who He is.

Just days from Christmas, as Advent is upon us, the spirit of expectation is what this season is about.  Charles Wesley nailed it in his classic hymn, Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus:

Come thou long-expected Jesus,
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a Child and yet a King.
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all-sufficient merit
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

As we celebrate His birth, let it be a reminder that He is always on time and always delivers.  He may not come on our schedule, in the way that we would have planned.  But He always comes in glorious power and always keeps His word.

So, together we pray…

Father, fill our hearts with the hope of all You are.  Help us raise our expectation for this day and the days of Passion 2010.  We want to be the kind of kids that make You happy…the kind who live with confidence in You…not being surprised when You do the miraculous, but expectantly grateful…believing all along that You were going to come through.  You are God.  You can do what You say.  You will be all that You are.  Nothing is impossible.  Everything is an option.  Come, thou long expected Jesus.  We are waiting on You.  You’re the joy of our longing hearts.  Amen

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”  Hebrews 11:6

Day 3. Yes.

Just one little word.  Three small letters.  But one massive prayer.

At Passion, and in the days of Passion 2010, our core confession begins with “yes.”  “Yes, Lord.” Easily said.  But challenging words to mean and live.

So today’s prayer is simple…yet, profound–

Father, open my eyes to see You as You are…amazingly beautiful and desiring only the very best for me in everything.  Jesus, let me sense and know Your scars, proof of Your great love for me and Your certain promise of life that is beyond anything I could ever find without You.  My life is Yours.  You gave it to me.  With it now I so want to say “yes” to You.

I am not afraid of where my “yes” may lead…as long as it leads me closer to You.  There is nothing I need outside of You and nothing I fear as long as I am walking in Your purposes for my life.

Bring us all to Atlanta having already said “yes” to You in our hearts.  We are open.  We are ready.  We trust You fully.  We are Yours.

Yes and Amen.

Day 2.  Glory.

At the center of Passion 2010 is the glory of the One and Only.  For this reason, our gathering is not built on personalities or people, but on Jesus Christ.  I know this sounds simple and obvious, but it’s amazing how easily our focus and affection can shift from the center to something or someone else.

From the beginning, Passion has been rooted in the confession of Isaiah 26:8, Yes Lord, walking in the way of Your truth we wait eagerly for You, for Your name and renown are the desire of our souls.

This is not just a clever or catchy slogan, it is our heartbeat and the very reason we exist.  And while these words sound great rolling off our lips, the truth they carry stands boldly opposed  to  a self-focused humanity.  To embrace this confession  is to crush pride and drive a dagger through the heart of self.

And why would we possibly want to do that?  Because there is someone greater, higher and more beautiful than anything else in this world.  No one and nothing rivals His fame or worth.  He is everything, and He has rescued us from futile little lives that are all about us, raising us up to live in Him and for His glory.  He is the very best there is, and we share our lives with Him.

So, who else could we place at the center of Passion 2010?  Me?  You?  No way.  We won’t settle for less than Jesus.  And we won’t champion any other name above the one that rescues and saves.

So we pray together…

Father, have mercy on us.  Though we have seen Your greatness we still cling to tiny idols.  And worse still, even at our “Christian gatherings” we talk about others far more than we talk about You. It seems what we need is a fresh glimpse of You…a jolt of Your beauty that will instantly re-size the world around us.  We know you are all we need and better than all our loves.  Give us grace today to push aside every lesser thing and put you at the center of our thoughts, dreams, desires and affections.  It’s all about You, Jesus.  Amen

You alone can rescue
You alone can save
You alone can lift us from the grave
You came down to find us
Led us out of death
To You alone belongs the highest praise.
You Alone Can Rescue-Matt Redman

Day 1. Together.

In sixteen days many of us will meet for the first time as our massive throng descends on Atlanta for Passion 2010.  Today, we are over 20,000 strong and growing, with people coming from all across the nation and around the world.  Some are traveling great distances, driving for days to be a part of this gathering.  While others live so close they’ll be sleeping in their own beds during 2010.  Some have been praying long and hard for a visa, a “yes” from the powers that be allowing them to leave their nation and journey to Atlanta.  Others simply said “Ok” to a friend, and aren’t sure exactly what they’ve signed up for.  Tons have paid their way, while many are still waiting for that miracle to appear so they can join us.

People are coming from schools big and small, Ivy League, state universities and commuter colleges…and some are not in school at the moment, or at all.  Most love Jesus and want to live for Him, yet some are seeking, still unsure of what the whole story of faith is all about.  Some are confident, but many are filled with doubts.

Many are coming with loads of friends.  But some coming feel isolated and alone.  Some are coming with full hearts.  Others are limping in, shattered by life, self or circumstances beyond their control.  Many believe, but some feel faith slipping away.  Some are coming having tasted freedom from the stuff that wrecked their hearts.  Others are coming in chains, somehow unable to shake the things that hold them down.

A few of us are Passion regulars.  Most will have never been before.  Some feel their hearts are tight with His.  Yet, for others this is their last shot at whether this “Christian thing” really works or not.  Some are coming delighted.  Some desperate.  Some both.  But the beauty of it all is that we are coming together, not individuals attending an event, but sons and daughters running after His face and the healing that is in His hands.

Today, we begin our journey.  We are not alone, but one massive wave.  So, whoever you are, welcome.  You are reading these words with others just like you all around the world.  He is here.  We are here.  And we are His!

Passion 2010 starts here.  There is a place for you.

So, together we pray…

Father, thank you for linking us together as Your children, for placing us in an amazing family and for merging our hearts for a cause that is worth our all.  In these days leading to 2010 connect us and cause us to sense the “collective,” the Body, the Church, the movement that is Yours.  Break the pride of individualism and self that opposes Your kingdom, and together, reveal Yourself to us with power and grace.  We believe that You are everything, and because of Jesus, we are Yours.  Amen.

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom His whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:14-19

“One characteristic that marks the average church today is lack of anticipation. Christians when they meet do not expect anything unusual to happen; consequently only the usual happens, and that usual is as predictable as the setting of the sun…

We need today a fresh spirit of anticipation that springs out of the promises of God. We must declare war on the mood of nonexpectation, and come together with childlike faith. Only then can we know again the beauty and wonder of the Lord’s presence among us.”
AW Tozer

God Tells the Man Who Cares, pp. 168,170.

Sometimes Tozer defies the 140 character limits of Twitter, so I wanted to add all of this passage.  It is such a challenge to me, personally. I know we cannot put the mighty presence and work of God on any schedule that involves man’s doing.  But there has to be an expectation that when we gather as His people anything can and should happen because the God of all Creation is in our midst.

LG

Merry Christmas everyone!

We are close to the end of the term, finals are looming for you university-types and Christmas is upon us all.  This, I know, because I am three nights into the “Glory In The Highest Tour” and things are definitely feeling a lot like Christmas.

The tour has been stellar…really fresh and potent every night.  So far, we have been in warm Florida, where people attended in their finest holiday flip-flops, and freezing Alabama, accompanied beautiful Birmingham snow.  Tonight, we head north for serious winter cold as we make the trek to Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois.  Sleigh bells ring, are you listening…..

Yet, while we are carrying this beautiful Christmas evening across the nation, Passion 2010 draws nigh and expectations are high.  We have less than a month to go until we kick off the opening session and we want to be ready and on the same page when we arrive.  For that to happen, I need your help in three ways.

One, I need you to say out loud with me now: TOWELS AND SOCKS!  Every person (student, leader, volunteer, speaker, band member, van driver) needs to come through the door with a towel and a package of socks for men, women or children.  [I will always remember Piper rolling in with his bag of towels and socks at '07.]  It’s all part of Do Something Now, the heartbeat of our worship at 2010.  So visit the website and get ready for your role in the DSN challenge.  But, TOWELS AND SOCKS are an all-skate, meaning everyone!  Sounds easy I know, but people tend to forget.  Let’s all remember, and stack up 20,000+ towels and 3-6x that many pairs of socks for the homeless of Atlanta.

Two, we want to prepare the way in prayer.  You can start today, covering this journey we are on in the name of Jesus.  We are not just waltzing toward an “event,” but engaging a very real and just cause.  And, we have an enemy, and opposition at every turn.  Beginning December 17, we will post a Sixteen-Day Prayer Journey to Passion 2010 here on the Blog. Sixteen days because 2+6+8=16, and that puts Isaiah 26:8, our core message, front and center all the way to Atlanta.

Three, bring somebody!  Sure, it’s late in the game, but someone you know is looking for that last bit of encouragement to come to Passion 2010.  So, be that voice and bring them with you.  There are already over 20,000+ students, leaders and volunteers coming our way, but there is still room for that person you sense should be sitting with you when your world is rocked to the core.

Jesus, all this is for you.  Cover us in Your mercy and care, prepare us for what we cannot fully comprehend and open our hearts to the wonder that is shining around us as these days of Advent cause us to stand in awe of You.

LG

[For you "not until after Thanksgiving" Christmas people, it is officially time to get Tomlin's Glory In The Highest CD into your holiday play list!]

It’s not hard for Shelley and me to remember back to late spring 1995.  It was a turbulent time in our lives as we said goodbye to ten years of campus ministry in Texas, leaving behind the students we loved and a movement we had leveraged what little we had for.  Our plan, though uncertain, was to move to Atlanta to help my mom care for my dad who had become disabled seven years earlier as a result of a rare brain virus. Helping her was unmistakably clear.  Everything else was up for grabs.  But, before we could actually complete the move my dad suddenly died of a heart attack on Friday, April 28.  Shelley and I got the news while I was speaking at a conference in Boston.  We were crushed.  I basically sobbed the whole flight from Logan International to Atlanta, even though death had been a regular possibility in the early stages of my father’s illness and I thought, many times, I was ready for this outcome.  In the end, I was not ready for this.

The following Monday, while a packed house celebrated our ten years of ministry at Baylor, we buried my dad north of Atlanta and wondered how things could turn upside down so quickly.  My mom’s heart was broken and she was alone.  Shelley and I left one world to come to another, one that was now radically different than we had planned. Our reason for being in Atlanta was murky and shifting.  There were more tears than clarity, but, honestly, we never completely lost hope. Sure, we were shaken.  Even somewhat dismayed.  Yet, not long after those darkest of nights the skies began to clear and God allowed us to see glimpses of what was to come.

What began to stir in our hearts didn’t make death less easy, but as the early clouds of what is now Passion began to form we could see that God really does cause things to work for good, no matter how messed up they may seem in the moment.

That fall, we began shaping a movement with a few close friends (we didn’t even have the name “Passion” yet) and praying God would use that wave to touch the lives of students across the nation.  To be fair, we really weren’t thinking about the whole world just yet.  Our hearts were breaking for the 17+million university students in the US, most of whom (at that time and today) were falling asleep each night not knowing why they are here and how deeply they are loved.

Eighteen months later, the first Passion gathering emerged January 1-4, 1997, in Austin, TX, a small miracle of sorts (we were starting from zero!) where 2000 students spent four days considering what it means to live out the heart of Isaiah 26:8.  The idea of a “268 Generation” was forged and our destiny was set forever.  If you were there, you know what I’m talking about.  Heaven was open.   Something powerful was being exchanged.  And lives were irreversibly stamped for His glory.  From that moment on, our future was set.

Would this all have happened without the agonizing pain of seven years of disability and death?  I can’t answer that one yet, but I know that all Passion has become is partially due to the suffering of those days.  Beauty rising from the ashes.  And, while I don’t fully understand why it had to be that way, I am grateful for it all.

That’s why, all these years later, Passion 2010 is not just another event for us, not just another “Passion thing.”  It is the sum of our struggles, the fruit of our sufferings, the labor of our love, the vision of our dreams…the path we have chosen to stake our lives on for His renown.

And to see what he has done over the years…words fail!

But we are so, so grateful.

Now, this little nationwide vision has circled the globe, amplified again by this e-mail our staff team received this week:
Hi Brad

Excitement for Jan 2010 is reaching an all time high this side of the Atlantic! Me and my friend Mark have been saving and planning for a year, we cannot wait to land in Atlanta on New Year’s day!

My friend Mark and I cannot believe we will actually get to be at an event which has inspired and shaped us over the past 5 years. It’s amazing!

70 young people in our church watched “Fruitcake and Ice Cream” in East Belfast on Sunday night. Thank-you for inspiring a generation!

Blessings in Christ
SC
“O Christ, be the centre of our lives, be the place we fix our eyes..”

Wow!

Thanks, Ireland, for joining the movement and for making the journey to Passion 2010!  And to everyone reading this across the earth, we are celebrating our Thanksgiving holiday in the USA…so Happy Thanksgiving to you wherever you are!

Our entire Passion Team will take a brief pause this week for family, turkey (hopefully, fried) and friends, but soon we will be back at it full speed getting everything in place for your arrival at Passion 2010.  This weekend, as you are back home among friends, it’s a great time to talk about the vision, watch the 2010 videos and add to your crew before the price goes up on midnight, Tuesday, December 1.  Join these crazy Belfast guys and make the journey for His fame!

God is good!  We are blessed.  Our future is sure!

Louie

PS-New Thanksgiving Podcast posted now for your traveling enjoyment!