I Love A New Face

Last night I was out late watching the Thunder/Lakers game with friends.  After the game, a friend of mine started talking to a young guy about some of my crazy traveling adventures.  Come to find out, this young guy has treaded a lot of the same ground that our feet have traveled.  His face lit up when I told him that my wife, myself, along with many other friends have lived and worked with kids (traveling hippies) in and around Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.  He really lit up when he found out that the reason that we were there is because we are Jesus freaks.  Now we where connecting fast.  I started to learn more about him.

He is in OKC, on an adventure of his own.  He loves music, people, the arts, prayer and Jesus.  He came to OKC on a step of faith, only knowing that he loves these things and has a vision of being used in these areas in our city.  He wants to start a prayer community in the city that might look like IHOP in Kansas City.  He is keeping his time on the flexible side of the spectrum of time management...haaaa...i love it.  He ended up crashing on our couch last night & we hung out even more this morning.

I don't know what will come out of this random encounter, but I felt like there is some great take aways for each of us in this story.

1) Recognize the value of sharing your life story with others.  I think that we often feel far more "terminaly unique" than we should.

2) How 'bout some of the "creative bravery" that has lead this guy on one crazy adventure after another.  He has faith and confidence that God is not only at work, but is also willing and capable of using us in ways that are sometimes obscure and misunderstood.

3) Bringing people into our homes is a huge point of desparity in our culture.  It was so refreshing to see this guy needed a place to crash that night and having the freedom to say yes.  The fact that you are already worried, squirmish, and scared that I would dare to entertain a stranger is a clear marker that all of us have a long way to travel before we better understand some the simplest of ways that Jesus wants to use us in the lives of other people.

Kenny Deason
www.campuschurch.tv
405.474.1783