Tuesday evening, June 30: ‘Celebrating the Spirit’

Poet Brenda Matthews recited a poem on how God grants peace, then asked for three things from the audience: heart, focus and attention.

Matthews’ production company, Imani Nia, uses the spoken word to teach alcohol, tobacco and HIV prevention in Chicago public schools. She noted statistics that included the number affected by alcohol and tobacco use on a daily basis.

“The purpose of the enemy is to steal, kill and destroy,” said Matthews in reference to the statistics. “It’s a sad day we’re living in.”

Reading from Psalm 139, Matthews reminded youth that they were called from infancy to live as people of God. She challenged the youth to take advantage of each moment of the worship services and sessions this week despite any mistakes of their past.

“It’s time for you to step into your destiny,” she said. “It’s time for you to make some noise. It’s time for you to turn this ship around.”

Matthews encouraged the youth to not only glean personally from their experiences this week but to take the gospel back to their homes and communities and out to the world.

“We need you to be a witness and not be ashamed. Don’t be afraid of the gospel, young people,” she said.—Heidi Martin

Wednesday morning, July 1: ‘God’s Awesome Power’

A stomp group performed before Shane Hipps, lead pastor of Trinity Mennonite Church in Phoenix, Ariz., addressed the youth. Hipps began his message with a dance as well, though it had nothing to do with the session.

Referring to the convention theme, Hipps said that “spirit” and “breath” are the same word in Hebrew and Greek.

“All of God’s love and power are in [each] breath because it is God’s Spirit,” said Hipps. “The simplest truth of all this stuff is that the fullness of God’s power resides in each and every breath we take.”

As a pastor, he has many come to him with confessions and questions about the reality of God’s forgiveness. His response is simple.

“If you want to understand the nature of God, understand the nature of the breath you just took,” said Hipps. “Your breath has no judgment in it at all. Your breath is completely faithful.

Your breath doesn’t reject you. You cannot separate yourself from God any more than you can separate yourself from your breath.”—Heidi Martin

Wednesday evening, July 1: ‘Face our Fears’

Jessica Schrock-Ringenberg, a pastor at Zion Mennonite Church, Archbold, Ohio, said her family fit eight of the 10 things that define a redneck, according to the list on one of her brother’s T-shirts.

Schrock-Ringenberg revealed her fears to the youth during the July 1 evening worship. “Physical scars aren’t as easy to cover as emotional scars,” she said as she described her family growing up in a cinder block home in Kansas.

At age 13 she started sharing a bed with her mom because her dad threatened to kill her mom.

“It’s not like he’s a drunk or a druggie, he’s just really mean,” she said.

During her freshman year of high school her family kicked her dad out. Finally she hoped the fear would disappear; but it only changed. She compared her story to how the disciples responded to their fear in John 20:19-22. “They did the thing that all of us would have done; they hid.”

Schrock-Ringenberg said she continued to hide her fears. “By the time I reached high school I knew what it would take to survive,” she said. “I became the person everyone else wanted me to be.” On the outside she had it all together, but on the inside she felt miserable.

She found ways to cope. At her Mennonite college she titled herself a CK (convict’s kid) when in conversation with PKs (pastors’ kids) or MKs (missionary kids). She thought her weaknesses were unacceptable but realized her fears held her captive. Just as Jesus led the disciples out of their hiding, we aren’t alone, she said.

“We spend so much time hiding who we are because we are scared of what others will think,” she said.

Schrock-Ringenberg concluded by inviting youth to imagine what the church would look like if its people would no longer be held by fear.—Anna Groff, Abri Houser for mPress

Thursday morning, July 2: ‘Emptied’

Leonard Dow, senior pastor at Oxford Circle Mennonite Church in Philadelphia, described a missed opportunity he regrets to this day.

While in South Africa with a Mennonite Central Committee learning tour, Dow regularly observed a group of Christians dressed in white and singing in Zulu, cleanse themselves daily in the ocean. On his final day he felt the Spirit prompting him to join them at the water’s edge. When he walked forward, a man asked him, “Do you want to be cleansed?”

Dow said everything in him wanted to say yes, but as the man reached out, Dow said no.

“I had no problem working for God,” he said, but he could not bring himself to simply go before God on his knees in the water.

Dow said young people also need “unconditional rest. … Not sleeping in until noon but rest in spirit,” he said. Dow encouraged the youth to be like Mary (in John 12), who washed Jesus’ feet with perfume and her hair.

“Mary had a lot on her shoulders,” he said, “but her response was to worship the Lord.”

He challenged them to remove earbuds and silence their cell phones to refocus on God, as he acknowledged that even a youth convention can be a distraction.

“When it’s all said and done, it’s about our Lord,” he said. He challenged the youth to “not only be radical in our work but radical in our worship” and invited them to pray out loud.—Anna Groff

Friday morning, July 3: ‘Filled as a New Creation’

Shane Claiborne, author and founding partner of a faith community in Philadelphia, told the youth he’s been “born again” at least six times while attending four youth groups during his growing-up years in east Tennessee.

Later in life he questioned the effects of the act. “There’s gotta be more than just getting born again, again,” he said.

Before founding A Simple Way in Philadelphia, Claiborne asked Mother Teresa for an internship with Missionaries of Charity, and to his surprise she accepted. While in Calcutta, Claiborne noticed Mother Teresa’s terribly deformed feet when she removed her shoes for worship. He later found out that when the Missionaries of Charity receive donated shoes, Mother Teresa selects the worst of the shoes for herself, and over time that has damaged her feet.

“We’re made to live for something bigger than ourselves,” he said. Claiborne returned to Philadelphia charged with Mother Teresa’s commission to “find your Calcutta” and now works to bring the “kingdom on earth as it is in heaven” in real and tangible ways. Following Christ’s instructions to invite the marginalized to a party instead of friends, Claiborne’s community organized a “kingdom party” in downtown Philadelphia despite the laws making it illegal to distribute food to homeless people.—Anna Groff

July 3 evening: Upside Down King musical

Following the hymn sing, Western District Conference and Bethel College, North Newton, Kan., presented the musical The Upside-Down King in Nationwide Arena.

From left: Josh Powell, Bridget Kratzer and Clint Harris perform in “Upside Down King” on July 3. Photo by Anna Groff.

When Donald Kraybill’s book on Christian discipleship, The Upside-Down Kingdom, came out in 1978, Doug and Jude Krehbiel, Newton, Kan., wrote a song called “The Kingdom That’s Upside Down,” which they later recorded. The song paved the way for the musical.

Saturday morning, July 4: ‘Inspired to Live’

The following four shared their stories with the youth: Katie Boyts, Dustin Galyon, Cyneatha Millsaps and Hugo Saucedo.

Boyts, a massage therapist, writer and speaker from Portland, Ore., began by describing the clutch of bulimia she experienced in high school and her former obsession with the “feeling of emptiness” after every meal.

Fast-forward to college in Kansas, where Boyts’ healing began. “In the middle of Kansas,” she said, “I met God.” Boyts said God was the listening ears and attentive eyes of fellow student and friend David and professor Andrea. During one pivotal dinner, Boyts noticed David watch her eating. “He wasn’t angry or judgmental—just observant,” she said. Boyts did not purge herself after that meal.

Boyts said she is still on a journey with her body but knows deeply that “the body is good and connected to God.”

Galyon, now a speaker and coach, grew up in a Christian home and had passion for his faith and for basketball. As a high school senior, he had his university chosen, but his curiosity was piqued when a coach from a Mennonite college recruited him. Now he sees that as the Holy Spirit moving.

When he visited Hesston (Kan.) College, the coach asked what he wanted from college. Galyon said a place to heighten his basketball skills, be challenged academically and grow spiritually.

The coach responded, “We’ll do all three—just in reverse order.”

Galyon decided to attend. “With the Mennonites, I started to understand the life of Jesus,” he said and is now an admissions counselor and coach at Hesston.

Millsaps, lead pastor of Community Mennonite Church in Markham, Ill., said her peaceful childhood in Elkhart, Ind., took a terrible turn around age 9: her parents divorced, an uncle died and her mother became a paranoid schizophrenic.

At age 15, Millsaps reached her lowest point and spent almost every day trying to force herself into oncoming traffic to end her life. However, she said, God intervened. Around that time a group of young seminarians moved to her neighborhood in an intentional community, Fellowship of Hope. This group helped her family with their groceries and even the mortgage payments. They provided the hope that Millsaps and her siblings needed and demonstrated God’s love.

Saucedo, director of Mennonite Voluntary Service for Mennonite Mission Network, said he had to choose between football or church in high school. “I may have grown up Mennonite, but in Texas, football is the religion of choice,” he said.

During playoffs his senior year, he chose to attend a church retreat instead of the playoff game—not realizing that small decision would impact his life forever.

Saucedo let go of the privileges high school football gave him and made the decision to go to college. That led to work with various service organizations and as a conference youth minister and finally to his director position.

“God has a way of working with our insecurities and using them,” he said.—Anna Groff

Saturday evening, July 4: ‘Empowered with the Spirit’

Greg Boyd, author and pastor of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minn., noticed the energy of the youth during worship before he spoke.

“I encourage you to cherish the traditions you have,” said Boyd. “Take this energy back to your [churches] but cherish your traditions.”

Boyd began by describing the emptiness that once loomed in his soul.

Although there are millions of ways to try and fill the emptiness, all, except the Holy Spirit, are false, Boyd said.

Boyd shared three ways to yield to the Holy Spirit. First, he encouraged youth to remain awake to the fact that God himself dwells with us. Second, ask God to lead in each moment. Third, respond to the prompting of the heart.

“You may look weird,” said Boyd. “So what? Normality is way overrated. … We’re to be people who march to a different drum because we have a different Spirit,” said Boyd.—Heidi Martin