Missions Conference is a highlight of my spring semester. Every year there is a buzz in the air as the community comes alive with excitement and anticipation. Many of us look back on Missions Conference as a time when God encountered us in special ways and planted vision in our hearts for the role that we have in his story. But as great as it is, I am sure to find myself feeling lost on Friday afternoon. What are you supposed to do with yourself after such joy-filled times of communal worship and after dreaming such audacious kingdom dreams? How do you go back to the daily grind?
Reflect and Remember
This year’s Missions Conference emcee, Ryan McDonald, reminded us that the Bible paints a picture of life in which some seasons feel like a feast and others like a famine. In seasons of famine we can remember God is faithful because of the way he encountered us in times of feasting.
For me, last week was like a feast. But it is a challenge to translate the things we talked about during the conference into daily life, especially when life feels more like a famine. Ryan’s exhortation was to remember the presence and faithfulness of God which fills the times of feasting. What do you want to remember from last week? Take some time to write it down and pray about it to internalize and solidify it in your heart and mind.
Conversation and Community
Conversations with friends are also helpful in moving from Missions Conference to the daily grind. When you share what God has done with the people in your life, it helps you to process and enables the truth to sink in deeper. It also provides accountability. When people know what God is doing in your life they know how to walk with you. Sharing with friends doesn’t only benefit you, but it can encourage them as well.
Just do it
Although conversations can be helpful, God’s work in our hearts often requires specific, tangible action as a response. What is the appropriate response for you? Do you need to find a local church and commit to it? Do you need to prayerfully consider who God might be calling you to disciple and then ask them to meet up for lunch? Do you need to begin exploring pathways to ministry in other countries?
Rhythms
While it’s important to think about action steps, our response might require us to stop working so hard. If our work is motivated by a belief that we have to earn God’s love then it is all in vain. Maybe for you the most important thing you can take away from last week is that you are loved and it has nothing to do with your performance. Perhaps the most appropriate response for you is to receive the grace and the love of God. In this case, it may be helpful to respond by forming a rhythm or a habit. Choose a prayer or a bible verse that will serve as a daily reminder of the truth. For centuries Christians have relied on spiritual rhythms to remind them of God and to give them strength to follow him through the most trying circumstances.
The conference last week was a blessing that came as a result of the work of hundreds of our classmates. Resist the temptation to go back to the daily grind without responding to what God has done.
