West Coasting at EMERGE

It was a privilege to join up with the BCCM gang out on the west coast for the Emerge Retreat. Emerge is a gathering of nearly 150 students and ministry leaders to receive an impartation to prepare them to more fully engage their lives and their campuses. Run under the strong leadership of John Engels and the BCCM directors, it was a powerful event. combining fun, fellowship and a powerful sense of the Spirit’s presence throughout the weekend.

As expected, Brady Bobbink, the director of University Christian Fellowship in WWU, Bellingham, Wa ‘brought it’. One of the Body of Christ’s premier teachers he offered something for the mind, the heart and the hands. He informed, equipped and inspired students to be prophetic people in the midst of our culture. He built a theological framework for prophecy that transcended what we would usually think when reflecting on the term. It involves bringing eternity into today. It involves expressing the mind and the heart of Jesus to a broken and lost world.

I had the opportunity on Saturday afternoon to teach on the gifts of the Holy Spirit and their relevance and application. It was a solid time that involved student questions and comments, and it provided me an opportunity to bring both biblical teaching and my personal story to the subject.

On Sunday morning, it may not surprise anyone that I told the story of my son David and how his life in many ways embodied the teaching we had been hearing all weekend. I centred it around Paul’s admonition in Ephesians 4:1 to “live lives worthy of our calling “. This included pictures of Dave’s trip to Vancouver this past summer and his unforgettable quotes. I followed it up with an audio clip of Karen’s address at the memorial service, which still awes me. The truth is, as her words, eloquent and profound, filled the room, you could have heard a pin drop.

It was followed by communion which, Seth Greenham reminded us, was the memorial of the death of the Son of God on our behalf. It was a powerful way to end the weekend.

I have to tell you I am impressed with the depth and maturity of the ministry in BC, which functions at all kinds of levels. We may not be called to replicate it elsewhere, but we can certainly learn from it and grab pages from its playbook. I am looking forward to the developing conversation as our ministries all across the country are learning from each other.