Thoughts on the Team Commandments*
Nick Morlet, High School Pastor
Celebrate the possible win… Two Thursdays ago, a brand new student to youth group signed up for Summer camp. Two days ago, a freshman whose parents know some Arcadians signed up. A week before that, a young lady who is not connected to youth group signed up, and a couple of days before that another girl. A week before that another girl not involved with youth group and a couple of days before that a boy who goes to school with one of our students signed up. Even as I went back to look at the summer camp roster to get these couple of names, knowing how crazy this was, I was still astounded at the sheer amount of people and the craziness surrounding each of their stories that will bring them to camp this year.
Too many ‘coincidences’ all lining up to bring a whole mess of students I hardly know, that are hardly connected to Arcade Church to a camp where we get to bring the Gospel hard and help as many students as possible to hear, see, and follow Christ!
In my best moments, in my greatest strength, I could not have possibly gathered all these students from all over the place to be at camp this year. And this is only one story!
I have to remind myself often of one of our team commandments…
Embrace the supernatural.
Each week, we gather together in this room and tell stories of things happening that have no business happening. Pastor Dann is a walking highlight reel of the supernatural.
I am reminded of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 2:
And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
It is so important to embrace the supernatural, because no matter how good I am in what I do here, I am not good enough to fulfill God’s purposes for Arcade Church! If my messages are my own power they will not cause people to rest in the power of God, but in my own wisdom.
My own personal influence, even our collective influence in this room may be enough to reach a few lives and maybe even make an impact on those lives, but is nowhere near powerful enough to help as many people as possible hear, see, and follow Jesus! This will have to be a supernatural work in our lives and the lives of the people around us!
I don’t think I need to spend much time convincing the people in this room that we need Jesus to do the work of Jesus!
Neighborhood kids… LGBTQ… politics…. Covid aftereffects…
We need the power of Jesus!
If we are embracing the supernatural what are some things that will need to be true?
1. Be ready to throw the plan out the window…
Acts 8:26 Great ministry happening in Samaria, So much great ministry, John and Peter even join in and people are coming to Jesus! It is in the midst of this, that God calls Phillip and says hey, leave this great ministry and head over to that desert road. If I were Phillip, I think I would be like, but Jesus!! Stuff is happening here! Don’t you see! But Phillip, throws his plan out the window and heads to the desert road, where he meets a man who happens to be reading the scripture and has no idea what it means. Phillip shares the Gospel with him and he believes and is even baptized right then and there!
When we are embracing the supernatural it means sometimes we will have to throw the plan out the window.
When I was in high school, my brother (the youth pastor at the time) and I were at a camp. We decided we wanted to scare the kids so we came up with this elaborate plan to trick them into thinking I was abducted… In the middle of the plan a little 6th grade boy finds my torn shirt and cries out in all seriousness, “take me instead! My life is not worth anything!” This unplanned moment led to a conversation between the young boy and I where I was able to share with him the worth Christ placed on his life!
Some of the most amazing ministry moments were outside of the plan!
I am so blessed every time I see Rob in the courtyard, though he probably has a million things to remodel, he is wrestling with the neighborhood kids, or eating lunch with them. Plans thrown out the window.
When we are embracing the supernatural, we have to be ready to throw the plan out the window, and we also need to:
2. Pray like Crazy!
“If prayer isn’t vital for your church, then your church isn’t vital. If you can accomplish your church’s mission without daily passionate prayer, then your mission is insufficient and your church is irrelevant.” -Francis Chan
If it is God’s power that will get the job done, then we need to ask him constantly to do it!
Matthew 17:21 This one only comes out through prayer and fasting!
I wonder how many of the struggles in my life and ministry can only be solved through prayer and fasting! I would argue the vast majority of them if not all of them! I wonder how many of the problems our families are facing can only be dealt with, with prayer and fasting!
At the graduation last Thursday, we had a girl whose friend was just taken to the hospital for suicidal ideation. She was really hurting. In that moment, there was nothing I could do, so I simply prayed for her. It was like a great weight fell off her shoulders and she was able to enjoy the night.
When we are embracing the supernatural, we need to be ready to throw the plan out the window, we need to pray like crazy and we should certainly:
3. Enjoy the Show!
Acts 2:42
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
In the early church we see God working like crazy… Miracles are happening the supernatural cannot be stopped and I love this little piece in Acts 2:43… Awe came upon every soul!
I can only imagine what it must have been like for them, with God moving so constantly, the awe that lead to constant worship and recognition of the supernatural happening all around them.
One year, when I was doing ministry in Alaska. We were headed to winter camp and I was putting together a weekend series on the Power of God. I remember, in preparing for the last night’s sermon (the big one), I felt the Lord prompting me to say at the end of the sermon, “God show us your power” and pray. I remember pushing back on that prompting, thinking, Lord if I do this and you do nothing the whole weekend is a wash. In the end, I did it. I said God, show us your power and I prayed. The band came up and played a song, and nothing happened. I sent them all to small groups (you had to walk a short distance from the gym to the cabins) and I stayed in the gym to pray.
“Lord, nothing happened! Do something please Lord!”
I was in there for 25 minutes or so asking Him to show up already when one of my leaders came into the gym.
“Nick what are you doing?”
“I am praying for God to show up, why are you not in small group.”
“Nick, you need to come outside.”
I went outside and all the youth group was standing on the edge of the lake, crying and worshiping God, looking up into the sky where the Northern lights were lit up from one end of the sky to the other more bright than I had ever seen them.
I could only respond with immediate worship of the supernatural power of God!
We should not, cannot hesitate to stop and worship Him when he is moving and even when we don’t see him moving! Take time to remember the works God has done, to celebrate the win, yes, but even more so to worship the winner!
*Taken from a devotional time in our weekly staff meeting.
