“Lighthouse” on Mackinac Island

I just returned from an awesome conference, the Lutheran Church Michigan District Youth Gathering (a mouth full), themed “Lighthouse” on Mackinac Island! The island was gorgeous, leadership was passionate and focused, students were fired up, and Christ was glorified!

The theme verse for the event was Matthew 5:14, which states, “You are light for the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.” What an appropriate verse in this culture that is growing ever darker as it abandons the authority of God’s Word and exalts the fallible ideas of man! As the culture fades into darkness with increasing speed and momentum, our light in Christ should be burning brighter than ever before! But that will only happen if we stand boldly and unashamedly on the foundational Rock of God’s Word! God’s Word must be the authority in every area of our thinking:

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:10, emphasis added)

When we do this, it is then that we are prepared to give answers for the faith we have (1 Peter 3:15). And not only that, it’s a simple truth that actions follow thoughts. When we renew our minds in the Word of God our lives change and Christ shines through us into the surrounding world, changing hearts, minds, and, yes, even the culture, as history has shown time and again.

This message resonated with the leadership and youth of “Lighthouse” as evidenced by the tremendous response to the seminars and resources. Each session was filled beyond capacity, and we sold out of videos and nearly sold our entire stock of pocket guides (and we brought a lot)! This means there are a lot more teens prepared to answer the skeptical questions of this age and defend their faith, leading to the effective proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ! Praise God for such an awesome response and the blessing of being part of this Christ-centered event!

It was an absolute honor to minister along side of the other speakers and musicians. God’s presence was evident, and it is my prayer that the Lord will water the seeds that were planted. The leadership of this event was willing to take stand on the authority of God’s Word and encouraged their youth to do the same. Will you?

For an audience of One,

Bryan