An Experience in Circuit Riding

The 1800's have often been referred to as "The Age of Methodism." One of the key elements of this movement were the circuit riders. Circuit riders were preachers who would travel by horseback from town to town, and city to city, preaching revivals in various venues.

This practice continues today somewhat as many preachers travel all over the world to speak at various venues, however unfortunately without the force and impact of the 19th century circuit riders.

While I do not for a minute claim to be an experience itinerant minister, I feel as if I've had a taste of this in the past few weeks, as we've spent a considerable amount of time in the car away from home. Here's what we've been up to:

Durley High School Camp:

On June 18-20 I spoke at a High School camp in Greenville, IL. The theme for the weekend was "Run to Win," and I spent some time walking through the story of Jonah with the students, and how we all have this propensity to run from God. As a creative response to one of my messages I invited campers to bring their shoes to the altar as a symbolic commitment to "turn in our running shoes." It was awesome to see an altar full of shoes! All in all, it was a great camp with a great staff and I would love to go back.

Resolution Church:

I had to leave camp early to return for church on Sunday morning to be officially installed as the Lead Pastor of Resolution Church. Our superintendent came and performed a brief installation service and anointed and prayed over us to pastor this church. It was a meaningful experience, moreso than I had expected. I preached a Father's Day message titled, "The Dad Who Stands in the Driveway," looking at the father in the Prodigal Son parable. Since then I've begun a series titled "Unstoppable," which is an eight-week series walking through the book of Acts.

Young Teen Camp:

I recently returned from Young Teen Camp at Sky Lodge Camp in Wisconsin. I direct this camp and have been doing so for five years. It is my favorite week of the year as many close friends join me in planning and leading this camp, and we get to witness 150 junior highers respond to God. This year our theme was "BIG," as we focused on how big God is and yet how this big God desires to be actively and intimately involved in our lives. It was an amazing week as at least 11 kids made first-time commitments to following Chirst, and the altar was full almost every night often even without invitation. Most Christ-followers begin their spiritual journey in the context of youth group or camp. What happens during this week matters!

This next weekend I will be heading up to Waukegan, IL to perform a wedding for a girl who was in my youth group. Her and her soon-to-be husband are great people to who love Jesus, and I am proud of them and honored to serve them in this capacity.

I may not be a modern day circuit rider but I do recognize that God has given me opportunities to minister in several different contexts, and often times I still don't understand how I got to this place in life and ministry. In many ways, I still feel like I've stumbled into this gig, but I'm humbled to know that God is using me, and though it may outwardly small and significant to me at times I trust that the Holy Spirit is doing some stuff and that gives me a sense of fulfillment in life!