LifeLight Festival In one week - we'll do this very thing...

LightsOut in the background, serving artists ON stage pouring into those who are OFF stage

 In one week from this Friday, Emily and I, along with our family and Doris the RV, will set up shop at the LifeLight Festival's Souled Out stage.   I'll be handing over the reins of what i've been working on as a 1/4-time LifeLight employee this past year, getting the bands lined up and the schedule of speakers and artists built, over to one of my best friends in the world.  As I do that, I'll be grabbing on to what LightsOut has been hitting hard all summer.  We seek to provide soul-care for those serving under the lights-  those artists, speakers, and bands that are away from home & hope, community & care most of the time.  Sometimes, it is a struggle to get people to understand not only WHAT we do, but WHY we do it.  We have some great friends on the TWLOHA team, and today Chris wrote a great piece on what he did this summer as part of the Vans 'WARPED' Tour- a traveling festival of bands- some that would play LifeLight, some that wouldn't.

 I am re-posting it here because I think it captures the essence of what we are about, what we seek to do-  but it captures it from the OTHER side, from the road-weary traveler's point of view. Read on, listen for where God might be nudging you to begin to care for these folks.

I'll be leading a seminar at the festival, 8pm friday night, and also be a speaker on the Souled Out stage sunday afternoon, come say Hi and bring a friend.  Also, you could swing by our booth in the vendor tent and say Hi to one of our team for the weekend or buy a t-shirt to help support the work we are doing.

If you want to help us so we can help others, please email me at info @ LightsOut . me    - we'd love to have you pray for us as we serve next week, long hours, little sleep :)   We'd also love to have you join us financially so we can continue to be there for those who sometimes don't have someone to "welcome their mess."

grace & peace
dave
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original post can be found HERE:
http://www.twloha.com/blog/place-that-welcomed-our-mess/
Hey guys,

Jason and I are back home after wrapping up TWLOHA’s fourth year on Warped Tour. It feels good to be home. It feels weird to be home. I think when you’re surrounded by the same people all day every day for two straight months you can either become annoyed with each other and choose to pull away, or you can experience growth together – learning the things about one another that makes them laugh, what you can poke fun at, and the simple things you can do for someone to make them loved.

Every year on Warped has a different feel to it. From the people on the tour to the music being played. I’d say the only consistent thing is the greasy catering food offered to everyone on the tour. This year I went out halfway through the tour with a certain kind of optimism. One that had hope to see people on the tour encouraged, enjoying each other, and more than anything going that extra little bit to get to know people.

Within a week, a friend came onto the bus and said, “I don’t have it in me to have another mindless conversation.” He wasn’t the only one feeling that way. More and more people started retreating to their own buses at night, and the conversations were about how hot the days were and the anticipation of getting off the tour. No substance. No foundations being built beyond connecting over the fact that you were both exhausted by the end of the day.

My whole time out, I had been anticipating my friend Jered Scott’s arrival for the last week of the tour and getting to share some time with him. We’ve had maybe a week total of days spent together over the past year and a half of our friendship, but we have a kind of friendship where he can call me out on things that I need to be called out on because he cares for me. I compare him to be the parent that sets the rules and ticks us off when we’re teenagers, but thankful for those same rules they set in place when we’re 25 and can appreciate that it was out of love and wanting what was best. So when he asked about Warped Tour and what I had been up to, he was very quick to point out that I was a contributor to those mindless conversations. That I wasn’t taking the extra steps to learn things about people outside of those on my bus. That I was resorting to old habits to make me feel better but that I knew weren’t beneficial for me. He was doing everything a friend who intentionally knows and cares for someone should have done.

We wanted something to change. Jason, Jered, and I got together and talked about getting people together at 8 o’clock every night for the last week of tour to have time to unpack things from the summer, share what was our mind, and ultimately create a space for people to move away from the mindless conversations and move toward honesty. A place to talk about the great times the tour brought, while acknowledging the temptations and struggles we never seem to escape from, and deciding that we didn’t want to go through another two month tour without communities where we support each others’ positive actions.

The first night there were eight of us. The second, ten. It was refreshing to get away from the party for an hour, even if we were going to get thrown right back into it when we broke off for the rest of the night. The third night we gathered, Jered and I were setting up chairs and we put out 12. We joked that we were getting ahead of ourselves. Over the next hour and a half the sound of chairs being moved around and a circle widening could be heard over our words. Over thirty people showed up that night. There weren’t any flyers or announcements about what we were doing, only word of mouth.

The fourth night we meet in a small building. We set up chairs along the wall and every seat filled up. There were even people sitting on the floor in the middle of everyone. Seeing something grow to what it had become in a short amount of time really showed how much everyone needed something different. We all did. A new place to go. A place that welcomed our mess.

For me, finding that place, whether it was with eight or thirty other people, where I could share the things I was dealing with, and hear about what others were dealing with during those two months on tour, was incredible. The feeling of knowing I wasn’t the only one struggling with the thoughts that live in my mind helped me breathe without a weight on my chest for the first time in a while. I think that’s what we all need to strive for with one another.

We are surrounded by people. We have this chance to have a community, big or small, to “go there” with. The thing is, we have to take the risk of being honest and being known. We have to find that place inside us where we’re ready to challenge ourselves and grow. We have to be willing to know that sometimes someone won’t show up.  Caring about and loving others takes risk and probably more than we have in us most of the time. But I think the more we put out there, we’ll have something returned greater than we could have imagined.

This year, I left Warped and people that I miss after only being away from them for four days. This year, I left Warped and my bottom right bunk on bus 40 that I called my home for four weeks with eleven other people and a few extra riders here and there. This year, I left Warped with phone numbers and friends on Facebook. I left with great conversations, summer crushes, and incredible memories from around the country. This year, I left Warped with a community that challenged me to grow and be there for someone else. This year, Warped left me completely grateful for everyone I met on the tour, but especially every single one of our supporters who stopped by the booth to say hello, buy a shirt, or talk about what TWLOHA means to them.

You guys were constant refueling for long, hot, exhausting days. Jason and I are truly thankful for being able to share this summer with all of you and we hope to see you again next year.

All the best,
Chris

Soul Care

I got this in my inbox today-  great article from dudes who've been doing ministry for a long time - written for everyone pouring out your heart to others.  Tell me, Txt me, how are YOU pouring INTO your Soul?  -dave

CARE: reconnect your relationships

Doug Fields &  Matt McGill

Ministry is tough work, as time wears on, it takes a toll. Each of us desperately needs a safe place to share personal successes, doubts, and failures. We need cheerleaders, counselors and coaches for encouragement, support, and correction.
God created us for community and we are better when we’re together with refreshing people. As youth workers, we know this, we work hard to help our students experience community, but sometimes we can forget the importance of community for ourselves. Here are a few ideas for connecting with the important people in your life when you need to care for your soul.

WATCH YOUR WARNING LIGHTS
Both of us are mechanical idiots, but even we know the importance of paying attention to our car’s “check engine light”. A decayed spiritual life doesn’t just appear... it decays slowly. The changes are subtle, but they’re not too difficult to detect when we are aware of the warning lights. Soul decay looks a little different for everyone, but here are a few signs that it’s time to get back on track:

• We spend less time alone with God. We do this guided by the faulty logic: we can get more ministry done if we spend more time doing ministry.
• We grow short on patience with problems. We become a little more critical and less forgiving of the mistakes of others.
• We have shallow conversations with others. The busyness of life, and a weaker connection with God, keeps us from engaging with others.

MAKE THE TIME
Reconnecting with a friend won’t get a “to do” item checked off of your project list. However, if you don’t do it soon, you’ll have something much worse to handle than a bloated project list. Stop making excuses and set aside some relational time to reconnect with those who refresh you.

TALK TO THE RIGHT FRIEND
Revitalizing your soul takes conversations with the right friend. Here are some qualities of that friend that we think are important:

• safe: someone you can trust to respond in love and confidence.
• admirable: someone you respect as a mature believer to offer solid perspective.
• positive: someone you know to be encouraging and uplifting (a negative friend is draining and not what you need to be refreshed).

GET REAL
When you connect, talk about stuff that matters. Accountability is only as good as your honesty. Without integrity, accountability is powerless. Be open. Share like a child who has no concern for the consequence of what he just said. Fear of consequence is a killer of meaningful conversations.

	What are some of your warning lights that let you know you need to reconnect with the important people in your life? Let the guys know at www.youthministry.com.

Choices...

Choices don't define us, they refine us.  They don't determine who we are ultimately, they just tell a story of who we were that day. 

There is but ONE choice that defines us, but even THAT choice carries with it a daily choice to continue to follow or walk away. 

When I was like 16 or 14 or 8 or something, my dad told us approximately 1 trillion times to NEVER drive our vehicle with less than 1/4 tank of fuel in it, it just was unnecessary, unwise, and un...  cool maybe?   Regardless, I have known this family 'rule' for a long time, yet I made a choice last week to push the limit with that in our RV.  I had plenty of time to stop, had plenty of opportunities to grab some diesel (oh yeah... it was diesel) yet I CHOSE not to do so, thought I'd grab some on the way home.    The indicator clearly stated that I had a few gallons left, it moved when we hit a bump, showing me that the fuel was sloshing a bit and making the indicator jump.  So, on the way home from our weekend, we stopped in the town, pulled into the gas station through the bumpy parking lot, and put fuel in the RV.  I started it after that and put it in gear, and after about 30 feet, it sputtered and shut off.  Hmmmmm..... I thought.    Well, guess what?  I ran out of fuel at the exact moment I was at the gas station, or the bumpy lot caused a burp in the fuel line or something, but we were stuck.  And, in a diesel you can't just add more fuel and blam-  nooooo-  you have to 'bleed' the air out of the injector lines, something my buddy Zach (drummer from Day of Fire and certified diesel mechanic and also Batman) thankfully was able to walk me thru.  3 hours later we were back on the road, and several people's lives had been inconvenienced and at very least affected by my choice.

About 24 hours earlier, we were sitting around a campfire with my family when the screams came, followed by many kids running, medical advice being thrown around, and me yelling at my mom (a Registered Nurse) about the kind of ice pack we should use (I was wrong).  In a bid for 'worse parents ever' my wife and I had allowed our daughter to ride bikes with the cousins without her helmet.  We never do this-  seriously- never.  But, we did, and an emergency room visit and a couple stitches in the lip and a giant bruise on the forehead later, we were back at the campground.  Several people's lives had been inconvenienced and at very least affected by our choice.

I've been thinking a bit since then about choice, and consequence and how no one is an island, but that sorta simmered for a few days and was reduced to a thought yesterday morning as I took my monthly shower (monthly!  really?  no, not really.) 

I was thinking about how distance seems to be evident between us and God when we finally take a look around, but the reality is it is ALWAYS a choice on our part to separate, not a choice by God to leave us. 

• The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." (Deut. 31:8)

Distance is there, no doubt about that.  Several people's lives have been inconvenienced and at very least affected by our choice, no doubt about that either.

Where these 2 thoughts seemed to collide in the shower yesterday was in that very thought-  we are the ones who make the choice alone, it is US walking away, or standing still and, in that, not walking toward Christ (which is in essence, walking away).  We are the ones who make that choice to leave, but it isn't a choice for us alone-  we live in community;  we live in society; we live amongst others, or we don't.  And, in NOT choosing to live in community, several people's lives are inconvenienced and at very least affected by our choice.  We rob, and steal and kill and destroy the hope and grace that God wants FOR us and wants THRU us when we choose to live apart from God and apart from those He's created us to be with.  Stealing, killing, destroying....   sounds like a thief I heard about in John 10:10, and something I want nothing to do with.

How are YOUR choices affecting others, how are they affecting YOU?  Is today maybe a good day to take a shower & take stock of where YOU are with Christ?   "Choose this day whom you will serve", but know that choice comes with weight, and is not made in isolation.