Impact 2012: "Stranger Than Fiction"
Impact 2012 "Stranger Than Fiction"
I walked out of Alumni auditorium not realizing that it would be our last hurrah. The last great Impact in that sea foam green building. It was June 2006 and Impact was about to change. No one saw it coming.
When it was decided that Impact would be moving to Allen, I was a little depressed. I am certain that today's Impact campers cannot possibly understand just how attached we all were to that old building. The one thought that I had was..."I sure am glad we ended with a good one." But what I did not know was that we were far from done with “The Story”.
Fast forward to a hot June Friday night at Impact 2012.....
Jeremy Swindle is belting out "Stronger", 2,000 people are singing at the top of their lungs. Chris Seidmon from the stage ministers to teens through prayer. Adult leaders, counselors, youth ministers weep, pray, and laugh with teens, all the while the Spirit of God fills the building.....it was one of those moments. One of those "you never forget that" moments. We celebrated and praised with our family, our Impact family. We celebrated our personal spiritual life, we wrestled with our sin, we asked for forgiveness, and cried tears of joy, we prayed prayers of redemption, and we remembered the week that was "Stranger Than Fiction".
Oh what a wonderful few days it was, it just simply went by too fast. Sure I am not 25 any more. I jumped that shark long ago, but I don’t think the brevity of the week had much to do with my age. Is it possible that Impact 2012 was so packed with stuff, so rich with content, fun, and relationship that it just simply did not give any of us time to catch our breath?
In 2008 "Day of Reckoning" I had this feeling. The same one I have today. That feeling like "did that just happen?". It's like we plan for 340 plus days, and then BOOM it's over. It was so exhausting that really as i drove home from Nashville I was honestly a little relieved. However, when I woke up the next morning....I was disappointed to discover that I was no longer in Johnson 126.
It was like from the time we woke up to the time we crashed out……we were in the middle of something great…..God is a God of relationship, worthy of worship, of creativity……and we were right there in his grip.
Okay so that maybe a little over the top…but seriously it was a great year. What do I enjoy most? Well thanks for asking. I am just like all of you. I like coming and hanging out with my friends. I get to spend almost two weeks with Skid, Rubes, Jon, Steve, my own youth group, and my other youth minister pals from all over. So just like you I get to develop my relationships. But I digress on with the review….
Has Jeff Walling ever been better? Maybe not....Seidmon hit a home run for sure. Those two guys are first ballot Hall of Famers in my book, and you could not find two guys easier to work with.
As for Swindle….well he and Matt Elliot are my all-time favorite teen event worship leaders….Once again, Jeremy my friend…thanks for letting God use your talents.
When I think back on 2012 I will think of long lines at 9-Square, the Snickers spoof, and your donations to the KIPP school. I will think of late nights playing corn hole or filming videos. I will think of Impact’s Got Talent, Jonus Willoughby, Rubio’s ridiculous role (and funny) as a cop, and a girl named Elle. I will hear the Junior Impacters boo’s for a girl named Buffy, and hear them singing along with the first Impact musical number. My ears will ring when I think of the wild applause for a drawing of a Space Unicorn. I will remember the awkward moments waiting for Steve Davidson to come to the stage to accept the 20 year quilt and the fact that although Randy Lowry may not know Volleyball…he sure knows how to help Impact make the impact it does.
I will also fondly remember most of you, IMPACT NATION! Or should I say IMPACT CONTINENT in honor of our RELENTLESS friends. The way you behave….the way you pour into the week, the way you laugh, dance, sing…and the way you simply respect others, it makes me love and cherish each one of you. I met so many of you. Teens from Canada to Florida all a part of this thing, this transforming week. An event where you wake up and laugh at Patrick Chapel and his blossoming comic genius. You spend the afternoon hanging out at a tent watching college students text…(hehe, could not resist) and you spend your evenings watching 40 year olds in wigs named Johnny and Chachi, and on the same night you pour out your hearts in worship.
But oddly enough when I think back on 2012 I think I will remember 2006…..and I will think about how one week at Impact touched this youth minister so much that it inspired me to write a story. That story inspired another story, and “Stranger than Fiction” was born.
Everyone one of us is living out our own story. I hope that The Dark Ride, and Impact 2012 will serve as, maybe compasses along the way. I challenge anyone reading this now to re-read Corinthians 3 and 4, and reflect on the lessons there in… You are playing a role in the story. You are the living word of God. Challenge yourself. Life a life worthy of the story. Does your life match the book? Because the fact is….the book is always better than the movie!
Now go prove to someone that life is….”Stranger Than Fiction”
When it was decided that Impact would be moving to Allen, I was a little depressed. I am certain that today's Impact campers cannot possibly understand just how attached we all were to that old building. The one thought that I had was..."I sure am glad we ended with a good one." But what I did not know was that we were far from done with “The Story”.
Fast forward to a hot June Friday night at Impact 2012.....
Jeremy Swindle is belting out "Stronger", 2,000 people are singing at the top of their lungs. Chris Seidmon from the stage ministers to teens through prayer. Adult leaders, counselors, youth ministers weep, pray, and laugh with teens, all the while the Spirit of God fills the building.....it was one of those moments. One of those "you never forget that" moments. We celebrated and praised with our family, our Impact family. We celebrated our personal spiritual life, we wrestled with our sin, we asked for forgiveness, and cried tears of joy, we prayed prayers of redemption, and we remembered the week that was "Stranger Than Fiction".
Oh what a wonderful few days it was, it just simply went by too fast. Sure I am not 25 any more. I jumped that shark long ago, but I don’t think the brevity of the week had much to do with my age. Is it possible that Impact 2012 was so packed with stuff, so rich with content, fun, and relationship that it just simply did not give any of us time to catch our breath?
In 2008 "Day of Reckoning" I had this feeling. The same one I have today. That feeling like "did that just happen?". It's like we plan for 340 plus days, and then BOOM it's over. It was so exhausting that really as i drove home from Nashville I was honestly a little relieved. However, when I woke up the next morning....I was disappointed to discover that I was no longer in Johnson 126.
It was like from the time we woke up to the time we crashed out……we were in the middle of something great…..God is a God of relationship, worthy of worship, of creativity……and we were right there in his grip.
Okay so that maybe a little over the top…but seriously it was a great year. What do I enjoy most? Well thanks for asking. I am just like all of you. I like coming and hanging out with my friends. I get to spend almost two weeks with Skid, Rubes, Jon, Steve, my own youth group, and my other youth minister pals from all over. So just like you I get to develop my relationships. But I digress on with the review….
Has Jeff Walling ever been better? Maybe not....Seidmon hit a home run for sure. Those two guys are first ballot Hall of Famers in my book, and you could not find two guys easier to work with.
As for Swindle….well he and Matt Elliot are my all-time favorite teen event worship leaders….Once again, Jeremy my friend…thanks for letting God use your talents.
When I think back on 2012 I will think of long lines at 9-Square, the Snickers spoof, and your donations to the KIPP school. I will think of late nights playing corn hole or filming videos. I will think of Impact’s Got Talent, Jonus Willoughby, Rubio’s ridiculous role (and funny) as a cop, and a girl named Elle. I will hear the Junior Impacters boo’s for a girl named Buffy, and hear them singing along with the first Impact musical number. My ears will ring when I think of the wild applause for a drawing of a Space Unicorn. I will remember the awkward moments waiting for Steve Davidson to come to the stage to accept the 20 year quilt and the fact that although Randy Lowry may not know Volleyball…he sure knows how to help Impact make the impact it does.
I will also fondly remember most of you, IMPACT NATION! Or should I say IMPACT CONTINENT in honor of our RELENTLESS friends. The way you behave….the way you pour into the week, the way you laugh, dance, sing…and the way you simply respect others, it makes me love and cherish each one of you. I met so many of you. Teens from Canada to Florida all a part of this thing, this transforming week. An event where you wake up and laugh at Patrick Chapel and his blossoming comic genius. You spend the afternoon hanging out at a tent watching college students text…(hehe, could not resist) and you spend your evenings watching 40 year olds in wigs named Johnny and Chachi, and on the same night you pour out your hearts in worship.
But oddly enough when I think back on 2012 I think I will remember 2006…..and I will think about how one week at Impact touched this youth minister so much that it inspired me to write a story. That story inspired another story, and “Stranger than Fiction” was born.
Everyone one of us is living out our own story. I hope that The Dark Ride, and Impact 2012 will serve as, maybe compasses along the way. I challenge anyone reading this now to re-read Corinthians 3 and 4, and reflect on the lessons there in… You are playing a role in the story. You are the living word of God. Challenge yourself. Life a life worthy of the story. Does your life match the book? Because the fact is….the book is always better than the movie!
Now go prove to someone that life is….”Stranger Than Fiction”
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