simple heart

this past sunday i went to visit my portland church's Jr. High Ministry. It was really cool, but God rocked out in a really insane way...imago dei community has been my church home for the past 2 months and i absolutely love it! the junior high ministry wasn't anything out the box then what i expected. What I loved about it is that the kids were allowed to totally have their own opinions and were not "corrected" by the person teaching. there were no "sunday school 'Jesus', 'Bible' " answers here. It was raw, heartfelt love. the way christ did it! I was sitting in the back of the room observing the ministry, and one of the girls (probably just started the 6th grade, about 11 or 12 years old) came up to me and politely introduced herself. "Hi, what's your name?" she asked in a sweet cheerful way with a smiling gleaming off her rounded small face. "I'm Jeremy" I said kindly, trying not to sound too enthusiastic.."Hi, I'm Olivia, she said" with a cheerful smile. The kids get doughnuts every sunday (that may be why they're popular, you never know) provided by the church staff. The next thing I know, she reaches out and hands me a donut, still with that same sweet smile on her face. I politely thank her and sent a smile her way as well. She then proceeded to offer me a seat next to her in the circle of chairs sitting around the room. I accepted, and took a seat. The lesson for the day was on original sin, and I could not believe how smart these kids were, and how authentic the leaders were with the kids. this wasn't a "let's get biblical" thing, this was geniune love. the leaders proclaimed with great sincerity "there is no wrong answer here. that is what being a Christian is, asking questions and figuring things out." I was taken back so deeply by the response. NEVER in my life have I seen a ministry leader say such a thing. Most of the time all i've seen are leaders teaching and cramming the kids heads full of information that would probably render useless in the future. Sure, communal connection was made, but as far as how truthfully authentic the teaching was, it was more of "give me the answer i just gave you." the real kicker her was not that. it was Olivia. She shared a story of how she'd been unfaithful to her parents while they were away and such, i don't really remember what it was, but nevertheless, i could tell her heart was authentically in love with God. She said she wanted to do what was right and knew what was right! After the lesson ended, the kids went into the service for the last 10 minutes or so of it. imago dei has communion every sunday, and they want the kids to have an opportunity to take communion as well (which I think is fantastic!). During the worship, which was simultaneous with communion, as I stood their among the service, i glanced down for a second, to a sight that blew my mind! There was Olivia, by herself (she wasn't sitting particularly close to anyone in the row of chairs), with her hands raised in Worship to God. It was real, it was authentic, it was sincere, and melted my heart! Never in my life have I seen such a young child be open and true about his/her faith! NEVER! I almost started crying, and tears welled up in my eyes. Olivia had a heart, a simple heart, but a heart to know Jesus more. A heart that God had been brewing, that God is growing, and that the spirit is using. Unfortunately I didn't look to see if Olivia went and took communion, but i would not be surprised if she did, for I know she knows who Jesus is and why that table is there for us. I'll never forget that sunday. it was almost like a dream come true. Never in my life have i seen community done in this fashion before. Never have I seen so many devoted Christ-followers who are all in one place for one reason and because of one person. It's jesus' simple heart that breaks down these barriers we've set for others and draws us closer.

cheers,
jeremy