Jason Carr Writes

The last few weeks led into what was the biggest camp ever for our team at North Point. The weekend is called  Walking Wisely Weekend which is a weekend where our small groups had a few sessions at the church but the bulk of the weekend is spent hanging out by small group doing some fun things and having some (somewhat) focused discussion.

Well, I’m relearning something week that in hindsight I thought I would remember by now.

We are working hard to be about something good, something that has impact and eternal value. And here is what I forget… and I’m not getting all crazy here- but there is such a thing as spiritual battle. There are challenges that happen and come our way and this year’s camp experience has been no different, in fact it’s been one of the most intense seasons I’ve been a part of. Sickness, death, accidents, relational challenges and much more have landed on our team in the midst of this season. And to me, as much as all that stuff really stinks it’s been a great reminder that we are about something important, something eternal and the enemy does not want that to happen.

Confession… on the Saturday night of WWW after session I was driving from hanging with one small group to check in on another. This group is staying in a subdivision I had driven in A TON of times, heck I even play golf there every now and then. I know the neighborhood… right? So as I’m driving to the house, (It’s a little after midnight) I’m not paying attention and breeze right through a stop sign and see some blue lights behind me. Yep, the ‘ol youth worker checking in on the small group ran through a stop sign. Luckily the kind police office gave me a warning and sent me on my way. But it was a reminder… if we are not paying attention and just trying to “get through it” then we really miss out.

Last week Jennifer on our team kindly sent out a few text message reminders to take some time to be still and spend a few moments with the Lord. Those were great reminders and much needed. I wish I could tell you I dropped everything and did that, but when I did it was so healthy.

To my friends in ministry… we are fighting a great battle for the hearts of students. The enemy has no desire to let you succeed and will do everything in his power to make that happen. Just a reminder that you need to have your guard up, have strong accountability, saturate your heart and mind in His word and walk in His Spirit as you do what you do. The last few weeks have reminded me that the enemy is a sly cunning opponent.

Gratefully we not only made it through the weekend, but for the most part it was great. A few scars to show for it, but God did some great things in the communities of our groups. And it was worth it. Keep fighting friends…