So there they were…dumbstruck, awestruck, star-struck…STUCK …standing there looking up at an empty sky with silly grins on their faces like they were waiting to see His next trick.

Enter the angels.

"Ahem. Yep, we saw Him fly into the sky too. But he said you were supposed to be His witnesses to the whole world, so….um….it would be cool if you kind of got started with that.” (Acts 1:8-11)

It’s Friday morning and on a Youthworks site, that means it’s time to grab your “Gogurt” and go! Your mission trip is over and it’s time to head home. It’s time to stop gawking at the sky, turn around and face the mission field that Jesus called you to. What does it look like?

Me first? Okay. I’ll start. I’ve got two ideas for the summer.

One, my family and I are going to commit to being “72-Hour Lutherans” with our church so that we can be prepared to help our neighbors in the event of a Hurricane emergency. My kids are going to help me pack the boxes.

And two, I’m going to call a nursing home close to my work and see how I can be of service there once a week during my lunch hour.

Your turn. No really, I honestly want to know. And so do all the other readers. We need to pool our ideas and get the buffet going. Let me see some comments. What have you been considering about this whole Service thing? Where are YOU going to give a FULL SERVING? Dish. It. OUT!

This week’s posts are dedicated in loving memory to Terry Desmond-Chiarello. I never imagined one amazing Youth Ministry service project could produce such a gift for my heart. I am forever changed and forever indebted.

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Thursday night is Community Cookout night at any Youthworks mission site. All week long young people paint houses, do yard work, serve the elderly, deliver meals, teach local kids about Jesus, and volunteer at any number of local shelters and food banks. The young people and their leaders work hard at the tasks before them, but more importantly, they build relationships. That is always the main focus. Be like Jesus, sit with people, get to know them, love on them, AND invite them to Thursday night’s Community Cookout!

I’ve always loved this seemingly ordinary expression of hospitality because it’s a whisper of a bolder message. It’s this message I’ve been pointing to all week as I’ve reflected about Serving.

(1) Know that Service has an underestimated fueling potential for your faith.

(2) We must serve people because they belong to Jesus. And everyone belongs to Jesus.

(3) The ability to serve with the love of Jesus is the one thing all Christian Denominations can do in unity.

AND….drumroll, please…..

(4) There’s a big cookout coming. And we’re supposed to invite everybody to it.

“Sharing the Gospel”, “Spreading the Word”, “Evangelizing”, “Proselytizing”….call it what you will. It all means the same thing. Jesus is coming back. And when he does, there’s gonna be a feast. A big Par-tay with room enough for everyone. Our job is to invite them all. Tell them, “Ya’ll come!”

In anticipation of this banquet…we’ve got to give people a Full Serving. We’ve got to give them a foretaste of the Feast to come.

Amen.

“Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” – Luke 14:15

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Love and forgiveness, prayer, reading the Word, worship, fellowship…all of these things drive our faith. But, in my opinion, service is the thing that ties all of these elements together into a high octane fuel.

Think about it this way: If the journey of faith is a road trip, then every gas station is Full Service. This means when you’re running low on fuel, you need to pull into a station, and either allow yourself to be cared for and rejuvenated through the service of others (note that this cannot be done ALONE. It’s about fellowship, folks!)…OR…you need to get OUT of your car, take a look around and see who needs their tank topped off. Let me reiterate the second part of that statement. Sometimes, when YOU’RE running low on fuel, YOU need to get out of the car, look around, and figure out who else is running on empty. Because in fueling the lives of others you will see the miraculous happen. Your own tank will become filled to overflowing.

And remember one last thing about fuel.

You don’t need fuel to park. You need it to move.

A life fueled by the likes of Service and built on the foundation of love, forgiveness, prayer, scripture, worship and fellowship is one that is bound to be full of miraculous life-changing surprises. And yes, you’re right. Fuel of this caliber doesn’t come cheap. It’s a sacrifice to serve others. But don’t worry, this fuel has already been paid for at high cost. All you have to do is receive it and pump it into someone else’s life. So, tank up. Top off. Get back out on the road and drive your faith! It’s a wild ride.

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. – 2 Corinthians 9:12

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There is a season for everything under heaven and, for me, June marks the beginning of the Summer Mission Trip season.

I have had a long love affair with Summer Mission Trips. During the summers of 2004 & 2005, I had my first taste of mission work while serving as a leader of a Youthworks mission site staff team. Imagine eight weeks of hosting 50-70 visiting youth and leaders a week, and a summer full of amazing, shock and awe, God-adventure. After my Youthworks staff days were over, I became a Youth Director and led my own youth mission teams for several memorable summers.

And now, as June 2011 has arrived, I greet this summer with a little regret. For the first time in seven years, I will not be participating in a summer mission trip.

Life has changed a bit for me. I am concentrating more on my own little youth group of two (Noah, nearly 3 yrs, and Simon, 7 months). They keep me busy and are a bit too young yet to paint houses by day and attend the wild worship that is Youthworks' “Club” by night.

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