An Inkling
A shoot shall come out of the stump of Jesse, and a
branch shall grow out of his roots (Isaiah 11:1).
So begins one of Isaiah’s prophecies about the coming Messiah, and the
gospels describe its fulfillment. But it
is more than a prophecy specific to the life of Jesus. It also typifies how life works in his
Kingdom.
We’ve all
seen the sight Isaiah described – a tree stump that looks for all the world
like it’s dead. But then comes the shoot
from one corner, bending toward the sky.
In the Kingdom life is resilient, and the flourishing of one season soon
yields to a different form in the next.
But always there is life. The
Branch who grew from the roots himself sees to it.
Our Elders
got a reminder of that Kingdom pattern when Taylor Greene dropped by Monday
evening. Taylor is our Student
Connector, a very part-time staff role. He
facilitates student relationships with each other and the adult leaders.
Last
summer our Student Ministry came to a stump moment. Sarah, Scott, and Jake, the remaining core of
the ministry’s last season of flourishing, were heading off for their freshman
year in college, leaving just a handful of students in middle and high schools.
But the
Lord wasn’t stumped. He brought forth a
shoot through a student ministry partnership with our sister church, Christ
Presbyterian. Each brought a few
students, and with some others brought by Jo and Tommy from their Highland Park
neighborhood, a whole new mix of students has grown up – now with the critical
mass necessary for student ministry.
They gather at Christ Church on Sunday mornings and here on Wednesday
evenings. And already there are buds and
the signs of coming fruit – all the more robust because of the cross-pollination.
What makes
for a flourishing student ministry? Most
churches seek the right mix of three ingredients: a hip youth director, a cool space to meet,
and whopping events. And those can all
be useful. But as St. Giles has found,
it’s hard to keep them all going in the right mix.
So it’s
all the more fascinating that for this new shoot all of those are
secondary. This shoot is flourishing
through relationships, diversity, and a clear focus on the core of the gospel
and what it means for teens. Who
knew? The One who brings forth shoots in
the right way at the right time.
The Elders
rejoiced to hear what God is doing, and they concluded by laying hands on
Taylor and praying for yet more of the Spirit to pour upon him, the adult
leaders, the students, and our partnership with Christ Church. Won’t it be fun to watch the Lord’s shoot
grow?!
Blessings,
Keith
