Stuck In The Middle 08

Another great year for our students at Stuck In The Middle, a conference for middle school students put on by my buddy Sean Meade.

Here's our recap along with a couple pics! We have a sweet video that our tech crew at First church did and I'll throw that up here as soon as I can.

On March 7, 13 middle school students and 2 adults pioneered two vans to Kansas City for Stuck in the Middle, a 3 day conference designed to help middle schoolers experience Christ.

Eight of the thirteen students made personal decisions regarding their faith, seven of them being to rededicate their lives and one to follow Christ for the very first time.

It was an amazing weekend that began with entering into the auditorium into a scene out of the movie “The Chronicles of Narnia” complete with “snow” on the ground, light posts, pillars, and sculptures of Aslan. “Snow” bubbles fell from above, which threw our students into a compulsion to stick their tongues out and catch the snow, like kids seeing snow fall for the first time.

Beginning with a video montage of famous scenes from movies like Star Wars, Napoleon Dynamite, Chronicles of Narnia, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Superman Returns, the stage was set to help students understand the idea that God wants them to be a part of an amazing story.

Next, Joe Castillo, the Sand Artist, told the creation story through is amazing sand art performance that had our students absolutely captivated.

After some comedy, a testimony of a man being completely healed of cancer, and worship, the speaker for the first two sessions took the stage. Jason Raitz, a Junior High Pastor from Willow Creek, opened the night and shared two thoughts about Christ:

1. Your story is amazing! No matter who you are, or what has happened to you, you are not an accident. You were created by God and your story (your life is incredibly valuable).
2. God wants you to be part of His Story. His story is amazing and you have a starring role in it.

For 8th grader Emily Henning, what stuck out to her was that, “How even if you wake up in the morning and you feel irrelevant, you are still important.”

After meeting with our individual youth groups to debrief the main session, students took part in lat night activities that consisted of inflatables, a scavenger hunt, video games, pool, karaoke, ping pong, bull riding, and hanging out.

On Saturday, Jason Raitz spoke about Crisis and how every story has crisis. Jason emphasized how our sin causes crisis.

One of the great things about “Stuck” is that they give an hour after each session for youth groups to debrief. We were able to also explain that sometime’s other people’s sin causes crisis in our lives. And that some crisis happens that isn’t our fault. And when our story has crisis, we can lean into God and listen for his voice.

The afternoon began with a powerful message about the Holy Spirit from fellow United Methodist Steve Jacobs, the Chief Scientist for the Discover Channel, that included Grant Apsley, Cody Guinn, Aubrey Maxwell, Alex Cox, and Jason Cox all on stage in front of everyone!

Next, our students took part in two sets of workshops.

One of our students, Jonathan Buster, went to the workshop led by a great Chicago based youth pastor named Andy Jack who gave our students a lesson in Lectio Divina, otherwise known as Divine Liturgy.

With candle’s set and music playing, Andy read from John 13 when Jesus washed the Disciple’s feet.

“The world that we live in is pretty loud. And God tends to speak in a whisper” said 8th grader Jonathan Buster. “And we really need to turn the volume down and listen.”

“When he read the Scripture about Jesus washing the disciple’s feet, I felt like God was saying to me, ‘You were dirty and now you are clean.’ That’s really the first time I’ve felt like God has talked to me. I think that tops all three years [I’ve been] at ‘Stuck.’”

The main session on Saturday night began with a dramatic skit about a popular boy asking a disabled girl for the last dance at school. Many of our students really connected with this idea about the difficulty of being a Christian and doing the right thing.

Sean Meade, the President of Stuck in the Middle spoke Saturday night about Christ and how he will never abandon us. His message was brought home when he shared a video testimony from Gracia Burnham about how she felt abandoned but saw God’s care after her release from Philippine terrorists.

After scurrying to get packed and eat breakfast on Sunday morning, we left the hotel and headed back to Stuck for the closing session. Sean shared about the need for community and how we cannot do this journey alone. He challenged our students to look for ways even on the van ride home to love and serve each other. And before we knew it, Stuck was over and we were on our way home.

Stuck in the Middle is a great weekend that helps our students grow in their faith. For 8th grader Sydney Potvin, it’s a weekend she will not easily forget.

“ ‘Stuck’ opened a new door to Christ and how God works” shared Potvin. “It was about being able to listen and being open to what Christ is saying and just taking time to listen [to God] and saying, ‘This is what I will live by.’”

“And for me, I committed that I would begin to follow His footsteps and begin to live as a Christian and it’s topped everything I’ve ever done.”