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“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:19, NIV)
First of all: hello! My name is Matt Reecer, and I have had the pleasure of serving as First Methodist’s communications and media specialist since August 1, 2021. As I’ve gotten more settled into this position and spent time in prayer, listening for what new ventures God might want the communications and media team (and by extension, the church) to step into, I felt like it was time for us to have an online space for our staff and guest authors to offer reflections on sermons, Scripture, life, and faith. So, here we are. I wanted to take a few minutes, now that we’re in a new year, to reflect on Isaiah 43:19.
Ten years ago on this day, I was in Atlanta, GA, for an event called Passion Conference — and if you’re between the ages of 18 and 25, about to be in the age range, or if you know someone in that age range, I’d highly recommend attending (maybe once COVID has passed). Just a few days ago, they hosted 55,000 students from around the world at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The first time I attended Passion, it was with 60,000 other people in the Georgia Dome, which was home to the Atlanta Falcons.
Those are not small numbers — especially when you take into account that, supposedly, more and more younger people are leaving the Church for various reasons, if they bothered ever stepping into it in the first place.
I say all of that to give you an idea of what this ministry looks like now, because it hasn't always looked like that. In fact, it really is a miracle that it got off the ground. What I think is the bigger miracle is how many lives and eternities God has changed through the ministry of this conference. The founder of Passion, Louie Giglio, has shared a few times about Passion’s beginnings. In the 1990s, Louie and his wife, Shelley, were leading a Bible study for students at Baylor University (yes, the one in Waco, TX) out of Louie’s apartment, and the study started with about 10 people in attendance.
Meanwhile, in Atlanta, Louie’s father was not doing well. It was a few years into Louie and his wife’s marriage, and their Bible study had grown to the point that thousands of students from Baylor were attending. But Louie and Shelley’s prayer, during this time, was that they would be released from what they were doing so that they could head back to Atlanta to help Louie’s mother take care of his father.
But God kept saying it wasn’t time to go.
Until, finally, it was time.
So, Louie and Shelley prepared to head back to Atlanta in May of that next year — no jobs lined up, no ministry, no purpose other than to help Louie’s mother and father.
But then, Louie’s father died in late April, right before Louie and Shelley were to head to Atlanta to help with his care, not two miles from where Mercedes-Benz Stadium now stands. So, what was the reason for heading back to Atlanta? God had said to go, right? Why would He say to go just for everything to fall apart?
It turned out God did have a plan for that season. A few months had passed, and while on an airplane, Louie had a vision for what eventually became Passion Conferences. He had no idea how to proceed forward with it, though. What was the event to be called? How was he supposed to go about bringing it to life? God knew all the details. Over twenty years after their first conference, Passion Conferences is still helping to lead more and more college-age adults into relationships with Jesus Christ.
But one of the most amazing parts about this whole story, to me, is this: Mercedes-Bens Stadium is home to the Peach Bowl, which is sponsored by Chick-fil-A. And at the most recent Passion Conference, Louie preached from the 50-yard-line, though the turf was covered by temporary flooring and a raised platform. But underneath the floor and the stage, painted onto the turf, was the Chick-fil-A logo.
Why does that matter? Because before his brain disease took over his life, Louie Giglio’s father was a graphic designer, and perhaps his most well-known work is something he designed in the 1960s: the logo for Chick-fil-A. It's a reminder, now, to Louie of God's calling on his life, and how God brought something amazing out of something tragic.
If you’re walking into this year with pain and burdens, know this: God is in the business of turning the story around. I think the Gospel tells us, in part, that what we think is the end of the story likely isn’t. What the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ tell us is that though tragedy may strike, and though the enemy may try to move, there is not a moment when God is not good and sovereign. Though it isn’t Scripture, what the story of Passion might tell us is that God can make beauty out of brokenness. What is Scripture is this: God can make streams of water flow through wastelands. When it seems there is no way out of the wilderness, there may actually be a way forward.
In your own life, how have you seen God make a way where there was no way? I’d like to know! Feel free to send me an email with your story at matt@firstmethodist.church.
