Built for Battle (B4B) was this past weekend. And, once again, it blew me away. God is so good.
This year we featured "From These Ruins" a metal band out of Terre Haute. They rocked the stage and melted a few faces all for the glory of God. Some could claim that this kind of music does not ratify God. I beg to differ. We are a wondrous variety because our Creator enjoys our differences. While you may not like the growling and the screaming, others do. While you may not understand the lyrics or wince at the guitar riffs or the clashing of the cymbals, others do. It is all for the glory of God and we worship Him in our own way. "From These Ruins" rocked it for the Kingdom and a bunch of great guys! Look them up on Facebook!
My daughter was our teen speaker this year and she delivered a powerful message. She brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion as she shared her testimony of sexual abuse, suicidal thoughts and bullying. She made me and her father so proud.
Worship this year was done by my son Caleb and one of our former youth, Shannon. These two are small but powerful. They mesh well together on stage as if they have been playing for years together. They pack such a punch and invoke the Holy Spirit that I believe there is a special anointing when they get together on stage.
Matt brought a dramatized message about the Stockholm Syndrome. Powerful and brought a message of being held captive. Good stuff.
I closed the evening on a message of Lazarus and a story of the Sacred Grave walker. My point was to ring the bell over your lives so the Sacred Grave Walker will quickly "dig up" what was once dead and give you a second chance at life.
Altar time was so electric. Several were slain in the spirit and we got word that some youth received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Praise Jesus! Chains were broken, lives were made whole again, hearts were healed and bondages fell off.
It wasn't all serious.....J-Walkers performed, we had a yummy taco dinner and we had a photo booth this year.
Now that I broke it all down, you wished you had come, right? It was phenomenal and I couldn't have done it without my amazing volunteers and businesses that had helped make it a success!
So what is B4B? Time for a little history lesson.
This was our 4th year of doing this event. Several years ago, we were taking our youth group to large conferences that would entail them paying $100 dollars to cover expenses. It was getting to the point that kids were having a hard time coming up with the money. Not only that but for us to go (and our 2 kids), that is $400 (no, youth pastors don't get in free). So, Matt brought a proposal to me and said "Why don't we do our own?". I was doing a once a year concert (Rock the Heavens) and didn't want to take on the responsibility of an entire event. However, the more we talked the more we agreed this was the route God was wanting us to take. So now, we needed a catchy name.
In a casual conversation I said - "We need something catchy and powerful...something like Built for Battle." We wrinkled our nose at that name and decided we both weren't fond of it therefore we tossed around many other names. However, Built for Battle kept surfacing. So we went with it. God then directed me to call the event B4B but tag line it every year, so I have. Year one - The War Is Raging; year two - Stand Your Ground; year three - Storm the Gates; this year - Sound the Alarm. God has given me these tag lines and without a doubt it is directed by Him.
If you look, it creates a story -
- The War Is Raging - This generation needs to know that there is a war going on. The enemy of our souls wants to destroy us.
- Stand Your Ground - now that you are aware of the dangers, you need to stand your ground. Don't let the enemy push you back into a retreat. Stand firm because if God is with us, NO ONE can come against us!
- Storm the Gates - now that you have stood firm, it is time to take action. We cannot lie around and let the enemy attack. The Bible says the enemy is like a prowling lion waiting to attack. It is time to storm the gates and get the upper hand.
- Sound the Alarm - all throughout the Bible, it speaks on sounding the trumpets. Many times it was during battle. It is almost like we need to let the enemy know we are coming. Let him worry about what we are going to do, let him scramble to try to create a plan of defense......let him know we mean war.
We were not created to live a life as a spectator. We were created with the purpose to go to battle. We were made for war. We are equipping this generation with the necessary tools to go into the battlefield and fight for those that are lost.
With that being said, God has given me next year's tagline......drum roll please........
Built for Battle 2014 - "Armed & Dangerous"
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