the    sides

So Ray and I get back from lunch and there is a convention going on in our parking lot. There are some engineers in one corner trying to figure out how to keep the lakes from showing back up and on the other side is an older guy sitting on a chair in the middle of our field and two other guys filming him.

Ray waltzes over to the film crew, I talk to the engineers. Ray comes back and says - “Hey, that guy is a prof from Southwestern Seminary shooting a promo video for this thing called Paradise ‘08. Last name is Ross.”

“Like Richard Ross.”

“Yeah, how’d you know that?”

“I’m a closet Southwestern Seminary grad. Richard Ross was the state director of youth ministry for Texas and the SBC for a long time. He’s like next to God in Texas Baptist circles in matters of student ministry. I walk over, introduce myself, tell him I remember him at seminary and his first comment to me was this - “Man, you are old!”

“Not half as old as you but thanks for the encouragement.”

After a great laugh and other pleasantries he explains to me what the heck he is doing out in the middle of nowhere.

He’s filming an invitation to Paradise ‘08.

It’s going to be a worship experience of students for God in the middle of the country (Paradise, KS). They are going to build a platform with the dimensions of what they think the throne in Revelation is, surround it with crosses and do worship there. Only there will never be ANYONE on stage. Nor will there be the promotion videos, the merchandise tables, or the hero worship. All of the leaders will be hidden from site, Jesus will be the true hero and focus of worship.

I was speechless.

We exchange email addresses and promises to talk more later.

I visited the website and after my head had kind of settled, I wrote him this email.

Dr. Ross,

I really don’t know where to start this email. Meeting you (again) in the middle of our field today couldn’t just be some coincidence of the space-time continuum.

I met you first through Gene Wilkes at a Texas Youth Rally. Then again through Phil Briggs at SWBTS. I escaped SWBTS in the spring of ’96. I use the word “escape” because between the firing of Dilday, the growing moderate vs. conservative vs. fundamentalist debates, and the BGCT and CBF and EIEIO controversy - I was pretty well sick of being a Southern Baptist. I hated the baggage I was immediately branded with by having that affiliation with the lost world as well as the larger body of Christ.

I remember shaking my head at the time thinking – with all those resources and talents it’s a shame we spend more time arguing than we do glorifying Christ, attempting to bring unity to the Body of Christ. For all the good we do, we sure do have a habit of being very noisy and argumentative about it. So like many my age, instead of fighting and arguing – I just left to do non-denominational work.

When you told me about Paradise ’08 – my first thoughts were – another great idea that is going to lose its original vision and goals in the midst of the SBC branding and promoting. I was mildly curious as to how in the world the SBC was going to pull this off.

Then I visited the website.

Dr. Ross – if this actually gets pulled off the way your website reads…..I don’t know if I’ve got words to describe the implications of such a venture.

Is it possible to pull off an event where only Jesus gets center stage and not the Christian Celebrities?
Is it possible to have a place where all races and denominations can gather for worship in unity?
Is it possible to have a place where the emphasis is on vertical encounter with the Holy One and not the merchandise table on our way out?

This gives me hope. Not just for the sake of unity but for the sake of Jesus’ word ringing true to our world – They will know you are mine by your love.

I can only imagine that for a man in your position it’s a hard ‘sell’ to do something like this with no self-promotion. I imagine you’ve had to fight at every turn to resist the branding and promotions and the commercialization.

Know that a little church on the prairie that you used for the commercial is not just praying for this…but is committed to being a part of the solution. We will be part of that day of worship. (Or any other role you may need us to play.)

My heart is hopeful…from one “old” youth pastor to another!

Now we get to see if this actually becomes a reality.