Say YES to hope.

Orange Conference 2014…YES!

I’m back from Atlanta. After more than 24 hours riding in a van and close to another 24 hours sitting in conference, all in less than 5 days, I’m back. Don’t be fooled though…I said YES to all of that and more.

I was in Atlanta for the Orange Conference. Orange is a conference for Children, Youth and Family ministry leaders. It has a lot of similarities to the Catalyst conference (Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles). One of those similarities is focusing on one word the entire conference.

The one word for Orange 2014 was YES. Here are just a few things we were challenged to say YES to:

• YES to being uncomfortable.
• YES to tension.
• YES to saying no.
• YES to not having it all together.
• YES to family.
• YES to marriages.
• YES to kids.
• YES to teens.
• YES to people saying no.

YES to hope.

Every Sunday morning, I take a few minutes to gather my team of teachers, sound tech, assistants and helpers to share a short devotion and pray with each other. Last Sunday morning, as I thought about what to share, two things wouldn’t leave my mind – YES and hope.

I want my team to say YES to hope. I want them to say YES collectively and individually.

Hope?

The term hope has a soft connotation in today’s world. Hope is like a dream, but without anything to stake that dream too. So what does hope mean?

If you look at the biblical idea of hope, you can take at least three things away from it.

1. Certain.
2. Invisible.
3. Yet to come.

Hope is not a dreamy, pie in the sky wish. Hope is being certain that what you cannot see will come to pass in time. Hope is less dream and more trust. Hope is trust is something more and bigger than the seen and known.

This is what I asked my team to say YES to.

What are you hoping for?

I’m hoping for more opportunities to write and speak. To be honest, a year ago this felt more like today’s definition of hope than the old-time, Bible definition of hope. However, as time goes on, it becomes less dreamy and more real. Oddly enough, my circumstances haven’t changed too much. In fact, they haven’t changed at all, but I have more and more faith in the hope God has put in my heart.

My hope isn’t in a dream. My hope is in God.

What are you hoping for?

Whatever it is you are hoping for, put your hope in God. He will help you define and refine your dream into true hope.