Soul Survivor

Ok, so I is back from Soul Survivor and my Soul just about survived.

I expect those of you who know me and know Soul Survivor are probably expecting me to be cynical, complain about it and tell you why I didn’t like it – and other that the opening line I’m going to save all that for another time…

Soul Survivor was wicked, it wasn’t the be all and end all, but undisputedly it was a very important week for thousands of people, I enjoyed it, God did some mental things and some great things have and will come out of it.

I’d like to share one of the many things I learnt.

People often talk about faith being a gift from God, and I never really got why God would give some people that gift and not others, in fact I still don’t get it. But at Soul Survivor I really felt that faith was part of me, as if it was integral to my being, almost as if it was a gift from God.

I consider myself to always be a child of faith, and don’t feel I had a conversion moment (although I do have key stepping stones). Over the years I have wrestled with God, not literally but it is a very fitting word. There have been times when I’ve wanted to give up, when I haven’t understood and when I’ve been pretty mad (and sad) at God. There have been times when the sand from under my house has completely caved in, times when everything has been striped away, times when everything falls apart.

But something deep down in me has always known of a ‘greater reality’.

It sounds a little bit like blind, child like faith, which I’m not a great fan of, but I can’t really describe it. Despite my intrinsic cynicism and my passion to find answers to questions there is something within me that knows God is real.

Paul, when writing to the Churches in Ephesus, talks about the ‘mystery of Christ’ and a ‘love that surpasses knowledge’.

I’m pretty much completely mystified by God, and my knowledge cannot contain God, and neither can my words, but perhaps that’s the fun of it…

The Conclusion

I’m Back!! It rained but I still burnt my nose, genius!

 

There are so many stories to tell from the week, how the week kicked off, what went wrong, what went right, fun times, hard times, funny in-jokes, new nick names, new friends, wet clothes, blood and tears and how it all ended…next time I see any of you ask me about it, cos it was wicked.

 

But in terms of writing something here, I’ll write what hit me the most about our time in Polzeath.

 

The thing which I learned the most is that by living integral, loving and honest (as much as possible) lives for God then people will see God though you and be attracted to that. We had many conversations with people about God, and although these we’re distinctive moments, I can’t help but feel that it was the God community within us which was attractive. It wasn’t the fact that we answered all the questions, cos we couldn’t; it was who we were and how we were. It was loving God in word and deed.

 

It weird to think that by being in Cornwall for 10 days we specifically engaged with so many people, helping them to re-think and see God in new places and yet in 2 years of being at Uni I’m not sure what I’ve done. It makes me think that if we saw a similar community living 24/7, day in day out in inner city London then what would happen…

 

I treated the whole experience as an experiment, and my conclusion from this experiment is that loving communities focus on a living God can and will have positive impacts on those within, and those who engage with, such a community.

 

My next adventure is soul survivor, a massive Christian festival for young people. I go as a helper, and I’m sure I’ll see God work in different ways from Polzeath.

 

Watch this space for news about that…