We had 2 students on Sunday. We are continuing to think about how we need to structure our class to better meet the needs of this interesting group of people. Please pray for us to be open to trying whatever it takes to be there for these young people.

Since we're using material from Rob Bell, I've been doing a lot of thinking about him and what he believes. I went back to his book, Velvet Elvis, to rethink some things. I read several passages and came to the epilogue. Let me share it with you here. A little lengthy but worth reading.

"One summer when I was in high school, my family and I were on vacation and decided to visit a church in the town where we were staying. At the end of the service, the pastor asked if anybody wanted to become a Christian. He said that people could repeat a prayer after him and become a Christian, right there at that moment in their seats. He said that if people repeated this prayer after him, they could be sure that when they died, they would go to heaven and not hell. He then asked everybody to bow their heads and close their eyes, and he said the prayer, leaving space after each sentence for those who wanted to repeat the prayer after him. When he finished, he told everybody to keep their eyes closed and heads bowed. He then asked for the people who had prayed the prayer to raise their hands wherever they were seated. This way he would know who they were so he could pray for them. He said that nobody but him would be looking.

"The pastor then said, 'I see that hand over there. Thank you. I see a hand in the back. I see some young women in the front...' And he proceeded to acknowledge the hands that were going up all around the room.

"During this entire time I had kept my eyes open and was watching the whole thing.

"I didn't see any hands go up.

"Several years ago my dad reminded me of that day. He told me he had his eyes open the whole time as well--only he was not watching for hands. He was watching me. He said that when he realized what was going on and that I was observing it all, he had this sick feeling that I would walk away from God and the church and faith forever. He said he kept thinking, I've lost Rob. I've lost Rob...

"I am like you. I have seen plenty done in the name of God that I'm sure God doesn't want anything to do with. I have lots of reasons for bailing on the whole thing.

"I am also like you because I have a choice. To become bitter, cynical, jaded, and hard. Anybody can do that. A lot have. Hatred is a powerful, unifying force. And there is a lot to be repulsed by.

"Or, like you, I can choose to reclaim my innocence. We can choose to reclaim our innocence together. We can insist that hope is real and that a group of people who love God and others really can change the world. We can reclaim our idealism and our belief and our confidence in the big ideas that stir us deep in our bones. We can commit all the more to being the kinds of people who are learning how to do what Jesus teaches us.

"I am not going to stop dreaming of a new kind of faith for the millions of us who need it. I am not going to stop dreaming of new kinds of communities that put the love of God and the brilliance of Jesus on display in honest, compelling ways. I am not going to stop dreaming of new ways to live lives of faith and creativity and meaning and significance.

"But I can't do it alone. I need you. We need you. We need you to rediscover wonder and awe. We need you to believe that it is really possible. We need you to join us.

"It's better that way. It's what Jesus had in mind."