Brick Walls

Listening to the speaker talk as 5,000 teens and I surround him is exhilarating. My heart starts pumping loudly as he talks about how my could be extraordinary if I only give my life to Jesus. Going to a lot of Christian Conferences and events was fun for me, I just loved the way the speakers made me feel invincible, like I could run through a brick wall.

Later that same night, 5,000 teens I would make our way back to our normal lives that failed in comparison to the atmosphere created at the conference. These speakers would help cultivate unrealistic dreams of what our lives could be and after falling short time & time again, I started to feel ashamed I couldn't be that person. My inspiration was a short term fix for a long term life.

Fast forward a couple years when I was 19, two years before graduation. I finally was wrestling with my unmet dreams that were placed in me at so many of those conferences. I was broken and my community of friends helped me work through those aches and pains slowly. I promised myself that whatever my career would be, I was going to help forge lasting change in people's lives.

At 21, I can't proclaim that I have it figured out, but I can say that I have an idea: I believe lasting chance can only happen in the midst of community. Sure, we can individually change but the transformation can only come to fruition in the midst of relationship. It takes friends to aid us in working through shame and doubt so that we may finally reach a point of progressing rather than digressing.

I've dedicated this blog to this idea that real, lasting change occurs in the midst of healthy tribes.  I want to help people be transformed from isolating loneliness to Thriving in Community.

Can real lasting change happen apart from community?